GMWFL Autumn 2023 – Over 70’s finish runners up.

Unfortunately the match reports from the Relics Roving Reporter have not been received yet. They will be published as soon as possible when received. In the meantime the results are published below. The Relics over 70’s finished runners up in the league

29/11/2023 11:00Blackpool0 v 1Bury Relics
29/11/2023 11:20Bury Relics1 v 1Rochdale
29/11/2023 12:00Manchester Citizens0 v 1Bury Relics
29/11/2023 12:20Bury Relics0 v 1Corinthians

GMWFL Autumn 2023 – Over 60’s Stripes inconsistent

22nd November 2023

Relics 1 Wakefield 2
The Relics performance today matched the inconsistent Heywood weather, blustery, changeable, and unsettled. The Relics started the first game against Wakefield well, with a dominant first half performance and Mike B scoring to put the Relics 1 – 0 up at half time. The second half was a different story as the Relics looked a completely different team, conceding 2 goals to give Wakefield a victory.

Relics 0 Bolton Arena 1
Bolton scored the opening goal early in the first half when a player was unmarked on the right hand side of midfield received a pass and went forward unchallenged and smashed the ball passed Eddy in the Relics goal. The Relics had a good spell towards the end of the game with Ian shooting just wide then having a good chance saved by the Bolton keeper. Ken had a shot that hit the post and went out. Steve had a shot which went just wide and another that was saved and tipped over the bar..

Relics 0 Ribble Valley 0
Relics and Ribble Valley were joint top at the start of the day with Ribble top on goals scored. Relics were getting better as the day went on and were the better team but couldn’t make the superiority count.

Although the results didn’t go the Relics way they were not short of effort, and with nine points up for grabs on the final game day next month all is still to play for, so well done to the squad Edd(gk), Ian McKin; Mark T, Andy Rich, Ken B, Mark B, Iain D, Steve H, Kodak Keith. and management team of Keiran, Keith S, and Sir Pat.

For all the GMWFL Autumn 2023 Results and Fixtures click here

GMWFL Autumn 2023 – Over 65’s still in contention.

16th November 2023
Relics over 65’s had a frustrating day, playing good football but not getting their rewards, hey, but that’s football.


Relics 1 Preston 0
Relics dominated the game but only had one goal to show their dominance. Following some good work from John W in midfield, Ian McCann was free on the right hand edge of the Preston area, his cross-area pass to Keith S was perfect for Keith S to hit a controlled shot past the Preston keeper.

Relics 1 Bolton Arena 1
An early goal from Bolton from a shot from an acute angle on the right hand side of the area surprised everyone when it squeezed in at the near post. Bolton 1 up,
The Relics equalised a short time later.
Ian McC turned and shot from just outside the area, His shot was well saved by the keeper but the ball was rolling back towards Ian on the edge of the box. As the keeper made a desperate lunge to stop the ball going out of the area he was too late, the ball was out of the area as the keeper put his hand on it. Penalty to thr Relics which Ian McC put away confidently to equalise.

Relics 0 Corinthians 1
Corinthians went ahead early in the game as a lose pass was picked up in midfield, the pass to the front edge of the box found the Corinthians player in space, he spun round and his shot gave Gas not chance. This was the cue for Corinthians to give the Relics a lesson on how to keep hold of the ball. It was an excellent demonstration by Corinthians and restricted the Relics from any further chances of note.

Relics 0 Blackpool 0
Relics dominated the game but couldn’t put away any of the many chances that were created. Chances from Ian McC, and John W were tipped wide by the keeper. and Tony G had a good shot saved at the near post. but no goals.

Well played to all the players on the day, Gaz (gk), Pete Shev, Keith S, John W, Ian McCann, Tony G. Ken B, Pat

For all the GMWFL Autumn 2023 Results and Fixtures click here

GMWFL Autumn 2023 – Tough day for Relics over 60’s Whites

3rd November 2023.
No roving reporter was available to cover today’s action so results only, and a comment from Keiran …
Well done to everyone at Heywood today, results weren’t good but the whole team gave everything, we can’t ask for more. Also includes Pat, the team manager on the day, who tried everything he could.

