BRIGHOUSE TOWN’S hopes of continuing their season a week today with their first training session together for a month and resumption of the Pitching-In North West Division League on Tuesday, November 8 depends on the tier system Calderdale is placed in today and many of their opponents across the M62 corridor.

With the tier systems set to have more stringent measures in them as they become tier 2 plus and tier 3 plus, the season is on a knife edge. The League and Steps 3-7-Town are step 4- have planned for a re-opening of their fixtures from on Saturday week, with the majority plumping for week commencing December 7. The respective leagues in those steps, who were playing in front of restricted crowds before the second lockdown caused non-elite sport to close its doors once more, have all made plans to resume, including Town who will entertain Bradford NCEL premier Division club Thackley on Saturday, December 5 at 3pm in a warm up game.

Town manager Vill Powell was set to also play warm up games at Sheffield FC and Handsworth over Tuesday and Wednesday nights of the 8th and 9th of December until the NPL rulers stepped in late last week and informed everyone it was a resumption of the league programme. Town will now travel to Manchester and in the shadow of the Theatre of Dreams take on Trafford FC on Tuesday week, December 8 (7.45).

Town should have been at Trafford on December 5 but the League have agreed with all their member clubs they can restart the week after so a training session or two together can take place.

The League have also informed clubs that their postponed November programme will be played in May and that will include a trip to Liverpool to take on Marine who entertain Brian Stock’s Havant & Waterlooville on Sunday in front of the BT Sport cameras in the second round of the Emirates FA Cup.

Town’s director of football Charlie Tolley said yesterday ahead of the announcement on tiers and more news then coming from the FA and the NPL that it is essential his team continue to play in front of crowds.

“We are on a financial road to disaster like a lot more at our level if we cannot have spectators in, ” said Tolley, who also added that he was also desperate to see the bar and catering kitchen kept open in some form.

“We have to make money on the weeks we are given a home game from all revenue streams and the shutdown in November has been particularly harsh for us as we had three very good sponsored home games scheduled. Right now we are not due a league game until December 19 when Workington are the visitors.”

MEMBERS OF the Pitching In Northern Premier League divisions received on Tuesday afternoon a communicae from the General Manager Angie Firth outlining what could be happening if the Government does end the lockdown on Wednesday, December 2.

It reads:`Once the lockdown ends on December 2 we will look to resume fixtures week commencing December, 7 allowing a week for training to take place. However, any clubs wishing to resume on December 5 and utilise the Saturday will be permitted to do so. Please just let me (Angie Firth) know once you have confirmed with the opposition.

All three leagues at the Alliance meeting on November 9 made it clear that the current spectator capacity figures for Steps 3 and 4 of 600 and 400 respectively must be allowed to continue from December 5 and the FA are in discussion with the DCMS (Department of Culture, Media and Sport) on this matter.

Following discussion with the Alliance, the season has been extended to Saturday, May 22, 2021. The Play- Off semi-finals will take place on Tuesday, May 25, the Division One Finals on Saturday, May 29 (Brighouse Town’s division in the North West) and the Premier Division final on Monday, May 31. The fixtures lost during the latest lockdown will be re-scheduled for the 08^th/11^th/15^th and 18^th of May. The final day fixtures from the original date of May 8 will be moved to Saturday, May 22, so your opposition for the last game of the season will remain as that’.

Firth has also said that this time in lockdown 2 there will be no financial assistance for Step3 and Step 4 clubs as was the case in the first lockdown which commenced on March 23.

Town’s manager Vill Powell, as his assistant Stacy Reed spelled out last week in the Echo, is keen for a warm up game and maybe another in the following week before resuming on the 12th away to Mossley. Powell has spoke with Thackley about visiting the Yorkshire Payments Stadium on December 5 and also to Silsden about visiting them on Tuesday, December 8.

“We really need to be up to speed again before resuming the league programme and I know many of my contemporaries feel the same way,” said Powell.

In the week leading up to the lockdown day of Thursday, November 5, Pontefract Collieries beat Pickering Town 3-2 and that sent Town down two places in the table to second from bottom ahead of Ossett United. Each game for Town is now like a cup tie and is a must win if they are t climb the table and look towards those important dates in May.

