Bridlington Town set for FA Trophy home opener against Colne

Jack Griffin in action against Ossett United at Queensgate

The visitors are members of the Northern Premier League West Division, and while not in the same division as the home side, they compete in the same tier of the football pyramid.

However, it hasn’t been a pretty start to the season for Colne. Whilst they won their FA Cup Extra Preliminary Round fixture against 1874 Northwich 2-1, they haven’t picked up a victory in the six games since.

Having picked up just two points in their opening five league games, they sit 18th and in the relegation playoff spot. They were also knocked out of the FA Cup at the Preliminary Round at the hands of Clitheroe.

Their last outing saw them come out the wrong side of a 2-1 scoreline at home against Hanley Town.

They were winning at half-time thanks to a goal from 20-year old attacker Lucas Weaver, who joined the club in the summer having been at Preston North End.

The goal was his third of the season for Colne’s top scorer, so he will be the man the Town defence need to watch. However, two second half goals from Hanley, including one in the 88th minute, meant Colne’s torrid start to the season continued.

The away side had a change in manager over the summer, with Phil Brown taking charge.

Brown has previously won the NPL when in charge of Lancaster City, and has also managed Clitheroe previously. Alongside his managerial responsibilities with Colne, he is currently a coach at Preston North End academy.

Colne had a decent FA Trophy run last season, having made it to the first qualifying round, where they faced Tamworth. The game went to penalties, with the score 1-1 after 90 minutes. Tamworth progressed to the next round, however, coming out 4-3 penalty winners.

Bridlington however came out the right side of an FA Trophy shootout last season.

They drew 3-3 in a thrilling game against Sheffield FC, with a beautiful last-minute free-kick from Leon Dawson taking the game to penalties. Benn Lewis netted the winning penalty in a shootout that ended 5-4 to the Seasiders. There was less to cheer about in the next round, as they lost 7-0 to last season’s playoff winners Marske United.