Pontefract Collieries manager Craig Rouse proud of his players after difficult week

A 4-1 win in a West Yorkshire derby at Brighouse Town lifted Colls back up to fourth place with four league matches remaining.

After a goalless first half Connor Smythe set them on the way with a remarkable goal straight from the restart as he hit a shot from just inside his own half and cleared Brighouse keeperJamie Hassall to send the ball into the net.

It lit the fuse for a brilliant second half display in which Adam Haw put away a penalty and Bailey Thompson struck twice before Myron Gibbons got a late consolation for the hosts.

Victory came less than 48 hours after a traumatic night at Pontefract’s Hunters Stadium when they staged a West Riding County Cup semi-final against Wakefield AFC that had been put back 48 hours because of a waterlogged pitch.

With Colls 4-0 up after Smythe, Jack Greenhough and Mikey Dunn all netted to go with a Callum Charlton own goal the game was abandoned because of a medical emergency after a man in the crowd – named by Wakefield AFC as Jakob Bregman – fell ill.

Despite the efforts of physios and volunteers from both clubs, he could not be saved and died on Friday morning.

In the circumstances it may have been difficult for the Ponte players to be fully committed for their match at Brighouse, but the way they dealt with it pleased manager Rouse.

He said: "So proud of this group of players. The resilience shown over the last few days has been unbelievable, topped off by a mature performance.

“It has been a difficult week and we send our thoughts to Jakob’s friends and family and we are as respectful as we can be.

"It was awful scenes and the medical staff from our club were visibly upset.

"It’s been a really tough week and we tried to get around each other and try to put a little bit of focus on football and cheer each other up off the back of that.

"it was a pleasing performance and we’re happy with the three points, but we send our thoughts to Jakob’s friends and family. Anything we can do as a club to honour his name we’ll obviously do.”

Ponte are at home to Grimsby Borough on Saturday and host play-off rivals Belper Town next Tuesday.