Bury Relics Over 70’s went into their third set of fixtures of the Greater Manchester Division 1 Walking Football Spring league campaign still struggling to fill the squad with Tex, Gerry, Tony and Woggy all unavailable. The fit members of the squad were Eddy (GK), Dave M, Keith B, Peter, Bob, JoMo, Ray (making his debut) with Pat on standby, if absolutely necessary, but who went unused, with Keith as Manager.
Another solid day resulted in a 1-0 win, 2 nil-nil draws and a 1-0 loss which leaves us 5 points behind Corinthians in equal second with Rochdale and 3 points in front of Tameside with Blackpool adrift a further 11 points behind them. The Runners-Up Trophy is definitely a possibility although it will be hard-fought on the final day with top spot now only a very outside chance.
First up were Tameside with Keith starting on the bench. Ray added a new dimension with his ability to hit a fierce left foot shot increasing our shot count from the get go. We played good football which resulted in 3 good shots from Ray, all on target and well saved by their keeper. Peter, who was having to play far more forward than normal, had a great turn and shot from a JoMo throughball which their goalie again saved. Tameside were contained by quality defending by Bob and Dave and we looked a lot more confident and comfortable than in Match week 2 when injuries crippled us. A good performance by us for a 0-0.
Next up were Blackpool with Peter starting on the bench. We dominated possession and our forward trio of Ray, JoMo and Keith worked well together. Ray had already had a good shot at the start of the match before JoMo found him with a nice pass, which he controlled well, before shimmying past the defender and firing low across the keeper into the bottom left hand corner. For once we then kept the ball expertly and pushed forward to see out a very good win with more shots from JoMo, Keith and Ray. The only downside in our 1-0 win was a late tumble for Ray which aggravated a pre existing rib injury.
Third up were league leaders’ Corinthians with Keith starting on the bench. Last time out they absolutely battered us but this time the game was completely even as both teams cancelled each other out. No chances were created and it was the tale of two penalties: they scored but we missed to see them emerge victorious 1-0.
Our final match v Rochdale, saw Peter on the bench. We started well, stroking the ball about for a 30 pass move but then the game became frantic as both team pushed for a goal. Again few chances were created and the best of them fell to the Strollers but Eddy made a great save, even better after a morning of mostly inaction for him, to keep the game scoreless. Three 0-0s in a row between these 2 teams who cannot be separated in the table even on goal difference. This sets up these 2 to play off in the final game of the season in what could well be a winner takes 2nd place game.
Report by Motherwell Ian and Photos by Kodak Keith H.
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Bury Relics 