By Ben Edwards
It’s a battle at the bottom of Northern Premier League East table on Saturday, as Bridlington Town host Sheffield FC at the Mounting Systems Stadium.
Bridlington will be hoping to gain momentum after three points on Tuesday evening, as they won 4-2 against Bishop Auckland. Despite trailing on two occasions, the Seasiders showed great character, with goals from Sam Kay, Danny Earl, Tom Allan and Michael Coulson securing the win.
On his first game back as manager, Mike Thompson said: “Work rate, application, buy in – I’m over the moon because they’ve done everything we’ve expected of them, and they’ve really, really drilled themselves into the ground for a full 90 minutes.”
Bridlington were glad to finally get their first game of 2025 in, as the weather conditions caused postponements to their first three games of the new year.
Sheffield did play on New Year’s Day, losing 3-0 away from home against Stocksbridge Park Steels. However, they haven’t played since, as their games against Carlton Town, Dunston and Hallam FC were all postponed.
The world’s oldest existing football club in Sheffield FC currently sit bottom of the table on 15 points, six points adrift of the second worst side Brighouse Town, and eight points away from safety, having also played more games than those around them.
The Seasiders would have been the side one place above Sheffield, however, Tuesday night’s win saw them climb out of the relegation zone and into 17th.
However, Ashington’s 1-0 victory over Grimsby Borough on Wednesday evening sees Bridlington drop to 18th going into the weekend’s fixtures.
When Bridlington and Sheffield played each other earlier in the season at the Home of Football Stadium, the Seasiders left with a 2-1 victory, with Earl and Coulson on the scoresheet.
That being said, it was the first time Bridlington had beaten Sheffield in the Northern Premier League, having tried and failed six times previously. Moreover, Sheffield did the double over the Seasiders last campaign, winning 3-1 and 2-1 home and away, respectively.
