Bridlington Town injury woes pile up ahead of NPL East opener at Dunston

Bridlington Town players and staff line up for a team photo. PHOTO BY DOM TAYLOR

Town started their season with a 3-0 loss in the FA Cup Extra Preliminary Round at Bishop Auckland, writes Ben Edwards.

Adrian Costello handed debuts to Adam Stockhill, Finlay Southcoat, Glen Sani and Alex Markham, the latter replacing Stockhill who was forced off with an ankle injury.

Jack Walters missed the cup-tie with a hamstring injury so Town may be forced to play without a natural left-back on Saturday.

Midfield enforcer Pete Davidson has also struggled with a similar injury to Walters and also missed the cup loss.

The injury list doesn’t end there, as Andy Norfolk, a doubt before the game with a calf strain, limped off after just 11 minutes.

On a more positive note, talisman Lewis Dennison should be available for the Dunston fixture, the striker having missed last week’s game.

Cameron Cunningham, however, continues to serve his suspension.

It’s been back-to-back sixth placed finishes for Dunston FC, that being just one place outside of the playoffs.

During that time, Dunston and Brid have enjoyed some entertaining affairs, with the Seasiders picking up a couple of wins, a couple of losses and a draw in the five times they’ve played the Fed in the past two seasons.

They faced each other three times last campaign, having been drawn against each other in the FA Cup Preliminary Round.

That ended in a 3-0 victory to Dunston FC at the Hudgell Solicitor Stadium.

The league fixture at Queensgate also saw Dunston win 2-1 - Tom Algar was the Town scorer.

At the UTS Stadium back in November, Joe Norton came off the bench to net a crucial last-minute equaliser to make it 1-1.

It’s a quick turnaround for the Seasiders after the trip to Tyne & Wear, as competitive football returns to Queensgate for the first time on Tuesday August 15 as Grimsby Borough travel to the Hudgell Solicitor Stadium.

Managed by Daniel Barrett, Borough will be pleased with their Northern Premier League East campaign last season, finishing 12th with 48 points having been promoted the campaign prior.

Last season at Queensgate, Dennison’s injury-time winner saw them beat Grimsby 1-0.

The reverse fixture on January 2 was the complete opposite. That ended 5-2 to Borough, Dennison netting both Brid goals.

A familiar face will be among the Grimsby side, with Luis Adlard expecting to return to Queensgate, having signed on loan for the Seasiders from Grimsby Town in the 2021/22 campaign.