Bury Relics

GMWFL Spring 2023 – Relics over 60’s Stripes play well in a clean sweep of draws

Matches played on the 24^th of May 2023.
Glorious sunshine greeted the players and supporters! A mini-welcome was made by the league to the new players, and everyone was assured that Referees know exactly what running is; but we are not so sure if the players do 😊. The Stripes had a squad of 8 who were planning to put on a good performance after the unlucky losses in the last set of fixtures. Dependable Sir Pat the Cat had stepped in to help out the team, donning the Gloves of “Club Card” Eddy. Fast Ken Bond was smiling as he adorned his new and beautiful leather upper boots for their maiden league games. All in all, the omens were certainly looking positive for a good Relics performance.

Bury Relics Stripes vs. Wakefield Wanderers Whites
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 60’s Stripes 0 – 0 Wakefield Wanderers Whites

Bury Relics over 60’s Stripes versus Roach Dynamos
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 60’s Stripes 0 – 0 Roach Dynamos

Bury Relics over 60’s Stripes versus Ribble Valley WFC
To watch extended highlights of this game, click-here.
The final result was a 1-1 draw.

Goal: 1-0 to Ribble; following a blue card, the Relics were frantically defending Pat’s goal a man light. An astute pass finds a Ribble player unmarked on the edge of the area, who shoots powerfully low and past Pat. The cat was only a whisker away from saving it (pardon the pun) with a brilliant dive; you could almost hear a whoosh as the ball sped past his outstretched finger tips. Unlucky Pat, and even full-time keepers Eddy or Gaz would have struggled to save that, click-here.

Goal: The equalizer! An amazing assist has to go to Nev here, who threw the Kitchen sink in with his stout defending and sublime positioning. A ball was played up to their #10 danger man, but just before the ball arrived at his feet, Nev anticipated his movement, and positioned himself, so that any reverse motion by the #10, will mean him backing into Nev. Sure enough, the backing in transpired, and Nev did a good job claiming foul to the Ref, with his arms stretched out wide. The official agreed, and that meant the 4^th foul had been reached, it was a penalty to Bury! Big Andy R, the captain, claimed the ball to take it. A minor sublot; last time out, 2 Relics penalties were saved by keepers who managed to put an out-stretched boot to stop the ball going in, even though they had dived the wrong way; very unlucky. Andy, probably with that in mind, fired a good penalty high into the net, thus negating any chance of an outstretched foot stopping it this time. Only if they had Mr. Tickle legs and over 20 years of Yoga experience could they stop that penalty with a leg. A good penalty and an equalizer for 1-all, Click-here.
Result, Bury Relics over 60’s Stripes 1 – 1 Ribble Valley WFC

The entire squad of 8 players did very well today, and the team looked very good, the dominant team in the first 2 games. Everyone played for each other, and there was always a pass option on; the effort and attitude were very positive. The last game against Ribble was a more even one, but credit to the team, as they were riding the lightning of 3 fouls for the last 3 minutes in the 2^nd half, so any lapse in concentration could have resulted in a winning penalty for Ribble. Nev even had a chance of winning the game, with a good shot near the end. In summary, it was a good day and performance by the Stripes, in which all the players and staff played their parts. The squad consisted: Sir Pat the Cat (GK), Andy R (C), Mark T, Motherwell Ian, Keith H, Nev K, Fast Ken B and Johnny How. Team management and staff: Ken Bug and Keith S. Fans included Watford Mark and Steve, who were there to watch and cheer on the Stripes. Report by Dr. John.

GMWFL Spring 2023 – 1 win, 2 draws, 1 defeat for over 65’s

18th May 2023:
Another tough day of fixture for the Relics 65’s resulted in 1 win, 2 draws, and 1 defeat to Kingsmaid which meant that Kingsmaid leapfrog the Relics into top spot in the table, pushing the Relics down into second spot with 1 game day (4 games) to go in the Spring 2023 season.

