Worsbrough Bridge Athletic

Worsbrough Bridge Athletic FC is a non-league football club that was originally formed as Worsbrough Bridge St James in 1923 to provide recreation for the colliers, changing their name to Worsbrough Bridge Miners Welfare FC. 

The club competed in the Barnsley Junior League and then the Barnsley Association League, in which the side won the title twice in the 1950s. Progression to Division Two of the Sheffield Association League followed in 1963, winning promotion at the first attempt.

The Division One title followed in 1965-66 and 1969-70 which led to a place in Division Three of the Yorkshire League in 1971-72. This era saw some memorable games in the FA Amateur Cup including a visit from Blyth Spartans that attracted a crowd of 1,603 to Park Road.

Two consecutive promotions saw the ‘Briggers’ reach Division One of the Yorkshire League for the start of the 1973-74 season. 1975-76 saw the side drop back down a level before being relegated back to Division Three at the end of the 1978-79 campaign.

Worsbrough became a founder member of the Northern Counties East League in 1982-83, being placed in Division Two South before later restructuring saw them move to Division One Central and then Division Three in 1985-86. A year later that level was absorbed into Division Two.

A runners-up place in 1990-91 was rewarded with promotion to Division One with Geoff Horsfield starting his career at the club at the same time. The financial backing from the miner's welfare ceased and the club changed its name to reflect that to Worsbrough Bridge Athletic in 2006.

Despite the financial burdens, many ground improvements were made to the Park Road ground. Darrell Bowman resigned as team manager in October 2009 with Mick Norbury stepping in for a short while to help stabilise the club.

Chris Hilton came in to take over in June 2010 remaining in charge until May 2014 when he was succeeded by Dave Mace. Further works were carried out at Park Road in the summer of 2014, to enhance what was already a nice venue. 

Mark Joyce became the new manager in May 2015 before being replaced in March 2016 by Ian Shirt. Next in line to take charge of team affairs was Josh Wright in December 2016 after a spell in the role as an interim. Lee Morris was appointed as team boss in October 2017 as the side finished too close to the drop zone.

Seventh place in 2018-19 was a huge improvement before two seasons were lost to the worldwide pandemic. Former club captain Luke Forgione was named as manager in October 2020, remaining in charge until September 2023 when former boss Morris returned for a second spell.

Worsbrough Bridge Athletic will play in the Northern Counties East League Division One in the 2024-25 season.

My visit

Worsbrough Bridge Athletic 0 Scarborough Athletic 3 (Saturday 12th January 2008) Northern Counties East League (att: 211)

I arranged a trip up to North Yorkshire to visit friends and relatives to coincide with a couple of Scarborough Athletic games and to attend the funeral of occasional Seadog, loyal Hull City fan and absolute gentleman Nick Groombridge. 

After seeing the team win at Thornaby three days previously I got into the car with Jamie, his young son Marcus, Bunner and Carl in good spirits. Boro were chasing a promotion place while Worsbrough Bridge Athletic were floundering near the base of the table.

We reached the village, which is just a few miles from Barnsley, in good time where we parked at the ground and searched out a pub as the clubhouse wasn't yet open. We found a nice, if slightly expensive place back up the hill before returning to the small but friendly clubhouse. 

Many Seadogs were in good spirits and enjoying the hospitality. Some had visited The Ship pub and were promised free food after the game if they returned after the game. The Park Road ground shared its facilities with the cricket club who are based at the top end. The Clubhouse End contained the changing rooms and a raised path which gave a good view of the pitch. 

There was a big slope from the road down to the playing area. Young Marcus had me kicking the ball up the hill to him while he tapped it back down to me. The stone wall at the top was only about 4 feet high which meant passersby stopped and watched some of the action for free!

The ground is easily flooded owing to it being in a valley and a river and weir being located next to the ground. The club battled on despite being hit badly with floods the previous summer and attracting very few supporters. 

Aside from the cricket pitch and clubhouse ends, the ground had a narrow terrace and cover along the riverside and a Main Stand on the top of a bank along the other. It is certainly very pleasing to the eye. The home side put in an excellent performance on the pitch and should have been awarded a penalty at 0-0. 

Boro eventually took control and eased to a 3-0 victory with goals from Ryan Blott and Scott Phillips before the break and then Craig Hogg eleven minutes from the end. Ryan Morton put in a very impressive performance on his debut while the other highlight was watching the alternative ball boy in action. 

The ball cleared the cover and went into the river. He went through a gate in the fence, produced a small fishing net on the end of a long pole, and proceeded to knock the ball free from some rocks and spoon it out as it got alongside him!

All in all a good and recommended day out. Our car certainly had a top day as did the passengers of the supporters bus as the landlord of The Ship stuck to his promise and provided free sausages and chips!