A new season starts with a difference, Europe is closer to war than it has ever been in the recent past; I think I speak for most/all Relics, especially those who have pro-actively contributed to the humanitarian effort by donations to the Polish club in Bury, we wish Peace to Ukraine.

Bury Relics over 70’s versus Blackpool.
The brightest thing about this day was Blackpool’s tangerine kit, as cold and wet inclement weather welcomed the Relics to the stadium in Heywood. Blackpool started the brightest with 2 quick fire shots, the second of which was sent into orbit, and gave a head height free-kick to the Relics. Play continued with quick changes in possession, where Field marshal John W was playing the role of lion tamer in a midfield battle, to try and domesticate the Blackpool midfield. However, this was not consistent with the non-contact rules. John had quickly clocked up two fouls, the second of which was when he completely cleared out their tricky number 11, just a like a bullet of a 10-pin bowling ball, blowing all the pins away for a strike. That put the Relics on a total of 3 fouls, and they were now playing the rest of the game on a knife edge. But this did not dampen the combative attitude of the Relics, with Tex, Pete and Tony all making some good and well-timed tackles, intercepting the ball and quelling any momentum of Blackpool. The Relics were now more composed and making some good passes where Tex came close with a shot, that was saved, and then in a subsequent attack saw John W hit a post. So close but no cigar. It was not all one-way traffic though, as Blackpool had opportunities and it took a good save from Eddie to turn the ball around for a corner. A nice move was then executed by the Relics, which started with Tex collecting a ball at speed, then dragging the ball back to behind his standing leg, and then Cruyff turn like, passing the ball to John W, who laid it off to Jerry who shot but was just wide, but a good chance nonetheless. Now it was Tex’s turn to have a shot, who hit it powerfully but the keeper was right behind it to make the save, to give the Relics a corner. From this, a nice and first time shot from John W but this just whistled wide. The Relics were now on top and their pinpoint passing was making opportunities to shoot: John W had a good shot saved, and then Jerry hit a pile driver but this bullet banged against the post, which was so hard the post started shaking like a tuning fork. Then, as the game was starting to get more interesting with Relics dominating, the final whistle went, and the result was a goalless draw.
Bury Relics over 70’s 0 – 0 Blackpool.

Bury Relics over 70’s versus Rochdale Strollers.
Under the great guidance of Keith S and Ken, the team was re-shuffled to now include an outfield Pat the Cat (without his gloves) and Keith B. I hope there were ready as this was a game against last seasons champions. The answer was that they were ready and started the game the better team, with Tex having a shot blocked, following accurate passing between all Relics players. There was a precise interception by Pat the Cat at the back, and the ball played to Keith B, who via a John W pass, managed to get the ball to Jerry in a bit of space, who hit an enormously powerful shot that shook the cross-bar. That was close for Relics taking the lead. John W, Tex and Jerry had further shots blocked but Rochdale were countering with chances of their own, one of which had to be saved by a good, Olympic gold medal worthy, dive by Eddy. While Relics pressed down the other end, the ball was lost and the Rochdale striker was left on a one on one with Eddie. It was like the final gun fight of good, the bad and the ugly western, both striker and keeper were waiting for the other to make the first move. Eddie held his nerve, which put the Rochdale striker off and he shot wide. Relief as that was a really good chance for them. Down the other end, Jerry had a shot saved, and almost immediately, at the Relics end, there was a free-kick to Rochdale. Their move was intricate, which bamboozled the Relics defence, and made a good shooting chance that was saved by Eddie. It was end to end stuff, with further shots from both sides; John W and Keith B both had good shots, which were saved, and Rochdale had a shot just wide right at the other end. This was a good result for the Relics, against the reigning champions, a 0 – 0 draw.
Bury Relics over 70’s 0 – 0 Rochdale Strollers.

Bury Relics over 70’s versus Manchester Senior Citizens.
This match was physical and competitive from the off, with lots of tackles going in from both sides, trying to gain some dominance in the game. Both John W and Tex were making tackles against the City team who were having more of the possession. This led to a City corner and shot, that Eddie did well to get down to and save. The Relics were now putting some multiple passing moves together, which led to a lay off by Jerry to John W, who hit a good shot but which was saved. Then after another regain in possession by the Relics, John W produced a nice turn and shot but again this was saved by the City keeper. The tide had turned and the Relics were putting pressure on City’s goal. One nice moment was when John W on the right-hand side of the area, hit a hard shot/cross across the area to Jerry, who hit a nice first time shot but which was saved. It was a good chance and the crowd were saying, wow, great move and that was close. The Relics were defending well and a few niggles were creeping into the game; nothing explosive but the tackles were firm, to let them know they were there. Jerry got the ball in an advanced position, and did a stepover/shuffle, and then hit a good shot that was wide. A final chance was created by John W, who, when receiving the ball with his back to goal, span and shot first time. Unfortunately, it was not on target. A good battle of a game, that was very close but with the Relics shading it on chances.
Bury Relics over 70’s 0 – 0 Manchester Senior Citizens