As usual the Relics kick off the day with a tough gme against Kingsmaid.
Ed is called into action early in the game by somehow tipping a hard swirling shot onto the cross bar and out for a corner.
Relics matched Kingsmaid and had a goal disallowed from JoMo when the ref judged that JoMo was running. Shortly after Kingsmaid went ahead through a penalty, Tony G was judged to have strayed into the area as he went to tackle the dangerous Kingsmaid #77. The penalty was slotted home low done in-off Ed’s left hand post. 0-1 to Kingsmaid.
The Relics were fighting back with a shot from JoMo deflected for a corner. Jerry had a shot well saved by the keeper and a shot from distance that was high.
Inevitably Kingsmaid #77 got in on the action with a fast turn and powerful shot from the edge of the box giving Ed no chance putting Kingsmaid 0-2 up.
Relics continued to press with a shot from Tong G going over. The Relics pressure finally paid off when a Kingsmaid defender went into the box, penalty to the Relics, JoMo stepped up and confidently smashed the ball into the roof of the net. Relics 1 -2.
Final score Relics 1 v 2 Kingsmaid

Next challenge for the Relics was Corinthians, although not at their best this season, they are always difficult games.
The Relics were on top from the start with 3 shots from Graham W in quick succession, the first going wide, the other two resulting corners, but no goals. Jerry shot high, before Corinthians had a couple of efforts themselves. The relics continued to have the majority of the possession and field position but couldn’t make the advantage count on the score sheet. A frustrating game for the Relics.
Final score Relics 0 v Corinthians 0

Next came Preston North End and another frustrating game from a Relics point of view. Within seconds the Relics had a chance when the Preston keepers roll out was intercepted by Graham, his normally lethal left foot let him down as he miss-hit the shot wide. Tex also shot wide following a good move Al > JoMo > GW > Tex. Graham had a shot saved, then Pete Shev shot wide and Graham had another shot saved. Preston replied with a shot that hit the bar and went over and out.
Preston had a good spell with a well worked free kick saved by Ed and another shot that sped across the front of the Relics goal and just past the far post. Then another shot that was just wide.
The Relics finiahed strong with shots from JoMo just too high, and Graham W which was well saved by the Preston keeper.
Final score Relics 0 v Preston 0

Final game of the day was Bolton Arena.
Ed was the first keeper called into action when a Bolton free kick found a player unmarked on the Relics left hand side, his free shot was well saved by Ed.
The rest of the game was dominated by the Relics. JoMo had a shot parried for a corner. The corner goes to Tony G who shoots wide.
Graham W carries the ball around the Bolton area to the left hand side and hits a left footed shot into the bottom right hand side of the goal to put the Relics 1 – 0 up.
The game was still all Relics with a through ball from GW finding JoMo on the right hand side, his low and powerful shot went in off the near post. 2 – 0 Relics.
There was a bit of tension in the game between Jerry and Bolton #7 but Jerry silenced his opponent with two ‘nutmegs’ in quick succession, the latter one was followed by a super strike which the keeper had no chance. 3 – 0 Relics
Tony G had the last chance of the game for the Relics when he picked up the ball outside the Relics area, and with the Bolton defence parting like the Red Sea Tony waltzed down the centre of the pitch as the Bolton keeper dived to his left he somehow managed to save Tony’s shot with his feet. What a goal that would have been.
Final score Relics 3 – Bolton 0

So, Relics end with a win and 5 point on the day which leaves them in second place in tthe table, 4 points behind Kingsmaid with 4 games left to play.
Well done to all players on the day.
Ed (gk); Pete Shev; Jerry L; JoMo; Graham W; Alan B; Tony G; Tex and manage Ken Buggie,
Thanks to Kodak Keith for the photos.

