Another postponement last Saturday at home to Sheffield through a frozen pitch has heaped more pressure on the Brighouse Town fixture list.
It means now the team will be playing from this Saturday at Lincoln United (3.0) four games in 10 days with three of those away from home.
They follow it up with Tuesday night’s visit to Hebburn Town after the December postponement, followed by a home game on the Saturday with North Shields and then the following Tuesday a trip to the outskirts of Nottingham to take on Carlton Town.
This is, again, all assuming the weather doesn’t turn once more to a frosty scenario and cause more havoc for Town and all other non-league clubs across the country.
The large reunion sponsorship day to celebrate the life of former Town player Peter Gill that also had to to be cancelled with the postponement last Saturday is now being aimed for the last home game of the season against Consett on Saturday, April 15.
Town’s re-arranged away game with Shildon following the controversial postponement last Saturday week by the match referee after Vill Powell’s men were told to travel after a 10am inspection has been causing problems for finalising a date. Before leaving the ground of the Railwaymen, both secretaries had gone for the Saturday, March 11 vacant date set by the Northern Premier League but the league are saying it is now outside the 42-day time for re-arrangements to be made. Town wanted to travel up on a Saturday and cut out another night game, but it looks very much as though they will now have to travel up on Tuesday, February 21.
Town are out of the West Riding County FA Senior Cup at the third round stage after losing 4-2 on Tuesday night to Manningham-based club Campion.
There was also a tragic injury after just eight minutes when Town’s Bradford City loanee winger Jack Wilson was stretchered off with a serious ankle problem. Town’s medical team, tending to him in the dressing room, were informed that no ambulance would be sent for him at the ground owing to the current dispute over pay and so trainee physio Charlotte Biggs and her father Trevor prepared their car to take him at his request to Pinderfields Hospital in Wakefield. His parents were at the ground and it turned out his mother’s sister -his auntie-was actually on the A&E unit at Pinderfields at the time he was taken into the hospital.
Bradford City had a representative at the game and their officials at Edgeley Park for the away game at Stockport County were informed immediately.
Sam Drake replaced Wilson on 12 minutes and against a very sharp looking Bradford side who are currently runaway leaders of the Toolstation Northern Counties East League Division One. Town’s players looked shocked and lethargic and were soon a goal down after 17 minutes when their former centre half Daniel Illingworth sent in a looping header which keeper Brett Souter was always chasing backwards across the face of goal.
Campion were 2-0 up after 31 minutes when another former Town player Aidan Kirby found the back of the net.
Town were then awarded a penalty after Jack Boyle was upended in the box, but the normally reliable striker had his spot kick saved by Bradley Emmerson. Five minutes before half-time Boyle did have the ball in the net but he was given offside.
Laurence Sorhaindo, making a comeback after six weeks out, was replaced at half-time by Joshua Dacre, and the Town side after just a few minutes looked more lively.
Myron Gibbons, now leading the line, reduced the deficit in the 58th minute and Aiden Walker levelled the scores in the 71st minute when his shot was adjudged by the assistant referee James Smith to have gone over the line in the hands of keeper Emmerson.
Town should have gone 3-2 up seven minutes later when a ball into the box had Walker and Corey Gregory with only needing to chest or knee the ball home with Emmerson grounded. It had been all Town as Mohammed Ibrahim, moved forward to his best position as a right winger, gave the visiting defence some real grief.
However, it was Campion who took the spoils when substitute Mark Ferguson scored goals in the 83rd and 85th minutes to make the score 4-2 to the delight of their travelling support. Both goals were handed to them on a plate through bad defending.
With Wilson now out for the season and Town losing Jack Normanton back to his former club Silsden in the past week, they now have to look at Mohammad Qasim filling the right wing berth unless Vill Powell saw enough to keep Ibrahim there on Saturday.
