STOCKTON TOWN VS BAMBER BRIDGE PREVIEW
COMPETITION: Pitching In Northern Premier League Premier Division – Matchday 25
DATE: Saturday 18th January, 2025
KICK-OFF: 15:00
ENTRY: £11 Adult, £9 Concessions, £5 11-18-year-olds, £3 under-11’s
TICKETS: https://stocktontownfc.ktckts.com/event/bamber2425/bamber-bridge
CLUBHOUSE: Open from 8:30am, serving hot breakfast with pool, darts and table football all available alongside live sports.
GROUND: Stockton Town FC, MAP Group UK Stadium, Bishopton Road West, Stockton-on-Tees, TS19 0QD
LIVE UPDATES: @stockton_townfc – Twitter/X
After a win on Wednesday night, Stockton Town will look to further close the gap to the playoff positions when Bamber Bridge visit Teesside on Saturday afternoon.
Josh Scott scored the lone goal of the game, five minutes before the closure of the first-half after powering a strike past the goalkeeper.
Scott made his awaited return to the starting line-up after hamstring problems, as well as Lewis King who missed the Rochdale game through suspension.
Tom Coulthard was substituted late into Wednesday’s game with a slight issue, but manager Michael Dunwell seemed confident in the superstar defender being available for the Bamber Bridge clash.
THE OPPOSITION
‘Brig’ are in their eighth season in the Premier Division, following promotion from step four in 2018, and have been a steady outfit in the league since, even reaching the playoff final 2023, but narrowly losing out to Warrington Town.
The team are historically known for hosting a friendly encounter against the Czech Republic National Team in 1996, ahead of the Euro competition hosted in England, the same Czech side who ended up narrowly losing the final in extra-time. The Czechs won the match with Bamber Bridge 9-1, with stars such as Patrik Berger and eventual Ballon D’or winner Pavel Nedved finding the target.
In modern times though, Bamber Bridge find themselves only one place above the drop zone, one point above Prescot Cables who occupy 19th place. They are, however, only eight points behind Hyde United in eighth place, showcasing how tight the standings currently are, and how crucial every win is at this stage of the season.
Long-term EFL and National League defender Simon Grand is a key figure for Jamie Milligan’s side. He leads the team in goals with six to his name. Lucas Weaver, who scored against the Anchors back in October does have 10 goals for Brig this season, but he departed the club after his loan spell from National League Altrincham expired.
HEAD-TO-HEAD
The sides met back at the Sir Tom Finney Stadium back in October, where a five-star performance from the Anchors helped them bring all three points back to Teesside on a Tuesday night.
15 Oct 2024 – Bamber Bridge 1-5 Stockton Town – Northern Premier League Premier Division
FORM GUIDE
Stockton Town: D D W L W
Last Game: Stockton Town 1-0 Lancaster City
Bamber Bridge: L D L L L
Last Game: Bamber Bridge 0-2 Whitby Town
PRE-MATCH QUOTES
Following the Lancaster victory on Wednesday night, Michael Dunwell spoke ahead of the weekend’s clash by saying:
“They’re at the wrong end of the table, but like I’ve said all season, it doesn’t matter where teams are. They’re going to come here and be difficult to beat, but we’ve just got to concentrate on ourselves. At home, these four games, we want to go get maximum points, if we do that, we can really kick on.
“We’ve got to take each game as it comes, we got Lancaster out of the way and got the three points, now we look ahead to Bamber Bridge and ask if we can do the same and keep this run going.”
