A convincing performance against strong opposition at Radcliffe saw Bamber Bridge take all 3 points at the Belvoir Stadium on the opening day of the season.

Brig’s first chance came on just 3 minutes when new signing Brad Carsley turned in the box but his low shot was saved by Radcliffe keeper Adriano Basso.

Further chances fell to Brig in the early stages when on 12 minutes, Ali Waddecar cut in from the right, but his shot was comfortably saved by Basso.

Shortly afterwards Matt Dudley found the net, but the linesman’s flag was raised for offside.

Brig took the lead on 29 minutes when Macauley Wilson’s superb free kick from just outside the area gave the Radcliffe keeper no chance.

Macauley Wilson gets Brig's opener (picture courtesy of Alan Bateson on Twitter)

The home side rallied and got an equaliser on 35 minutes through Kurt Sherlock, who hammered the ball home from 10 yards.

It was the home side who had the first clear chance of the second half when on 54 minutes Brig keeper Lloyd Rigby pulled off a great save to deny them the lead.

Brig continued to play some great attacking football, new signing Danny Forbes was unlucky when his 20 yard shot went just wide of the post and Brad Carsley saw his shot just cleared off the line.

The winning goal came on 77 minutes. Dan Mooney’s shot was saved by Basso in the Radcliffe goal, but Brig captain Matt Lawlor was able to stoop down and head home the rebound.

Manager Neil Reynolds delighted with Brig's 2nd goal

Once in the lead, Brig looked comfortable. A good performance by Radcliffe’s experienced keeper kept the score at 2-1.

Next up for Brig is the first home game of the season against Goole AFC on Tuesday (15 August, 7:45 pm)

Half Time: Radcliffe 1 – 1 Bamber Bridge
Full Time: Radcliffe 1 – 2 Bamber Bridge

Bamber Bridge Team: Rigby; Wilson; Dodd; Lawlor (c); Mahoney; Potts; Waddecar; Forbes (Milligan, 65 mins); Carsley (Linney, 60 mins); Dudley (Marlow, 65 mins); Mooney

Subs (not used): Doughty; Staunton-Turner

A full gallery of match photos is available on the BBFC Flickr page