Business as usual for the over 70s

Date October 7th 2026.

Bury Relics over 70s team have played consistently good over several seasons. After a good start last month to the division 1 Autumn season, could they maintain elite level of play to remain top of the league?

The squad for the day: Eddy (GK), Jomo Morris (C), Tex, Gerry L, Alan B, Ray H, Ken Buggie and Peter S. Manager Pat F, Kitman Keith S, Chairman Keiren T.

Fans present included: Frank, Paul W, Keith H, Ken Bond, Peter T, D. John and Steve H.

Bury Relics vs. Blackpool
Blackpool kicked off in orange bibs. The Relics team were Pete and Ray at the back, with Alan and Gerry as a midfield supporting striker Jomo. Blackpool were well organised, going man for man with Bury, trying to intercept their passes.

A collision of two players earned Blackpool a free kick, which was taken quickly, leading to a hard shot that whistled wide. Later, a good long ball down the middle reached the Blackpool striker, who tried to turn Pete, but he got a vital foot in to prevent a shot.

Then Bury Relics had a spell of possession that consisted of over 20 passes. Unfortunately, Blackpool were not conceding much space, so there was no end product from good Bury build‑up play.

Then there was a first clear‑cut chance to score for Relics; Jomo received the ball on the right-hand side, turned towards the goal and placed a precise side‑foot finish across the Blackpool keeper. Time momentarily stopped as everyone waited for the net to ripple, but the Blackpool keeper, at full stretch, managed to tip it around the post for a corner. It was a good shot by Jomo and a terrific save by the man with gloves for Blackpool.

Then it was almost like time repeated itself, as Bury won back possession and cleverly played Jomo in for another chance to score. Like last time, he looked for the far corner with a low shot, but the keeper was there again, diving flat out to tip it around the post. Great play from both sides.

Then Bury made another chance; this time Pete, in defence, got an important toe on the ball to guide it away from a Blackpool player, which turned out to be a pass that got Gerry away downfield. He shot powerfully, and the Blackpool keeper saved again.

Blackpool had a couple of pot shots but both were wide of Eddy’s goal.

The next spell of play saw Bury on top, but some fouls had crept into the game. Bury conceded a free kick a couple of yards outside the area, and the end product was a very good shot that Eddy had to dive to his right to save, and it went out for a corner. That was dangerous for Relics.

Gerry then inflicted some of his own danger on the Blackpool goal; he manoeuvred the ball to the right of his marker and sling‑shotted the ball at the Blackpool goal. The keeper didn’t make a clean save, and just by luck, the ball was kept out of the net.

Then there was a nice dribble in midfield by a Blackpool player, jigging past two Relics players, but the end shot lacked any dangerous power. Another contact foul by Blackpool made their total count three fouls. They were walking a tight‑rope for the remainder of the match.

On shots, Relics won that game 4 shots to 1 Blackpool shot, with three outstanding saves from the Blackpool keeper and one from Eddy. A close and competitive game, with Relics edging it on more of the better chances.
Result: Bury Relics 0 – 0 Blackpool

Bury Relics vs. Tameside
Ken came on for Jomo and Tex came on for Pete. Tameside started brightly from their centre kick‑off, getting the ball straight up‑front quickly, and the striker’s shot was saved out for a corner.

From the corner, Tameside created another chance, which was saved and caught by Eddy. On his throw‑out, Tameside pressed and the pressure gave them back possession, and the striker took a very hard shot that Eddy was fully behind. His strong hands kept hold of the ball; it was a good save.

Then there was some good skill by Gerry, who tried to make space for a shot, but the opposition defender stuck to his job.

Ray then got a pass and hit a long‑range shot, but it was deflected out for a kick‑in. From the kick‑in, an opening was made for Ken, but he hit it over.

On the next Tameside attack, it could have been goal of the day, as a powerful and low cross was met by a powerful Tameside foot, and luckily for Relics, it cleared the crossbar. The shot had such zip that it would have been hard to save if the ball had been on target and not at Eddy.

Tex had a go from mid‑range, quickly as the ball deflected to him, but it was bouncing and his swiping finish lofted it over the bar.

Gerry had a chance from a kick‑in; he saw some yards of space and attacked it, ending with a hard shot that the Tameside keeper got behind. Good shot and save.

Then a ball down the middle gave the Tameside striker an opportunity to turn and simultaneously strike the ball, but Ray got in a vital tackle.

Then Relics produced a great move: Alan moved forward to the left-hand side of the box and crossed it for Ken, who took a shot that the keeper parried back out to the left side of the box. This was where Ray skipped past his marker and produced some of his own Scottish Power to shoot high into the roof of the net. It was a fabulous finish!

It was 1–0 to Bury Relics after that great goal.

Then there was a moment of worry as the ball was passed up to their striker, who took a swivel then shot in one motion; tumbleweeds breezed by as the ball just about trickled wide. That was very close to an equaliser.

Then another shot by their striker, who turned and shot, but it was far too weak to beat Eddy.

On Bury’s next attack, Gerry dribbled around midfield to wait for an outlet, which was Alan, who had the space to shoot very hard but it was too near to the goalkeeper to score.

A midfield battle ensued with Gerry eventually emerging from the melee with the ball, and he shot powerfully low and to the right; a very sweet strike, that the keeper just got a hand to, but it went in. Another great goal for Bury Relics that put them 2–0 up against Tameside.

A couple of moves involving Ken layoffs and Tex, with the latter ending with a Tex shot that was saved.

A good turn and shot from Tameside, and then an interception, gave Eddy two good saves to make.

