Bury Relics Over 65’s went into their second set of fixtures of the Greater Manchester Division 1 Walking Football 2026 league campaign with a squad of 7: Keith G (GK), Ian McCann, Kev Amos, Keith Swain, Dave Luk, Kev Bates and Steve Hassall. Ken Bug was Manager and supporters in attendance were Keiran, Pat, Nev and Kodak Keith on a dry spring day.
First up were Bolton with Keith S starting on the bench. With 4 players unavailable beforehand Steve Hassall was called up for his 65s debut after a string of quality performances for the 60s Stripes and the squad were in good spirits before kick off. However, on his very first involvement Steve pulled up sharply with a problem with his achilles sleeve. He hobbled off gingerly and the team were a bit shell shocked. Keith S replaced him leaving no subs and, after a very, very quick fitness test by Pat, Steve was sent home to rest and Nev was sent to the dressing rooms to get some kit on. Bolton are a strong team and don’t need any encouragement to push home an advantage. They dominated proceedings and Kev B was quickly (pun intended) on 2 fouls and with no sub available yet (Nev’s fast but he’s not that fast) he was unable to make much of a contribution in case he was blue carded. Keith G kept us in it, especially with a great flying save to the top corner, but eventually the pressure told and they scored off a pass interception. As often happens when you are playing catch up we tried to force the game and just before the end racked up our 4th foul and they duly despatched the penalty. Just as the ref blew for full time Nev turned up with a frustrated Kev B remarking for the first time in his life “How slow is Nev?” A tough 2-0 loss which considering the circumstances was not a bad performance.
Next up were Ribble Valley with Kev A starting on the bench. This was a cagey affair with us in the slight ascendancy. RV didn’t have a shot and we only had 2, a Nev shot on target and a Dave thunderbolt which flew just past the post. A 0-0 draw which was a missed opportunity.
Our third game was against Curzon Ashton with Keith S on the bench. We continued our good form and completely dominated the game. We started well with Ian hitting a tremendous shot which their goalie tipped over the bar and then Kev B having a good turn and shot which the keeper smothered low down. CA then had their only shot of the game when Sainty strode forward and lashed it home low into the bottom corner past a myriad of outstretched legs. We could have dropped our heads but we kept the same level of intensity and created 5 good chances with some excellent passing football, 2 good shots each from Dave and Ian and our best chance was a Kev B solo effort when he beat 3 players and got a shot off only to be denied by the keeper. A hugely unlucky 1-0 loss.
Our fourth and final game was against Preston with Kev A on the bench as he was now carrying a knock. The disappointment of the previous game and the cumulative effect of the day’s events looked to have caught up with us. Preston missed a sitter against the post right at the beginning and before you could say “Usain Bolt” Kev B was on 2 offences leaving KenBug in a quandary of whether to replace him with a player not fully fit. Kev A made up Ken’s mind by bravely volunteering to come on and play in a totally unaccustomed forward role. Our problems were compounded when the Lilywhites dangerous centre forward turned on the edge of the D and slotted it home. Once again we were chasing the game but they killed the game and we only had one shot, from Nev, which was past the post. Just before the final whistle we once again conceded a penalty after a 4th foul but this time it came back off the post. A deserved 1-0 loss.
1 point from 4 games was a low return for the effort we put in but it is an age old story in football that when you are at the bottom of the league anything that can go wrong usually does. We are now adrift at the bottom with 1 point but as Yazz nearly sang before Simon Cowell changed the lyrics –
We’ve been beaten down
To the lowest rung
Bein’ on the bottom line
Sure ain’t no fun
But if we should be demoted
Huh, from our league
We’ll just drop somewhere else
And still carry on
Oh
(Hold on) hold on
(Hold on) hold on
Ooh, aah, baby
hold on
(Hold on) ooh ooh aah
The only way is up, baby
For the 65s now
The only way is up, baby
For the 65s now
Bury Relics 