Brought back down to earth with that defeat against Ilford after two away wins, The Bridge face Halstead Town in a crucial match at the T.J. Cottis Stadium. Both teams find themselves at the wrong end of the table as we enter the latter part of the 2024/25 season but with a fair number of points between them and the bottom two, they should be fairly safe from the drop but 3 points on Saturday would be a great help to The Bridge cause.

Our opponents Halstead Town are 16th in the ESL table, one place above The Bridge. They have 27 points from 27 matches with 8 wins, 3 draws, and 16 defeats. The goal difference is a whopping -33, with 52 scored and 85 conceded (more than any other team). Away form is okay, with 3 wins, 3 draws, and 7 defeats from their 13 matches. 28 for and 42 against gives Halstead a -14 away GD.

Here’s what Halstead have been doing in their last six matches…
HALSTEAD TOWN – season 24/25 – The Last Six
(most recent results first)
Halstead Town 1 Takeley 3
Errington Challenge Cup Quarter-Final
Halstead bowed out of the Errington Challenge Cup with this 1-3 home defeat to Takeley. Takeley led 2-0 at half-time, getting off to a good start with a 2nd-minute Lanre Balogun goal, and a good finish, with a 45+2 Jordan Wescott penalty. Alfie Cleal narrowed the gap for the home side before Jack Mitchell finished it in the 96th-minute.

Halstead Town 1 Sawbridgeworth Town 3
A surprise home defeat for The Humbugs, who were the form team going into this game against Sawbo. Tom Graves’ 90th-minute consolation was all that Halstead could muster in response to two goals from Elijah Grant, the first a penalty, and a third from Nabil Musah.

Athletic Newham 3 Halstead Town 3
A decent point at Newham for The Humbugs who led 2-0 through a Daniel Udanoh own goal and James Eveleigh before Leonardo Luis De Carvalho Pedro pulled one back and Alex Kozak levelled it before half-time. Leonardo Luis De Carvalho Pedro then put Newham in front before a last-gasp 96th-minute Nathan Scarborough equaliser ensured a share of the spoils.

Woodford Town 2 Halstead Town 3
A stunning victory for Halstead at the high-flying Woodford with Joel Older putting the visitors in front before Luke Steele made it 1-1 at half-time. Two goals in a minute levelled it at 2-2 with Older hitting the target again and Sam Owusu doing likewise for The Woods. Owen Betts scored the Halstead winner in the 76th minute to give the visitors an unexpected victory.

Barking 4 Halstead Town 3
Generally, lots of goals in Halstead games and this was no different as Barking snatched the points. Sam Edwards opened the scoring for The Blues before Halstead went 2-1 up through Lester Ward and George Frodsham. Tony Martin equalised right on half-time and scored again in the 53rd minute to make it 3-2. Tyrese Sibanda made it 4-2 before Alfie Cleal pulled it back to 4-3 but Barking held on.

Halstead Town 3 Ilford 1
A decent gate of 238 cheer Halstead to victory in another lower league table clash. Joel Older grabs a couple for Halstead and a Dean Ager pen is their 3rd. 2-0 down at half-time, Ilford’s Greg Akpele reduces the deficit before Older nets his second and Halstead’s third.

Player Appearances
1 Dean Ager 30
2 Alfie Cleal 28
3 Matt Travell 28
4 Tom Graves 27
5 James Eveleigh 25
6 Nathan Scarborough 25
7 Jack Cherry 24
8 George Frodsham 20
9 Alfie Lambert 19
10 Robbie Bennett 16
11 Mckenzie Bone 15
12 Asa Cansdale 15
13 Julian Simon-Parson 15
14 Theo Duffin 14
15 Nick Miller 14
16 Luke Burgess 13
17 Owen Betts 12
18 Lester Ward 12
19 Jake Brown 11
20 Lewis Clifford 10
21 Joel Older 10
22 Joe Maybanks 9
23 Lewis Owiredu 8
24 Jordan Palmer 8
25 William Healy 6
26 Matt Coppen 4
27 Sonny Dutton 4
28 George Bowman 3
29 Jack Newman 3
30 Dylan Carpenter-Flack 2
31 Leshawn Clifford-Awoyemi 2
32 Jack Schelvis 2
33 Ade (Adebolu) Adeyemi 1
34 Oliver Bond 1
35 Owen Cookson 1
36 Lewis Cunliffe 1
37 Logan Green 1
38 Sam Norton 1
39 Olayinka Tanimowo 1
40 Hayden West 1