For all the 2023 fixture and results see the Match Centre page here …

GMWFL Spring 2023 – clean sheets and a win for the over 60s Whites

Matches played on the 4^th of May 2023.
The sun was shining in Heywood, and the phone app said it was only a 25% chance of precipitation, which is very different to the usual 150%. However, there was a slight chilly breeze in the air, which made for perfect playing conditions in terms of keeping cool, but the wind was causing havoc with the netting behind the goals. The league speech before the game stated that there were to be no brews and biscuits for after these games, since it was polling day. Boo, but nobody seemed bothered. Bury were currently sat in second place in the league, wedged between Kingsmaid, who are top (a point ahead), and above Wakefield, who were third due to an inferior goal difference to Bury. The 60s whites had put together a strong team for the day, and around 12 supporters had turned up to see the cream of Manchester play Walking football. First up for the Whites were Kingsmaid.

Club Kingsmaid versus Bury Relics Over 60’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; Club Kingsmaid 0 – 0 Bury Relics Over 60’s

Bury Relics Over 60’s versus Manchester Corinthians
To watch extended highlights of this game, click-here.

Goal: this was a great goal, which turned defence into attack. Corinthians had broken down the left, and their attacker was approaching Eddy’s goal at speed, he let fly with a hard shot (looked like a toe-bung), and Eddy put his body in the way, and produced a fine save that sent the ball straight back out of the area, like a perfect pass, to Gordon in midfield. He turned, moved forward, and with great vision, spotted Graham had ghosted away from his markers. A pin-point pass from Gordon perfectly finds Graham, who’s shot flies into the goal, over a despairing dive of their keeper for a 1-0 lead (click-here).

Goal: Manchester Corinthians try and play it out from the back, and come under pressure from Ian and Graham. The Bury players win the ball, and Ian is put through, ahead of the defender, and shoots left footed under the keeper. They showed good fight to win the ball initially and the finish was great. It was 2-0 to Bury; to see the goal click-here.
Result; Bury Relics Over 60’s 2 – 0 Manchester Corinthians

Rochdale AFC Strollers versus Bury Relics Over 60’s
To watch extended highlights of this game, click-here.
The final result was a 0-0 draw.
Goal: no goals in this game.
Rochdale AFC Strollers 0 – 0 Bury Relics Over 60’s

Wakefield Wanderers versus Bury Relics Over 60’s
To watch extended highlights of this game, click-here.
The final result was a 0-0 draw.
Goal: no goals in this game.
Wakefield Wanderers 0 – 0 Bury Relics Over 60’s

It was a good day of football for the Bury Relics. But for some exceptional goal keeping, particularly by the Rochdale keeper, Bury would have scored more goals and collected more points. Bury were the better team in most if not all of the games. The lads on social media were saying the same, also picking out keeper Eddy as being fantastic, as can be seen on the videos (no goals conceded). That was also down to good team play all around, with a good competitive attitude. Comedy moment was provided by Graham, who accused Pat of doing a drug deal in the sports centre reception. However, although there were many small paper bags full of dark powder involved, they were, in fact, PG Tips tea bags. Well done to the players and staff: Eddy (GK), Graham (C), Tony G, Keith S, Gordon, Ian M, Kevin A, and Wayne. Backroom staff of manager Ken B, Pat, Keith B and Keiren. Thanks to the 12 supporters who watched the games. Report Dr. John.

A few snaps from the day

GMWFL Spring 2023 – Frustrating day for over 70’s

3rd May 2023
At last a lovely sunny day welcomed the teams to Heywood for the third day of the GMWFL over 70’s Spring 2023 season.
The Relics were unbeaten on the day but were frustrated to only come away with a six point haul from the four games after being on top in all the games.
A big positive for the Relics was the return to playing action for Coach Ken Buggie after two years out due to illness, welcome back Ken.

Relics 0 – Blackpool 0
Relics controlled the game with plenty of possession and shots but failed to beat the Blackpool Keeper,. Shots early on in the game from Ken, John W, JoMo, and Tex only ended up as corners. The Relics frustration resulted in a nervous last few minutes as the Relics were on three offences, another one and it would be a penalty to Blackpool but the Relics saw out the last few minutes with a few ore chances but without scoring.

