Brighouse Town, minus the services of quality players Curtis Peters (injured) and Cameron Bedford (virus) saw Sheffield claim a double at the home of Gainsborough Trinity last Saturday with a goal in each half.

The Northern Premier League management had made Sheffield leave their ground owing to its waterlogged state in midweek and play the match elsewhere. The Sheffield management had wanted to forgo home advantage and play the match at Town’s Heffernan Utilities Stadium but that was turned down and so they moved 45 miles away to the Northolme Stadium, home of the Northern Premier League club and paid £850 rental as a result.

The pitch, on the banks of river Trent, was in excellent condition but the time kick off came the early morning sunshine had gone in and there was a cold, swirling wind and despite this `lush green carpet’ both sides played a lot of ariel balls.

Town, playing towards the river end, had the better of the opening stages but it was Sheffield who took the lead in the seventh minute when Town defenders failed to take out a lofted ball to experienced ex-Belper Town striker Cameron Johnson who just volleyed home from 25 yards out to leave Jamie Hassall grasping fresh air!

Matthew Nebard and Samuel Drake worked hard on the right for Town and Myron Gibbons had the beating of his man for pace but nothing came to fruition. It was out of the left where Brandon Webster, Josh Grant and Jack Wilson caused problems for the `home’ side but the end product was into the side netting instead of the goal.

Leading scorer Mo Qasim did not look himself and never won a ball in the air and he also failed to find the net when well placed in the box after coming in from the left. Manger Vill Powell revealed after the game he had a knee problem and that was why he was subbed midway through the second half by Kieron Ceesay.

Wilson also had the beating of his man and he got some crosses in and also a cracking second half shot from the edge of the box that just swerved away from the post at the last minute.

He was substituted by Jack Normanton late in the second half and very little time to show his skills. Town were still looking for the equaliser and Gibbons sent in a great ball but Drake’s shot was taken in his bread basket by Edd Hall, the former Town keeper. 

Then came a sickening blow when they gave away a penalty in the 79th minute as Ash Butterworth was alleged by referee Arran Williams from Elland to have brought down Johnson. He got up, dusted himself down and then whacked in the spot kick to which Hassall at least got his hands to.

This was Town’s fourteenth defeat in 30 games and with eight games left they only have Ossett United between them and the bottom two, namely Winterton Rangers and Grantham Town. Town have a stiff run in commencing on Saturday with a home game against Hebburn who put six past them on March 5 at their Newcastle base.

Hebburn, who beat Bridlington last Saturday, are third in the table behind leaders Stockton and Dunston.

The match, played on Non League Day and also an attraction for Groundhoppers with no Premier League or Championship matches being played owing to the international break, is being sponsored by Rastrick Cricket Club who get behind the club each season.     

This is a “home” fixture for Dunston UTS FC but will be played at Brighouse Town AFC due to Dunston’s ground being unavailable to host the fixture.

Another postponement in the north east last Saturday ensured Brighouse Town have yet another midweek trip up the A1(M) when the re-arranged date is sorted.

The 4G Consett pitch was covered in three inches of snow overnight and into Saturday morning and with the forecast for the day not that good in the area the game was called off at 9am. The surrounding car park was obviously also covered and the terracing.

Consett and Town have agreed to look at a Tuesday night in April after the Easter weekend. Consett, who are four games behind their programme of fixtures now,  couldn ‘t play this coming Saturday on the free date set aside by the league in case of matches postponed in February or the first weekend of March. Town were up in Newcastle on Tuesday evening playing fourth-placed Hebburn Town in a game that had already been postponed from December 2nd (snow) and again on the re-arranged date, February 10 (waterlogged).

Town manager Vill Powell and his assistant Louis Axcell went to Stocksbridge Park Steels’ home game with Hebburn last Saturday to run the rule over the Newcastle side and at the same time do some scouting. Hebburn came away with a 2-1 win but the south Yorkshire side gave them a run for their money.

The deadline for signings for the season is Thursday, March 28 and Powell is felt to want to add a striker to his ranks with nine games left after the Hebburn game, with just four of them at home. Town in fifteenth place on the 20 clubs in the East Division are nine points ahead of the bottom two clubs, Winterton Rangers and Grantham Town and have played one game more than the south Lincolnshire club and two more than Winterton in north Lincolnshire.

Each point gained now is like gold dust to retain the club’s place in Step 4 of non-league football.         

Town have no game this weekend and resume on Saturday, March 16  away to Sheffield FC before returning home to entertain Hebburn Town on Saturday, March 23, a game sponsored by Rastrick Cricket Club.

In the meantime, Life vice-president Ray McLaughlin has just received from the FA the club’s ground grading department requirements before March 30, 2025 to keep their non-league status. After studying it with other senior members of the club’s committee, he remarked that it was a good job the date was twelve months hence from now.

Stadium sponsors Heffernan Utilities have offered to help in anyway they can. The company have just moved their headquarters into Brighouse at Owler Ings after being for several years in Halifax.