Links: Well, the ones that I know about (you may know more!), in other words, players who have played for The Bridge – Nathan Scarborough (Scarbs), George Frodsham (whose Mum we used to stand next to at some games…Hello George Frodsham’s mum!) and Sonny Dutton who hasn’t played for Halstead since August so is probably elsewhere now.

Founded: 1879
Nickname: The Humbugs
Ground: Milbank Stadium, Rosemary Lane, Halstead

Chairman: Carl Pearse
First Team Manager: Mark McLean
First Team Assistant Manager: Adam Munn
First Team Coach: Tony Cherry
Kit Man/Physio: Mark Juniper

Honours
Eastern Counties League
Premier Division champions 1994–95, 1995–96
Division One champions 2002–03
League Cup winners 1995–96, 2004–05
Division One Cup winners 2002–03
Essex & Suffolk Border League
Premier Division champions 1957–58, 1968–69, 1977–78
League Cup winners 1957–58, 1958–59, 1973–74
Essex Senior Trophy
Winners 1992–93, 1996–97

Records
Best FA Cup performance: Third qualifying round, 1993–94, 1998–99
Best FA Vase performance: Fourth round, 1993–94, 1994–95
Record attendance: 4,000 vs Walthamstow Avenue, Essex Senior Cup, 1949

Including this season, The Humbugs have spent the last three seasons in the Essex Senior League Premier, finishing 10th last season and 15th the season before. Prior to that, they were members of the Eastern Counties League Division 1 South for three seasons, and from 2007-08 to 2017-18 the Eastern Counties Division 1 which was split into North & South for season 2018-19.

The Bridge and Halstead Town – recent meetings:

Season 2024/2025
Tuesday 30th July 2024
Halstead Town 2 The Bridge 4
Game 2 of the season saw The Bridge visit Halstead and come away with the points. These were heady times indeed, with The Bridge scoring 9 goals in two games and heading the league table. A good Tuesday night attendance of 192 saw a quick-fire Charlie Morris hat-trick in the first 22 minutes. Dean Ager got one for Halstead before Charlie scored his third a minute later. Matt Travell then added an own goal and The Bridge led 4-1 at half-time. Ade (Adebolu) Adeyemi got Halstead’s second in the 66th minute but the Bridge were comfortable winners and top of the league!

Season 2023/2024
Halstead finished 10th out of 20 in the ESL with 54 points from 38 matches whilst The Bridge finished 12th with 49 points. The Two meetings between the teams were:

Tuesday 12th September 2023
Halstead Town 2 The Bridge 1
Kane Gilbert and Julian Simon-Parson were on target for the home side and Solomon Ofori replied for The Bridge and there were 221 there to see it all at the Milbank Stadium.

Saturday 27th January 2024
The Bridge 1 Halstead Town 0
The Bridge made it one win apiece for the season with a 1-0 home victory over The Humbugs. Michael Agboola scored the only goal in the 60th minute.

Season 2022/2023
Halstead finished 15th in the ESL Premier with 40 points from 38 matches. As The Bridge were in the Isthmian League North for 22/23, the two teams did not meet.

Season 2021/2022
Halstead finished 4th in the Eastern Counties League Division One South which saw them promoted to the ESL Premier for 2022/23. As The Bridge were in the Isthmian League North for 21/22, the two teams did not meet.