Bury Relics over 70’s versus Preston
The game started tit for tat, where each team was stringing a few passes together but both sides were not testing the goalies. But then John W found Jerry in a modicum of space, who turned quickly and put a low and powerful shot just wide. Then it was the turn of John W himself to have a shot, this time it was on target but the keeper made the save. The fastest thing seen all day was a yellow hatted player, who had the ability to move at speed around the pitch, while been undetected for running by the officials; luckily for the Relics, this did not lead to a goal. Following a failed Preston attack, Eddie, from the pre-goal division (similar to Tom Cruise in the pre-crime division- Minority Report), envisaged the goal that was about to happen. He visualized that Tex was in a bit of space at the back and quickly threw the ball to his feet. Tex then simultaneously looked up and played a first-time ball to the feet of Jerry, who was in an advanced position in space. The pass from Tex was like a laser guided cruise missile, that just had enough pace on the ball for Jerry to caress the ball with his instep, to bring it under sublime control, then to move it just ahead of him, which was in a perfect position to be hit. Jerry pulled his shooting leg back, like cocking a Magnum 44 hand gun, and let the hammer go, which catapulted the bullet ball into the roof of Preston’s goal. A magnificent move and tremendous finish into the roof of the net. This jolted Preston into life and they started pro-actively making chances and shots against the Relics goal. This led to an outstanding save by Eddie, who had to react quickly, to scoop the ball over his own cross-bar. A great save to keep it at one nil to the Relics. More Preston pressure ensued from the corner and some good last ditch defending by the Relics kept the score at 1 – 0. A tremendous result and well deserved from all the hard work the team had done today.
Bury Relics over 70’s 1 – 0 Preston

A big thank you and well done for a great team effort; the squad consisted: Pat the cat, John W, Keith B, Tony P, Jerry S, Tex, Peter A and Eddie the keeper. Also thanks to Keith S, Ken and Kodak Keith for supplying expert football coaching and the fabulous photos. And thanks to all the supporters who turned up despite the rain. Match report by Dr. John.

For all the GMWFL Spring 2022 fixtures and results see the Match Centre page here

It’s amazing, the road to Heywood sports centre was clear for a change, with shiny new tarmac. As I approached, I could hear the faint sounds of the Eye of the Tiger Rocky Theme being played in someone’s car. That about summed up the mood of the Bury Relic players and supporters, for the final set of fixture had come around that could bring glory once again to the mighty Relics. Like last week with the over 60s, a single goal was the difference, but this time it was not about relegation but winning the division 1 title. The Relics were in 2^nd place behind Manchester Corinthians. The Relics players, management and supporters all knew that only a perfect set of results and a high quality performance could deliver them the title. This was no easy task and first up were Salcom 65’s.

Bury Relics vs. Salcom 65’s. The opening fixture started off very well for the Relics, with John W quickly intercepted a flaky Salcom pass and tried his luck from several yards outside the area; the hard shot just whistled wide. Similarly, another interception, this time from Graham, also produced another good shot, but again was just wide of the target. From the resulting throw out by the keeper came the Relics first goal. It was a throw out far too close to Jomo, who quickly intercepted and rifled a shot back across the helpless keeper and into the net for 1 – 0 to the Relics. That certainly calmed the nerves; the Relics were playing good football, solid at the back with Tex and Bob. The next trigonometry set of passing by the Relics led to a Graham opportunity but his shot was saved by the keeper. The subsequent Salcom possession led to several passes, culminating in a shot that was wide of the target and nothing for Gaz to worry about. The Relics were in a passing rhythm now, like a metronome, and this created a chance for John W to have a shot but it was not accurate or powerful enough to really trouble the Salcom keeper. Following yet another Relics move, Bob was played in to be one on one, with only the keeper to beat; his low and hard shot shook the right hand post and catapulted the ball right across to the other side of the pitch. Although the ball was retrieved by Bob to keep the move alive, a goal did not materialize. Salcom tried again to make inroads to the Relics defence, but this was rebuffed by a stout and exquisite interception by Tex. Then, after several passes from John W and Jomo, the ball reached the feet of Graham, who held it up and waited to play a good ball to Jomo’s feet, who was now in an advanced position. A very tight turn and sidestep took Jomo away for the Salcom defender, where he thrashed the ball past the keeper to make it 2 – 0 to the Relics; it was a phenomenal all round team goal. Further play from both sides did not lead to any other significant action.
Final Score, Relics 2 – Salcom 0.

