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Home > Archive > 2006-07 Season > Match Reports > Eastwood Town (21.04.07)

2006-2007 Season

Match Reports

Eastwood Town 1 Bamber Bridge 2

Northern Premier League 1st Division

at Coronation Park

Saturday 21st April 2007

By Dave Rowland

Bamber Bridge completed the league double over promotion hopefuls Eastwood Town in this finely contested First Division game at Coronation Park with a fine workmanlike performance. A goal apiece from Stuart Barlow in the first-half, and Ryan Salmon in the second, proved to be enough to thwart the Nottinghamshire sides efforts of finishing as First Division runners-up behind champions Buxton.

The South Ribble side were hoping to return to winning ways following three games without a win recently including successive home defeats to Goole and strugglers Wakefield. Meanwhile their hosts were eagerly chasing the all important second spot in the table. The team finishing as runners-up qualify for home advantage in the play-off Semi-Finals and Final.

Brig boss Phil Entwistle made just one change to last Saturday’s line-up against Wakefield bringing in the experienced Stuart Barlow to replace youngster Ben Cartwright. Further experience was added to the bench with the inclusion of Steve Brown and Neil Spencer.

Bamber Bridge kicked off playing up the slope but the ‘Badgers’ quickly got into their stride and looked determined to force the issue from the off.

Lindon Meikle, who was to prove Brig’s tormentor-in-chief for most of the afternoon, latched on to a neatly placed through-ball by Colin Daniel in the sixth minute and visiting goalkeeper David Newnes brought off the first of a number of important saves to snuff out the threat.

Whilst the home side made most of the early running Brig were equal to the task with some resolute defending by twin centre-halves Steve Williams and George Melling who confidently cut out the considerable menace posed by Daniel and Meikle.

Brig began to impose themselves and Danny Mahoney caused considerable discomfort to the Badgers defence with some well directed passes out to the wings from deep positions in midfield.

From one of these Ryan Salmon outwitted two defenders on the right before firing in a fine effort that went narrowly past goalkeeper Ian Deakin’s left hand post with the visitors first meaningful raid on 23 minutes.

Two minutes later Brig rattled their high flying hosts with their opening goal. A well struck Alex Porter corner-kick from the right found the head of veteran Stuart Barlow who deftly glanced the ball home through a crowded goalmouth.

The Nottinghamshire side were stung into action and quickly responded. Skipper Peter Knox got the better of Robin Myers out wide on the right before delivering a blistering shot which fizzed across the face of Newnes goal.

Their endeavours were amply rewarded on 42 minutes with arguably the best goal of the game. Meikle jinked his way past several Brig defenders before threading the ball accurately through to Daniel in space and the tall striker neatly curled his shot beyond the reach of Newnes’ despairing dive and just inside the left-hand post.

Just before the interval a chance fell at both ends when Fletcher put in Salmon for the visitors only for Deakin to come out quickly and cut out the danger, whilst at the other end Daniel just failed to reach a Chris Shaw free-kick at the back post.

Not surprisingly, the second period opened with the home side on the attack. Newnes once again proved his worth when making two fine saves in as many minutes. He bravely saved at Meikles feet after a knock-on by Daniel had found his lively compatriot in space. Then Brig’s in-form custodian made an excellent diving save to keep out a fiercely struck free-kick by Badgers full-back Shaw.

The defining moment came in the 56th minute when the visitors regained the lead in bizarre circumstances.

Shaw guided to ball back to his goalkeeper who immediately came under pressure from Salmon. Deakin took a flying kick at the ball but completely missed it and Brig’s young striker was left with the simple task of running the ball over the goal-line for his 21st and arguably his easiest strike of the season.

Within minutes the Badgers were close to an equaliser when Knox looped a shot inches past Newnes right-hand post.

Whilst the game had lacked finesse due to the Badgers preference for continually hiking the ball in the air, it was not short of incident and Brig survived a loud call for a penalty on 84 minutes when the ball appeared to strike Melling on the arm. However, it would have been an injustice on the dogged Brig defence who had determinedly and successfully kept the ‘Badgers’ at bay all afternoon.

Brig’s man-of-the-match, goalkeeper Newnes, made the best save of the afternoon on 85 minutes with a brilliant diving save from substitute Sam Litchfield who had got on the end of a Shaw free-kick to send in a goal-bound blockbuster. This seemed to break the back of the home sides endeavours and although Brig survived a goalmouth scramble in the dying seconds the points were deservedly bound for South Ribble.

Bamber Bridge: Newnes, Richards, Myers, Melling, Williams, Fletcher, Ince (Brown 69mins), Mahoney, Barlow (Spencer 80mins), Salmon, Porter. Unused sub: Edmeads

Goals: Barlow (27 mins), Salmon (56 mins)

Attendance: 183