2021 / 22
Season Review. From a fans Perspective
A season to be proud of !

Back in July 2021, the new season arrived with Corona Virus very much still in the news. July 19^th However, became known as “Freedom Day” as the compulsory wearing of face masks, along with social distancing was officially dropped. Even standing up in the clubhouse was now allowed!! Attending matches actually felt like a novelty.

Pre-Season had been going well until the much anticipated friendly with PNE ended up being played behind closed doors at North End’s training ground at Euxton. A Torrential 2 hour downpour turned the Irongate pitch into a lake. Despite heroic attempts from supporters to clear the pitch of water. The referee declared the pitch unplayable. Over 1,000 supporters for this all ticket fixture had already entered the ground. Refunds were offered, but many hundreds of fans had seen the effort the club had gone to and opted not to reclaim their entrance money. This was hugely appreciated by the club. This was matched by a fabulous gesture from PNE who also made a donation to the club.

Playing with 7 sweepers failed to save the day !

The quickly re-arranged fixture however, turned out very well for one of the Bamber Bridge new summer signings. Jamie Thomas had signed after a season playing in the North West Counties League. He had scored 5 times in three pre-season friendlies for Brig before bagging a brace against North End. This is was enough for then Preston Manager Frankie McAvoy to take him on trial and ultimately Jamie signed a Professional contract with The Championship club.

August:

The season started in earnest with a difficult looking fixture at Promotion favourites Buxton. Brig were seen as one of the favourites to leave the Division at the other end of the table. Buxton won the match 3-0 and had the luxury of missing a penalty.

Next up was Hyde Utd at Irongate and Brig wiped out their minus 3 goal difference in one foul swoop as they demolished Hyde 4-1. Three days later and another resounding victory as Bamber Bridge thrashed Gainsborough Trinity 5-1.

The Gainsborough match also marked the end of an era at Bamber Bridge. “The King of Brig” Chris Marlow, or “Goose” to everyone who knows him had decided to hang up his boots. Goose was made captain for the day and ended his 480^th Brig appearance with a standing ovation as he was lifted shoulder high by his team mates. 12 years and 50 goals for Bamber Bridge, non more special than the play off final winning goal over Prescott Cables that elevated Brig to to The Northern Premier League.

"Gooooooooosssssssse"      The King of Brig

August continued with away wins at Morpeth Town and Nantwich Town before closing the month with a home draw against Warrington Town.

New loan signings Ewan Bange and Rob Apter from Blackpool had already made a huge impact with what turned out to be 19 goals between them before Blackpool recalled the players to send them up a Division to Telford Utd and Chester respectively.

September:

Brig started September in 4^th place in The Northern Premier League. Many non league followers still felt the Lancashire side were in a false position and the bubble would soon burst. How wrong they all were! However, this month saw a few ups and downs.

A 7-2 Victory in The FA Cup at the wonderfully named West Allotment Celtic (Based in Newcastle on Tyne), A superb 4-2 win at Scarborough Athletic with 2 Fabulous goals from Rob Apter, and a 1-0 away win At Mickleover Sports where the highlights of the month. The club suffered a hiccup in the next round of the FA Cup however, losing 3-1 at Runcorn Linnets from the Division below. League defeats at FC United of Manchester in front of over 1,500 and a 2-4 home defeat at the hands of Matlock Town ended the month as a bit of a mixed bag.

September also saw the arrival to Bamber Bridge of Fin Sinclair-Smith, signed from FC United of Manchester. Fin very quickly became a fans favourite. He doesn’t score tap ins that’s for sure, every goal is a Worldie.

An old photo but it shows the passion of The Briggers. Thanks to Paul Vause for this photo.
2nd from the left at the top is Daniel Skipper. A Sadly missed Brigger RIP Dan.

October:

The opening match in October saw arguably the performance of the season by Bamber Bridge, as South Shields visited the Sir Tom Finney Stadium and were well and truly walloped 3-0 by Brig. Ewan Bange grabbing his 9^th goal in just 14 Matches to top the NPL leading goalscorer chart.

