Bury Relics Over 60 Stripes continued their Greater Manchester Division 3 Walking Football Autumn league campaign in match week 3. A maximum squad of 9 were selected of Eddy (GK), Ken, Mike, Steve M, Mark T, Steve H, Iain, Mark E and Andy. Pat was Manager and numerous supporters were in attendance on a dry but cold day which saw us begin bottom of the league, 1 point from safety.
First up were table toppers Burnley with Ken, Mark E and Steve M starting on the bench. Both sides started well with us threatening first when Andy hit a good shot with the outside of his foot after a nice pass from Iain. The Clarets then had a shot from a free kick deflected out for a corner. We were having our best game so far against this opposition when we shot ourselves in the foot: from our own free kick just inside their half we passed the ball backwards to our last man who was closed down and robbed of the ball by their very dangerous frontman. Steve H in trying to make amends for losing possession, chased him back, slid in from behind and toepoked the ball back to Eddy. 4 offences in one go was impressive on the offending scale but unfortunately, resulted in Steve receiving a blue card and a penalty awarded for the DOGSO part. The spotkick was blasted into the top left corner past Eddy and we were facing 4 minutes of man down. Our boys dug in and played their best football of the season to not only hold out but even get a shot off by Iain and even more crucially gain 3 fouls. Just before the 4 minutes were up Eddy pulled off a miraculous save after a period of prolonged pressure and when Steve re-entered the fray he was welcomed back by the Relics support like a returning gladiator. Eddy’s save and equal sides suddenly spooked the league leaders into shooting themselves in the foot by committing a totally unnecessary fourth foul to hand us a penalty on a plate. Under great pressure due to the points situation and how late it was in the game, Andy very admirably hammered it home (featured photo) to the delight of our support and subs. A creditable 1-1 draw.
Next up were Bolton with Steve H, Mike and Iain starting on the bench. They had the better possession at the start, missing a good chance by shooting straight at Eddy before we came back strongly with a firmly hit Mark T shot sliding past the post after a clever lay off by Andy and Mark E having a shot saved by the keeper. Bolton started to knock it around and a smart move left a player unmarked and he had the time and space to pass it into the net past a stranded Eddy. As they were now 1-0 up they looked to hold onto the lead by keeping the ball and pressing us close when we had it. They were doing a great job and the clock was ticking down when we got a massive stroke of luck after we under hit a pass back to Eddy. Their forward licked his lips and moved forward to stroke it in to make it 2-0, BUT NO, the ref adjudged his movement as too fast and it was a foul, their 4th, against him. The ball was marched up to the penalty spot where Andy again handled the pressure and stroked it into the right hand side to equalize after the craziest turnaround since Jean van de Velde took his shoes and socks off and Paul Lawrie won the ’99 Open. A very fortunate 1-1 draw.
Third up were fellow strugglers Preston with Andy, Mark T and Ken starting on the bench. The dogfight continued between these 2 sides for the relegation spot with both teams lying at the bottom of the table only separated by 1 point at the beginning of the day in their favour. This performance was a marked improvement on our 2 previous outings against them which had been negative deadlocks. We dominated possession throughout and Eddy didn’t have a save to make. By contrast we rained shots down from our front 3 of Iain, Mark E and Mike, with the best chance falling to Mike with a 1 on 1 on the goalie but an excellent save kept us at bay. A very unfortunate 0-0 draw.
Our final match versus Moston Brook, who are chasing the top spot, saw Steve H, Iain and Mark E on the bench and we had run out of steam a little bit after putting so much into the first 3 games. They started well, played good football from start to finish and punished our lack of defensive cover twice, both good shots leaving Eddy no chance. A deserved 2-0 loss.
Our best day so far, in both playing levels and results, gaining 3 points but Preston also managed 3 draws on the day so we still sit bottom of the table 1 point behind them. The last matchday is now set for a fantastic finish with both teams battling for survival.
Bury Relics 