OVER 60’s FIRST LEAGUE GAMES
THURSDAY 12th MARCH HEYWOOD
WHITES ( playing in blue)
EDDY FORD
KEITH SWAIN
TONY GREENALL
KEVIN AMOS
IAN McCANN (Not available)
IAN McKINNON
MIKE BARTRAM
DANNY MITTON
Temporary manager Kevin Bates
Substitute Kevin Amos
First game up of the season against North Manchester,newcomers to the league .
Bury played some excellent football in this game and dominated throughout with some good penetrating passing and good off the ball movement but as is the case in a lot of football here at Heywood you can’t relax for a moment, unfortunately the man-marking that had served them well for a long part of the game disappeared in an instant leaving an opposition player unmarked at the back post ( I’ve lost track of the number of times I’ve written this previously but it’s getting to the point where it’ll come up in predictive text as an option). A clinical pass and a well placed shot gave Eddy no chance.
Heads only went down temporarily and Bury were back at it , Northern Manchester only had six shots in the game with two on target whereas Bury had eleven shots with five on target.
Mike ,Tony and Ian McKinnon all had shots most of them falling to Ian with five shots, three of which on target ,some absolute zingers coming from his left boot that certainly tested the keeper but the breakthrough came after a neat piece of footwork from Mike who received the ball in a great area just right of centre of the nets and he slotted it in, the keeper did make contact but fumbled it which was unfortunate for him but great for Bury, to be fair their keeper had kept them in it up till that point as Bury could have had three or four but for his efforts.
Bury continued to dominate but just couldn’t get the winner but a point is a point and some very entertaining football.
Final result
Bury 1 North Manchester 1
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Second game up against Bury Stripes
Substitute Keith Swain
The much anticipated “ derby” match.
The crowd grew noticeably larger at the side of the pitch and the Police kept a watchful eye as fans for both teams mingled together , pre-match entertainment was cancelled as Ian Dawson forgot to bring his guitar , the dancing troupe also cancelled at the last moment citing safety concerns .
Whites immediately tried to use psychology to undermine the Stripes by choosing to wear blue but the Stripes were having none of it and donned bright orange bibs , this may have proved decisive. Bury Whites( blues) were obviously dazzled by their opponents attire not to mention their silky foot skills… a very cagey affair ensued …it reminded me of an episode of Father Ted with Dougal trying to outwit his “ counterpart “ during an over 70’s priest’s football match .
Who would blink first?
Well as it turns out the Whites ( blues ) blinked first.
This may come as a shock but … they left a man unmarked at the back post … ironically he’s called Mark ( Thomas ) but the clue inherent in his name was completely lost on the befuddled Whites ( blues) … Eddy tried his best but was dazzled by the orange bib of Mark and the crucial goal was well taken.
From this point on both teams pretty much cancelled each other out, not many shots in total… four for Stripes two of which on target… Two for Whites ( blues ) both on target a couple of crackers , one from Dan from distance and one from Mike but both handled comfortably by Keith in goal.
So First Blood to the Stripes
Final score
Bury Whites 0 Bury Stripes 1
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Third game up against Preston
Substitute Danny Mitton
Must admit I was expecting a tough game against Preston as they have some decent players but Bury absolutely dominated this match.
Preston had two shots with one on target saved by Eddy, Bury had nine shots with three on target and some very near misses.
Keith Swain had a great shot saved early on as did Kevin Amos who was pushing up from the back and who also had two other shots off target but Ian McKinnon hit a thunderbolt that rattled off the post and a couple of chances that just wouldn’t go in one of which was a rebound right in front of goal that was just bobbling about too much resulting in a mis-kick that went off target but despite all this Bury kept the pressure up and it was finally rewarded when Ian McKinnon ,with his back to goal on the edge of the area , neatly passed to Mike who had positioned himself just in front of him and who then slotted the ball in past the keeper with a lovely strike.
Bury then closed the game down and Preston didn’t really have any answers.
Final score
Bury 1 Preston 0
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Final game against Wakefield
Substitute Tony Greenall
This was an all hands to the pump type of game for Bury, Wakefield are a class act and know how to keep the ball well the statistics are stark
Bury zero shots
Wakefield Ten shots… two on target one hit the post.
Eddy made a couple of excellent saves to keep Bury in it but the telling statistics are the number of shots off target… that was due to formidable defensive work from Danny , Kevin, Keith and Ian.
Tracking and blocking tracking and blocking… superb.
Mike as instructed stayed out of defence not straying past the half way mark this occupied their defender and stopped him joining the attack and acting as a pivot point for Wakefield. I noticed a number of times that they were looking to him as an outlet but Mike had dragged him upfield which made it easier to exploit the resulting space once the ball was recovered but unfortunately due to defending so deep players weren’t able to get up to Mike in time to offer support so it was difficult for him to take advantage of the through ball before the opposition tracked back.
As a result of this excellent team play Bury were able to hold out against a very strong Wakefield team and gain a very respectable draw.
Final score
Bury 0 Wakefield 0
Some very good entertaining football played today in very windy conditions, all played in good humour with great camaraderie.
Five well earned points
Report by Kevin Bates
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