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MATCH REPORT - Bamber Bridge 1-3 Blackburn Rovers

MATCH REPORT - Bamber Bridge 1-3 Blackburn Rovers

Lauren Entwistle17 Jul 2012 - 20:27

Bamber Bridge suffered defeat at the hands of Blackburn Rovers' reserve side at Irongate on Tuesday night.

Tuesday 17th July 2012 - Friendly
Bamber Bridge 1-3 Blackburn Rovers
Match Report by Alex Urquhart-Cannon

A first-half strike by John O'Sullivan followed by a second-half brace from Hugo Fernandez Molina was enough to secure a 3-1 victory for Blackburn as Brig fought admirably throughout the match.

The deadlock was broken in the 24th minute after O'Sullivan hit an unstoppable effort to send Blackburn into the lead.

O'Sullivan received the ball in plenty of space outside the 18-yard box, allowing the midfielder to turn and drill a low shot beyond goalkeeper Lee Dovey and into the bottom-left corner.

Immediately after the goal Bamber Bridge striker Sefton Gonzales was substituted off for Matt Mahoney, who levelled the scoring just five minutes later.

The goal came after winger Alistair Waddecar was forced to the ground in the box by Rovers defender Anthony O'Connor, giving referee Michael Salisbury no choice but to award a penalty.

Mahoney stepped up to take the penalty and calmly slotted the ball into the corner of the net, making it 1-1.

Moments later Brig nearly stunned Blackburn with a second goal as Waddecar was denied by some fantastic goalkeeping. Mahoney nearly turned provider on this occasion as he nodded the ball down for Waddecar to strike a fierce shot towards the top-left corner of the net. An acrobatic save by goalkeeper Chris Dilo prevented Brig taking the lead as he palmed the ball over.

Blackburn began the second half with a whole new 11 men on the pitch, while Brig brought on Michael Clark, Roberto Bonaminio and Darren Green in place of Kev Brown, Danny Mahoney and Neil Reynolds.

Blackburn looked a fresher proposition as they showed on the hour mark when they took the lead again. Sustained pressure from Rovers saw the ball fall to winger Osayamen Osawe close to goal, the substitute showed great composure to weave in and out of defenders' challenges in such little space before pulling the ball back for Molina to slot into the net from close range.

Rovers stretched the lead to two goals just five minutes later as they made it 3-1. The Brig defence failed to completely clear a Peter Wylie cross as the ball was lumped into the air into the path of Molina. Molina struck the ball on the volley from 20 yards into the bottom-left corner.

A string of inspiring saves from Dovey kept the score at 3-1, including a double save to deny Osawe and Curtis Haley. Following these heroics Brig's goalkeeper denied Osawe again immediately after with a save from point-blank range as a corner found the towering winger unmarked.

Dovey's display deservedly earned him the Man of the Match award.

A valiant Brig side kept Rovers at bay for the remainder of the match as the game finished 3-1, giving Bamber Bridge plenty of positives to take into Friday's pre-season match with Bolton Wanderers after a solid performance.

Check out photos taken by Stefan Willoughby, via the Bamber Bridge FC News & Game Photos facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/?ref=tn_tnmn#!/media/set/?set=a.326686620754045.73690.152556491500393&type=1

Brig's next pre-season fixture is against Bolton Wanderers on Friday 20th July down at Irongate, kick off 7.30pm.
Admission: £5 Adults, £3 Concessions and U11's go free with paying adult/concession