Relics 1 – Tameside 0
Relics were on top from the start with an early shot from Keiran on the right just going wide of the keepers left hand post. A few minutes later the keeper miraculously saved a shot from John W, as he was going down to his right he manage to stick out his left hand to finger tip the ball round his left hand post. Jomo got the ball in the net for the Relics with a quick move across the front of the area from left to right and fire a right foot shot past the keeper, but the goal was disallowed for running. Jomo was through a few minutes later and was brought down as he was about to shoot, the ref awarded a penalty to the Relics for ‘denial of a goal scoring opportunity’ by the Tameside defender. JoMo smashed the penalty low to the keepers left to give the Relics the win and three points they deserved.

Relics 0 – Corinthians 0
The game was a noisy, scrappy, game and difficult for the Ref with Corinthians playing a physical game and appealing against, what seemed to be, every tackle from the Relics. Both sides had chances with Relics keeper Ed making some good saves. At the other end the Corinthians keeper was kept just as busy. A good passing move from Bob > Keiran > John W saw John’s shot saved. Another move from John W > Keiran but his shot was over the bar.

Relics 0 – Rochdale 0
Rochdale hadn’t scored yet this season and didn’t really threaten to break that duck against the Relics with Tex keeping the dangerous Dale striker at bay. An early shot from John W was saved by the Dale keeper, a few minutes later John W was set free from just inside the Dale half by a pass from Tex, John was one on one with the keeper, but the keeper managed to parry the shot out to JoMo on the edge of the area his quick reaction shot hit the post. A late shot from John W, was deflected just past the Dale post.

So, a frustrating day for the Relics players Ed (gk), Tex, DaMo, Bob D, Jomo, John W, Keiran, Ken unused sub Keith B, and manager Keith S.

For all the 2023 fixture and results see the Match Centre page here …

GMWFL Spring 2023 – Tough day for Relics 60’s Stripes

26th April 2023

For once Heywood is bathed in sunshine, slightly cool, but ideal for football. Unfortunately the results didn’t match up with the weather with the Relics over 60’s Stripes losing all three games 0 – 1.

First game – Wakefield
Wakefield went ahead midway through the first half when a good through ball found the striker with his back to goal on the edge of the area, with a sharp turn and shot he fired past Eddie in the Relics net.
The second half highlight was a four offence penalty to the Relics. Andy Rich stepped up a fired the spot kick down to the keepers left but as the keeper dived to the right he stuck out his leg and managed to clear the shot with the toe of hs left book, so close to the equaliser, but Wakefield help on for the win.
Final score Relics 0 – Wakefield 1

Second Game – Roach Dynamos
Both teams were struggling to find some rhythm early in the game, but the Relics had the ball in the net for what looked like a perfectly good goal, with a good passing move Nev > Ken > Nev > Mike B who blasted great shot passed the keeper, but the ref, who was a lng way from the action seemed to succumb to the Roach appeals and disallowed the goal claiming Mike was in the area..
Straight from the second half kick off Roach were more alive and scored whena player burst through from the centre and slammed the ball past Eddie.
Final score Relics 0 – Roach Dynamos 1

Third game – Ribble Valley
The game was a bit of an untidy affair with Ribble having the advantage. Ribble went ahead when a man was free on the edge of the Relics area to slot the ball past Eddie on the right, the ball hit Eddies right hand post spun along the goal line and hit Eddies left hand post, it then spun back towards the right hand post again, but came to rest on the line in the middle of the goal. The ref gave a controversial goal saying the ball had crossed the line, but to the frustrated Relics fans on the touch line it certainly didn’t seem a goal. Another tough decision against the Relics o the day.
The Relics had a chance for the equaliser late in the game when they were awarded a penalty. This time Mike B stepped up hit the ball to the keepers left as he dived to his right.
The keeper stuck his left leg out, the ball hit his toe, shot up and hit thr bar and blunce out of te are direct to a Ribble player who touched the ball back to the keeper. More tough luck on an unlucky day for the Relics. To make it three 0 – 1 results on the day.
Final score Relics 0 – Ribble Valley 1

A tough day for the tesm .. Eddi (gk), Mark T, Nev K, Mike B, Watford Mark, Mr Bond, Andy Rich, Ian McK

