Bamber Bridge 2, Marske United 2: Brig held at home

Jamie Milligan’s side were looking to bounce back in style at the Sir Tom Finney Stadium after their opening day 4-2 defeat at Stafford Rangers.

The game, however, got off to a bad start, with the visitors opening the scoring on five minutes – and it was a spectacular goal. From a cross, midfielder Kevin Burgess netted a superb acrobatic volley at the back post to give his side the advantage.

From then onwards, Brig had the majority of the chances, before deservedly pulling level on 24 minutes. Noah Alabi rose highest from a corner before powering his subsequent header into the top corner.

Brig were then in front 10 minutes later, and Alabi again played a central role. He went on a driving run before finding Sinclair, who shifted the ball on to his left foot and curled the ball into the back of the net, off the post, from around 20 yards.

Marske almost hit back two minutes later, Adam Boyes forcing a good save from Felix Goddard, who tipped the ball over the bar. But they restored parity on 43 minutes – with arguably the goal of the match.

Dale Hopson picked the ball up in midfield, before driving forward, shifting the ball on to his right foot and firing the ball into the net off the bar from 25 yards.

The beginning of the second half saw relatively few chances in comparison to the first, despite Brig controlling most of the possession. It was Marske who came closest, with Jason Kennedy hitting the crossbar on 55 minutes.

The game then began to settle into a rhythm as Milligan’s side pushed forward to try and find a winner. Fin Sinclair-Smith tested Marske goalkeeper Ryan Catterick with a low drive on 80 minutes,

but it was well saved.

Brig substitute Paul Dawson, who was shown a red card in the opening day defeat to Stafford, then cut inside on to his right foot before firing narrowly over the bar on 84 minutes.

Brig continued to press hard to take the three points, but the Marske defence held firm and the hosts had to settle for a point to kick off their tally for the 2022/23 season.

They are next in action on Saturday at the Sir Tom Finney Stadium, with Liversedge the visitors.