If the old adage is true, and you are only as good as your last result, a frost-enforced break will have been hell for Steve Halford and his players, as their last game was that record home defeat, 7-1 to Warrington Town in the Doodson Cup. 

However, there was no baggage from that, or the dour 0-0 at Warrington prior to that at Bamber Bridge on Saturday.  Indeed, the rest appeared to have done them good.  They were brighter from the first whistle than they had been in either of those games, passed it with more conviction and showed good character in coming from behind twice to take a point, and probably feel they should have had all three.

New signings Lewis Nightingale and Ryan Hopper both made debuts and both impressed in a 4-1-4-1 formation, the back 5 abandoned for now following Kiel O’Brien’s impending transfer to Chorley.

Bell gave Mossley a warning, wasting Mahoney’s tricky work by swivelling a shot from 6 yards over the bar, but Bamber Bridge grabbed the lead in the 19th minute when Dave Young strode out of defence and attempted a cross-field ball behind the full back.  Instead, it was intercepted and the full back swept a ball into the space that Young had vacated.  Bell had filled the empty space and whilst his first touch took him a little wide when running on goal his drilled shot across Pearson nestled into the far corner.

Mossley survived a little pressure from the buoyant home side and then exerted some of their own, which got its reward on 25 minutes.  Retaining the ball and passing it around in the Bridge half culminated in a ball from Rowney that split the defence and allowed Coppin a run on goal.  His first touch finished it, poking the ball past the onrushing keeper.

The teams then went toe-to-toe.  Rowney forced a save at the near post, a deflected Hopper shot drifted just wide and a Richardson header was into the arms of the keeper when either side of him would surely have meant a goal.  Meanwhile at the other end Bell missed when shooting weakly from a cut-back and from a corner had forced a Pearson save.  But on the stroke of half time they pinched the lead.

A Waddacar cross from the right held up beautifully for Johnstone, an old fashioned burly number 9 who took no prisoners in the jump and headed powerfully into the net, as the referee prepared to signal half time.

The lead, in effect, lasted about a minute, as 45 seconds into the second period Mossley were level, and it was a special effort.  Coppin picked up the ball on the right edge of the area, facing the sideline.  Collecting the ball he turned and moved from left to right, looking for a pass.  Once past the ‘D’ the crowd expected a lay off to Richardson, but instead Coppin turned and leathered it off the underside of the bar into the net.  Unstoppable.

The pattern of the game then became Mossley with a lot of possession, trying to fashion openings, but Bridge looking dangerous when they did wrestle the ball from the Lilywhites, Waddacar and Johnstone in particular.

Pearson had to be off his line quickly to deny Johnstone whilst Coppin leathered a ball that fell to him over the bar from 12 yards.  Pearson saved well from Waddacar’s header whilst Coo’s first touch from Nightingale’s through ball was just too heavy and allowed the keeper a chance to smother. 

Both teams were going for it until the last ten minutes, when they both backed up a little to ensure they did not lose.  However, deep into injury time Mossley nearly pinched it when a Mather cross led to some head tennis.  The ball fell to Rowney, 8 yards out, and he swivelled a powerful shot that the keeper did brilliantly to anticipate and take the full force of the shot on his body. 

Report by Jonathan Haggart