Matlock see off ten-man Brighouse to continue good start to 2026
Matlock Town made it two wins from two in 2026 with a 3-1 success at Brighouse Town on Saturday.
Those two wins were 16 days apart thanks to postponements in between and the Gladiators ultimately made heavy work of securing the points on this occasion, despite having played three quarters of the game with an extra man.
But the victory was again vital given results elsewhere and ahead of three straight home games in the space of seven days, gave them another good platform to build on.
They were out of the blocks very quickly. Barely 90 seconds had elapsed before Ben Sault was allowed to burst into the penalty area and reach the byline from where he pulled the ball across goal and it was diverted into his own net by Brighouse defender George Grumley.
Matlock continued to control things and Sault and Harlain Mbayo both saw chances go close, the latter forcing a fine save out of keeper Michael Acquah following a corner.
Then Conor Washington was sent clear on goal but saw his initial effort and his rebound kept out by Acquah.
The hosts made things even harder for themselves a minute later when captain Sam Booth was sent off for a reckless tackle on Alfie Atherton.
Atherton headed a chance straight at the keeper on the half-hour mark and Sault curled a shot wide, but it was the hosts who would surprisingly level things up right on half-time when a corner found the head of Sam Pashley who nodded home.
That goal gave Brighouse some belief in the second-half and although Matlock continued to create the better chances, the hosts were always quick to attack when opportunities arose and when Ethan Bojang was sent clear on goal, Matlock keeper Dylan Wharton produced a fine stop to deny him an equaliser.
Prior to that, Ryan Viggars headed a corner over the top and then Jake Thompson saw an effort saved as Matlock looked for a third, which took a while to arrive but it finally did so on 72 minutes as Washington worked space in the penalty area and fired home a low shot.
The win was finally secured in stoppage time when Acquah went up for a Brighouse corner, only for Matlock to clear to sub Cameron Wilson who ran unchallenged for 70 yards before rolling the ball into the empty net to make sure of the points.
Matlock: Wharton, Eratt-Thompson, Milambo, Ravenhill, Mbayo (Bachirou 57), Oglesby, Thompson (K Clayton 76), Sault, Washington (MacDonald 86), Viggars, Atherton (Wilson 57).
Not used: Granite.