Bamber Bridge (H) – Match Preview

Purely on paper, this is probably the best case scenario for us to bounce back from the past few weeks...

Bamber Bridge have been struggling so far this season, but they have also had issues at the end of last season too, with the Brig having picked up just 3 league wins since the 4th of February.

A 1-0 win away to Gainsborough was their only victory at the end of last season, and this season that scoreline was replicated as they beat both Ashton United and Alfreton 1-0

They have been slightly robbed of another win, though, with a 3-0 lead against Emley being chalked off due to poor weather conditions, with the replay resulting in a 2-0 win for the Pewits

Brig do sit bottom of the league table as things stand, and despite being a point behind FC United, and two behind Ilkeston, they do also sit 6 points clear of safety

But those 6 points would also need Bamber Bridge to make up a goal difference that gose from their tally of -20, to Leek Town’s -5

Heavy defeats both home and away have compounded their misery, with Stockton, Quorn, Leek, and Avro having all put at least 4 past them

Hyde United also put 4 past them, but shipped four too in a dramatic draw at the end of August

As for us, there isn’t a vast amount to talk about from our last match, though Mitch Parkinson’s goal means that he is our 10th different goalscorer this season, and it is also his first ever goal for the Steelmen, too

Saturday was also the first time we conceded 4 in a league fixture since our 4-3 loss to Bishop Auckland last season, and our biggest defeat since the 5-2 loss to Pickering in the FA Cup

However, a slight positive is that we are still scoring goals, with our last goalless haul coming on the 25th of August, when we drew 0-0 to Emley

Bamber Bridge’s history began with the club’s founding in 1952, though there was a Bamber Bridge club playing in the late 19th century

A range of titles were won by the club between the 78/79 and 89/90 seasons, with the side moving to Division Two of the North West Counties league in 1990

Their second season in that league would see them win the title, whilst also going on an FA VAse run that saw them lose in the semi-finals to Wimborne Town

A runners-up finish in the 1992-93 season saw them promoted to the NPL Division One, and another 2nd-place finish in the 1994-95 camapign saw them earn promotion to the Premier Division

They would then go on to win the title the following season, but their ground would be found unsuitable for the fifth tier, and so they would remain where they were

The 1999-2000 season would see Bamber Bridge reach the FA Cup first round for the first time, and a 2-0 win against St Albans would mean they progressed to the second round, where they would ultimately lose to Cambridge United

Brig would be relegated out of the NPL Premier Division in the 2004-05 season, and they would remain there until the 2017-18 season, with the years prior seeing several play-off final defeats

And that pretty much brings us to now, with their closest sight of success since then being a play-off finish in the 2022-23 season, where they finished third, beat Gainsborough Trinity in the semi-finals, but then lost to Warrington Town in the final