Date: Tuesday 14th July 2009
Competition: Preseason FriendlyVenue: QED Stadium, Bamber Bridge, Lancashire
Attendance: 1,200 (approx)An opportunity to spring in some midweek football presents itself this evening as a local derby match takes place between Bamber Bridge and Preston North End. It’s always a useful and exciting occasion for non league sides when they have a football league club come to play on their ground and by all accounts Preston North End are likely to send a strong squad to this evenings game. However they are playing another match down the road in Chorley tonight aswell, so the squads are likely to be bolstered with some youth players. It is a derby match, but am not sure there will be too many Bamber Bridge supporters expecting a victory this evening. Tonight for them will probably be more about getting a big gate on and watching their team going up against league players. Have to hope this evening’s changeable weather will hold out and contribute to a good game of football. However the pre-kickoff sky turned very angry, heavy rain moved in and a backdrop of thunder and lightning danced on the horizon.
The walk down to the ground surprised me a little, there were many people walking in the same direction as me which isn’t a usual occurrence for my football trips. I reach the turnstile and there is a queue with 45 minutes still to go before kickoff. The stand is filling up nicely on the far side and the covered stands behind the goal become more popular as the rain sets in. This game is obviously taken far more seriously than I first thought.
The deluge of rain just eased up before the two teams emerged from the tunnel and onto the pitch, Bamber Bridge in their new home kit of white shirts and black shorts with Preston North End in their all new red away strip. Officials and captains conclude the formalities and the match gets underway with Preston North End kicking off. The difference in quality between the two sides was quickly apparent as Preston settled into a short sharp passing game, keeping the ball on the floor and attempting to work openings through the Bamber Bridge defence. This enabled them to create the first opening in the match n the 6th minute when Jamie Proctor drew a sliding challenge from a defender and the ball fell into the path of Ross Wallace, who from an acute angle blasted the ball inches over the crossbar in a close effort. Preston then went close again two minutes later when Bamber Bridge keeper Mike Hale was called upon to make a superb double save as a ball through the defence had set Jamie Proctor free behind the defence.
His low shot was saved well by Hale before Proctor tried to slot the rebound home, but Hale made a 2nd good save to turn the ball away for a corner. Bamber Bridge should have taken the lead in the 21st minute when a superb through ball from Ashley Dunn saw Phil Denney through on goal after beating the offside trap. Denney advanced into the penalty area and fired off a shot on goal, but Andy Lonergan in the Preston goal pulled off a fine save with his leg to keep the game scoreless. Preston then broke down the other end via Jamie Proctor on the wing and after forcing his way into the box his low cross was gathered by Hale in the Bamber Bridge goal. But as they had been threatening to do for most of the half, Preston broke the deadlock and opened the scoring in the 26th minute. A throw in was picked up once again by Jamie Proctor and he made another run into the penalty area. His square ball then found Jon Parkin and he side footed the ball past the outstretched keeper and into the corner of the net to give the visitors the lead. Preston now had the foundation to build on and went after extending their lead as they went close again on the half hour mark. Richard Chaplow tried his luck from the edge of the penalty area but Hale was there again to deny him with a low save that he gathered at the 2nd attempt. Another effort from Preston in the 32nd minute saw some patient build up play result in the ball being played to Ross Wallace who made an advancement towards goal before trying his luck with a powerful shot from range. However his effort was too high and ended up over the crossbar but Preston were now showing more ambitious signs after spending most of the half keeping the ball on the floor. Bamber Bridge went close in the 36th minute when Phil Eastwood dragged a shot wide across the goal, but Preston were being rarely threatened at the back. Bamber Bridge’s resilient defence was broken in the 40th minute when Preston doubled their advantage, a ball down the wing by Paul McKenna to Michael Hart saw the latter send in a cross that zipped through the penalty area and found Neal Trotman luring at the back post.
Trotman then had the task of placing the ball into the unguarded area of the net to double Preston’s lead. Preston kept on applying the pressure for the remainder of the half but couldn’t add to their tally before the half time whistle sounded. So it had been pretty much as expected then, Preston North End are comfortable and Bamber Bridge have been made to work hard. Preston have kept it on the floor and attempted to work their openings through the Bamber Bridge defence whereas the hosts have had more success with the aerial ball over the top of the defence. Their one chance of the half was a killer one but a good save prevented a goal. The Bamber Bridge keeper has been far the busier of the two and has kept his side in it. It’s hard to look past Preston now but Bamber Bridge might have a comeback in store yet.
