Glossop North End

2

Bamber Bridge

2

HT: 1 - 2

^{Glossop North End 2, Bamber Bridge 2}

In a game that was more entertaining that it had any right to be, given the atrocious conditions, Brig and Glossop North End shared the spoils thanks to a late goal that was claimed by Tom Bailey. The Hillmen had spent much of the game trailing, but might have pinched it during a frenetic finish.

The rain was driving throughout, but the pitch held up from the battering, and credit must go to the Surrey Street ground staff for producing a superb surface. However, the home ground advantage didn’t materialise, as Bamber Bridge had the better of the opening minutes, forcing a number of corners.

It was from a 3rd consecutive flag kick that the visitors took the lead. The corner was cleared to the edge of the area, but instead of a speculative shot, Joe Booth made a neat sideways pass to Curtis Thompson, in the box but with a crowd of players to beat. Thompson gambled and shot low into the crowd of players to hope for a favourable ricochet. As it was the ball fell to the feet of Stuart Vasey who tapped home from 6 yards.

Glossop were struggling with the conditions, with the wind against, and there were chances got Brig’s Paul McKenna, whose free kick was tipped over and Brett Ormerod, who headed across goal when given a free header.

However, the first Hillmen chance of the game on 40 minutes saw them level it up.
A cross from the right was cushioned into the path of Kieran Lugsden by Chris McDonagh, and the midfielder ran onto the precise pass and finished with similar accuracy into the bottom corner.

Having scored, there was nearly a carbon copy a minute later, but this time Astley Mulholland couldn’t quite take Eddie Moran’s knock down in his stride.
However two minutes into injury time, Glossop again failed to defend a corner. The ball was only partially cleared and again fell to Thompson. His low shot was blocked on the line, but rebounded straight to his feet. This time he cleverly lifted his shot over the prone defence and it hit the net.

The second half saw scant efforts on goal until the leveller, although the best chances were Brig’s, Chris Marlow’s low cross aquaplaning across the face of goal and the same player looking as though he had time to despatch a goalbound shot only for Moran’s slide to block it.

Then with twelve minutes left the Hillmen won a free kick on the left flank. Tom Bailey stepped up to deliver the ball to the edge of the six yard line and the ball took a flick off a Brig head and beat goalkeeper Lee Dovey at his left post.

Having been under the cosh for much of the game, Glossop North End now looked for a winner, and Dovey made a good save from Jamie Rainford’s driven shot to his near post and did brilliantly to snuff out Rainford’s effort when he had been put through on an angle by good work from Bailey and Lugsden.

Even deep into injury time, chances came. First Glossop keeper Lewis King got into a bit of a tangle on the edge of his area, and presented the ball to the Brig front line. The shot was goalbound, but Moran had spotted the danger and retreated to the line to clear.

The ball broke to the other end and fell to Rainford in the box, but his snapshot was blocked by the visitors’ defence. That was the last chance of the game, with a point apiece a fair result.