Blyth Spartans 1 - 1 Bamber Bridge
Brig welcomed Callum Leigh back into the fold, with the loanee thrust in from the start in Northumbria. Tyler Bowen also made his full league debut as Brig looked to secure a first league win since late October.
The game started at a canter with both sides enjoying extended spells of possession in the opening exchanges.
The current wooden spoon going into the game, Blyth thought they had an important goal on 10 minutes as Pradic parried the ball into the path of Billy Gordon who made no mistake from six yards.
To Brig’s relief, the linesman flagged for offside against Gordon in what would be the start of a bright 10 minutes for the home side.
The tricky Cyril Giraud sliced an effort wide from a corner and minutes later Pradic produced a fine stop to deny Sam Hodgson from the edge of the area.
The returning Callum Leigh tried an effort from distance on 28 minutes, with Greg Halford clearing the effort for a Brig corner.
With Brig defending valiantly for the opening half hour, their resolve was rewarded with a blistering strike from Kenyon, as Brig took the lead.
Jack Baxter’s deep corner was cushioned back by Dodd with Kenyon being in the right place at the right time to power Brig into a first-half lead.
With Blyth’s tail up, Pradic and Dodd produced two moments of magic to keep out the Spartans on the stroke of half time. The former denied Hodgson from point blank range and the latter cleared Michael Woods’ follow up off the line to keep the advantage with the men in white.
An enforced change at half-time as midweek hero Macauley Wilson replaced Kenyon in a like-for-like change.
With goalmouth action in recess, the game fell into a period much similar to the opening 10 with both sides enjoying large spells of possession to no avail.
A simple coming together between Dodd and Gordon, with a quarter of an hour to go, sprung the two sides into life.
After receiving a caution for alleged simulation Brig’s skipper received his second booking seconds later for his arguments.
Down to 10-men Brig rallied and shifted personnel – moving Simon Grand alongside Wilson at the back as the lads held strong.
The referee made his next big call on 81 minutes, as he sent off Milligan for his aggrievements over the past five minutes.
The same story as the first – two yellow cards in a matter of seconds – but again Brig rallied and fought back against a rejuvenated Blyth.
However, the resolve was broken on 83 minutes as Oliver shifted the ball onto his left foot and fired an effort past a despairing Pradic to send the Spartans fans into a frenzy.
Agony for Brig who had defended magnificently all evening against a side who despite their league position were a handful going forward.
However, Brig almost capitalised on their defensive frailties as Richardson produced an outstanding save to deny Baxter from distance in the last action of the 90.
With the points shared at Croft Park, Brig return to the SFC Stadium next Saturday to host Leek Town in more Northern Premier League action.
Reporter: Ernie Bratherton (@BrathertonE15)
