Zehn strikes for second home win

EVO STIK NORTH RAMSBOTTOM UTD ... 1 ATHERTON COLLS ..... 0 JON HASLAM RAMSBOTTOM United gained their second home win in three days on Tuesday evening with a single goal victory over an Atherton Collieries team that hadn’t tasted defeat for ten matches.

The Rams began the contest with an unchanged line up from their 3-0 weekend victory over Goole.

The contest was being played at a good tempo with the Rams looking to assert themselves in the middle of the park with the energetic trio of Dean Stott, Jamie Rother and Tom Brooks giving the home side the platform to build a number of attacks.

Ramsbottom United had a presentable chance around the 20 minute mark when a Rother free kick beat the visitors defensive wall before narrowly missing the target, shortly after which a well worked move down the right flank found Daniels whose astute turn gave the forward an opportunity to shoot but his effort sailed over the bar.

Atherton were intent on playing out from the back but the hosts weren’t allowing the visitors any time on the ball to create any sustained periods of attacking play, perhaps the best chance fell to the lively Cover but the Rams defence snuffed out the danger.

With five minutes of the half remaining the Rams almost opened the scoring when a superbly flighted free kick from Wright found the head of the diving Daniels and with Latham looking beaten the ball sailed inches wide of the post.

As the half came to a goalless conclusion the home side had performed excellently with the well marshalled defence repelling Atherton’s attacking forays with confidence whilst looking the more likely side to open the scoring.

Both sides returned unchanged after the half time break and again it was the home team that signalled their intentions in the early moments of the half with Daniels registering a shot on target to continue the home outfits attacking impetus.

Atherton looked as if they could cause some problems on the break with their pacey front man Cover ensuring the Rams defence would need to keep their concentration.

With the game delicately poised the Rams won a succession of set pieces as they searched for the opening goal which almost arrived when a superbly delivered free kick by Greg Daniels was flicked towards the far post where the onrushing Zehn Mohammed headed over the crossbar.

As the hour mark approached another dangerous looking corner was swung in by Jerome Wright but was cleared to the edge of the penalty area to Jamie Rother whose rasping goalbound effort was tipped over the bar by Latham.

Then on 62 minutes the decisive moment arrived when the Rams won another free kick on the right hand side of the penalty area but before the set piece could be taken the referee noticed that Atherton’s towering central defender Grimshaw had blood visible so sent the player off the field for treatment.

The resulting free kick was sent into the danger area by Daniels and with the visitors losing perhaps their best but certainly their tallest defender the Rams kept the ball alive in the box forcing Latham into two fine saves before the ball dropped for Zehn Mohammed who slammed his shot into the net for his second consecutive game on the scoresheet.