The incredible away performances continued with wins at both Grantham Town and Stalybridge Celtic. Bamber Bridge having by the end of October won 6 of their 8 away League fixtures. The home form wasn’t quite at the same level however and surprising defeats at home to Ashton Utd and Bogey side Atherton Collieries saw the club slip outside the play off places in the League table. A defeat on penalties following a 2-2 draw at NPL Div 1 side Dunston ended the clubs involvement in The FA Trophy at the first attempt. A month that had started with a bang, had ended in a slightly disappointing fashion.

October had also seen another major bonus for the club when Manager Jamie Milligan committed himself to the club by signing three year deal offered to him, keeping him at Irongate until at least the summer of 2024.

Millie signs on the dotted line

 

Another big addition to the Brig squad in October was the signing of Nathan Pond. Pondy served Fleetwood Town for 15 years and currently holds a place in The Guinness Book of Records for playing in the most Divisions for the same club. He achieved seven promotions with The Cod Army. His experience has been invaluable.

Pondy signs

November:

Into the winter months and November arrived. Brig made a clean sweep as the cold and dark descended on the North of England. Four games played and four victories, Home Victories over Basford Utd and Whitby down, coupled with away victories at Stafford Rangers and Witton Albion catapulted Brig to the top of the League. Wow, this wasn’t supposed to happen, we were supposed to be fighting relegation!!

December:

Not the best month for Brig with only three League matches played. Defeats at home to Scarborough followed by a defeat at Gainsborough Trinity were bolstered by a big Boxing day home victory over Lancaster City in front of over 700 fans at Irongate. Brig ended 2021 in 2^nd place in the Northern Premier League.

Pre- match Drinks at Matlock Town

January 2022:

New Years day brought one of the very few poor displays of the season as Warrington Town romped to a 4-1 Victory. Next up was Radcliffe away and Brig returned to winning ways with a last minute winner and a 3-2 victory. With the loss in December of Rob Apter, it was now up to others in the squad to step up to the plate. One such player is Isaac Sinclair, Son of ex England International Trevor Sinclair, Isaac had already had a strong opening 4 months of the season, he was to go from strength to strength as the season progressed and is now widely tipped to be another Brigger deserving of a chance at Football league level.

January saw the start of what looked at the time to be the start of the fall down the league table. As the pitches had worsened, Brig found their quick passing style somewhat inhibited and teams with a more “Agricultural” approach started to take advantage.

Briggers in the “Bike Shed” stand at Ashton Utd.

A home goalless draw with FC United of Manchester (a team like Brig who play the game on the grass), in front of a seasons best attendance of 1,144 was followed by the visit to Matlock Town, the match saw the League leaders against 2^nd placed Bamber Bridge. A 2-1 defeat for Brig was then followed by a 2-0 home reverse at the hands of Stalybridge Celtic.

February:

The month of February began on an absolute swamp of a pitch at Stump Cross, home of Ashton Utd. The match ended 0-0 to absolutely nobody’s surprise. A run of four defeats on the bounce looked to have ended any chance of the play offs.

A home defeat by Stafford Rangers was followed by a defeat at Whitby Town that can only be described as bizarre. Brig had captured the loan signing of keeper Matt Hudson from PNE who came in to replace Mateusz Hewelt, who after some fantastic goalkeeping displays for Brig had won himself a pro contract at Tranmere Rovers. Matt’s debut didn’t get off to the best start as he was sent off in the 14^th minute for handling outside his area, Brig were already trailing 1-0 at the time. Brig then suffered 3 first half injuries meaning all 3 subs were on the pitch, when in the 2^nd half striker Rhys Turner hobbled off leaving Brig with just 9 players. A 2-0 defeat in the circumstances wasn’t a disaster.

Quality pitch at Ashton Utd !!

