Rams up to ninth with Cables win
BET VICTOR NPL NORTH WEST DIVISION
PRESCOT CABLES ...... 1 RAMSBOTTOM UTD ... 2
JON HASLAM
RAMSBOTTOM United made the trip to a chilly Merseyside for their second league outing in little over 72 hours and beat a Prescot Cables outfit sitting three points ahead of the visitors prior to kick off.
It would be the visitors that came out of the blocks quickest and almost took the lead within thirty seconds when a Tom Kennedy pass gave Iyrwah Gooden the opportunity to pick out Nic Evangelinos but the in-form striker’s low effort was blocked at the near post by Taylor in the home goal.
The Rams looked lively in the opening exchanges and their positive start bore fruit on just four minutes when a pass from Kennedy behind the hosts defence found the run of Gooden who drove towards goal before shrugging off a challenge and drilling a low shot beyond the Cables keeper.
The Rams doubled their advantage just short of the half hour point when midfield dynamo Jamie Rother burst forward and found Gooden in the left hand channel. He drove towards goal before releasing a welltimed pass to Nic Evangelinos inside the penalty and his well struck shot flew past Taylor to give the forward his ninth goal of the campaign.
With recent addition Richie Baker a calming influence in midfield alongside the tireless running of Jamie Rother and Eddie Moran, the hosts were struggling to get a foothold in the game.
The visitors kicked off the second half on the front foot with Reece Fishwick again catching the eye having a couple of opportunities at goal in quick succession.
Home stopper Taylor was called into action when a sublime piece of skill from Rother allowed the midfielder to find some space centrally before unleashing an effort at goal from outside the area which the Cables keeper managed to shovel uncomfortably behind for a corner.
Shortly afterwards the hosts fashioned their clearest opportunity of the game when a right wing corner found the head of a Cables player but the free header from no more than eight yards out thankfully flew wide of the target without testing Tom Stewart.
As the clock ticked beyond the eighty minute mark, Cables halved the arrears as the Rams struggled to clear the ball decisively and ultimately it fell to James Edgar on the edge of the penalty area. A well-placed left footed shot arrowed into the corner of the net leaving Stewart helpless and a nervous ending appeared on the cards.
Moments later as the ball bounced around the edge of the Cables penalty box and two opposing players competed, Prescot defender James Cooper suffered a worrying looking knee injury which led to the hosts player being carried from the field.
The remaining minutes were played out with Prescot pushing forward for an equaliser which seemed unlikely some ten minutes earlier but despite numerous free kicks being launched towards the visitors goal the defence remained steadfast.
Despite the win not being as comprehensive as last year’s 4-0 success in the corresponding fixture at Prescot – in which goal keeper Sam Ashton scored an unforgettable goal for the Rams – the players and management travelled home hoping that this performance and result could give the side the springboard to push towards the play off places in the coming weeks as the Rams moved up to ninth position and just four points shy of the play off positions.