Manager Dougie Keast brought in Scott Taylor at right-back and handed Michael Byrne a first start with Bobby White and Adam Cunnington on the bench.

Stamford started brightly and Taylor stole forward to shoot wide after Tyrone Kirk and Chris Gray combined to create the opening.

Home player manager Steve Housham began to pull the midfield strings as the Zebras settled and the Daniels soon found themselves pushed back.

Housham was thwarted by a Ross Watson challenge after latching on to Stuart Ainsley's through ball while skipper Tommy Spall twice shot wide from distance.

Four minutes before the half-hour Stamford lost skipper Chris Gray with shin splints. Tom Guiney came on at right back, Taylor took the armband and went to centre-half and Watson was pushed forward into midfield.

Stamford struggled to get into the game in open play with many of Martin Davies' clearances drifting into touch on the wind, but the Daniels posed a setpiece threat with Shaun Pearson bringing a save from home custodian Leigh Herrick from a Dom Hallows free-kick and Watson rising to head over a Dan Cotton corner.

Brigg took a well deserved lead after 38 minutes when Hallows failed to find distance on a clearance and Craig Fletcher fired home.

On the stroke of half-time Phil Stebbing's fine run set up Kirk whose fiercely struck drive brought a good save from Herrick.

The Daniels' prospects looked bleak at the break as they had been outplayed at times during the first period.

On resumption Stamford hauled themselves into the game, Kirk providing the spark with a great cross from the left which was headed in at the far post by Pearson on 48 minutes.

Chris Goodman left the action shortly afterwards after a clash of heads left him with a facial injury, giving youth teamer Todd Whitby a chance to shine and he put senior colleagues to shame with the quality of his passing.

Hallows forced Herrick to tip over a well-struck effort from 25 yards as confidence returned to the Stamford ranks and two minutes before the hour mark the Daniels took the lead with aa great solo effort from Kirk.

Whitby and Cotton combined to play the wide man away down the right and he weaved his way in from the touchline leaving a host of defenders in his wake before firing a low shot past Herrick.

Cunnington came on for Byrne, who had struggled to get into the game, and he was soon in the action with a fine run which culminated in Stebbing putting a sizzling shot narrowly wide.

Davies was brought into rare action to kick clear from Rick Day, but it was the Daniels who looked the more dangerous with Stebbing denied at the expense of a corner following a solo run.

The points were made safe eight minutes from time. There seemed no danger when Hallows threw the ball in to Cunnington but the substitute turned his marker before crashing a thunderous shot into the roof of the net.

Late home pressure saw Fletcher squander a good chance, but the Daniels advantage rarely came under threat with stand-in skipper Taylor marshalling the rearguard well.

Brigg: Herrick, Tuck, Barrett, Housham (Oswin 61), Hellewell (Cochrane 53), Jacklin, Would, Spall, Day, Fletcher, Ainsley (Muldoon 70).

Stamford: Davies, Taylor, Hallows, Watson, Pearson, Goodman (Whitby 50), Cotton, Gray (Guiney 26), Byrne (Cunnington 60), Stebbing, Kirk.

Attendance: 159.

Mercury man-of-the-match: Scott Taylor.