Bamber Bridge

(click to enlarge)

Northern Premier League
Div 1 North
Play Off Final
Bamber Bridge 2 Ramsbottom 3 (aet)
Gate £7
Atten 1206

View all Photos from Bamber Bridge
Official Match Report (Ramsbottom)

Match Enjoyment 10/10

A rip roaring Lancashire Hotpot of a game which was a credit to this division as it had everything from decent goals late penalties, flares, some flying finger tips outstanding saves all capped off by a loud bumper crowd and an excellent ref.

Both teams giving it their all ...

The first half was excellent end to end excitement with both teams scoring impressive well worked headed goals. The second half was mostly Rammy applying the pressure and finally getting their noses in front. Then with only seconds remaining Bamber got a penalty to equalise and send the game into extra time in the 96^th minute. 

World Class finger tip save by Rammy goalie

 As extra-time unfolded Rammy scored a breakawy goal which in the end proved to be the winner but not until Bamber hit back with some serious pressure and then with the last play of the game the Rammy goalie made a world class finger tip save. Seconds later the final whistle sounded to send the Rammy army into celebration.

Rammy Male Voice Choir !!!

As the Rammy players, staff and supporters celebrated you could only feel sorry for Bamber players who sat and watched them for they had contributed to a cracking final but in the end this was a “Bridge” too far.

Rammy Celebrate

Ground Enjoyment 9/10 

Football in Bamber Bridge can be traced back as far as the late 1800’s. However, the present club was established in the summer of 1974 when the old Bamber Bridge club amalgamated with neighbouring outfit Walton-Le-Dale.
The first sixteen seasons was spent in the Preston & District League Premier Division and many honours were gained. Bamber Bridge play their home games at Irongate. The club bought the land in 1983 and spent the next four years developing it into a football pitch, naming it Irongate after the local area. The first game was played in August 1987 and since then the stadium has seen a number of developments. In 1996 the Czech Republic national team beat Bamber Bridge 9–1 in a warm up game for the 1996 European Championships in front of a record crowd of 2,300.

Today you will find the ground modern and ramshackle in equal measures which only add to its charm. The atmospehere was excellent and the welcome by all staff was perfect. Obviously disappointed by defeat I must say the Club handled themsleves with a lot of class.

 

It goes without saying a trip to Bamber Bridge FC comes with my highest recommendation. As i made my way back to base i was still asking myself can groundhopping and football get any better than this ?