A 90th minute Lancaster City equaliser, denied Bamber Bridge all three points in the Boxing Day encounter at The Giant Axe this afternoon. On the balance of play, probably a fair result with Brig keeper Felix Goddard also making a fabulous penalty save In the second half. An often heated match, to be expected in a local derby ended in a 1-1 draw.

Brig had started very brightly on a bitterly cold Boxing Day afternoon. a nice passing move down the right wing led to a Brig free kick close to the touchline 25 yards out. A low cross was whipped in and a flicked effort at the near post looped up over the bar. Moments later and Brig moved the ball swiftly from right to left across the pitch before keeping possession before a deep cross was headed clear but picked up by Sheldon Green who took a touch before blasting an effort over the bar. Another right wing move found Fin Sinclair- Smith who delivered a great low cross from the right, the ball hooked away as Rhys Turner looked set to pounce.

As Lancaster City began to find their feet, the tackles started flying in and the match threatened to boil over on more than one occasion, The referee had his hands full as both sides “got stuck in”. The hosts began to dominate proceedings without creating any clear chances. A header from a right wing cross flew well wide of the post before a volleyed effort from the edge of the box cleared the bar by some distance. Ex Brigger Brad Carsley then struck a post as the home side looked the likeliest to open the scoring.

However on 33 minutes it was the visitors from Bamber Bridge who took the lead with a superb team goal. Chris Churchman played a delightful ball into the path of the overlapping Paul Dawson down the right wing, The Ex Dolly Blue striker skinned the left back before sliding the ball across to Sheldon Green at the far post who gleefully slotted the ball home from 6 yards. Rhys Turner then took on the the City defence with a fine run down the left, cutting inside and leaving two defenders in his wake as he slalomed into the area, a last ditch tackle ended the run and the ball was cleared. Brig ended the half on top and went in at the break leading 1-0.

The 2nd half began with an early Lancaster chance as a left wing cross was hooked clear at the near post. On 50 minutes Brig came so close to adding a second as Fin picked up the ball on the left touchline before weaving a path to goal, from the edge of the area he struck a fierce low shot, the City keeper diving full length to his right got a fingertip to it and pushed the ball on to the face of the post, the ball rebounding to safety.

Fin again, just minutes later found himself with a clear run down the right, but as he cut back inside the area he was tackled and City cleared the danger. Rhys Turner then ran into the box from the left, his low cross thumped clear. Fin then came close again this time his fierce shot from the right side of the penalty area, took a deflection and flashed just over the bar for a Brig corner. A communication error from that corner gave Lancaster City the chance of a swift break which they snatched with both hands, Well actually it was a Brig hand that the ball struck and the referee deemed a deliberate foul from a close range shot and pointed to the penalty spot. A good two minutes of pushing, shoving and arguing ensued before the penalty was struck, Felix (The Cat) diving superbly to his right and getting a strong hand to the ball to push it out for a corner.

The corner was headed clear before once again a multi player fracas took place with the referee again not being helped by the players on both sides. Brig made their first change on 75 minutes as Isaac Sinclair came on to the replace the hard Working ex Dolly Blue striker Rhys Turner.

The home side began to turn the screw as they put a lot of pressure on the Brig back line in search of the equaliser. Isaac Sinclair was then cynically scythed down has he broke free and raced across the half way line, leading to the 3rd Yellow card of the match for the home side. With the game heading into the last few minutes the home side were really pushing forward and a fantastic last ditch tackle inside the area from Sheldon Green, led to a home corner. Felix rose majestically to claim the ball at the back post.

Brig made a further change on 88 minutes with Joe Robbins replacing Donovan Lescott. The referee signlled 6 additional minutes. A fine left wing move saw the ball cut back to Joe Robbins in the 6 yard box but his effort was blocked and the City breakaway led to their late leveller. David Norris stabbing home for the hosts before more red mist ensued.

Massive confusion from the Brig end of the ground had us all believing Paul Dawson had been sent off as he strolled off the pitch towards the changing rooms. With more arguing, pushing and shoving ongoing, Captain, Macca then walked over to the touchline and it appeared he had also been sent off. However, Macca had gone to the touchline to call back Paul Dawson who apparently hadn’t been shown the red card, and neither had Macca. Not the referee’s finest moment I’m sure he would agree.

The 6 minutes added time had become 10 by the time the final whistle ended a Full bloodied derby with the scores level at 1-1. A disappointed Brig squad trudged over to the Briggers behind the call to receive a great and well earned ovation. A very good point in any other circumstances than a last minute equalise denying them all three. But definately a hard earned point in a hard fought derby.

Full time: Lancaster City – 1 Bamber Bridge – 1

Bamber Bridge: Goddard, Green, Skinner, Wilson ©, Pond, Forbes, Sinclair-Smith, Churchman, Turner, Dawson, Lescott

Substitutes: Robins, Roache, Tweedley, Sinclair (S), Sinclair (I)

Attendance: 486