March:

Glad to see the back of February, March started in no better a fashion as Champions elect Buxton came to Irongate and left with a convincing 4-0 victory. I think all Brig fans would agree that on that day Buxton looked destined to end the season as Champions. Something they duly achieved.

A visit to a ground that holds little in good fortune for Bamber Bridge was next up. Atherton Collieries. A standard 2-0 defeat followed. For some reason The Colls certainly have the measure on Bamber Bridge and have for several seasons. It really is a “graveyard” in terms of results for Brig.

With the League Table now showing Bamber Bridge down to 9^th The revival began when bottom club club Grantham Town arrived at The Sir Tom Finney Stadium. A 2-1 Victory saw the first win in 9 games and gave everyone a massive lift.

The visit to South Shields was next and a venue that every Brig fan who has ever been to Mariners Park will tell you, is the best away day in the league. The Shields support is tremendous, but also incredibly welcoming and visitors are ensured a good day out, win lose or draw. Brig were beaten on the day 4-2 but the performance was hugely encouraging. Pitches were drying out and Brig were able to play their swift passing game again. For the record, as much as I will miss our trips to South Shields if they go up, I do hope they win the play offs. Their fans deserve it.

Sunshine and Pre match beer at Basford Utd

The improved performances and results continued as we visited Basford Utd, another ground were Brig have never won before. This time we came away with a hard fought 1-0 victory. The climb back up the lead was on. The month ended with a home game against Mickleover Sports. A 2-0 half time lead fro Brig looked like we were on a roll but the visitors pegged us back in the 2^nd half to claim a point in a 2-2 draw.

April:

So, into the final month of the season. A 2-0 home victory over Witton Albion was quickly followed by a superb away 4-0 thumping of Hyde United. Morpeth Town were next to be dispatched 3-2 at Irongate before a fine 1-0 Easter Monday Victory at The Giant Axe over Lancaster City took us into the last match of the season at home to Nantwich Town.

The season that looked like it might have faltered in February had been superbly recovered and Bamber Bridge went in to the last match of the season in 6^th position just one point behind Matlock Town in the last play off position. Let it be said, that this in itself is nothing less than an absolutely astounding achievement from Millie, Captain Fantastic McCauley Wilson (Mr Bamber Bridge), All the coaching staff and the whole playing squad. A team supposedly favourites to go down challenging for a play off spot on the last day of the season.

As it panned out, Nantwich Town to their credit were never going to make it easy. They took a 1 goal lead defended as though they themselves were pushing for a play off spot.

Brig managed a last minute equaliser, Mark Yeates curling home a sensational wind assisted corner. In the event, it didn’t matter as both Matlock Town and Scarborough Athletic secured the victories that guaranteed their play off positions. For Bamber Bridge it ensured a 7 game unbeaten run at the end of a fabulous season. The disappointed players were given a marvellous ovation from the Brig fans packed behind the goal at the Clubhouse end. In time they will reflect on their achievements this season and understand they surpassed everyone's’ expectations by a Country mile.


Roll on July and the start of Pre-Season and we can do it all again. From me, a massive thanks to everyone involved at Bamber Bridge football club behind the scenes. It really is a pleasure to be involved. To name just a few and apologies to anyone I miss out but Many many thanks, to Peter, Helen, Jack and Jeff Nowell, Nick Boardman, Rob Melling, Kev Walker, Ruth Hornby, Brian Gibney, Skip, Roy Wilkinson, Daniellea, Scott Ward, John Lickley, Tom Bereford for his magnificent work producing superb video footage, Adam, Etty Criscenti for his brilliant organising of away day travel and of course James Knell AKA The Brig Cat. All the bar staff, Kitchen staff at May's Place, Lucy and Dave Spencer for their brilliant work in the Sponsors Lounge, Pam and Sandra for the Club shop  and literally ever other volunteer who make this Football club the best in The North West, Not least Fran Doyle who set the ball rolling a good few seasons ago.

The sun has set on a fabulous season at Bamber Bridge FC

But we Will be Back !!