Bridlington Town home in on survival with positive result from finale against Stocksbridge Park Steels

Andy Norfolk has been one of several replacements for the unavailable striker Lewis Dennison in recent Bridlington Town matches.

While relegation looks unlikely, Town will be looking to secure at least a point, if not three as teams below them can still leapfrog the Seasiders, writes Ben Edwards.

Two disappointing defeats on the road last week to strugglers Tadcaster (3-2) and Grantham (1-0) saw Brid drop to 15th.

The Seasiders have had success on more than one occasion against strong opponents this campaign: two 2-2 draws against Worksop; a 1-0 win against Stockton and a 2-1 victory against North Shields.

Top scorer Lewis Dennison will be unavailable for Bridlington Town once again in their final league game of the season against Stocksbridge PS.

They will be looking to add another to that list as their opponents currently occupy third place with 63 points. While play-offs are all but confirmed for Ian Richards’ side, there is still a lot for them to play for as a third-place finish would ensure a home tie in the play-offs.

Saturday’s visitors are in fine form, having won their last two games, both at home, scoring six and conceding one between them.

They will now be looking to continue their good form when they hit the road, having lost just one of their last five games. That came in a 1-0 result against second-place Stockton.

Ify Ofoegbu is Stocksbridge’s top scorer, though with only 12 goals, which is a compliment to how well the Steels spread their goals around the whole team with goals all over the pitch. He is closely followed by Tomas Poole with 11 goals, and Luke Rawson with nine.

Ofoegbu netted twice in Stocksbridge’s last game, a 4-1 victory over Hebburn which may be the reason they earn a home tie in the play-offs.

Lewis Dennison is the most prolific man for Town this season, with 16 goals. However, he will be unavailable as he has been for the past three games.

With 43 points, Town can still fall into 17th or 18th and would possibly have to play a relegation playoff game, depending on how their points-per-game compared with teams from other divisions at the same level.

Lincoln United and Grantham, similar to Brid, only have a game remaining. Lincoln are 17th with 41 points whilst Grantham are 16th with 42.

Town will be hoping to avoid a repeat of the game at Stocksbridge in November, as that ended in a 3-0 defeat after a second-half thumping.