A daunting task for the over 60’s Stripes (now in brand new white strip) as they faced 5 games in the opening session of the 2nd half of the GMWFL division 2 fixtures, the opposition included 4 of the top 5 teams.
10th Sept 2026 at Heywood Sports Centre overcast but mild day
Manager: Ken Buggie:. Squad: Keith Gillespie (GK) Steve Murphy (C), Mark Thomas, Steve Hassall, Ken Bond, Andy Richardson, Nev Kitchen, Ian Calvert
First Game against Manchester Corinthians
Relics: 3 shots all on target. Corinthians, 8 shots with only 1 on target. Final Score 1 – 0
The game was dominated by ill discipline by the Corinthians who continually seemed to ignore the referee, they also appeared to have a shoot on site policy with most of their attempts going recklessly wide or over the bar. Bury maintained their composure, SteveM broke through from midfield and was fouled by the opposition, whilst protesting to the referee he still managed to pass the ball to KenB who calmly with his left foot slipped the ball past the approaching keeper, goal. A late Relics penalty was well saved by the keeper and had no effect on the result. Final score a thoroughly deserved 1-0 victory
Second Game Bury Whites (Bibs) –
Relics (Whites) 5 shots 2 on target. Relics (Bibs) 4 shots 2 on target: Final Score 0 – 0
A tight competitive local derby with both teams very much cancelling each over out, the real highlight came from the referee who announced the Whites (Stripes) were on 3 fouls and the Whites (Bibs) were on 1 foul, this was hotly disputed, he then awarded the Whites (Bibs) a penalty for an alleged 4th foul by the Whites (Stripes), both teams pointed out to the ref that he had got this wrong, he must have been confused by the change of strips, to his credit he admitted his mistake and opted for a 2 foul each solution. Full credit to the Whites (Bibs) for not taking advantage of the confused situation, I’m sure that the Whites (Stripes) would have responded in the same way had the situation been reversed. Final score 0-0 draw a fair result
Third Game Panthers WFC
Relics: 5 shots 4 on target. Panthers : 4 shots 4 shots all on target. Final Score 1 – 1
End to end stuff with both sides pushing for a victory and some very strict refereeing picking up on every minor infringement, Panthers took the lead when some confusion in the Relics midfield released a Panthers striker who hit a well struck shot leaving keeper Keith with no chance of a save. The Relics were then down a player for 4 minutes as the ref issued a blue card for denying a goal scoring opportunity, the decision seemed a little harsh but justice was done as the subsequent penalty was struck against the bar. The Relics controlled the game well whilst a man down. Back up to strength the Relics pushed forward, debutant IanC broke from midfield and squeezed a left footed wide of the keeper goal. Final score 1-1 a fair result
Fourth Game: Rochdale AFC Strollers.
Relics: 2 shots both on target. Rochdale : 11 shots 8 on target. Final Score 1 – 0
Another game against an ill disciplined team, this time the referee awarded 2 penalties to the Relics, 1 being well saved by the keeper, the other struck home by SteveM goal. The Rochale side were down a player for 4 minutes, the Relics should have taken control but the opposition continued to push forward, creating a number of chances, keeper Keith was in fine form keeping out a number of opposition shots. Final score 1-0 win, did well to hang on
Fifth Game: Moston Brook FC
Relics: 4 shots 1 on target. Moston : 4 shots 2 on target. Final Score 1 – 2
The Relics went into this final game against league leaders carrying a number of injuries forcing Manager Ken to rearrange his team. Moston deserve to be at the top of the league and played some very good controlled football, however the well disciplined Relics restricted them to just 4 shots, Moston scored 1st when Keith saved a thunderbolt of a shot which unfortunately rebounded to an opposition striker enabling him to slide the ball home, a 2nd then followed giving the keeper little chance. The Relics refused to give in and pushed forward themselves, a free kick was laid off to SteveM who found the net hitting the ball past the encroaching defenders. It was the 5th game and the tiring Relics team were unable to equalise despite mustering every bit of strength and chasing down every ball. Final score 1-2 defeat
A return of 8 points against the top teams was an excellent performance, Keith was as reliable as ever in goal, MarkT, NevK and SteH marshalled the defence well working hard and restricting opponents to only 3 goals in 5 games and pushing forward whenever the opportunity arose, SteveM, KenB and IanC were tireless in midfield, scoring goals and supporting the defence when needed, Andy was his usual resilient self up front and using his strength to intimidate defenders. Manager Ken commented “On reflection we played some good footy and great results against top teams” Report NevK
Bury Relics 