Five weeks ago Bamber Bridge hosted Brighouse Town in the FA Cup Preliminary Round. An indifferent performance from Brig left them trailing 2-1 until two late miracle goals from sub Jamie Milligan got them out of jail and into the next round. Surely lightning couldn’t strike twice?

Brig would have been justified going into this fixture full of confidence after a comprehensive 3-0 midweek victory at Clitheroe. An early run down the right wing by Dan Mooney gave Ali Waddecar a chance from close range but Hallwood in the Brighouse goal saved comfortably.

Just four minutes in however a through ball to Gabriel Johnson gave Brighouse Town the lead. The home side tried to claw their way back into the game and first a Mooney corner was scrambled clear by the Brighouse defence, then Brad Carsley blasted a chance over the bar on 10 minutes.

Brig had a shout for a penalty for handball on 14 minutes but the referee said no. Further pressure led to an ambitious header by Ali Waddecar on the edge of the area but it went comfortably over the bar.

Brighouse continued to threaten on the break and on 20 minutes a dangerous looking cross missed everybody in the box. Shortly afterwards a Brighouse free kick from the edge of the area just dipped over the crossbar.

Dan Mooney was doing much of the work for Brig down the flanks and had several chances but without any success. Brig made their first substitution on 34 minutes when Chris Marlow replaced an injured Adam Dodd.

Brighouse extended their lead on 38 minutes against the run of play through Tom Haigh , but all Brig could muster in reply was a 30 yard free kick from Waddecar that was pushed away by the Brighouse keeper on 41 minutes.

An innocuous looking challenge just before half time led to a 20 man scuffle which took several minutes for the referee to sort out. The result was a score draw with two yellow cards each, Michael Potts and Regan Linney going in the book for Brig.

Half Time: Bamber Bridge 0 Brighouse Town 2

A half time substitution saw Matt Mahoney replace Phil Doughty.

The second half began rather flat for the home side, the first 15 minutes only generated one corner which was cleared comfortably by Brighouse. Another penalty appeal was waved away by the referee on 65 minutes.

Brig finally started to rally with some good work down the right from Macauley Wilson on 74 minutes, but his shot was saved by the keeper. Bamber Bridge’s third substitution saw Matt Dudley replace Wilson shortly after.

A Dan Mooney corner was headed over by Dudley on 77 minutes.

Some good attacking play by Regan Linney led to another chance but Mooney scuffed his shot wide. Brad Carsley shot from close range on 84 minutes but a good save by the Brighouse keeper kept their 2-0 lead intact, and another great save denied Linney the following minute.

With two minutes of normal time remaining a good cross from Linney was headed over by Waddecar and it looked as though it was game over for Brig. The fourth official then indicated that there would be a minimum of six minutes to be added on. Would Brig be able to pull off another miracle?

After two minutes of injury time another Linney cross from the right found Dan Mooney who this time made no mistake and pulled one back. At 2-1 down surely it was too late to salvage something? In the 94th minute Brig forced a corner and Dan Mooney found Danny Forbes who headed in the equaliser. 2-2 and two minutes of injury time remaining.

In the sixth and final minute of injury time Ali Waddecar got the ball on the edge of the area, turned and unleashed a curling shot into the far corner of the Brighouse net. Unbelievable scenes followed as Brig had indeed performed a miracle and the final whistle sent the home fans into raptures.

It was an amazing six minute finale to what, in all honesty, had been a fairly lacklustre performance from the home side up to that point. However credit is due to Neil Reynolds' men for not giving up and for pushing right to the end to secure a win takes them up to third in the table. Showing that sort of character will stand them in good stead when they take on National League side Southport in the Lancashire FA Trophy on Tuesday night at The Sir Tom Finney Stadium.

Full Time: Bamber Bridge 3 Brighouse Town 2

Attendance: 209

Bamber Bridge: Rigby; Wilson (Dudley 75) ; Dodd (Marlow 34) ; Baines; Doughty (Mahoney 45); Potts (c); Waddecar; Forbes; Carsley; Linney; Mooney

Subs (not used): Staunton-Turner; Wiles

Man of the match (voted for by match sponsors Rob Hindle & Friends): Regan Linney.

Full gallery of match photos available HERE