7.3.2026
Pitching In Northern Premier League
Bamber Bridge
Abankwah (6)
Hednesford Town
Sterling-James (19), Rose (29), Jervis (87)
(1) 1
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(2) 3
Attendance
MoTM
Current Form
Next Match
555
Omari Sterling-James
D L W W D D D L W W
Guiseley (H) 14.3.26
The Pitmen remain hot on the heels of league leaders Hebburn Town this afternoon as they make it back-to-back wins in the Northern Premier League with victory at Bamber Bridge
Having got back to winning ways with a 3-0 victory over Lancaster City two weeks ago, new Hednesford manager Kelvin Davis decided to stick with the winning formula by remaining faithful to the same XI that had started two Saturdays previously. Jake Jervis - cast out into the wilderness by the previous management team early in the season - had returned to the side with two goals in their midweek win over Lye Town in the Birmingham Senior Cup, with the former Plymouth Argyle man joining the substitutes
Bamber Bridge sat five points outside of the play-off places ahead of today's round of games after a strong start to the New Year, with Jamie Milligan's side picking up a 1-1 draw against Whitby Town two weeks ago at a sodden Irongate. Milligan made three changes to his Brig side for today's game as Chris Churchman, Nat Percival-Knight and Emerich Poilly came in for Nathan Snowball, Jeff Adubofour and George Gryba, respectively
On a terribly bobbly and dug-up surface, the host adapted to the conditions well in the early exchanges as they pressed the Pitmen high and forced early errors out of the visitors. Brig took full advantage of this bright start with the game's opening goal in the sixth minute; a corner kick on the right from Michael Potts saw him play a one-two with Jack Baxter before sending over a deep cross that found right-back Isaac Abankwah, who ghosted in at the far post to head home past Tony Breeden as the men in mint green switched off momentarily
The Pitmen shrugged off their sluggish start to the game and looked for a response to falling behind through top scorer Ahkeem Rose, who got on the end of a left-wing cross from Omari Sterling-James on nine minutes but could only glance his effort over the crossbar from eight yards out
Two minutes later, Ollie Harrison was in the right place at the right time to deny Baxter, blocking the former Stafford Rangers midfielder's effort from ten yards out after Potts and Jamie Allen had linked up well down the right and crossed to the far post, where Baxter had seized upon Harrison's initial headed clearance before shooting at goal
Breeden's erratic early kicking saw the stopper gesture to the bench that we required a change of footwear, with the stopper receiving a fresh pair of boots after he had kicked the ball out of play on twelve minutes
Former Oldham Athletic man Kofi Moore was proving a slippery customer for the Pitmen in the opening quarter of the game, making a driving run into the box on fourteen minutes before seeing his shot diverted behind for a corner by Chris Hussey. Potts sent a fine ball into the box from the right that was met by veteran defender Nat Knight-Percival, who was pulled up for a foul on Montel Gibson in the build-up
The Pitmen had looked much more of a threat on the counter-attack, with Gibson and Sterling-James both prominent figures in making runs in behind the Bamber Bridge defence. A quick break on eighteen minutes saw Sterling-James break down the left, taking on Abankwah before pulling the ball back to Max Sheaf, who was scythed down by a challenge on him from Churchman. Sterling-James placed the ball down and produced a breathtaking dipping, swerving free-kick from twenty-five yards out that beat the desperate dive of goalkeeper Aidan Dowling and found the top corner of the net
The game seemed to flip on its head from the restart as it was the Pitmen now playing on the front foot and pressing high against a hesitant Bamber Bridge defence. A Hussey corner from the left on twenty minutes was played back into the path of Sheaf, who took a touch on the edge of the penalty area before firing narrowly over the crossbar with a rising effort
Moore continued to offer an outlet for the hosts on the counter, making another run into the box down the left flank, cutting inside before looking to shoot from a tight angle; Breeden was alert to the danger and palmed the ball behind for a corner kick down at his near post
Another good delivery from the left, this time from Joel Taylor, created a chance for Elliott Johnson on twenty-seven minutes as the left-back's outswinging cross dropped at the feet of the centre-back, who turned and fired high over the crossbar from ten yards out at the far post
Two minutes later, the Pitmen turned the game on its head as another moment of brilliance from Sterling-James opened Bamber Bridge's defence up once more; a long punt forwards from Hussey saw the forward escape the flimsy offside trap, taking a touch to steady himself before executing a brilliant lob over the onrushing Dowling and towards the empty net. Rose followed the ball in and made absolutely sure, tapping the ball home from a matter of inches out
Back came the hosts, suddenly chasing a game that they looked to be in control of just ten minutes previously; Moore did well up against Jamie Morgan thirty-three minutes, taking the ball past the right back and cutting it across goal towards Olly Molloy, only for Harrison to turn the ball behind at his near post for a corner kick
Hussey was also proving to be an immovable object for the home side as much as Harrison was, making a timely block to deny Baxter on thirty-six minutes to divert the midfielder's low shot away from goal before Taylor could complete the clearance
Bamber Bridge's best chance to level the game up came on forty minutes, as some brilliant instinctive goalkeeping from Breeden denied Molloy. A deep cross from Adankwah on the right was met by the head of the former Runcorn Linnets striker, whose looping effort looked to be heading for the far corner of the net until a superb one-handed save from Breeden clawed the ball away from goal
