Basement upset for Rams
EVO-STIK NORTH FIRST DIVISION GOOLE ............................... 1 RAMSBOTTOM UTD ....... 0
JON HASLAM
RA M S B O T TOM United made the trip to the East Riding of Yorkshire on Saturday to take on bottom of the table Goole hoping to build on last weekend victory at Bamber Bridge.
The Rams made one change to the starting line up with Sam Heathcote starting in a central striking role in place of the injured Zama.
It was the visitors that began the contest more confidently but fell behind with just six minutes on the clock when a hopeful looping cross from Stewart from the right hand side landed in the arms of Rams keeper Danny Taberner who appeared to take a step backwards before the linesman judged that the ball had crossed the line and in bizarre circumstances the hosts took the lead much to the surprise of all in attendance.
The early strike appeared to give Goole an uplift in confidence as on 20 minutes a well struck drive from the edge of the penalty area tested Taberner who saved comfortably.
The Rams responded shortly afterwards with two efforts on goal themselves, firstly Eddie Moran won the ball in midfield before striding forward and testing home stopper Saynor before Dean Stott’s shot from a similar distance again brought the Goole keeper into action.
Goole almost doubled their lead on the half hour mark when another swirling cross struck the Rams crossbar before hitting the back of Taberner and rolling narrowly past the post for a corner.
The Rams almost restored parity when Jacques Kpohomouh’s well struck shot thumped the woodwork with the home keeper motionless as the away side looked to find a way back into the contest as a disappointing first half drew to a close with Goole holding a narrow advantage.
Hopes were high amongst the Rams supporters that the second half would see an improvement in both the score line and performance as Greg Daniels replaced Ben Richardson at the break.
It was Ramsbottom that started the brighter with skipper Stott firing a shot at goal which kissed the outside of the post with Saynor beaten whilst Jerome Wright found space out wide before his cross found Sam Heathcote whose outstretched boot couldn’t divert the ball goalwards.
The match was lacking any real quality as Goole defended resolutely with the Rams struggling to replicate the effective and free flowing football they showed a week earlier at Bamber Bridge despite having the majority of the possession. With that said Ramsbottom frustratingly couldn’t take advantage of numerous set pieces as all too often the crosses into the box found the arms of home stopper Saynor and not a visiting player.
As the game was reaching the 65 minute point Grant Spencer entered the fray at the expense of Brad Roscoe as the Rams looked for some extra creativity in the final third with Goole looking to protect their advantage and play on the counter attack.
The final change of the match saw Tom Brooks replaced the cautioned Stott with just over 15 minutes remaining and as the temperatures were dropping the hopes of a Rams equaliser appeared to be leaning towards
more hope than expectation.
A flurry of bookings for both sides didn’t help the flow of the match which too often was punctuated by the referee’s whistle but with the 90 minutes almost played the Rams created their best opportunity when the ball fell to Greg Daniels eight yards out but his well hit shot sailed wide of the post.
This was the first away game of the season in which the Rams failed to score but another frustrat- ing away trip coupled with a missed opportunity to push up the table left the visiting supporters wondering what might have been. After four minutes of injury time the referee blew the final whistle. From the Rams perspec- tive it was a match and performance best forgotten as they fell to their sixth away loss in seven league outings.
RAMSBOTTOM UNITED: Taberner, Roscoe (Spencer 63 mins), K.Brownhill, Stott (Brooks 76 mins) Thompson, Kpohomouh, Dean, Moran, Heathcote, Richardson (Daniels 45 mins), Wright. Subs not used: Meaney, Rother