Mickleover Sports 2 - 2 Bamber Bridge

Alan Bateson reports on a game of two-halves for Brig.

Bamber Bridge returned from their latest trip in to Derbyshire with a point, following a 2-2 draw at The Don Arrnot Arena, home of Mickleover Sports FC. Brig had held two goal lead at half time but had to settle for a point in what turned out to be a bad tempered match played on a very wet and soft pitch.

Bamber Bridge started the game well and had the best of the early chances. Ali Waddecar testing the home keeper with a low drive in the 5th minute, the keeper dived to his left to save the effort. Danny Forbes tried his luck with a long range effort moment later before Ali again came close, weaving his way from the half way line into the box. His shot under pressure from the home defence flashed wide of the upright.

It came as no real surprise when the Lancashire visitors took the lead on 20 minutes. Darren McKnight burst into the penalty area from the right and struck a hard 12 yard shot that the keeper could only parry, the ball fell to the feet of the oncoming Danny Forbes who smashed the ball into the back of the net.

The goal certainly awakened the home side who with their very vocal and physical approach started to lay siege to the Brig goal. A 20 yard shot whistled just passed the post and a headed chance was cleared for a corner as Brig where forced to cling on to their lead. With Bamber Bridge now restricted to chances on the break it came as welcome relief when they doubled the lead 5 minutes before the break. A free kick awarded for a foul on Darren McKnight 8 yards outside the box was taken by Ali Waddecar, As the ball cleared the wall, a home defender seemed to lean towards the ball and it struck his arm. The referee having no doubts, pointed directly to the spot.

Ali Waddecar stepped up and struck the ball straight down the middle, the keeper diving to his right. The ball nestling in the back of the net to the delight of the Brig striker and the visiting supporters behind the goal.

With a two goal deficit to chase it soon became clear as the 2nd half got underway that the home side were of the firm belief that they could still get something from the game. The lifted the tempo, as well as the volume and the aggression and put Brig under tremendous pressure. Ten minutes into the half and they pulled a goal back. A long throw in from the right wasn’t dealt with and as it fell loose in the penalty area it was lashed home from close range.

Clearly lifted, the home side continued to dominate proceedings. A Danny Forbes tackle close to the touch line then caused a 20 man fracas, plenty of pushing and shoving occurred before the referee deemed the initial challenge worthy of a yellow card, Chris Marlow also received a yellow, the home side escaping any punishment. The heated exchange hadn’t helped Bamber Bridge in any way but seemed to encourage Mickleover Sports as the game became very fractious.

Chris Marlow was replaced by Brad Carsley on 70 minutes with new loan signing from Bolton Wanderers, Lucca Navarro coming on for Darren McKnight, but the balance of play didn’t change as the home side continued to dominate. Another heated exchange occurred on 65 minutes When Brad Carsley was yellow carded for a rash tackle, The reaction of the Mickleover player was to jump up and grab Brad by the throat. That the referee chose to ignore this came as somewhat of a surprise to the Bamber Bridge players, staff and supporters

With game approaching the final stages the inevitable happened as the home side grabbed the equaliser. No one could argue it hadn’t been coming, A swift move down the left wing ending with a deflected shot from the edge of the box that completely wrong footed Danny Roccia in the Brig goal. Paul Dawson came on as the final Brig sub, in the 85th Minute, replacing Chris Churchman.

With the home side now back level there seemed likely to be only one winner at this stage. The home side however dropped the intensity of their game and seemed quite content to take a point. The referee added 6 minutes of stoppage time following all the heated exchanges during the 2nd half. These minutes passed without any further chances and a bad tempered game ended all square at 2-2

A match best described as interesting, and entertaining but for all the wrong reasons. Brig can be pleased that despite the intimidation they didn’t fold and still returned with a good point.

The home side are a good team, probably in a false position in the league and will no doubt rise up the table as the season continues. For Bamber Bridge it’s now a 6 game unbeaten run and we look forward to welcoming Marine FC to Irongate on Boxing day.

Full time: Mickleover Sports - 2 Bamber Bridge - 2

Att: 174

Bamber Bridge: Roccia, Spooner, Dodd, Lawlor (capt), Charnock, Churchman, Waddecar Forbes, Dudley, McKnight, Marlow

Subs: Doughty, Carsley, Dawson, Navarro, Young

Match Reporter: Alan Bateson