Date; June 25th 2025
A humid day but not blazing sunshine, was at Heywood for matchday 4 of the over 75s league. And for my dad joke; what animals takes the most risks? Lambs, they always like a gambol. To the football….
Bury Relics vs. Invincibles
The first team up for the Relics are the Invincibles and it appears they have loaned some Bolton players, that includes an England international. Interestingly, there is “swagger” style coming into walking football, as one player has a pair of shorts that has one leg shorter than the other, possibly cut-off purposely. I speculate, scientifically, to give more oxygen and hence power, to his shooting leg muscles. The game kicks-off and the Relics are passing and moving with great energy, notably John W, who is attacking all space, waiting for a pass that just eluded him. On Relics next attack down the left, the same John turns, shoots and there is the sound of a reverberating fence (it’s just wide). Immediately, Invincibles go down the other end, a long-range toe-bung and a great save from Eddy; he has to drop down to his knees and saves the ball with his thigh, a brilliant save. It’s now Relics turn to attack again, and Keiren receives a pass without realizing he has time to turn and shoot. However, his layoff is good one and a powerful shot comes in but a defender blocks it. Relics regain possession and Bob has a long-range strike that is put out for a corner. Then John W gets the ball out wide and literally sprints past his defender; I am waiting for a whistle to sound but it does not come and John shoots wide. Then a moment of genius by the same man. John W receives a pass with his back to goal, a good 5 yards away from the area with a defender in close proximity. He turns his man, gets about a yard wide of him and shoots, low and hard to the left of the keeper, what a great goal. Bury Relics go 1–0 up, with a fantastic goal. The Invincibles try to immediately respond, using long-range artillery of the toe-bung, which are always unpredictable. Eddy makes a good save from it and the subsequent play is another shot from the right-hand side of Eddy’s goal, he saves again out for a corner. The game has definitely got more Harrison Ford, or Frantic, for those not familiar with his movies, since Wardle scored. From the corner, an Invincible player absolutely power-hoofs a shot out of the ground; it seems internationals can also miss the target 😊. The first half ends with Relics having the better quality, with John W being on fire. A good half with a great goal to lead 1-0.
The second half is a battle, with Invincibles now laying siege to the Relics goal. Dave and John W play a good one-two on the edge of the area, with the former making a great dummy, to let the ball roll back to Eddy (but not sure he meant that). Bob has been tenacious from the start but his tackle is marginally late to give a foul to Invincibles, a free-kick 4 yards from the area. No problem though, as Relics defend well and while Invincibles did have the opportunity to shoot, they were just to slow in execution. Next, a running offence by JW and the free-kick is quickly taken but there is a lucky ricochet to a Relics player, Salcom John B, who, in a flash, is clear up-front and he precisely finishes passed a bemused keeper, who was just wondering what biscuits the league would be providing today. The keeper did well to get a hand to it in his moment of shock but that was an unexpected attack and goal to the Relics. Now 2-0 but with Relics currently on 3 fouls. Invincibles shoot quickly from the kick-off but easy for Eddy, then their next attack was good, with their striker finding space. The shot is not great and Eddy can save. The next passage of play leads to a Relics 4th foul. It was a soft foul but I think it’s tough been a ref as Relics complain. In any case, it is a penalty that is expertly dispatched, high to the left, with Eddy having no chance. The Invincibles are back in it at 2-1 but with plenty of encouragement from the side-lines, Relics manage the game out for a superb 2-1 win.
Result; Bury Relics 2 – 1 Invincibles
Bury Relics vs. Rochdale
Due to dodgy tech, my voice recording disappeared. In summary, Bury Relics had good possession from kick-off with 14 passes around the team but unfortunately, it does not lead to a Relics goal, as possession is lost. Rochdale respond and are more direct; after 2 passes their striker has a shot that is well saved by Eddy. Bob is on form again and is given the task of marking their striker, who regularly scores when I watch at Heywood. He does get a couple of shots away but both are saved by Eddy, so apart from them Bob, and on occasion Dave, keep him quiet. Bob’s anticipation was on the mark as he intercepted 2 Rochdale attacks by predicting the pass and then launching raids on the Rochdale goal. John W was battling hard, being a ferocious competitor, which is good. However, in his enthusiasm, he picks up 2 fouls and is consequently substituted. Rochdale edged the first half by the fact they had 4 shots, none of which troubled Eddy but Relics only had one shot that went high and out of the stadium. Ergo, Relics have not tested their keeper yet. Relics vs. Rochdale is 0-0 at half time.
