Bury Relics Over 65’s went into their final set of fixtures of the Greater Manchester Division 1 Walking Football 2025 league campaign with a squad of 8: Keith Gillespie (GK), Kev Amos, Pete Shev, Alan, Dave Luk, Tony G, Ian McCann and Graham. Ken was Manager and supporters in attendance were Keiran, Keith S, Eddy, Nev, Kev B and Andy on a wet and windy day.
On arrival it was announced that one of our opponents, Corinthian Whites, were a no show so 3 points were gained before play even started which strengthened our slim chance of 2nd place but we needed more wins to get there.
First up were Bolton with Kev A and Alan starting on the bench. We opened brightly with the returning Ian, from his loan move to Berwick Rangers, having a strong shot saved by the goalie. Bolton replied with a shot off target which was their only shot of the game. We totally dominated possession with both Dave and Ian shooting past the post. We were knocking it around well from back to front and created 2 good shooting opportunities for Graham, one blocked high for a freekick and one touched round the post by the keeper for a corner. Every time Bolton tried to move into our half they were snuffed out by Tony and Shev which set us up for even more shots on goal with Ian having another well saved and finally Dave blasted one over. A desperately frustrating 0-0 draw after a great performance against a very good team.
Next up were Preston with Ian and Shev starting on the bench. We knew that we needed to win and started where we had left off. Lovely interplay between Graham and Dave set the fresh legs of Alan free on the right hand side, he bore down on goal and rifled a shot goalwards which rebounded out from the goalie’s legs. This was quickly followed by Dave thundering one past the post. Then our first real scare of the day when we left the Preston striker totally alone but Keith G pulled off a marvellous one on one save. Déjà vu as the marauding Alan was again unleashed on the right wing but again their keeper kept it out. Preston then rattled the post as we pushed too hard for a winner. Unbelievably déjà vu two occurred with the superb Alan again set up by Dave and Graham’s link up play but this time he was through on goal more centrally, another terrific shot and another terrific save. Then the crucial decision of the season, the Preston centre half went for a wander in his own box, not the usual quarter step in, more like a Bob Beamon leap in. STONEWALL! In everyone’s mind apart from one who was dressed in black. We kept going forward till the end and in the dying minutes Kev A strolled upfield and laid it onto Dave’s laser left peg but again their MoM keeper turned it round for a corner. Graham urged on by the large Relics support rushed to take it and cleverly found Dave who pinged it past the keeper but against the post. The Relics groans were still in the damp air when the shrill whistle cut through them and ended the match. Another desperately frustrating 0-0 draw after a dominant performance, notwithstanding a few defensive brain freezes against a dangerous team.
Our third, and final, game of the season, was against Rochdale with Dave and Tony on the bench. We continued where we left off with Ian having a strong shot blocked and then struck early when Graham played a lovely one-two with Alan and then finished nicely under the keeper. This settled us and we laid siege to their box. Graham beautifully curled the ball round the corner for Alan to move onto but his elusive goal wouldn’t come as he was again thwarted by a great save. Then Ian had 3 shots in a row, the first deflected out for a corner, the second saved and the third rattling the crossbar. Even Kev A was getting in on the act as he blasted one just over the bar. Rochdale had hardly been in our half but as often happens they broke away just before the end but Shev defended it brilliantly and the shot squirmed against the outside of the post and away. A fully deserved 1-0 win.
The stats of the day told a positive story as we had 13 shots on target with 4 against and took 8 points from 12. Outstanding performances from everyone meant that we played very well in every game with the only negative being we couldn’t quite convert one of our 2 draws into 3 points. If we had done we would have been runner-up! The final table saw the brilliant Wakefield win the league by a huge 35 points. Relics came in 4th place, 1 point behind second. Overall we had a very strong season considering that we missed important players for large chunks of it in a very, very competitive league.
Bury Relics 