For all the 2023 fixture and results see the Match Centre page here …

WFLA National Cup – Relics 65’s just miss out in Regional Final

26th April 2023

Relics 65’s just missed out in the WFLA National Cup Regional Final, losing 1 – 0 to Blackburn in a tough game which could have gone either way.
The Relics had the better of play for the first 5 mins, but Blackburn came back into the game and went ahead when a through ball found Ian McCann free to slam the ball past Gaz in the Relics goal. Blackburn 1-0 up.
Ian McCann was the centre of the next incident when he was sin binned one minute before half time for four offences. Blackburn down to five men for the next five minutes.
The Relics tried to take advantage of their extra man as they worked a few openings for Gerry L but his shots were off target, and Pete Shev who shot over the bar.
Blackburn managed to weather the five minute storm and wit their man back on had two goals disallowed. The first after about 12 mins in the second half was disallowed for running, the second about two minutes later was disallowed for being in the goal area.
The last few minutes saw the Relics piling up the pressure and pushing Blackburn who seemed to be in panic mode.
Blackburn held out for the last few minutes to seal a win which was tough on the Relics.

Well played to all the Relics Gaz in goal who pulled of some great saves, Alan B, Tex, Pete Shev, Gerry L, Tony G, John , Graham W. and manager Ken.

For all the 2023 fixture and results see the Match Centre page here …

WFLA National Cup – Relics 65’s reach Regional Final

22nd April 2023
Over 65s Reach WFLA National Cup Regional Final

Bury Relics Over 65’s played their Walking Football League Alliance National Cup Semi-final on a cool, overcast day in Heywood last Saturday. It was a High Noon showdown between 2 top teams, Kingsmaid and Relics, who had met only 2 days earlier in a league match which Kingsmaid had shaded 2-1
Although injury and holidays had limited selection options the Relics still had a quality line up on show. The squad was Gaz (GK), Pete Shev (Centre Back), Tex (Right Half), Alan (Left Half), John M (Centre Midfield) and Graham (Centre Forward) with Kieran both Manager and sub and John Wardle drafted in as Assistant Manager in case Kieran had to play.

Before the start the ref briefed the teams on the competition rules which differed from the normal league rules. Blue cards would be shown to players who had either 3 contact fouls or 3 running fouls with no penalty awards for accumulated team fouls. 20 minutes each way.

Kingsmaid started well, playing with a high intensity whilst testing the ref’s running boundaries, in stark contrast to the Relics who looked nervous and shaky. Kingsmaid had 3 shots in the first 4 minutes, utilising the tactic of knocking it long to their immensely skilful centre forward but limpet like defending by Pete Shev denied him the space to get enough power and accuracy to really test Gaz. However, the Relics started to get a foothold in the game as Graham and John looked to cut out the long pass up to their lone frontman making them go wide where Tex and Alan’s relentless pressing forced turnovers in possession.

Our first chance came when Graham intercepted a pass out from their goalie and blasted past the post on 7 minutes which gave us a much need confidence boost. After a nice team move on 9 minutes, Tex had a great shot which their custodian saved high to his right. The last good chance of the half fell to John on 13 minutes after good hold up play and lay off by Graham which just slid past the left post with the keeper beaten. The final 7 minutes of the opening period saw a chess game as both teams probed for openings against well drilled outfits with the major incidents being both John and their extremely mobile midfielder both picking up their second running fouls so now walking the tightrope of a Blue card. Overall, Kingsmaid had the better possession but we had the better chances as half time arrived.

The management duo went into action with Woggy giving the general team talk imploring them to give our man in possession an easy option and Kieran giving individual feedback to each player on what he wanted in the second half.
After the break Kingsmaid again started well with good pressure but a breakaway led to John rattling the post and, by extension, their belief. We began playing great football, having 4 good shots in the process, equally shared by Graham and John, and started dominating.

Then from our poorly taken corner Kingsmaid broke upfield and had a 2 v1 where they looked certain to score but Pete handled the situation Baresi-like, cutting out the final pass and knocking it back to Gaz. Normal service then resumed with more good interplay between Graham and John leading to another well driven shot from Graham flashing past the post.