The game's first booking of the afternoon went the way of Morgan on forty-one minutes, who picked up a yellow card from referee Mr Reeves after the full-back had brought Moore down
A minute later, youngster Archie Lang picked up the home side's first booking of the game as he was shown a yellow card by Mr Reeves after hauling Liam Kinsella down in midfield
The Pitmen had responded well to going behind early and looked a real threat on the counter, with all three front men giving the Bamber Bridge defence issues with their pace and movement. Man of the match Sterling-James had covered every blade of grass thus far and backed this effort up with some moments of real quality on the ball
Despite expecting a Bamber Bridge response at the start of the second half, the visitors looked the more likely to extend their lead after the break as they created a clutch of good chances. Hussey and Taylor linked up on the left flank on forty-eight minutes, with Hussey delivering a fine cross to the far post that Gibson drove back across goal, forcing Dowling into a fine save
Two minutes later, Hussey was at it again with another superb inswinging free-kick on the right flank that was just begging to be turned home from close range but somehow sailed across the face of goal without any of the away side's incoming players able to turn the ball home
There was a muted call for a Hednesford penalty kick on fifty-three minutes as Morgan made a driving run into the box from the right before taking a tumble under a challenge from Knight-Percival, only for Mr Reeves to wave away any protests as he felt that the 38-year-old had touched the ball first
Sterling-James was once again the architect of a great chance for the Pitmen three minutes later, driving into the Bamber Bridge box on the left and crossing low into the box with a ball that just evaded both Rose and Gibson
Bamber Bridge made a double attacking change on the hour mark as the dangerous Ewan Bange came on in place of Molloy and debutant striker Jordan Hodkin - signed on loan from Crewe Alexandra the previous day - replaced Potts
The Pitmen responded with a change of their own two minutes later as Sheaf was brought off and replaced by the more defensively-minded Joe Doyle-Charles
There was more work for Breeden to do midway through the second period as he held a shot from Moore inside his six-yard box after the young striker had tried his luck with a low shot from the edge of the penalty area
Brig fans were left bewildered as to how they had not drawn level once more on seventy-one minutes as a goalmouth scramble somehow failed to see the ball hit the net. Doyle-Charlkes had lost possession inside his own half to Bange, who exchanged passes with Hodkin before shooting at goal - his effort was blocked by Harrison and fell to Hodkin once more, whose effort was saved by Breeden. The ball ran to Bange once more on the rebound, whose effort looked to be heading for the net until a last-ditch clearance from Harrison saw the defender block the ball and send it loopingback into the grateful hands of Breeden
Jervis made his return to league action after five months away on seventy minutes, with the experienced striker getting a warm reception from the 100-plus Hednesford fans as he replaced Gibson up front
This was followed by another change for the home side on seventy-four minutes, with Milligan electing to send on experienced midfielder Harry Benns in place of Allen
The tall, rangy Bange gave Bamber Bridge a different option up front to Molloy, with the former Hyde United and Radcliffe striker heading inches wide of the woodwork on seventy-eight minutes as he leapt to meet a corner kick from Baxter at the near post but glanced his effort agonisingly wide of Breden's left-hand post
There was some concern for Taylor on eighty minutes as the left-back went down inside his own penalty area holding his leg; having had several hamstring issues in his two years with the club, it was perhaps a relief to see him get back to his feet and continue with the game after a spell of treatment
Kinsella entered Mr Reeves' book on eighty-two minutes as the combative midfielder was pulled up by the match official for bringing down Benns in midfield to stop a Bamber Bridge counter attack
The Ptmen's final change of the afternoon came a minute later as the pacy and tricky Jermaine Hylton came on to play on the left side of the attack as he replaced Rose
Perhaps fittingly, it was Jervis who was to have the final say in the afternoon, as the veteran striker capped off a well-deserved three points for the visitors with a killer third goal on eighty-six minutes. Bamber Bridge had committed more men forwards in search of an equaliser and left themselves short at the back, allowing Jervis to race onto a long punt forward completely unchallenged from halfway, showing superb composure to take the ball around the dive of Dowling before slotting the ball into the empty net from twelve yards out
A good ball into the box from Baxter on eighty-eight minutes from a corner on the left was just begging to be headed home inside the six-yard box, but no one in a white shirt could get to the cross and the ball drifted out on the far side of the pitch
It had proved to have been a very professional performance from the Pitmen, who had shown great character to come from behind and earn a well-deserved and crucial three points with a solid and authoritative display. They remain just a point above Hebburn Town with a game more to play, with two of the league's bottom three to play later on in the month. Next weekend sees the Pitmen back at home, entertaining mid-table Guiseley at Keys Park in search of a third win in succession that could take them back to the league summit with seven games to play
Bamber Bridge: Dowling, Abankwah, Baxter, Churchman, Knight-Percival, Lang ▆, Allen (Benns 74), Potts © (Hodkin 60), Poilly, Molloy (Bange 60 ▆), Moore Sub unused: Forbes
Hednesford Town: Breeden ©, Morgan, Taylor, Hussey, Harrison, Johnson, Sheaf ▆(Doyle-Charles 63), Kinsella ▆, Gibson (Jervis 70), Sterling-James, Rose (Hylton 83) Subs unused: Walker, Watson