Second half is underway by Rochdale, and a great shot by them as their striker finds a modicum of space down the left and strikes hard. It’s OK for Eddy, who can get behind the power shot to palm it away. There is a screech of a whistle as 2 players take a tumble outside the Rochdale area but there was no malice and the game continues. Relics are battling and defending well, with a blocked shot that rolls the ball back to Eddy. Then one of the Relics gives away a running foul but this kind of running has been happening all day already. Then the Rochdale striker gets a ball in the nose from his own control; he receives a hard pass from a colleague, he controls it and it flicks directly onto the end of his nose (ah, the famous nostril trap, not sure it’s allowed here). Looked painful, and yes, it’s not in the rules, it’s a free-kick to Relics. However, Relics commit another third foul and it’s now a tight-rope for the rest of the game. This leads to conservative play, retaining possession, with regular passes back to Eddy. When Rochdale do regain possession, their #6 in midfield gets the ball but can’t see a subsequent pass, he mulls it over and decides to swivel and shoot. A great effort that just went wide, luckily, it would have been a great goal for them. Then again, another good effort from Rochdale, their striker gets the ball up front and he sets-up a midfielder who strikes hard but just past the top left-hand corner. Very close and another good chance for them. Then Rochdale commit a third foul, so both teams now wary in their play. The game peters out for a goalless draw, with Rochdale probably deserving a split decision win (if it was boxing). Note; Peters out apparently means breaking wind in French, but for me, the game just ran out of gas 😊. Intriguingly, one of the Relics players was approached by a league supremo after this game, reminding them of the tradition of hand-shaking following a games conclusion. From my experience, when you’re shattered after a hectic match and nobody is in front of you with an outstretched hand, it’s easy to accidentally miss that bit out. Definitely not a case of bad sportsmanship on any of our players’ part.
Result; Bury Relics 0 – 0 Rochdale
Bury Relics vs. Tameside
There is an early chance for Bury Relics, where JW intercepts the ball and instantly passes it to Keiren in space. The first touch is a bit heavy, which takes him a bit wider than he wanted, but like all good and seasoned striker, he still made the goalkeeper work with a save of his good shot. In reply, Tameside get down the Relics goal and hit a good and hard shot that is deflected wide for a corner. From the corner comes another shot but it’s wide. Great tenacity by JW, who shadows their winger all the way down the pitch towards the Relics goal, but no inch was given, and the Tameside player ends up making a mistake and possession is back with the Relics. Several passes later, and it’s JW in the action again with a long shot that is saved. Good play by the Relics; Another quick passing move finds Joe in some space and he takes a shot but it’s too high. Relics now come under pressure, under the proverbial Kosh, and some good defending is needed to usher the ball back to Eddy, away from Tameside’s strike force. Then it’s sea-saws in the Relics favour, with some sustained possession and pressure on the Tameside goal but without any clear-cut openings. Bob then thinks he’s Lee Sharpe, and bursts down the wing, but, surprisingly, he’s not quick enough to stop it going out of play. He did say after that he was thinking himself George Best rather than Lee Sharpe in that moment; fair enough. The teams go into the half time break goalless, which is about fair.
There is a terrific start to the second half, with some magic provided by Joe. He receives a pass with his back to goal and pivots quickly before unleashing a thunderbolt toe-bung shot. Only the brilliance of the keeper prevents an excellent Relics goal. Then my dodgy phone goes on the blink again and stops voice recording (well it didn’t save the recording). From memory, this was pretty even, with chances for both teams. After the final whistle, there was definitely a flurry of handshakes, as the management reminded everyone to be gentlemen and to shake hands, and right too.
Result; Bury Relics 0 – 0 Tameside
Bury extend their lead at the top of the league, with a superior points tally of 22 points, 6 ahead of second placed Tameside. The advantage of depth of squad was evident today. Bury were without one of their top performers this season so far in John M but he was replaced by John W who’s today was on fire. In addition, Bill, Joe and John B of Salcom slotted right in, as Kev was not available this time. The young manager Ian M, who’s in his inaugural season as a Bury Relics manager, is doing a tremendous job, encouraging and advising his team throughout the games. If everyone is available next term, he’s going to have to make some difficult decisions on who he leaves out. The entire squad are playing brilliantly. Eddy should get a special mention, he only arrived back from holiday at 4am the day of these fixtures but was still sharp in goal, making a great save on his knees in the first game. Well done to all the Relics, all made a positive contribution to a fairly successful day at the office.
Team: Eddy (GK, C), Dave M, John W, Bob, Keiren, Bill, Joe and John B.
Manager Ian M.
Supporters: Sir Pat, Keith S, John M, Ken Bug, Ken Bon, Keith B and others.
Report by Dr. John.
Photos
Bury Relics 