On 37 minutes Tex delivered a beautifully struck diagonal crossfield pass from right to left which was magically dummied by John straight into Graham’s feet who controlled and turned first time leaving his marker for dead. He advanced on goal with a singular intent and just before the D he toe bunged it under the keeper’s despairing dive off the inside of the lefthand post and it just crossed the line before nestling in the sidenetting on the opposite side of the goal.

We had 3 minutes to see out the game which we did very effectively with Alan coming into his own closing down space all over the pitch. When the very impressive and consistent young ref blew the final whistle it was to the relief of all of us not to have to go into extra time.

A deserved victory against a stand out team in a match played in a sporting manner. All our players had great games but a wee special mention for Pete who never put a foot wrong throughout against a very dangerous opponent and Gaz who gave us the solid base and quick distribution to build from the back

So the Relics are through to the Regional Final which wll be played on Wed 26th April 2023 at Heywood. al spectators are welcome, so try to get down to supporrt the Relics.

Many thanks to Ian McK for the comprehensive report.

GMWFL Spring 2023 – the over 65s stay top in April

Bury’s nifty 9 were sensational last time out, to give Bury top spot in the league, an impressive 2 points clear of 2^nd placed Kingsmaid. However, this time around there were forced changes to the squad; there were no Tony G, Gerry L nor Dave L but star striker Jomo was drafted in to give a squad of 7 players. Compounding the disruption was the absence of Klopp-Ken, who was not around to pick the team and shout encouragements. Pat the cat was promoted to chief coach. The sun, amazingly, was shining at Heywood, and after a lecture from the league about not-running in walking football, the games got underway. First up were Bury’s biggest competitors, Kingsmaid.

Club Kingsmaid versus Bury Relics Over 65’s
To watch extended highlights of this game, click-here.
The final result was a 2-1 loss.

Goal: Kingsmaid take the lead with a ball played up to their #77, who lays off to the winger and he scores to make it 1-0, click-here.

Goal: Bury quickly hit back to equalize, through the trio of John W, Graham and Jomo. JW plays a ball up to Graham, who redirects the ball, with a deft one-touch pass, to the on-rushing Jomo, who side foots powerfully through their keeper to score, click-here.

Goal: disaster for Bury as a stray distribution pass gives an assist to #77, who makes no mistake at close range to give Kingsmaid a win, click-here.
Result; Club Kingsmaid 2 – 1 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 Preston North End
To watch extended highlights of this game, click-here.
The final result was a 1-0 win for Bury.

Goal: a fabulously worked team goal, with the added ingredient of individual genius at the end. After several passes, Alan plays the final pass to assist Graham, who body swerves to fool the defender, cuts inside and loops a calm finish over the keeper for a 1-0 lead (click-here).
Result; Bury Relics Over 65’s 1 – 0 Preston North End

Bury Relics Over 65’s versus Bolton Arena
To watch extended highlights of this game, click-here.
The final result was a 2-0 win to Bury.

Goal: this shows any keeper can make a mistake with distribution; the Bolton keeper throws out too close to Graham, who intercepts and plays the ball into the middle for Jomo to make the score 1-0, click-here.

Goal: A bit of controversy with this one. Following a Bury interception and shot, their keeper makes a save, but the rebounding ball is rolling out of the area. Their defender side-foots the ball before the ball has fully left the area, so while his foot has not traversed the goal area line, the ball was mostly still in it as he hits it (see the photo above/below). In any case, the Ref gives a penalty. Bolton protest, and the keeper asks for VAR verification. The Chimpanzee with the camera shows him and then proceeds to forget to film the actual penalty. Jomo scores a great penalty, top left-hand corner (a bit like Lindelof’s), to make the score 2-0. Click-here to see the buildup.
Result; Bury Relics Over 65’s 2 – 0 Bolton Arena