Results
Kingsmaid 1 – Relics 0
Relics 0 – Corinthians 0
Fleetwood 2 – Relics 0
Relics 0 – Wakefield 4


GMWFL Autumn 2023 – Over 70’s clean sheets and unbeaten on the day.

1st Nov 2023
The under strength Relics over 70’s put in a fighting display on Match day 3 of the Greater Manchester Walking Football League (GMWFL) Autumn 2023 season.
Unbeaten on the day and 4 clean sheets, but the Relics slipped a bit on league leasers Manchester Corinthians.
Relics started the day second place in the table, 3 points behind Corinthians, but Corinthians moved five points clear with their 10 points haul on the day compared with 8 points on the day from the Relics.
No roving reporter was available to cover the fixtures so just a results summary for the day

Results
Blackpool 0 Relics 1
A four foul penalty for the Relics, slotted away nicely into the bottom right hand corner by John W, gave the Relics the win.
Rochdale 0 Relics 0
Relics were on top for most of the game, but couldn’t turn the pressure into points
Manchester Citizens 0 Relics 2
Two penalties for The Relics put away nicely by John W. The first penalty was awarded when a Citizens defender danced into the goal area while trying to stop John W getting a shot in. The second penalty was awarded when Keiran was chopped down from behind by the Citizens defender as he was through on goal, a definite DOGSO (Denial of goal scoring opportunity) that resulted in the penalty and the sending off of the Citizens defender. This caused outrage with the Citizen players and a second red card was shown for dissent.
Manchester Corinthians 0 Relics 0
Relics were on top in this tough game, but again couldn’t convert the advantage into goals.

Well done to all the Relics players Eddie (GK) Peter A, Bob D, Keiran, Keith B, Sir Pat, and manager Keith S.

GMWFL Autumn 2023 – 3 games, 3 wins, and 3 clean sheets for the over 60’s Stripes.

October 25th 2023.
Three was definitely the magic number for the Relics over 60’s stripes on match day two of the Autumn 2023 season of the Greater Manchester Walking Football League (GMWFL). At the start of the day the Relics sat second in the division, five points behind leaders Ribble Valley.
A superb effort on the day from all the team: Gaz (GK), Ian McK (c), Andy Rich, Steve Hassall, Iain Dawson, Nev Kitchen, Ken Bond, and Mike Bartram, not forgetting joint managers Keith S and Sir Pat doing an excellent job from the touchline: resulted in the Relics climbing to second spot, level on points with Ribble Valley but second place on goal difference.

Relics 1 – 0 Wakefield
Wakefield games are always tough and close but the Relics started well with a goal from Andy Rich in the first half. Second half and Wakefield were playing well with the Relics giving away a few fouls which resulted in a penalty to Wakefield. The Wakefield striker struck his shot hard and low to Gaz’s left, but Gaz was equal to it, getting down to his left to pull off a great save.

Relics 1 – 0 Bolton Arena
Relics were on top from the start playing most of the game in Bolton’s half and Gaz not having much action to deal with. Mike Bartram secured the three points with a mazy dribble on the edge of the Bolton goal area. I think he beat the entire Bolton team two or three times before slotting the ball home for the only goal of the game.

Ribble Valley 0 – 1 Relics
Last game of the day was against top of the table Ribble Valley, Relics needed a win to keep in touch at the top. This was one of the best relics performances I have seen for a while. Plenty of talking, movement off the ball, and marking the Ribble players. It was still a tough game.
At half time it was 0 – 0 with all to play for. Relics secured the points from a penalty following four offences from Ribble Valley. A firmly struck spot kick from Ian McKinnon gave the Ribble keeper no chance and secured the points for the Relics.

All the GMWFL Autumn 2023 Results and Fixtures are here

GMWFL Autumn 2023 –Over 60s Whites Have One Of Those Days

October 2023
Bury Relics Over 60s Whites contested the second set of fixtures of their Greater Manchester Division 1 Walking Football league campaign on a cool, dry day in Heywood. The squad was Eddy (GK), Tony, Wayne, Keith S, Ian McCann, Kevin, Gordon and Graham with Ken as Manager. A frustrating day resulted in 3 draws and a loss which was a poor return considering the pressure that we exerted in 3 of the matches.
 
