Home

Club

Events

Contact

History

News

2007-08 Season

Matchday

Club Shop

Commercial

Links

Archive

2006-07 Season

League Table

Player Statistics

Match Reports

Home > Archive > 2006-07 Season > Match Reports > Wakefield (14.04.07)

2006-2007 Season

Match Reports

Bamber Bridge 0 Wakefield 1

Northern Premier League 1st Division

at Irongate

Saturday 14th April 2007

By Dave Rowland

Wakefield came out on top of this bruising ‘Roses’ clash with a hard earned 1-0 win, reversing the score-line at College Grove in mid-February, when they suffered a single goal defeat against Bamber Bridge. The game had been a well contested but disciplined affair up until the early minutes of the second-half when three players, two from Brig and one from the visitors, were sent-off in the 58th minute. A further four bookings followed as the game descended into an ill-tempered affair as the Yorkshire side successfully hung on to their first-half lead. But it was not a pretty sight or a game for the faint hearted.

Bamber Bridge were hoping to extend their good run after having won six and drawn two of their last ten games in the First Division. They were also looking to get back on track at Irongate having lost their last home game 0-2 against Goole on the 6th April. Wakefield have also shown improved form of late, with two wins and two draws from their previous five outings. They were looking for the points to enable them to climb out of the bottom three places by leapfrogging over Warrington Town who stood two points above them in 21st place.

Brig boss Phil Entwistle made just two changes to his line-up from the game at Victory Park on Easter Monday. He gave youngsters Andy Richards and Ben Cartwright a run out after the pair had shown good form in the Lancashire League side recently. Joe Marsden and Stuart Beech made way with Beech named as one of the substitutes.

The visitors opened brightly in the Irongate sunshine and almost went in front straight from the kick-off when a delicately flighted through-ball by Player Manager Garath Stoker found Ben Hardy in space. However, Brig goalkeeper David Newnes was quickly off his line to snuff out the danger.

Wakefield got the decisive goal in the 25th minute when Niall O’Brien headed home from an identically flighted through-ball from Stoker which had caught the home defence completely flat footed.

Five minutes later a Damien Henderson free-kick was brilliantly turned over the crossbar by Newnes as the visitors began to make their presence felt.

Danny Mahoney was prominent in mid-field for the home side and almost equalised on 32 minutes when sending in a rasping drive from 20 yards out. However, Andy Woods in the Wakefield goal made a tremendous diving save to keep his side in the ascendancy.

Brig now began to settle down and started to play the type of passing game which has brought them a good measure of success recently, but they just couldn’t find a way through the visitors back line.

Wakefield nearly increased their lead shortly after the break when Hardy sent in a blockbuster and Newnes had to be at his best to keep the effort out.

Brig were struggling against the bustling and somewhat physical Yorkshire side who were not afraid of getting stuck in.

The game exploded in the 58th minute when Mahoney and O’Brien were dismissed for fighting. Bizarrely, unused Bamber Bridge substitute Sam Farrow was also dismissed by referee Mr Stott after having words with a linesmen.

Bamber Bridge struggled to make any impression on the resolute Wakefield defence and the game was reduced to a series of niggling disputes with neither side looking capable of breaking through on goal. The Yorkshiremen stuck to their task well and comfortably saw out the rest of the game without their lead being seriously threatened.

Bamber Bridge: Newnes, Richards, Myers, Melling, Williams, Fletcher, Cartwright (Edmeads 53mins), Mahoney, Porter, Salmon, Ince. Unused subs: Farrow, Beech

Goals: -

Attendance: 134