This time out Bury managed the results of 2 wins, a draw and a loss, which is a total of 7 points gained. Kingsmaid managed 8 points on the day but as they only managed a single win last time, Bury remain top with a 1 point superiority. Overall, the team played very well with a changed squad, particularly since John W also picked up an injury in the second game. From goalkeeper to attack, everyone contributed to the good play of the Relics. Here is a montage of Gaz’s saves from today (Click-here) and excellent goals can be seen above. So, well done all players and staff. The comedy moment was provided by Dr. John, who forgot to switch the camera back on, following VAR controversy for the Bolton penalty, and missed Jomo’s excellent penalty. Thanks to the players and staff: Gaz (GK), Graham (C), Tex, John W, Alan B, John M (Jomo) and Pete S. Backroom staff of Pat and Keiren. Thanks also to the supporters who watched and encouraged the team. Report Dr. John.

Photo Gallery

WFLA National Cup – Bury Relics over 60s versus Bolton Arena

This nice summary was provided by Andy Van R; To be fair today was (due to injuries etc) a bit of a makeshift side, who had probably never played together, who did really well. Each player gave it their all and can hold their heads up, in fact there was a chance which grazed the bar and a good goal disallowed, which would have made it 1-1, after that you never know. However, this Bolton team will give ANY team a game and Keith is right (I think 🤔) when he says if it hadn’t been for Gary, who knows how many they would have scored. Things weren’t helped when Dave L got injured, from then on there was no subs to freshen up the side. So onwards and upwards and heads held high!

Motherwell Ian also made some comments; it was his first proper competitive fixture and as a consequence, consulted the Ref on what the basics rules were, prior to KO. Walking and non-contact was the information relayed. However, from the off, the speed of the game was super-fast, and any notion of non-contact was quickly squashed as a defender came through the back of Ian as he was about to shoot in a rebound. No penalty given! As is noted above, Dave L was injured early on, and that meant Relics played most of a 40-minute game with just the bare 6 players. Ergo, losing just 3-0 against a very good Bolton side was a pretty reasonable result, considering the circumstances and a makeshift side.

Result; Bury Relics 0 – 3 Bolton Arena

Squad: Gaz (GK), Graham W (C), Keith “The Wall” S, Dave L, Mike B, Alan B and Ian M.
Manager, Ken B and photos by Kodak Keith H.

Photo Gallery

GMWFL Spring 2023 – Frustrating day for Over 60’s

6th April 2023
The Relics over 60’s were unbeaten on the day and ended the day second place in the table above third place Wakefield on goal difference, and just one point behind leaders Kingsmaid.

First game Kingsmaid. As always the game with Kingsmaid was close, with Relics Tony G keeping Kingsmaid’s dangerous forward under control. The Relics had the ball in the net first, when the Kngsmaid keeper parried a shot Dog was on the edge of the box and slotted the ball home, but the ref disallowed the goal due to the ball being in the area, very close decision.
Kingsmaid also had the ball in the net shortly later, but this was als disalloed for running.
Final score Relics 0 – Kingsmaid 0

Game 2, Corinthians. Another tough game, and again the Relics were denied what would have been a match winning goal from Ian, his shot was ‘saved’ by the keeper and spun back over his body into the net, but the ref deemed it ‘keepers ball’ as he said the ball had gone above head height from the keepers save. A harsh decision as everyone else on the pitch and side lines thought is was a goal.
Final score Relics 0 – Corinthians 0

Game 3 Rochdale. Finally Relics get the win they deserve from the good play on the day. First goal from Dog, soon followed by the second goal from Graham W. Rochdale got one back late on from a four offence penalty.
Final score Relics 2 – Rochdale 1

Game 4. Wakefield. Another tough game to end the days fixtures for the Relics, both teams fighting for top spot. The game was hard fought with not many chances. The best chance went to Wakefield when they were awarded a penalty late on in the game, but General Gaz pulled off a remarkable double save as he touch the spot kick onto his left hand post only for it to rebound direct to the penalty taker who fired another shot direct on target, but Gaz had got to his knees and kept hold of the shot above his head. A superb piece of goalkeeping.
Final Score Relics 0 – Wakefield 0