Star date: 3rd November 2013

FOR FAWKES SAKE AMMIES CRASH AGAIN

Bamber Bridge 3 Salford City 1

After the encouraging 2-2 draw at home with Cammell Laird this week, the Ammies were hoping to start the climb back up the league at Bamber Bridge but it wasn't to be. After Salford took the lead in the first half, Bamber hit back to win 3-1 on the day.

Match report and photos here…

Let's talk about bitter fans here for a minute. Having been stuffed 2-1 at Moor Lane a few weeks ago, Bamber Bridge were moaning on Twitter, and anywhere else their solitary echo chamber reached, that they should have had a goal when a shot crossed the line before being cleared by a Salford City defender.

They tweeted the photo, supposedly showing the ball line over the line, which was inconclusive to say the least. And then yesterday they had the dubious image on the front cover of their programme - just a blurred boot, a white goalie's glove and a ball. It was the worst, saddest programme cover ever seen, one which we couldn't possibly reproduce here for the sake of those with a sense of footy aesthetics. Who wants to see that on your coffee table?

Shocking for two reasons. First those aesthetics. And second – GET OVER IT!!! If Salford City had programmes like that, we'd have a ref on the cover every week – pushing defensive walls back hundreds of yards, waving play on when forwards get clattered in the area…or just close ups of whistles being blown by clowns.

Maybe Bamber Bridge should bring out a novel and a film and an opera and a Shakespearian tragedy – The Lost Goal of Bamber Bridge. It could end with a Salfordian in a tangerine jersey sticking his head through the curtains going `It wasn't even over the line, you tossers…'

And so it came to pass at Bamber Bridge yesterday that every time the ball went anywhere near the goal line or the touch line Salford fans would scream `It was over the line'… `Definitely over the line'…

Bamber Bridge fans almost had something else to moan about after only two minutes, as their defence was split by a raking Ammies attack that led to the keeper having to make a smart save from the marauding Mark Battersby.

After twelve minutes Battersby was on target again, hammering home after brilliant work by Aaron Walters, who won the ball on the edge of the area and held off a couple of defenders before teeing him up. 0-1.

`That was never over the line' Salford fans mocked…

With Walters in the Everton-style Fellaini role (as opposed to the United role of warming the bench), breaking up opposing attacks and getting Salford going forward, the Ammies were on top and looking good. But some dawdling at the back saw Bamber draw level as half time approached, a forward tapping in a low cross that skidded across the six yard box, somehow evading three million defenders and a keeper. 1-1.

And that was it really for Salford. Bamber took the lead direct from a free kick in the 65th minute, and three minutes later added another, as the stunned Ammies offered little in return, apart from a Danny Browne header that looped onto the bar and a few shots that whistled over. Final score 3-1.

Meanwhile, Salford fans expect to go back to Bamber Bridge next season and see a marble sculpture of `The Lost Goal of Bamber Bridge' adorning the entrance to the ground.

Photos by Andrew Goudie