Halstead Town This season:
League positions in brackets are current position
Home: Won 5, Drawn 0, Lost 9 (F24, A43 = -19) Pts 15 ESL 16th
The Humbugs have five home wins at the Milbank Stadium this season:
Stansted (19) 4-3
Benfleet (14) 2-1
Little Oakley (11) 3-2
FC Clacton (20) 6-3
Ilford (12) 3-1
Leaving nine defeats against:
Hullbridge Sports (yes!) (17) 2-4
Woodford Town (2) 0-4
Takeley (3) 0-6
Barking (6) 2-5
Athletic Newham (10) 0-4
Buckhurst Hill (9) 0-1
Great Wakering Rovers (4) 0-3
Stanway Rovers (1) 1-3
Sawbridgeworth Town (18) 1-3
Away: Won 3, Drawn 3, Lost 7 (F28, A42 = -14) Pts 12 ESL 16th
The Humbugs three wins on the road were at:
Sawbridgeworth Town (18) 5-2
Romford (7) 2-1
Woodford Town (2) 3-2
The three draws were at:
White Ensign (8) 1-1
Frenford (15) 3-3
Athletic Newham (10) 3-3
Leaving seven defeats at:
Saffron Walden Town (5) 0-7
Benfleet (14) 2-3
Great Wakering Rovers (4) 1-5
Ilford (12) 1-3
Takeley (3) 3-6
West Essex (13) 1-2
Barking (6) 3-4

Up for the cup!
In the FA Cup, Halstead exited at the Extra Preliminary Round Stage, losing 3-1 at Harpenden Town of the Spartan South Midlands Premier (Level 9, Step 5).

In the FA Vase First Qualifying Round, Halstead beat Langford (Spartan South Midlands Division 1, Level 10, Step 6) at home 6-5 on penalties after a 3-3 draw and then won at home again 4-3 against Haverhill Borough (Eastern Counties Division 1 North, Level 10, Step 6 ). They were knocked out in Round 1 by Harleston Town (Eastern Counties Premier, Level 9, Step 5) losing 0-3 at home.

In the BBC Essex Senior Cup, Halstead beat Newbury Forest 8-0 at home in the first round and then lost at home to Dunmow Town 1-2 in round two.

Takeley knocked Halstead out of The Errington Challenge Cup at the Quarter-Final stage, winning 3-1 at the Milbank Stadium. In the First Round Halstead had beaten West Essex 2-1. In the Peter Butcher Memorial Trophy, The Humbugs won at Athletic Newham 4-2 in the Preliminary Round and Ilford 2-1 in Round One. They will face Great Wakering Rovers at home in the Quarter-Final on 25th February.

The Bridge: 2 wins; 0 draws; 4 defeats; For 9; Against 11; GD -2; Points 6
Halstead Town: 3 wins; 1 draw; 2 defeats; For 19; Against 16; GD +3; Points 10

Halstead have been a team in form recently, although they were surprisingly beaten at home by Sawbridgeworth Town in their last league game. They’ve scored quite a few in their last six matches (19) which is second only to leaders Stanway Rovers but they’ve conceded a lot too (16) which is 15th best in the division.

Again, in the last six league matches, they have used a relatively small squad of 18. Subject to availability, expect to see the likes of: Alfie Cleal, Dean Ager, George Frodsham, Keeper Jack Cherry, James Eveleigh, Joel Older, Lester Ward, Matt Travell, Nathan Scarborough, Robbie Bennett, Theo Duffin & Tom Graves!

Yep, that lot have all been playing regularly, with the goals coming from Older 4, Eveleigh & Scarborough 3, Frodsham and Ward 2 plus 4 others on 1 each.

The ESL kicks off on Friday this week where Woodford should be fairly comfortable at home to Sawbridgeworth. There’s a big game at the top between Takeley and GWR with the home team the favourites. Teams around us: Sawbo I’ve mentioned and Little Oakley are strong favourites at Stansted. FC Clacton and West Essex is hard to call, especially after Clacton’s win at Buckhurst Hill on Wednesday. Frenford should be in trouble at White Ensign and Ilford v Benfleet is a tight one, which leaves The Bridge v Halstead and the visitors as slight favourites but, as always, anything can happen especially when you’re….