Marker laying Trafford win

Rams players celebrate their opening goal.

A verdant green pitch, made slicker through an intense downpour just before kickoff, greeted Ramsbottom United and visitors Trafford FC at the Riverside stadium on Tuesday evening.

Significant changes over the summer for the Rams showcased many new faces as Rob Henry took over at the helm.  One of them, Christian Mukoko, was forced to leave the pitch with a shoulder injury following an awkward fall only a couple of minutes in, surely the quickest substitution of all time!  Trafford, playing in yellow, started brightly and with plenty of endeavour as both sides played attractive passing football, entertaining the healthy crowd.

In the 12th minute Owen Collinge broke from the Rams defence to race down the right touchline before delivering a low cross into the box.  It appeared to have been covered by the Trafford defenders, but, unfortunately for them, was steered past keeper Beard for an own goal to the dismay of a team topping the table after the initial round of games.

Trafford are many people’s favorites, with good reason, and soon recovered their poise in creating a series of probing moves to test the Rams’ defence. It looked as though they had equalised when a fierce drive from inside the box was destined for the net before a remarkable sprint saw Macaulay Wilson clear the ball off the goal line with a flying martial arts style kick, before instinctively sticking a leg up to deflect the follow up away and finally with keeper Reece Trueman reacting quickly to keep out another effort from the resulting loose ball!

Wilson’s remarkable clearance was treated like a goal as the home crowd roared on, with his endeavour and confidence flooding through the team. Seconds later Rams advanced before a low pass found Gareth Hill in space on the edge of the box. He calmly cut inside before firing a low shot inside the near post to put the Rams two up on 16 minutes, and further ramp up the home support – creating a cracking atmosphere.

Shell-shocked, Trafford responded once more but were marshalled by the excellent Wilson and Oscar Radcliffe. The Rams worked hard to keep their shape as the visitors were reduced to ineffective long-range efforts.

On twenty-two minutes the home side were awarded a free kick about thirty yards out. Everyone waited as the experienced Jack Sowerby shaped to cross the ball but instead, and with minimal back lift, fired in a dipping shot which deceived Beard to find the bottom corner of the net and an eruption of delight from the Ultras massed behind.

With only a quarter of the game gone Rams had surely done enough to win the game.  How would the visitors respond? In truth, Trafford looked rattled and rarely troubled the home side as half-time arrived.

Perhaps unsurprisingly given the healthy lead, the second half was far less fluid and turned into an exercise in game management. The action became scrappy and littered with offside decisions.

The nearest Trafford conjured was a guided header from a corner which landed on the wrong side of the post for them. For the home side Radcliffe produced a storming run from defence and appeared to be felled, with a loud shout for a penalty waved away by referee Oldroyd.

In the closing minutes the Ultras serenaded the team with entertaining melodies as the match played out to finish three nil with a comfortable home victory against a team accepting their fate long before the final whistle.

So, a comfortable win and a clean sheet represent a great home start for Rob Henry’s Ramsbottom United and saw the team, and management, acclaimed with gusto as they ran towards the supporters at the end.  On tonight’s showing they can look forward to the new season with considerable confidence.

Manager Rob Henry was a happy man at the end of the game. “We played well, we asked questions of the opposition, and we were fast in transition.

“We put balls in the box and had good interplay for the first goal that was an own goal. Some of the football was bright, it was quick, and our shape was good. We knew what to expect and we had a game plan to manage it. And how we could ask questions of the opposition.

“A really good first half performance and we managed the game well. The lads stuck to their individual jobs and they were excellent. We’ve played well tonight, and we’ve been good in different aspects of our performance, but we’ll play miles better than that because we are a team very much in it’s infancy. We will grow, we’ll improve, we’ll get better and we’ll dominate the ball more and be more expansive.

“What we’ve seen tonight is a team with really good spirit, really together, really organized, and really structured in what they want to do.”

RAMSBOTTOM UNITED: Trueman, Radcliffe, Coulton (Beck), Collinge, Wilson, Winstanley, Forbes (Chambers), Sowerby (Blanchard), Hill (Beca), Dudley, Mukoko (McCann) 

GOALS: Stanyer OG (12), Hill (16), Sowerby (23)

ATT: 319