Worsbrough Bridge Athletic 3-0 Leeds UFCA, Saturday 18th April 2026

Worsbrough Bridge 3-0 Leeds UFCA, Northern Counties East League Division 1 semi-final play-off, The Totally Training Stadium (Park Road), att. 460

Sometimes I’m actually quite grateful that Sky like messing around with the 3rd division (League 1) fixture schedule. Today is one of those days. Barnsley v Bradford City (approximate number of empty seats: 9,000) is on telly at 12:30, for those folk too lazy to actually attend themselves. This means that, as long as I park cleverly, I can get away from Oakwell, jump in the car and head down Sheffield Road for a 3pm KO at The Totally Training Stadium. The plan works to perfection.

I am parked up and outside the ground with 10 minutes to kick-off. It’s a Northern Counties East League Division 1 play-off semi, 2nd placed Worsbrough Bridge Athletic against 5th placed Leeds UFCA. Who they? Students? Does the ‘U’ stand for ‘University’? (Yes it does. Leeds University Football Club Association.) No wonder all their players look like teenagers. There are no programmes. Disappointing.

Other escapees from Oakwell enter through the turnstiles, inc Waddington, and Waddington junior. Junior points out how we could watch the game for free from Sheffield Road. Yes, we COULD, but that’s not the point. Anyway, we have a great view, just to the right of the goal. We’re behind a small grassy bank, looking down on the goal.

To our right is a...mezzanine patio, with a few picnic tables. They’re busy today, the sun beaming. Grass banking continues around the corner. Fans stood shoulder-to-shoulder on the flat standing above, while a few laze around on the bank itself. A hamburger van behind was doing brisk trade. It MUST be a big game. This wasn’t here last time I came.

A traditional old main stand with a lovely fascia stands astride the halfway line, and it looked pretty full today. It was also packed outside the adjacent social club. Of course, one area where it WASN’T packed was behind the far goal, the cricket pitch. No-one’s allowed on here. A reminder of the old days, when the likes of Bramall Lane, Northampton’s County Ground and Bishop Auckland’s Kingsway all had 3 sided grounds to house both sports.

Mind, it’s arguably two and a half sides here. There is a small standing enclosure on the 4th side, on the halfway line and no-one stood beyond this stand. The stand itself is surprisingly empty. Or not. Nobody wants to stand with the youth, who’re allowed space to chant about going up the league while unleashing the occasional smoke bomb.

The youth have good reason to celebrate though. The Briggers win comfortably, 3-0, and it could have been a lot more, but for the students’ goalkeeper, who is their MOTM. Next Satdy is the final, 2nd placed Worsbrough having home advantage v 3rd placed Wakefield, who’ve crept thru on pens after coming from 2 down to draw against Harrogate Town. It promises to be a corker. Hopefully there’ll be an even bigger crowd as Barnsley play away at Luton. Come on you Briggers!

The Damage:
£5 ent
= £5

Worsbrough Bridge Athletic 0-3 Skegness Town, Saturday 28th September 2019

Worsbrough Bridge Athletic 0-3 Skegness Town, Northern Counties East League Division 1 (att. 62)

Welcome to ....

A distinct disadvantage of gaining promotion to the upper echelons of the EFL is that your team is suddenly forced to play home matches on a Sunday – either for TV (Brentford) or for the police (Dirty Leeds).  Thus, for a second home match in a row, Barnsley’s game was switched to a Sunday lunchtime.  Not handy if you live in London and there’s limited/expensive trains up.  So Reedy and I went up Satdy (cheaper trains) giving me an opportunity to see another local non-league team, in this case Worsbrough Bridge, AKA The Briggers.

The view from Sheffield Road.

I must have passed their stadium dozens of times, as it’s on the main road as you come into Barnsley from the direction of Sheffield or the motorway south of Barnsley.  Deep at the bottom of the valley and bordered by the River Dove on one side, the ground normally only gets mentioned for its intermittent flooding.  Mind, the last home game was re-arranged to allow for cricket.  I had high hopes for a decent pitch.  It most certainly wasn’t a decent pitch, lumps all over it, not to mention the massive slope from one end to the other.  Not good for tracking back.

Action in front of the Main Stand.

I was dropped off in Worsbrough (thanks Mrs Reed!) to meet up with former Londontyke Nozzer, retired to the area.  And after watching the end of Liverpool’s narrow beating of the Blunts (Sheffield United) we made our way to the ground, a 10 minute walk.  And whilst one could watch the game from the road for free, why be churlish?  £5 in (for adults) and programme purchased  (£1, not even a league table in there).  As well as a wee, I’d recommend the burgers.  Not bad for something pulled out of hot water – or was I exceptionally hungry?  Otherwise, the clubhouse was a poor affair, small and no beers on tap (but they had cans).  Most of the building was given over to the changing rooms.

The Main Stand with clubhouse (left).

On the same side of the pitch is a small seated stand, holding 175 fans (I read).  Pretty cute too, with a decorative fascia.  Opposite was a small covered bit of terracing, with crush barriers (or ‘leaning barriers’ for the lack of crowds Worsbrough get).  To the left of this was the rest of the cricket pitch while to the right was Sheffield Road.  Spectators were in three clumps, sitting down, leaning on the barrier of the clubhouse, or on the terrace.  With the rain intermittently lashing down, cover was the order of the day, and we took our place on the terrace along with 10 or so others.

Covered standing.

Today’s visitors were the league leaders Skegness Town, and while not looking particularly good, it took them only 10 minutes to take the lead and their victory was never in doubt.  The ref gave a dubious free kick to Skegness and from 25 yards out they found the bottom corner.  The home keeper couldn’t quite get across, but he seemed the pick of the Briggers herd from then on, despite being new (there’s nothing like shouting at your left back ‘Oi, left back!’ cos you don’t know his name).

The Main Stand

Thereafter, there was only one winner and it was only a matter of how many.  The Briggers held out till just after the hour (was it a header on the backpost?) before sealing it when a forward ran clean through.  Given this was the 10^th level of English football, I suppose I shouldn’t have been surprised at the lack of ability on show.  Both sides seemed full of big lad cloggers to me, with little pace or skill on show.  Still, who doesn’t love a game of football and the chance to shout randomly at officials and opposition players?

The Damage: £5 ent
£2.50 burger
£1 prog
£2.20 bus
= £10.70

The Tunes:
Two Suns (Bat for Lashes)

It's a sign!  Of what?  Sun and rain.

Skegness team minibus.

Players and officials come out.

The view from behind the goal.