Pickering upset

BET VICTOR NPL NW DIVISION RAMSBOTTOM UTD ....... 3 PICKERING TOWN.......... 2 NIGEL JEPSON

ACCORDING to the form-book, this should have been a cakewalk for the home team. After all, Pickering Town had suffered eleven straight away defeats out of eleven while Ramsbottom United had won their last four home matches on the bounce notching up 22 goals in the process.

Tear up the form-book! Over the ninety minutes the Pikes gave as good as they got and the Rams had to fight every inch of the way before emerging winners by a slender 3-2 margin.

From the start, the

Rams’ normal high quality passing game was too rarely in evidence and there seemed overmuch emphasis on mounting unproductive moves down the right hand side. Indeed throughout the match, the Rams’ main threat was to come from set pieces.

The opening goal for example came when Luke Thompson escaped his marker, nipping in at the near post to connect with an in-swinging Tom Kennedy corner after 13 minutes.

The goal seemed to sting the opposition to life and Pickering Town launched a series of raids on the Rammy goal. Their wide players, particularly Danny Earl, seemed to enjoy acres of space and showing good turn of speed swept through the Rams’ defence bringing the keeper into action more often than he might have anticipated.

Bradley Wade, on loan from Rochdale to cover for an injury to Tom Stewart, stood up to this baptism of fire bravely showing excellent reflexes and shotstopping ability. Finally though after 42 minutes Pike pressure told when

Flynn McNaughton went on a marauding run down the left before checking back inside and drilling home a right foot shot to make it 1-1. An evenlycontested first half left the Rams needing to re-group and re-think.

Fresh impetus for the home team came through substitutions made early in the second half. Sprinting beyond his marker,