Bury Relics vs. Rochdale AFC Strollers. There were a few twists and turns in this game and the game started tense, with both sides trying to get some passing moves going. The first chance fell to Graham, who did a sharp turn but his shot was saved by the pink keeper. Rochdale fought back and had a half chance of their own but it was good clearing up at the back from Pete. Both teams were picking up the odd offence for running and contact, but not up to 4 fouls as yet. The Relics were starting to make a good footballing picture by fitting good passing moves together, this was evident by the cute back heel from Graham that put Jomo in a shooting position, but their keeper again made a save. The next chance fell to a hard working John W but the shot just rose over the bar. In the following passage of play, Rochdale committed another foul and it was a 4-foul penalty to the Relics. After Jomo’s successful spot kick last week, he decided to take the responsibility again. This time he did a perfect one step penalty, only to be denied by a save that defied the laws of physics. It was a good penalty but equally a good save, and it was still a nervous 0 – 0 score-line. Rochdale then went on the attack and won a free-kick just outside the area. This led to a decent shot and good save by Gaz, to keep the Relics hopes alive. The next Relics move saw good play from John W, setting up Jomo with a shot that clipped the right hand post (very close). The subsequent Relics attack saw Graham set up a Tex for a shot, but no joy again. Rochdale were now trying to assert themselves, pressing the Relics high up the pitch and trying to make openings to score, but a terrific interception and long pass put Graham clean through. He had a lot of distance to make up to the ball; he glided across the AstroTurf at high walking speed to get to the ball and fire a great finish passed a stunned Rochdale keeper. What a glorious goal to keep the Relics in the championship hunt! Not long after, the final whistle went to confirm the Relics victory.
Final Score, Relics 1 – Rochdale 0.

Bury Relics vs. Manchester Senior Citizens 65s. Bury played an excellent game here with precise and crisp passing and some great goals. The first started from a Bob tackle, where the ball was passed around to John W, who found Jomo in space, who then fed the ball to Graham. He took a composed, hard shot past the city keeper, to make it 1 – 0 to the Relics. City were doing some good passing moves now but were not putting pressure on the Relics goal. An interception by the Relics led to a multiple pass move that ended with John W in space to the left of the goal; he fired a cracking shot over the keepers shoulder and into the net for 2 – 0 to the Relics. Great stuff. In the next Relics attacks, Graham got into his groove by twice receiving the ball, with his back to goal, swivelling and shooting. Neither led to a goal but the second was hard, high and over, which smashed the fence so hard, it scared the birds away. A bit of a tussle was developing in midfield and as the ball was hit to the left, Bob was favourite to gain possession. However, Bob was completely cleaned out by a sliding tackle that started 10 yards away. The ref was quick to hand out a Blue card, seeing the City player leave the pitch. Relics made the extra man count by passing around the team, which put Jomo through, only to see his shot saved. Again, Relics created another chance, this time for John W, who shot just wide while through on goal. The game was in its last ebbs, when a chance was created for Bob, who took a left foot shot, that looked like he stubbed his toe, and unfortunately did not trouble City’s keeper. It caused Bob more trouble as he was now in a bit of discomfort. The game ended 2 – 0 to the Relics and the dream of glory was still alive.  
Final Score, Relics 2 – Senior Citizens 0.

Bury Relics vs. Manchester Corinthians 65’s. Well it came down to the final game to decide this seasons division 1 champions; it was a game of winner takes all. It almost started with complete disaster for the Relics, as a stray pass across the back was intercepted by a Corinthians player and he took a good shot that was equalled by Gaz in goal. Following the next passage of play, the ball went out of play and Bob was injured and replaced by Pete Shev. As you will expect from 2 good teams, both were passing around well and good play from Tex led to a Relics corner. The ball was then passed to Graham, who steadied himself, and performed an intricate turn to find space and shoot just wide of the target; you could hear the crowd saying “that was a close one”. Both sides were passing well but not finding the killer pass for end product. John W was playing well managing the game by keeping the ball off the Corinthians midfield, as at this point, a draw was good enough to be champions. Possession was still changing hands, until Graham again received the ball up front; with almost a carbon copy of the turn he did earlier, he tried again and as before, it was very close but keeper just saved it to make a corner. Then came the moment of glory for the Corinthians; a ball was passed from the Corinthian defence up to the Corinthians attacker, that bounced just in front of him with his back to goal. As the ball reached him, he swivelled and took a first time speculative hard shot that shocked everyone! It arrowed onto the left hand post, then across to the right hand post, before bouncing into the net; I could almost hear a commentator shouting “aaa-Ray-oooooooo!”. It was the Corinthians Man City Agüero moment, as that goal had sealed the league for them. The Relics toiled hard to get an equalizer but ran out of time and it was not to be.    
Final Score, Relics 0 – Corinthians 1.

Thank you to a committed and brave team performance by all the players, which was backed up by the staff and expertly led by Ken the manager. Proud to be a Relic supporter, was a great effort. The match day squad: Gaz S (GK), Bob, Tex, Graham W, Pete Shev, John W, John M (Jomo) and Keith H.

A special thank you to the great pictures from Kodak Keith and brews by McJonalds, and to all the enthusiastic supporters that turned out to witness a valiant Bury Relics effort.  For all the GMWFL Autumn 2021 results and fixtures see the Match Centre page here