Half Time:
Bamber Bridge 0 – 2 Preston North End
Preston came out for the 2nd half in a similar fashion to the way they ended the first and created the first chance of the half in the 50th minute. A one on one effort saw yet another good save from Hale in goal, before Bamber Bridge would go straight down the other end and score. I can’t tell you anything about it because I missed it completely, but from what I can gather it was a curling effort on the turn. So when the score should probably have been 0-3 and game over it was now 1-2 and game firmly on. Preston weren’t phased by this though and continued their standard of play, the 57th minute seeing some great work from Ross Wallace in playing a great ball to Jamie Proctor whose flick up and volley was saved well by Hale in the Bamber Bridge goal.
Preston got their 3rd goal on the hour mark after a great run and pass by Danny Mayor to Michael Hart saw the Bamber Bridge defence stop to appeal for offside, the linesman didn’t oblige their appeal. Hart passed the ball back into the penalty area and Jamie Proctor finally scored the goal he’d been threatening to as his soft side footed effort took a deflection in the penalty area and trickled into the corner of the net with the keeper stranded. Preston then poured on the pressure when they won themselves five corners on the bounce in the 61st minute. But after successfully defending the first four, Preston would score their fourth goal of the game from their fifth successive corner. A through ball down the wing was crossed in and flicked on into the top corner of the net by Tom Smythe for the best finish of the night. The match was still pretty much all Preston with Bamber Bridge managing to only get forward sporadically, and Preston might well have furthered their lead in the 72nd minute when a cross into the penalty area saw John Parkin get his head to it but he couldn’t keep it on target and he headed it wide for a Bamber Bridge goal kick. The hosts could have had a goal back for themselves in the 83rd minute when two Preston players collided and hit the deck, this set Lee Pryers free to advance down the wing and draw a fine save in a 1-on-1 position from Preston keeper Lonergan, only after this did the referee stop play. Preston had another spell of pressure towards the end of the match but couldn’t find another goal as the referee brought the match to a close.
Well the faint look of a comeback from the home side was quickly extinguished by Preston North End. After they missed the 1-on-1 opportunity and Bamber Bridge managed to get a goal back it looked like a comeback was possible. But Preston kept up the standard of play they demonstrated from the start and simply had too much for Bamber Bridge.
They looked confident and comfortable on the ball and passed it around neatly denying Bamber Bridge much of the possession. Bamber Bridge will have been happy with the account they gave of themselves and the bumper crowd through the turnstiles will have boosted their finances nicely. All in all a good match with a good following. Congratulations Preston North End.
Full Time:
Bamber Bridge 1 – 4 Preston North End
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The walk down to the ground surprised me a little, there were many people walking in the same direction as me which isn’t a usual occurrence for my football trips. I reach the turnstile and there is a queue with 45 minutes still to go before kickoff. The stand is filling up nicely on the far side and the covered stands behind the goal become more popular as the rain sets in. This game is obviously taken far more seriously than I first thought.The deluge of rain just eased up before the two teams emerged from the tunnel and onto the pitch, Bamber Bridge in their new home kit of white shirts and black shorts with Preston North End in their all new red away strip. Officials and captains conclude the formalities and the match gets underway with Preston North End kicking off. The difference in quality between the two sides was quickly apparent as Preston settled into a short sharp passing game, keeping the ball on the floor and attempting to work openings through the Bamber Bridge defence. This enabled them to create the first opening in the match n the 6th minute when Jamie Proctor drew a sliding challenge from a defender and the ball fell into the path of Ross Wallace, who from an acute angle blasted the ball inches over the crossbar in a close effort. Preston then went close again two minutes later when Bamber Bridge keeper Mike Hale was called upon to make a superb double save as a ball through the defence had set Jamie Proctor free behind the defence.
