Another round of fixtures for the Bury Relics over 70s, on an October day that was a little overcast with a slight breeze but without rain. Travel conditions were hampered by road works but for the enthusiastic players, this was no obstacle as all were on time. This enthusiasm extended into the matches that saw the Relics dominate in all 3 games. The stats for possession, number of passes and number of shots were well in the Relics favour.
Bury Relics vs. Blackpool FC Senior Seasiders. First up were Blackpool in their traditional Orange strip. Early into the game, the Relics were passing well and Tex had a long range effort saved, when shortly after John W burst through from midfield that almost had him one on one with the keeper but for the ball just to run too far. Two close efforts for the Relics followed. Both sides were exchanging possession but Blackpool kept picking up fouls which led to a Relics penalty. John W confidently chose to take it and set himself. He stood motionless, one step back from the ball, and then confidently dispatched a side foot to the right hand of the keeper, who had no chance; 1 – 0 to the Relics. The Relics continued to dominate but were being penalised for tackles and the odd run. Jerry then made a good chance for Pete but his shot just went wide of the post. Blackpool were now having a few passes themselves and from one move, had a shot from the edge of Eddy’s area, but he was quickly down to make a save. The following passage of play saw the Relics concede a fourth foul and a penalty; the Blackpool striker hit it well but it went wide of the left hand post. A sigh of relief. The next Relics move nearly produced a second goal, where John W was in space to the left hand of the area, and his low shot across the goal hit the opposite post. A final Blackpool attack saw one of their players running clean through, and it was a one on one with Eddy, who kept his nerve and made the save. Final score was 1 – 0 to the Relics.
Relics vs. Rochdale AFC Strollers. The Relics went Eco friendly in their green bibs, and the start of this game saw both teams making multiple passing moves. This game seemed to flow as there were fewer penalty infringements than in the previous game. The Relics were moving the ball around well and it was exemplified by an 8 pass move that culminated in a fierce shot from Tex that just crept wide. Then John W tried his luck from long range but missed. Bob was having an influence on the game with his sharp intercepting and terrier like tackles, which was breaking up any Strollers rhythm. This was evident again when he made a goal saving tackle that did put the striker on the ground but no harm done from the fair tackle. Both Jerry and Keiren had shots go wide and saved respectively, but despite the Relics dominance, the Strollers defence stood firm and the final score was a 0 – 0 draw.
Bury Relics vs. Preston North End SW. The final game of the day was Preston and early on John W had a shot but surprisingly a free kick was given for an unknown infringement. Preston’s tall no. 9 was looking dangerous and tricky in attack, and Bob was using all his experience and guile to keep him at bay. However, as in previous games, the Relics started to dominate with their incisive passing and moving, leading to a Keiren shot which was saved. Another chance was made by the quick feet of John W; with a swivel to the side, he hit a shot just high and wide. The game adjacent to this pitch were having shooting accuracy issues as balls kept invading the pitch. However, soon after this the breakthrough was made. A defensive error gave possession away to the Relics and Keiren took full advantage by firing a low shot into the net, to the left hand side. 1 – 0 to the Relics! Eddy was then called into action twice as Preston tried to get back into the game. Relics made several more chances from Tex and Keiren but no more goals were made. This was a good performance, with the Relics winning 1 – 0.
Congratulations, a thank you and well done to all the Relics players/staff on the day An almost full squad of 8 Bury Relic players were available for manager Keith Swain to choose from; the all-star squad consisted of Eddy (GK), John W, Tex, Bob, Tony P, Peter A, Jerry and Keiren.
As special thank you to Kodak Keith for the great pictures and to Dr. John for brews and giving the team diabetes (with all the chocolate). And to all the supporters that turned out.
For all the GMWFL Autumn 2021 results and fixtures see the Match Centre page here
GMWFL Autumn 2021 Over 70’s October
Bury Relics 