Bamber Bridge took all 3 points at the Swansway Group Stadium, home of Nantwich Town with an absolute “Worldie” from Fin Sinclair-Smith being the difference in what was otherwise a very tight affair between Brig battling for a play off spot and The Dabbers fighting to retain their Northern Premier League status.

A pre-match heavy downpour left the pitch in a wet and soft state, but credit to the Nantwitch groundstaff, the pitch played very well without really cutting up at all. The home side were clearly intent on making a fast start as they raced out of the traps, sending a couple of early testing crosses in the Brig penalty area, Brig responded and Rowan Roache saw an effort comfortably saved by the home keeper before the hosts followed a good right wing move with a shot that flew high over Felix Goddard’s goal.

Brig settled in the match and a lovely flowing move saw the ball switched from right to left, an overlapping run from Rowan Roache was met with a fine pass from Aaron Skinner, the low cross being well gathered by the keeper at the near post.

Felix Goddard was called into action for Brig on 20 minutes diving right and palming away a powerful free kick. The home side, without really troubling Felix in the Brig goal were having a strong spell midway through the first half and their ariel style of play always offered a threat. An injury to Paul Dawson following a very “robust” tackle on the Brig forward resulted in a stoppage in play with Daws’ requiring lengthy treatment. The ref deeming the challenge not even worthy of a booking. The Brig fans making the point that had that been the other way around the referee might not have been quite as lenient with Daws.


The game was beginning to open up around the half hour mark with with Felix once again making a fine to a chipped effort from the Dabbers forward, at the other end a Brig long ball sent Paul Dawson scampering after it, his fine low drive brought a fingertip diving save the Dabbers man between the sticks. But then came the defining moment of the match.The corner from the left was cleared before Brig regained possesion, the ball finding it's way to Paul Dawson wide on the right, Daws cut it back  to Fin Sinclair-Smith on the right of goal some 18 yards out, Fin flicked the ball up and let loose a superb swerving volley that screamed in to the far top corner of the net. Now, Fin has scored a bucket full of wonder goals this season, but for me this was the best of the lot. The reaction from the Briggers support behind the goal told the story, delight, admiration, joy and “wow” what about that?


The hosts were beginning to look frustrated as Brig began to take control, another “Industrial” challenge left Aaron Skinner in a heap on the turf, a yellow card being handed out but once again from our vantage point, admittedly some distance away, it could well have been a different colour. With the half coming to close Brig almost doubled their advantage, a half cleared corner from the right fell to Macca, some 25 yards from goal, The Brig captain took a touch before firing in a terrific shot, the home keeper leaping at full stretch to tip it over the bar.


The second half began with Bamber Bridge having made an enforced change, Paul Dawson being replaced possibly as a result of the earlier challenge, with Joe Robbins taking his place. Brig had the wind at their backs in the second period but it was the hosts who started brightly again with an ariel bombardment of the Brig backline. The Lancashire side were playing on the break and Rowan Roache was unlucky to see a fine shot deflected leaving the keeper completely wrong footed but gliding by the post for a corner.

Brig were being denied any space to get into their stride, that’s a credit to Nantwich who despite their lowly position in the relegation zone, were looking a handful, stopping Brig playing their passing game and imposing their own direct style on the Irongate side.


Manager Jamie Milligan made a second change on 65 minutes with Rowan Roache making way for Donovan Lescott. Despite their territorial advantage The Dabbers were not really making any inroads and The Brig defence stood firm as the game developed in to a battle of attrition between the two differing styles of play. The hosts very direct approach was making it very difficult for Brig to build up kind of possession but the visitors were still looking to get forward and came so close when Matt Thomson superbly won the ball 30 yards from goal, Finley Cross-Adair took control and raced towards goal, drawing the keeper before picking his spot towards the far post, the ball rolling agonisingly just a couple of inches wide of the keepers left hand post.


A third Brig change saw Sky Sinclair who had gone down with cramp replaced by Chris Churchman and as the game entered the final stages and became more frenetic as the home side looked for the equaliser. Six minutes added time were signalled by the officials much to the dismay of the Brig fans but the home side sensed their opportunity and Felix once again came to the rescue not once but twice in stoppage time firstly diving left to make a save at his near post then getting behind a close range effort to keep his goal in tact.


A final Nantwich corner was headed over the bar before the referee blew the full time whistle and Brig had the 3 three vital well earned points that tonight leaves us incredibly in second place in The NPL behind leaders South Shields who are the visitors to Irongate next weekend in what promises to be an absolute cracker of a match, particularly with it also being the weekend of the Annual Bamber Bridge beer festival. A bumper crowd is expected with Shields almost certain to bring a large support. So let’s fill Irongate to the rafters and give Millie and lads the support they absolutely deserve for a final push in what has already been a sensational season.

