Brig defeat at home for Badgers
A first minute attack by Brighouse almost saw the first goal of the afternoon as the ball was whipped across goal, cleared by the Retford defence, but a stark warning of the threat of the visitors.
Tom Matthews put the ball across goal again for Brighouse, only a fraction wide of the far post as Retford failed to clear.
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Hide AdRetford hit back with two good chances, Lee Holmes crashing a header off the bar from a corner, and Reece Thompson getting a header into the box despite an apparent shove in the area.
But Matthews put the visitors ahead on 17 minutes, his cross from out on the right somehow deceiving Jody Barford and sneaking into the far corner of the net.
And the lead was doubled as Danny Naidole drilled the ball low into the bottom corner.
Retford’s Craig Aspinall had a shot blocked, and Andy Walkden was unable to get a clean shot away from the rebound.
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Hide AdMatthews could have made it 3-0 as he got clear of the defence, but his effort drifted off target.
With four minutes left in the half a header by Naidole was caught by the wind and looped over Barford into the back of the net, making it 3-0 to Brighouse.
Badgers had a strong start to the second half, but it wasn’t until the hour mark that a pair of substitutions changed their fortunes.
Ben Muirhead and Jack Cross replaced Aspinall and Walkden, and two minutes later Cross found the net after good work by Thompson.
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Hide AdAn effort from Holmes had the Brighouse keeper scrambling, but the ball whistled past the post.
The game was effectively over when Brighouse got a fourth on 75 minutes, Adam Wilson’s superb goal all but sealing the points.
Ryan Hall went on to add insult to injury with a fifth, and there was a stoppage time consolation for the home side as Holmes netted.
The result pushed Retford down from third to fifth in the NCEL Premier, ahead of Saturday’s trip to Garforth Town, and Tuesday’s home game against Thackley.