Rams lose out in drab affair

1874 NORTHWICH ........ 1 RAMSBOTTOM UTD ..... 0

TONY CUNNINGHAM THE first-ever meeting between the Rams and the breakaway 1874 Northwich club ultimately ended in a disappointing defeat for the visitors, courtesy of an 88th-minute goal.

The goal was probably the biggest surprise of the afternoon, for a game as drab as the weather had 0-0 written all over it, but sloppy marking at a corner saw the ball somehow squirm into the corner of the net in a style in keeping with the rest of the game.

On a wet, windy and miserable afternoon in Cheshire, the Rams were hoping that their morale-boosting 4-0 victory in their last game would act as a springboard going forward, but the performance was generally flat, with the hosts matching in every sense.

Isolated attempts by Domaine Rouse and

Jake Thompson barely tested the home keeper, whose main save was from one of his own defenders, early in the second half.

A Tom Hartley corner was accidentally sliced by the nearest defender, leaving former Burnley keeper Tony Aghayere stretching to tip the ball over the bar.

Indeed, it was the same bar that saw Northwich almost take the lead on 29 minutes, when a free-kick by

Jake Parker from outside the box clipped the top and flew over, with Tom Stewart in the away goal well beaten.

With time running out, and both sides just about clinging on to a point apiece, came the game’s deciding moment.

A right-wing corner flew low into the box, and as the Rams defenders attempted to clear the ball, Northwich substitute Matt Woolley managed to get his foot to it, and untidily poked it home just inside the far post.

RAMSBOTTOM UNITED: Stewart, Barlow, Collinge, Hoy, Hall, Cooper, Hartley(Twist 65mins), Kennedy, Murphy(Rodriguez 75mins), Rouse, Thompson. Subs not used: Grimshaw, Rother, Wyatt