Following those chances, it was game management from Bury Relics, passing and moving into space.

The final moments of the game saw Tameside rob the ball and quickly shoot over, but smile of the match was on Alan’s face as his shot nearly went out of the stadium.

Final whistle went and it was a 2–0 win to Bury Relics. On shots it was 11 to 8 in Tameside’s favour, but Relics put two of theirs in the net and Eddy was hard to beat in any case. A great game with lots of chances.
Result: Bury Relics 2 – 0 Tameside

Bury Relics vs. Moston Brook
This game against Moston Brook was pretty even, with good defending from Tex, who walked around the goal area very carefully, marking an attacker.

Moston had two long‑range shots, whilst the Relics were trying to create openings. Ken and Roy took a break for this one, with Jomo and Pete coming back on.

Moston made an opening, where the striker took a shot, with Tex just getting a block in, but the ball flew overhead.

Moston made good use of the free‑kick, as they laid it back and the strike was ferocious at Eddy’s goal, which meant Eddy produced a marvellous save, throwing his hand out to the left to concede a corner.

From the corner, another Moston chance, but this time Tex put off the striker, so the shot ended up a pea‑roller.

But subsequently, Moston won it back and had another shot for Eddy to save, which was straight at him.

But again, on the next Bury possession, the ball was given away and Moston attacked. However, they fluffed their own lines and accidentally passed behind a player, which put Gerry in the clear for a free shot. He moved forward and leathered the ball past the keeper, to give Bury a 1–0 lead.

Pete was next involved by passing accidentally to an opponent but using his super‑fast reflexes to get back and tackle, and win the ball back.

Moston tried again, but this time the striker turned, found space but didn’t find the net as his shot went wide.

Jomo used skill and guile to make some space to shoot hard but the keeper saved with his feet.

Then the whistle blew, and it was a hard‑fought victory for Bury Relics. The number of shots was about four apiece.
Result: Bury Relics 1 – 0 Moston Brook

Bury Relics vs. Ribble Valley
The final game of the day was against Ribble, in their Norwich kit. Relics lost the toss of the coin and faced the bright early afternoon sunshine.

The final game line‑up was: Gerry, Ken, Tex, Jomo, Ray and Eddy.

On Relics’ first attack, Ken laid it off to Jomo, whose shot just missed the top right‑hand corner.

A high ball gave Ribble a free‑kick close to the area. The Ribble striker received the ball but was lapse, when Gerry had time to walk around him and rob him of possession, but the ref viewed this as a foul.

From this free‑kick, there was a fierce shot that Ray just got a foot to, to divert it high towards Eddy’s goal. Eddy saved it but it was classed as head height, and another close free‑kick was given to Ribble.

From this, Eddy had the ball and sent a long pass up to Ken, who laid it off to Gerry, who then tried to find Jomo, though unsuccessfully.

Relics then won a running free‑kick, which was laid off to Ray, who shot just over.

Ribble then had a turn at a good move, playing four passes together up to their striker, who toe‑bunged it hard, but Eddy made a good save.

Then it was a chance apiece: first Ribble got a shot in but it was too weak, then Gerry, at the other end, made space for a low shot that was saved by the keeper.

A kick‑in taken from the wrong place gave Relics and Ken a chance to shoot, but it went wide.

A weak foul was given against Relics as it looked like the Ribble player had lost his balance and accidentally fallen over.

From the free‑kick, the ball reached the Relics box and their striker shot wide.

Tex found space on the right-hand side of the box; he crossed, but the ball rolled close to the edge of the box and Ken couldn’t legally touch it as the ball was still inside.

Relics were playing well at that time, finding spaces to receive passes.

Gerry created another chance using his skill, but it was a foul to Bury Relics when their player used his body weight in a challenge.

Following the free‑kick, Relics ended up in the defensive third, trying to avoid the press; Jomo hit it back towards Eddy and it needed Eddy to react and save it.

Ribble started to use their dribbler player; he had the ability to hold on to the ball, dribbling around while players of both teams moved around. This was longer than most players would hang on to a ball in a game.

The positive side, from Ribble’s point of view, was that eventually one of their other players would find space. The man with the ball was astute enough to play a quick pass at this time, to give Ribble a free and clear shot at Eddy’s goal; luckily, it went wide.

Then another running offence by Bury brought up a foul count of three.

But pretty soon afterwards, Ken was contact‑fouled up‑front and Ribble also ended up on three fouls. Both teams now were walking the tight‑rope.

A fabulous free‑kick up to Gerry with pace enabled him to execute a sublime touch that took enough power out of the ball but also redirected it just past his marker, so he could advance past him to have a clear shot unchallenged.

It was a thunderous shot, worthy of goal of the month if he’d scored, but the keeper made an equally quality save.

The Ribble dribbler was at it again, keeping the ball, moving here and there, waiting for an advanced player to become available. It worked again and maybe they were looking for a fourth foul by Bury, but this time it came to nothing.

The referee blew the final whistle and it was a 0–0 draw with Ribble.

Bury had the more incisive attacks; a bit of movement and direct passing, whereas Ribble had a dribbler who could keep the ball and wait for an opportunity.

Both teams could have scored, but I thought Bury edged it, with both teams having six shots.
Result: Bury Relics 0 – 0 Ribble Valley

Bury Relics over 70s haul of 8 points on the day, keeps them on top of division 1, ergo Yes was the answer.

Another good days play by the Relics; well done to all the players, staff and supporters.
Team photo Keith H, report by Dr. John.