06/09/2026
LIV FC and Brigg Town played out a 2-2 draw on Saturday afternoon at the EC Surfacing Stadium.
Brigg provided the majority of the goal threat in the first half as they dominated proceedings and looked to make their home advantage count. Josh Batty hit a shot against the side netting in the tenth minute while Dayle Southwell saw his headed effort go over the bar two minutes later.
Southwell gave the Zebras the lead on 15 minutes as he swept home after a short corner routine found him inside the LIV box. At the other end, the Lions created a chance when Ryan Whincup’s header was saved by Brigg goalkeeper Liam Higton.
The Zebras continued to threaten and carved out another chance on the LIV goal on 23 minutes as Reece York fired an effort wide. Batty later had a headed effort tipped superbly over by LIV keeper Joe Piercy.
It became 2-0 for the hosts in the 38th minute courtesy of a Batty header. LIV almost pulled a goal back, but they were denied by some great Brigg blocks.
The Lions began to see more of the ball from the start of the second half onwards and imposed themselves on the game. They reduced the arrears in the 55th minute as Ojei Victory was played through and slipped the ball past Higton to secure his third league goal of the season. Three minutes later, Victory got his second goal of the game to make it 2-2. He later could’ve made it a hat-trick for himself on 67 minutes when his lobbed effort nestled just over the bar.
Brigg then regained some control and created a handful of opportunities. York smashed a shot high and wide while Southwell diverted Adam Drury’s effort just over the bar and Drury saw another strike hit the crossbar. Meanwhile, the Lions also came close to grabbing a winner through a George Walmsley shot that went over the bar and a Jake Harman effort which was saved by Higton. It was a result that kept LIV in ninth place and increased their tally to 14 points.
Lions boss Bill Gill was very happy with his side’s response to their two-goal half-time deficit.
“We were forced into two changes from Tuesday night and I felt it showed in the opening 45 minutes. Both players who came into the side then had to be replaced through injury which disrupted us further. Our cohesion, shape and phases of play were disjointed and going in 2-0 down at half-time against the league leaders left us with a real challenge.
“We spoke for longer than normal at half-time as a group, established a clear game plan and changed the system. Credit to the players because they took everything on board and it ultimately worked. Towards the end, we actually had two one-on-one chances where we could’ve gone on and won the game.
“Brigg are a very well-drilled side. They have a system they believe in, they trust their players and they’re relentless with it at times, so we certainly had to work extremely hard to get anything from the game. Considering the position we found ourselves in at half-time, it’s a very good result and another strong show of character from the group”, Gill said.
Brigg Town: Higton, Day, Parr (Hill 48’), Thompson (Richardson 62’), Jordan (C), Flemming, Drury (Davidson 87’), Collins, Batty (Hutson 68’), Southwell, York.
Sub Not Used: Fisher.
LIV FC: Piercy; Wilson, Jordan (Barker 46’), Attree, Onyeka; Morrill (Adams 18’) (Scrivener 76’), Sedman; J. Nichols (Walmsley 81’), D. Nichols (C), Whincup (Harman 83’); Victory.
MOTM: Eric Onyeka (Sponsorship Available)