Bamber Bridge came away from Cantilever Park, home of Warrington Town with a 1-0 defeat despite playing against 10 men for 89 minutes. The Wire No.8 Sean Williams was shown a straight red card within the thee first 30 seconds of the match for a foul on Paul Dawson adjudged to be dangerous by the referee. Despite the extra man advantage, Brig, in truth never really threatened the home goal and as the game wore on it was the hosts who looked more likely scorers, and so it turned out.

A bitterly cold Saturday afternoon and an intriguing clash between “The Wire” in 3^rd spot in the table and Bamber Bridge in 5^th, was anticipated by both sets of fans. But literally straight from the kick off, the match looked to have swung in favour of the Lancashire Visitors with the dismissal of Williams. For a 15 minute spell after the red card Brig pushed the hosts back and enjoyed their best spell of the game.


Isaac Sinclair saw an effort cleared off the line as he picked up the ball just outside the penalty area on the left, skipped inside and struck a low shot towards the far post. The effort lacked power in truth and was cleared well before it reached the goal-line. A couple of corners came and went for Brig before Paul Dawson struck a volleyed effort from the right side of the box, which struck a defender and was cleared. Brig were pinning their hosts back and the opening goal looked inevitable.

However, Football isn’t an exact science and despite the early domination the home keeper remained untroubled. A Fin cross and an audacious Danny Forbes overhead kick which dropped comfortably for the keeper was about as close as Bamber Bridge came to pushing home their one man advantage. As the half wore on, Warrington Town grew in confidence and began carving out chances of their own. A shot from distance cleared the bar, and the stand roof before a 25 yard free kick was whipped over the Brig defensive wall and flashed just wide of the post.


At the other end Aaron Skinner dribbled in to the 6 box from the left having been sent away with a great ball from Isaac Sinclair, but once again the shot blocked before it reached the keeper. The referee brought the first half proceedings to a close with the home side certainly unperturbed at having a man less than their visitors.

The second half began with Brig pushing forward and a cross from the right found Fin Sinclair-Smith beyond the far post, his attempted volley falling well wide of the upright. Sheldon Green then played a fine ball across the box from the right but again the incoming shot was charged down, Joe Robbins firing the rebound just wide of the post.


But as in the first half, Brig were not creating anything of note and once again Warrington came back strong and in fact began to dominate possession. An overhead kick flew over the Brig bar as the hosts began to believe they could win the match. A Paul Dawson 25 yard low driven free kick that passed a foot wide of the post was all Brig had to offer in an attacking sense and the Brig fans began contemplating that a draw and a point would certainly not be a disaster despite the extra player advantage. Two Brig changes came in the 73^rd minute as Sky Sinclair and Joe Robbins made way for Donovan Lescott and Conor Stanley. But at this stage of the game it was The Cheshire side looking far more likely to break the deadlock and it almost arrived on 79 minutes. A superb pass in to the box sent the striker through one on one with Luke Hutchinson in the Brig goal, He sidestepped the keeper but fortunately the shot struck the outside of the post and ran out for a goal kick.


Another good chance came the way of the home side just a minute later when a close range shot was flicked over Luke Hutchinson, narrowly clearing the bar. The good fortune was shot-lived however. Brig had just made a 3rd substitution with Rowan Roache replacing Chris Churchman, when on 82 minutes, Brig gave up possession on the half way line, Bohan Dixon showed power and pace as he burst away towards goal before smashing the ball home as he entered the penalty area. The goal had been coming to be fair and was no more than the home side deserved.

Moments later and it was almost two. As a header from a free-kick was superbly saved at full stretch by Hutchinson. Any thoughts of a Brig counter offensive were dismissed by a determined Warrington side, who far from protecting their lead looked likely to add to it. The final action of the match saw Fin Sinclair-Smith having to chase back and poke the ball out for another corner. The referee signalled 5 added minutes and in that time Luke Hutchinson again was called into action tipping over the bar.


As the referee blew the full time whistle the home players celebrated the victory with Brig left to reflect on a chance lost. The Old adage that it’s harder to play against 10 men certainly rings true for Bamber Bridge this evening. However, It's just one game and Cantilever Park has never been happy hunting ground for Brig. But, putting this result aside Bamber Bridge still find themselves in 5^th place in The Northern Premier League and all is still to play for. We now have three home games in a row to look forward to as Stafford Rangers come to Irongate next Saturday followed by a Tuesday evening game against Morpeth Town and and then the following Saturday Whitby Town are the visitors.

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