GMWFL Autumn 2023 –Over 60s Whites Have One Of Those Days

October 2023
Bury Relics Over 60s Whites contested the second set of fixtures of their Greater Manchester Division 1 Walking Football league campaign on a cool, dry day in Heywood. The squad was Eddy (GK), Tony, Wayne, Keith S, Ian McCann, Kevin, Gordon and Graham with Ken as Manager. A frustrating day resulted in 3 draws and a loss which was a poor return considering the pressure that we exerted in 3 of the matches.
 
First up were Kingsmaid, as usual it was a high quality closely contested match. More of a chess game than a thriller in which we shaded the shots but no real clearcut chances were created by either team. 0-0 but we played excellently, especially, defensively.
 
Straight into the second game against Corinthians. This was another good game which we dominated with about 80% possession but we couldn’t finish our good play off with a goal. We were one close running decision away from winning a penalty but we were not getting any luck and again it finished 0-0.
 
Match 3 v Fleetwood was the best game of walking football that I have seen. Great team play, superb forward play, by both outstanding centre forwards who were thwarted by great goalkeeping, and a high level of skill displayed by everyone on show. What made it especially good was no running, contact or moaning as everyone had to concentrate on the opposition. 0-0 for the third match in a row.
 
Our final game was against Wakefield. Possibly due to our exertions in the previous match we started so slowly that we never gave ourselves a chance. They had a good chance after around 20 seconds which Eddy saved for a corner and they scored after a minute. We were then left chasing the game against a tremendously well drilled side who know exactly what to do when they go a goal up. Trying to force the play we eventually gave away a penalty through 4 fouls just before the end which was confidently slotted home. A 2-0 loss.
 
3 points on a day when we played so well in 3 matches was disappointing but in a league of this standard there are no easy games and every point has to be hard won. The players gave their all so it is onto Matchdays 3 & 4, both in November, with Relics sitting bang in the middle of the table 8 points off the top and 7 points clear of the bottom.