His low shot was saved well by Hale before Proctor tried to slot the rebound home, but Hale made a 2nd good save to turn the ball away for a corner. Bamber Bridge should have taken the lead in the 21st minute when a superb through ball from Ashley Dunn saw Phil Denney through on goal after beating the offside trap. Denney advanced into the penalty area and fired off a shot on goal, but Andy Lonergan in the Preston goal pulled off a fine save with his leg to keep the game scoreless. Preston then broke down the other end via Jamie Proctor on the wing and after forcing his way into the box his low cross was gathered by Hale in the Bamber Bridge goal. But as they had been threatening to do for most of the half, Preston broke the deadlock and opened the scoring in the 26th minute. A throw in was picked up once again by Jamie Proctor and he made another run into the penalty area. His square ball then found Jon Parkin and he side footed the ball past the outstretched keeper and into the corner of the net to give the visitors the lead. Preston now had the foundation to build on and went after extending their lead as they went close again on the half hour mark. Richard Chaplow tried his luck from the edge of the penalty area but Hale was there again to deny him with a low save that he gathered at the 2nd attempt. Another effort from Preston in the 32nd minute saw some patient build up play result in the ball being played to Ross Wallace who made an advancement towards goal before trying his luck with a powerful shot from range. However his effort was too high and ended up over the crossbar but Preston were now showing more ambitious signs after spending most of the half keeping the ball on the floor. Bamber Bridge went close in the 36th minute when Phil Eastwood dragged a shot wide across the goal, but Preston were being rarely threatened at the back. Bamber Bridge’s resilient defence was broken in the 40th minute when Preston doubled their advantage, a ball down the wing by Paul McKenna to Michael Hart saw the latter send in a cross that zipped through the penalty area and found Neal Trotman luring at the back post.
Trotman then had the task of placing the ball into the unguarded area of the net to double Preston’s lead. Preston kept on applying the pressure for the remainder of the half but couldn’t add to their tally before the half time whistle sounded. So it had been pretty much as expected then, Preston North End are comfortable and Bamber Bridge have been made to work hard. Preston have kept it on the floor and attempted to work their openings through the Bamber Bridge defence whereas the hosts have had more success with the aerial ball over the top of the defence. Their one chance of the half was a killer one but a good save prevented a goal. The Bamber Bridge keeper has been far the busier of the two and has kept his side in it. It’s hard to look past Preston now but Bamber Bridge might have a comeback in store yet.Half Time:
Bamber Bridge 0 – 2 Preston North End
Preston came out for the 2nd half in a similar fashion to the way they ended the first and created the first chance of the half in the 50th minute. A one on one effort saw yet another good save from Hale in goal, before Bamber Bridge would go straight down the other end and score. I can’t tell you anything about it because I missed it completely, but from what I can gather it was a curling effort on the turn. So when the score should probably have been 0-3 and game over it was now 1-2 and game firmly on. Preston weren’t phased by this though and continued their standard of play, the 57th minute seeing some great work from Ross Wallace in playing a great ball to Jamie Proctor whose flick up and volley was saved well by Hale in the Bamber Bridge goal.
Preston got their 3rd goal on the hour mark after a great run and pass by Danny Mayor to Michael Hart saw the Bamber Bridge defence stop to appeal for offside, the linesman didn’t oblige their appeal. Hart passed the ball back into the penalty area and Jamie Proctor finally scored the goal he’d been threatening to as his soft side footed effort took a deflection in the penalty area and trickled into the corner of the net with the keeper stranded. Preston then poured on the pressure when they won themselves five corners on the bounce in the 61st minute. But after successfully defending the first four, Preston would score their fourth goal of the game from their fifth successive corner. A through ball down the wing was crossed in and flicked on into the top corner of the net by Tom Smythe for the best finish of the night. The match was still pretty much all Preston with Bamber Bridge managing to only get forward sporadically, and Preston might well have furthered their lead in the 72nd minute when a cross into the penalty area saw John Parkin get his head to it but he couldn’t keep it on target and he headed it wide for a Bamber Bridge goal kick. The hosts could have had a goal back for themselves in the 83rd minute when two Preston players collided and hit the deck, this set Lee Pryers free to advance down the wing and draw a fine save in a 1-on-1 position from Preston keeper Lonergan, only after this did the referee stop play. Preston had another spell of pressure towards the end of the match but couldn’t find another goal as the referee brought the match to a close.Well the faint look of a comeback from the home side was quickly extinguished by Preston North End. After they missed the 1-on-1 opportunity and Bamber Bridge managed to get a goal back it looked like a comeback was possible. But Preston kept up the standard of play they demonstrated from the start and simply had too much for Bamber Bridge.
They looked confident and comfortable on the ball and passed it around neatly denying Bamber Bridge much of the possession. Bamber Bridge will have been happy with the account they gave of themselves and the bumper crowd through the turnstiles will have boosted their finances nicely. All in all a good match with a good following. Congratulations Preston North End.Full Time:
Bamber Bridge 1 – 4 Preston North End
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