Bridlington Town face opening Trophy test on the road at Prescot Cables

Glen Sani scored the second goal in Bridlington Town's 2-0 home win against Ashington last Saturday. PHOTO BY DOM TAYLOR

Following a disappointing 1-0 defeat away to Winterton Rangers, it was important that Adrian Costello’s side bounced back, writes Ben Edwards.

They did just that with a good 2-0 victory against Ashington AFC at home and now have a break from league action after the first six NPL East games.

They’ve managed to pick up seven points in those fixtures, with two wins and a draw placing them 11th in the league standings.

However, all those points came in the Seasiders’ three home games, with the three away fixtures ending in defeats to Dunston, Stockton and Winterton.

The FA Cup Extra Preliminary Round also saw Bridlington lose 3-0 at Bishop Auckland, so Costello will be hoping that the FA Trophy will be an opportunity to turn their travelling form around.

It will be no easy task however, as Prescot Cables beat fellow Northern Premier League East side North Ferriby 4-2 in Merseyside in the FA Cup 1st Qualifying Round last Saturday.

John Murphy netted the opening goal in that game, and is the ‘Pesky Bulls’ top goalscorer this season with 5 goals in all competitions.

He will likely be the danger man that the Bridlington Town defence need to stop.

Cables compete in the same tier of non-league as Brid (step 4), though in the NPL West Division as opposed to the Seasiders’ Eastern league. Similarly to Town, Cables have picked up seven points so far, though in one less game.

It was a poor start to the league season for Prescot, having lost 2-1 and 1-0 against Mossley and Avro, respectively.

They have, however, picked up massively in terms of results since then and are on a five-game unbeaten run in all competitions.

It will be nearly nine years since the last game between the two sides, which was in the old Unibond league days.

Prescot came out 3-2 winners on that occasion, Brid’s goals coming from Craig Burdick and Martin Thacker.

The winner of Saturday’s game head to either North Ferriby or Ossett United in the second qualifying round on Saturday September 23.

Should it finish level after 90 minutes in Prescot, a replay will be required at Brid Town on Tuesday September 12.