In the meantime, recent fullback recruit Jacob Kelly, has revealed he is looking towards a football scholarship in the United States in 2021. The former Sheffield Utd and Huddersfield Town academy prospect has aired this with his manager but when Powell sees that former FC Halifax Town wide player Ousman Cham, who had landed one with a Carolina college before the March lockdown and hasn’t flown across the Atlantic yet, he wonders if Rastrick-based Kelly will get there in the early months of the new year with the covid-19 restrictions.

TOWN FANS will be delighted to know that diminutive striker Mohammed `TJ’ Ibrahim will be ready for team selection in December.

The 24-year-old quick as lightening Ghana-born regular until suffering cruciate ligament damage to his right knee in the Play-off final with Pontefract Collieries some 19 months ago hasn’t played a game since.

He had to have his operation on the NHS and has been working back to fitness and strength since having the operation earlier this year.

“I might have been playing now if we had been able to keep going,” enlightened Ibrahim. ” But the original plan to get me a couple of games on dual registration for match fitness had to be shelved when fixtures ceased.

“I am desperate to get back on the field and the specialist physio says I am ready and good to go as the knee needs that to complete the strengthening of the joint.

“I have really missed the match day adrenalin rush and the banter with the lads and the great supporters they have at Town. It’s a long time to be sidelined and the longest ever in my career so far which has taken in Sheffield FC, Staveley FC and Everest FC.

BRIGHOUSE TOWN AFC have like all clubs in the Step 3 to Step 7 of non-league football had their season suspended for a month until a decision is made on lifting the government covid-19 lockdown or extending it.

They will not even be allowed to train as a group of players but Director of Football Charlie Tolley says they are a honest bunch of players and will without doubt work on a Vill Powell training schedule to keep their own fitness levels up.

It comes at a time when Town were just getting the football that is expected of them back upto a level where they would be looking to get onto a winning run. Having beaten Pontefract Collieries 2-0 the previous week, Powell did not keep to a winning side for this Buildbase 3rd Qualifying round of the FA Challenge Trophy, but opted to give fringe squad players a run out and they did him and his coaching staff proud against Pitching In NPL Premier Division top four side Buxton. Any neutral in the 276 crowd on a blustery afternoon at the Yorkshire Payments Stadium would not have known who was in that lofty position and who was in the bottom four of the North West Division!

Town looked the far better side in the first 10 minutes but failed to get the ball in the net that was being guarded by their former keeper Thomas Taylor who the Derbyshire side had signed in the closed season from Scarborough Athletic. Tom Haigh from just outside the box on 19 minutes hit a hard shot which just bounced in front of Taylor but he just managed to extend his 6ft 4ins frame to tip it wide.

Buxton came more into the game and Town keeper Matt Smith saw more of the action but dealt with any shots or headers that came his way from James Walshaw, Diego de Griolamo and Tom Elliott well.

Town were unlucky not to score on a couple of occasions early in the second half as Javelle Clarke and Alhassane Keita tested their defence with some jinking runs, while veteran James Hurtley was a rock in midfield. Town also had Salford City loanee Will Shepherd and Darius Smith giving the Bucks plenty to think about.

Proven striker James Walshaw gave Buxton the lead in the 55th minute when he came in from the left after a ball over centre defender Joe Wilkinson fell kindly for him and he dinked the ball over the advancing Smith and into the net.

Town introduced Jack Boyle for Keita four minutes later and he also gave the Bucks’ defence plenty to think about and with 12 minutes to go he should have been awarded a penalty when he was pushed over the box. Taylor also came to Buxton’s rescue when he denied Haigh for a second time, Boyle and Eli Hey in the dying minutes as they looked for the equaliser and take the tie to penalties.

Buxton had the last say in the game when substitute Reece Styche scored three minutes into added time after Town should have had a free kick after a defender was just pushed off the ball, again in front of Wakefield official Ian Johnston.

Town would have been entertaining League leaders Ramsbottom United this Saturday and then fellow bottom six side Prescot Cables the week after but they will become re-arranged Monday evening games, not the best option in the winter months when pulling in a crowd, which would without doubt been a 400 allowed maximum under the rulings since the season started at the onset of September.