Bury Relics Over 60 Stripes entered the Greater Manchester Division 3 Walking Football Autumn league after promotion last Spring. The members of the squad selected for Matchday 1 were Eddy (GK), Mark T, Steve H, Ken, Mike, Steve M, Kev and Andy. Ken was Manager Keith & numerous supporters in attendance on a dry day.
First up were Burnley with Ken and Steve H starting on the bench. As we all know well the Clarets culture is to move quick and tackle hard and they were very soon on 3 fouls but we couldn’t draw a fourth to gain a penalty as we found it difficult to get the ball up front to Andy. We competed well but left them with a spare man over too often in our half and eventually they punished us from that situation with a toebung through Eddy’s legs giving him no chance. Eddy then made the save of the match (pictured) with a full length diving stop to his bottom right from a fiercely struck cross shot. A tough 1-0 loss.
Next up were Bolton with Mark and Kev starting on the bench. This game was incredibly open with both teams pushing forward continuously. Our first attack saw an Arena defender nearly score an own goal from a pass back which agonisingly dribbled past the post for a corner. Then Steve H. hit a good shot from distance which their keeper turned round for a corner before Bolton squandered 2 good chances. We had a period of pressure in their half which resulted in Andy threading a kick in to Mike, standing totally free at the edge of the D, who controlled it and turned nicely before slotting it into the bottom corner for a 1-0 lead. Bolton immediately hit back with Eddy making a good save from a well hit shot and then equalising from an excellent curling finish. Both teams continued to trade attacks with an equal amount of chances but both keepers performed heroics to keep the scoreline at 1-1.
Third up were Preston with Andy and Steve M starting on the bench. This game was the total opposite of the previous match with 98% of the match taking place in the middle third as the 2 teams cancelled each other out. There were no decent shots on goal apart from the 2 penalties awarded, one each, which were the inevitable result of the large amount of fouls committed in the congested centre of the park. Both penalties were saved by the respective keepers to give the 0-0 result that the game deserved.
Our final match versus Moston Brook, saw Ken and Mike on the bench. This match saw us come together as a team and play our best football of the day against a very good team. In another very close game with little between the teams the difference came from their centre forward scoring a top class goal with a turn and clinical finish to see the Brook 1-0 victors.
It was always going to be difficult for a squad which this time last year were in Division 5 to adjust quickly to Division 3 especially with 2 players making their league debut for Relics. However, the positives were that we competed in every match and did not look out of place. As the day progessed there were signs of improvement especially on the defensive side in the last 2 matches as the players got to know each other’s styles better. With Burnley and Moston Brook drawing with each other and winning their other 3 matches these 2 teams are well ahead (10 pts) of the rest in the table and it look like Bolton (4 pts), us (2 pts) and Preston (1 pt) will be battling each other to stay in the league. We will improve after this first exposure to these new teams but need to turn our better performances into more points.
Report written by Ian McKinnon.
Link to match centre
Photos provided by Kodak Keith
Bury Relics 