The over 60’s Stripes in white went into the latest round of GMFL division 2 fixtures in a buoyant mood full of confidence with a strong squad planning on capitalising on recent good performances. An excellent warm up session with manager Ken that even some of the over 60’s Whites felt the need to join in.
8th October 2026 at Heywood Sports Centre. A sunny, early autumn day
Manager: Ken Buggie:. Squad: Keith Gillespie (GK) Steve Murphy (C), Mark Thomas, Steve Hassall, Ken Bond, Andy Richardson, Nev Kitchen, Iain Dawson, Mark Evans
First Game against North Manchester Subs: KenB, NevK, MarkE.
Relics: 9 shots 5 on target. Manchester, 2 shots with only 1 on target. Final Score 0 – 0
The shots statistics could sum this game up without comment. Bury dominated the game from the first til the final whistle, a fine team performance, the only downside being the failure to score, man to man marking allowing the opposition little space, some excellent passing moves from the back and a very much shoot when given the opportunity policy. Final score a 0 – 0 draw, deserved all 3 points
Second Game Preston North End Senior Whites – Subs: IainD, AndyR, SteveH.
Relics 7 shots 1 on target. Preston 1 shots on target: Final Score 0 – 0
Continuing on from the Manchester game, another excellent team performance and once again the failure to convert possession into goals the only disappointment, Bury’s man to man marking allowed Preston no opportunities, their only shot coming late on from a lay off from a free kick easily collected by Keith in goal. Bury played a good game of passing football, keeping possession and offering support to each other. Final score a 0 – 0 draw, deserved all 3 points
Third Game Wakefield Wanderers Whites – Subs: SteveM, MarkT, KenB.
Relics: 2 shots both on target. Wakefield : 8 shots 4 shots all on target. Final Score 1 – 1
Another fine team performance albeit against much stronger opposition who kept the ball well and pushed forward at every opportunity, Wakefield started strongly but good defending against some very tricky forwards limited them to speculative shots and any that were on target were well covered by Keith. The highlight of the day for the Relics came midway through the game, a fine passing move from the back involving a number of Relics players found IainD in midfield, he took a couple of strides forward and hit an excellent shot to the keepers left – goal 1-0 Bury. This seemed to rattle Wakefield who pushed forward with vigour, backs to the wall from the Relics kept them at bay until the very last minute when a loose ball was picked up by the Wakefield midfield and released to a forward who hammered an unstoppable shot past Keith. Final score 1-1 a fair result
Fourth Game: Rochdale AFC Striders. Subs? SteveH, NevK, AndyR.
Relics: 4 shots 2 on target. Rochdale : 4 shots 1 on target. Final Score 0 – 0
After three fine performances the Relics were a little lacklustre in this final game. Chances were created by both teams but the game was very stop-start and scrappy, the Relics put together some good moves but lacked the killer touch and at times allowed the opposition a little too much space. Final score 0-0, a fair result
A return of just 4 points was disappointing after playing some excellent football, however the Relics remained unbeaten. Keith was as reliable as ever in goal, MarkT, NevK and SteH marshalled the defence well working hard and restricting opponents to only 1 goal in 4 games and pushing forward whenever the opportunity arose, SteveM, IainD and MarkE were dominant in midfield, creating chances and supporting the defence when needed, AndyR and KenB up front kept opposition defenders on the toes and made a strong contribution to the overall team performance. Report NevK
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