First up were Kingsmaid, as usual it was a high quality closely contested match. More of a chess game than a thriller in which we shaded the shots but no real clearcut chances were created by either team. 0-0 but we played excellently, especially, defensively.
 
Straight into the second game against Corinthians. This was another good game which we dominated with about 80% possession but we couldn’t finish our good play off with a goal. We were one close running decision away from winning a penalty but we were not getting any luck and again it finished 0-0.
 
Match 3 v Fleetwood was the best game of walking football that I have seen. Great team play, superb forward play, by both outstanding centre forwards who were thwarted by great goalkeeping, and a high level of skill displayed by everyone on show. What made it especially good was no running, contact or moaning as everyone had to concentrate on the opposition. 0-0 for the third match in a row.
 
Our final game was against Wakefield. Possibly due to our exertions in the previous match we started so slowly that we never gave ourselves a chance. They had a good chance after around 20 seconds which Eddy saved for a corner and they scored after a minute. We were then left chasing the game against a tremendously well drilled side who know exactly what to do when they go a goal up. Trying to force the play we eventually gave away a penalty through 4 fouls just before the end which was confidently slotted home. A 2-0 loss.
 
3 points on a day when we played so well in 3 matches was disappointing but in a league of this standard there are no easy games and every point has to be hard won. The players gave their all so it is onto Matchdays 3 & 4, both in November, with Relics sitting bang in the middle of the table 8 points off the top and 7 points clear of the bottom.

GMWFL Autumn 2023 – three hard earned points for the over 65s

Matches played October 2023
Conditions for the game today were pretty good, without the usual torrent of rain and with a bit of sunshine. The league reiterated that running was not going to be tolerated and referees were going to be vigilant. The over 65s were flying in their last set of fixtures that put them top of the league. Could Relics maintain their lofty position? The team today was different to last time but was still full of quality players and Preston were their first opponents.

Preston North End SW versus Bury Relics Over 65’s
To watch extended highlights of this game, click-here.
The final result was a 0-0 draw.
Goal: no goals in this game.
Result; Preston North End SW 0 – 0 Bury Relics Over 65’s

Bury Relics Over 65’s versus Manchester Corinthians
To watch extended highlights of this game, click-here.
The final result was a 0-0 draw.
Goal: no goals in this game.
Result; Bury Relics Over 65’s 0 – 0 Manchester Corinthians

Bury Relics Over 65’s versus Bolton Arena
To watch extended highlights of this game, click-here.
The final result was a 1-0 win to Bolton.

Goal: A Bolton attacker receives the ball with his back to goal, turns and uses pace to get wide of his marker and fire in a low shot. It goes in low and very close to the post.
To see, click-here.
Result; Bury Relics Over 65’s 0 – 1 Bolton Arena

Bury Relics Over 65’s versus Blackpool SS
To watch extended highlights of this game, click-here.
The final result was a 1-1 draw.

Goal: A brilliant goal by Dave that involved quick thinking and reactions, to get to the ball and toe-poke it across the stranded keeper and into the far corner. The keeper claimed it was inside the area but as you can see on the video, his toe makes contact with the ball outside the area; great goal to Bury. To see, click-here.

Goal: The equalizer for Blackpool; an outstretched leg just deflects a Bury pass astray to a Blackpool player, who passes to another; he moves forward and hits a good strike wide of Eddy. To see, click-here.
Result; Bury Relics Over 65’s 1 – 1 Blackpool SS

Three points earned on the day. However, plenty of hard work was given from all the players in that performance, with Ken B orchestrating the team selection and tactics. Some days you don’t get the rub of the green; eg Tex hit the post with a pile-driver, and that could have meant 3 points against Blackpool. Also, Eddy had no chance with either of the goals conceded, they were just so precisely hit shots, and one also included some running. The squad on the day: Tex (C), Eddy (GK), Pete S, Ian Mc, Dave, Alan B and Tony G. Manager was Ken B, with Keiren and Sir Pat in support. Vidiprinter provided by Motherwell Ian and Kodak Keith with the photos. Report by Dr. John.

Photos