By the Rams
hit the crossbar before Tom Kennedy’s fine cross found the head of BemboLeto whose header looked destined for the net before a superb flying save Saunders denied the Rams a second goal.
Midway through the second period Chris Willcock made his second change with Louis Rowe replacing the hardworking Ruben Jerome, and minutes later the Rams grabbed a decisive second goal.
The combination of Kennedy and BemboLeto worked perfectly after a free kick was cleared as Kennedy’s inviting left footed cross matched the towering defender’s run into the box and the debutant’s well placed header beat the diving Saunders to give Ramsbottom United a two goal lead much to the delight of the majority of the crowd of 210 who were treated to a spectacular somersault celebration from the former Glossop player.
The remainder of the match seemed to be played mainly in the Glossop half and despite obvious effort from the visitors they found it difficult to fashion any clear cut chances in no small part down to the excellent work done by the Rams industrious midfield and well marshalled defence protecting Sam Ashton superbly.
Indeed the Rams forward players created a number of goalscoring opportunities in the final 15 minutes with Evangelinos and Rother both denied in quick succession by some superb saves from Saunders before Glossop’s day got worse when central defender Thornley was perhaps harshly adjudged to have fouled Louis Rowe and the young defender received his second yellow card leading to the inevitable red card and the visitors had to play the final ten minutes with ten men.
As regular observers of Ramsbottom United this season would know, the side has lost two goal leads in two of the four previous outings after late comebacks away at Kendal and at home to Chasetown denied the Rams the three points, the fact that the remaining minutes were navigated without any serious threat to the hosts goal shows the progression this team is making.
Ramsbottom had the chance to increase their lead even further when Bembo-Leto’s goal bound header from a Kennedy corner was blocked before Rowe was denied with the final chance of the match when his effort from close range was ●● Jack Higgs before suffering a nasty injury against Glossop North End blocked on the goal line.
As the final whistle blew Ramsbottom United had gained a well deserved three points, winning consecutive matches for the first time this season whilst rising to ninth place in the league standings and just two points outside the play off places on Saturday evening although defeat for Glossop dropped the side from Derbyshire to the foot of the table.
In truth the margin of victory could and maybe should have been greater but supporters of Ramsbottom United hopefully can look forward to many more entertaining afternoons at the Riverside as this new look team continues to impress.
The Rams will be looking to extend their unbeaten run under the stewardship of Chris Willcock in their FA Trophy tie at Frickley on Saturday as hopes of successful campaign at the HWRS gathers momentum.