“That is a major boost for us and we are very grateful to Luke Heffernan and his colleagues,” said McLaughlin, who added that they also did a lot of concreting ahead of the ground grading executive visiting the ground back in September. 

“We will draw up the list of jobs needed to be carried out and then  take it from there.”

Brighouse Town twice came from behind to snatch a vital point in their home game with Bridlington Town last Saturday but in all honesty they should, with far better finishing in the first half, particularly, have taken all three points.

Three second half goals in seven minutes and an added time equaliser for Brighouse saw the game end 2-2.

Brighouse had the better chances in the first 45 minutes through Jack Wilson, Jack Crook ,Curtis Peters and Mohammed Qasim, but they went in at the break like their visitors without a goal to show for their efforts on a tacky surface after all last week’s rain and then overnight frost on the Friday night.

The Seasiders struck first in the 61st minute through substitute Ellis Barkworth after some slack defending. Six minutes later and Brighouse were level through the penalty spot after referee Ian Johnston spotted a hand ball at a corner. Leading goalscorer Qasim stepped up and sent James Hitchcock the wrong way to make it 1-1.

From the kick-off Bridlington took the ball into the Town box and once more took the lead with Barkworth bagging his brace. Manager Vill Powell and his assistant Louis Axcell were livid.

Bridlington looked as though they could make the game safe with a third or even fourth goal before the home side through Jorge Sikora, at the back and the likes of Darius Smith and Brandon Webster got the ball forward.

From some incessant attacking play Brighouse did manage in the first minute of six minutes added time to equalise through Cameron Bedford who drilled home through a packed goalmouth. Brighouse then piled on the pressure as they went for the winner but the visitors held out.

Town on Saturday now travel to Consett who are six places above them in the table, but Town did beat them 3-1 earlier in the season.

On the following Tuesday, March 5 (7.45) they are away to Hebburn Town, a re-arranged game from three weeks ago when the Newcastle-based club’s pitch was waterlogged.

Hebburn are sixth in the table and Town have yet to play them at home.

In the meantime former Chesterfield centre-back Alexander Phillipson has left the club and signed for Stocksbridge Park Steels. He only made one start since losing his place at the end of November until the 2-1 away defeat at Newton Aycliffe a week last Saturday. He joins former Town goalkeeper Harry Garman at the south Yorkshire club.  Midfielder Ashley Butterworth has joined Horbury Town on a dual registration agreement to get more game time with also being out of the current squad.

Town will be running a coach to Consett and also Hebburn, with the Saturday pick up time being 10.45 at the Dusty Miller, Hove Edge and 3.45 on the Tuesday at the same place.    

             

Brighouse Town paid for an indifferent first half performance last Saturday away to Newton Aycliffe, which the Durham side ended up winning 2-1 to go within a point of the play-off places.

In the first fifteen minutes Newton Aycliffe could have been 4-0 up instead of 1-0 to the good, as they hit the crossbar, scooped over with the goal at their mercy and Jamie Hassall made two tremendous outstretched saves before he was beaten on the angle by Kyle Davis who had shook off the attentions of Jorge Sikora.

This was something of a wake up call for Town and they did start through the industrious efforts of Curtis Peters and skills of the returning Jack Wilson to put the home side under some pressure but the final shots were off target.

They did have a great chance from a Josh Grant free kick out on the right to level matters but the also returning Alexander Phillipson from two metres out missed his connection with the ball and it went dead.

Former Bradford City player Wilson was giving home fullback Jack Naylor some grief with his skills and he could have scored twice but ballooned over. Experienced home defender Marc Costello gave Town centre forward Kieron Ceesay no opportunities at all for the former Wakefield player.

Just a minute after the restart Town also had an opportunity to level but the ball went agonisingly wide of a post and two minutes later the home side were two up as Davis got the better of Sikora after a ricochet into the path of the home striker allowed him to bag his brace as he lobbed Hassall.

In the 54th minute Vill Powell made two changes, leading scorer Mo Qasim coming on for Ceesay and Jack Crook for Phillipson and within four minutes Town had pulled a goal back. Myron Gibbons made no mistake with his opportunity from 10 metres out and the Town players went after an equaliser. Peters, Wilson, Darius Smith and Brandon Webster drove forward and there were near misses for Qasim and Wilson.

The home side were a shadow of their first half selves and Town, not helped with a very sticky pitch, did all they could to at least share the points.

Right at the death Crook had a good effort kicked off the line and it just wasn’t to be, Town losing and with other results on the day dropping to 16th place in the table of the East Division’s 20 clubs.

On Saturday, Town entertain Bridlington Town (3pm) who are on the same number of points as Town-29-but are one place above on goal difference. The game is what is defined as a must win one and Town need the three points to distance themselves from the bottom two clubs, Grantham and Winterton who are both on 20 points.

The Seasiders visit just some 10 days since their long serving owner and chairman Peter Smurthwaite put the Hudgell Solicitors Stadium up for sale which has raised a few eyebrows.    The game is being sponsored by Chris Anderson Dental from Rastrick and Clare Whitworth from Hebden Bridge.