By Ben Edwards
Bridlington Town will play host to Brighouse Town on Saturday, January 4 in the Northern Premier League East, a match which is set to be their first game of the year.
The Seasiders were due to play on New Year’s Day, but their trip to North Ferriby was postponed due to a waterlogged pitch.
Prior to that, their last game of 2024, against Grimsby Borough on Boxing Day, was abandoned just after half time. Despite a decent first half showing, the two sides went into the interval goalless.
During the second half, the referee, in agreement with both managers, called the game off due to fog, as Denny Ingram said: “I can’t have any qualms about the game being called off. It (the fog) came in very badly, and you couldn’t see.
“The linesman, at best, was guessing, and it’s not fair on him because his decision could be crucial for one of us.”
As a result, the last Bridlington game to reach a conclusion was on Saturday, December 21, where they lost 3-2 against Carlton Town.
Though Ingram’s side took an early lead through Sam Kay, and had a great chance to double the advantage moments later through Michael Coulson, they found themselves 3-1 down at half time.
Ahmed Salam headed home from a corner minutes into the second half, though the Seasiders weren’t able to find the equaliser, to Ingram’s frustration, who said he was: “Very, very disappointed. (It’s) nowhere near good enough by any stretch of the imagination.”
The defeat was a fourth in a row for Bridlington, though they will hope to take the positivity of the Grimsby game into Saturday.
It’s a big game, as both teams sit in the relegation zone, with Bridlington in 21st and Brighouse in 20th.
The visitor’s match on New Years Day was also postponed, as their home game against Emley AFC couldn’t go ahead following a pitch inspection.
They did, however, complete a game on Boxing Day, losing 3-0 against Garforth Town. It was a second 3-0 defeat in a row, as Brighouse also lost the game prior against Cleethorpes Town.
A trip to the Heffernan Utilities Stadium was Bridlington first away game in the league this season, and a 1-1 draw saw them pick up their first point of the season, and first league goal of the season, thanks to Coulson’s second half finish.
