Halstead Town– the last three seasons:

2024/25 – Essex Senior League Premier
The Humbugs finished 13th last season with 48 points from their 38 matches. 15 wins, 3 draws, and 20 defeats gave them the 48 points and 75 for and 101 against a -26 GD. They won 6 on the road. Top goal scorers were ex-Bridge man Nathan Scarborough with 14, Joel Older with 13 and Dean Ager with 12.

2023/24 – Essex Senior League Premier
The Humbugs finished 10th with 54 points from 38 games. 15 wins, 9 draws and 14 defeats gave them 54 points and 73 for and 68 against a +5 GD. They won 8 on the road. Top goal scorers were Kane Gilbert with 13, Joel Older with 13, and Adebolu Adeyemi with 7.

2022/23 – Essex Senior League Premier
The Humbugs finished 15th with 40 points from their 38 matches. 11 wins, 7 draws, and 20 defeats gave them 40 points and 54 for and 72 against a -18 GD. They won 4 on the road. Top goal scorers were Joel Older with 8, Kane Gilbert with 7 and Alfie Cleal with 6.

	Player	Appearances			Player	Appearances
1	Jack Cherry	22		21	Fraser Bull	3
2	Joel Older	21		22	Scott Sloots	3
3	Matt Travell	21		23	Harry Wadforth	3
4	Jamie Bennett	20		24	Jordan Palmer	2
5	Robbie Bennett	20		25	Josh Ricca	2
6	Theo Duffin	20		26	Jordan Hudson	1
7	Matt Coppen	18		27	Callum Watson	1
8	Marc Holland	18		28	Matt Wooldridge	1
9	George Frodsham	17
10	Tom Graves	17
11	Alfie Cleal	16
12	Luke Burgess	14
13	Lewis Clifford	14
14	Kane Gilbert	14
15	Andrew Ross Wright	13
16	Ollie Micallef	11
17	Billy Jamison	9
18	Dean Ager	6
19	Owen Betts	6
20	Kane Munday	4

28 players used so far this season, and the only one I recognise with Bridge connections is George Frodsham.

	Player	Goals	Appearances	Ratio
1	Joel Older	10	21	2.1
2	Kane Gilbert	8	14	1.75
3	Robbie Bennett	7	20	2.857142857
4	George Frodsham	4	17	4.25
5	Jamie Bennett	3	20	6.666666667
6	Owen Betts	2	6	3
7	Alfie Cleal	2	16	8
8	Matt Coppen	2	18	9
9	Luke Burgess	1	14	14
10	Lewis Clifford	1	14	14
11	Theo Duffin	1	20	20
12	Tom Graves	1	17	17
13	Marc Holland	1	18	18

EASTERN COUNTIES (Jewson/Ridgeons League/Thurlow Nunn)
Premier Champions: 1994/95; 1995/96
Premier runners-up: 1993/94
Division One Winners: 2002/03
Division One runners-up: 1989/90
League Cup Winners: 1995/96, 2004/05
League Cup Finalists: 1989/90,
Division One K.O. Cup Winners: 2002/03
Division One K.O Cup Finalists: 2007/08, 2009/10
Chell Trophy Winners: 2009/10,2018/19, 2022/23
Reserve League winners 2017/18
ESSEX SENIOR LEAGUE
Premier K.O. Cup Finalists: 1982/83
Division One K.O. Cup Finalists: 1982/83
Harry Fisher Cup Finalists: 1989/90
ESSEX & SUFFOLK BORDER LEAGUE
Premier Division: 1957/58, 68/69, 77/78, 94/95
Premier runners-up: 1949/50, 54/55, 58/59, 60/61, 76/77, 95/96
Premier K.O. Cup Winners: 1957/58, 58/59, 73/74, 93/94
Premier K.O. Cup Finalists: 1971/72, 79/80, 81/82
Division One Winners: 1949/50, 51/52, 59/60, 93/94
Division One runners-up: 1968/69
Division One K.O. Cup Winners: 1949/50, 54/55, 59/60
Reserves Division Winners: 1971/72
Reserves Division runners-up: 1974/75, 75/76
Reserves K.O. Cup Winners: 1974/75
Reserves K.O. Cup Finalists: 1972/73, 73/74
PREMIER CUPS
Essex Senior Cup, Finalists: 2004/05
Essex Senior Cup, Semi Finalists: 1994/95, 2003/04
Essex Senior Trophy Winners: 1993/94, 96/97
Essex Junior Trophy Winners: 1947/48
Essex Junior Trophy Finalists: 1964/65
East Anglian Cup Finalists: 1994/95, 2009/10
Eastern Floodlit Cup Finalists: 1990/91

Both teams have been in the ESL Premier since The Bridge were relegated from the Isthmian League North in season 2022-23, so there have been a few meetings between the sides. Here’s what happened over the last two seasons.

The last meeting between the teams was last season, on Tuesday, 25th March 2025, under the lights at Lower Road. The Bridge won the match 3-2, taking the lead with a goal from Connor Hart before Joel Older equalised for The Humbugs. Piers Hatcliff then scored two quick goals to put The Bridge 3-1 up before James Eveleigh reduced the deficit, but The Bridge held on for the win.

The first meeting of that season saw The Bridge win at Rosemary Lane in the second match of the season. A Charlie Morris hat-trick sent The Bridge on their way, although Dean Ager got one back before Charlie scored his third. A Matt Travell own goal made it 1-4, and Ade Adeyemi made it 2-4 as The Bridge took the three points.

Season 2023-24 saw the sides meet twice. The second match was at Lower Road, and The Bridge were 1-0 winners on the 27th of January 2024, with the solitary goal coming from Michael Agboola. The first meeting that season at Rosemary Lane on the 12th of September 2023 was a 2-1 win for the hosts with goals from Kane Gilbert and Julian Simon-Parsons. Solomon Ofori replied for The Bridge.

Halstead are having a decent season and are currently in 8th place, although form has dipped a bit recently, which is reflected in their 15th place position in the form guide (The Bridge are now 11th).

Whom to watch for? Well, George Frodsham had a short spell at The Bridge, and the goals usually come from Joel Older and Kane Gilbert. Kane has six in the last six games, and they both have decent goal ratios, so look out for them should they be available.

Things are looking good for The Bridge at the moment as they go for four in a row, and Marc & Liam have certainly made a good impact, so let’s hope for an early Christmas present, and hope that Santa brings us three points to Lower Road!