Rams gear up for packed Bury visit
RAMSBOTTOM United host one of the biggest games in their history tomorrow as former EFL club Bury come to town.
The fixture against the near neighbours was always going to be popular with supporters of both clubs – but given the fact Bury are in with a shot of securing the North West Counties Premier Division title, the occasion has even more spice for the Shakers.
Both Wythenshawe and Wythenshawe Town sit above them in the table with one game to play, both clubs holding a onepoint advantage over Bury.
But in the event of a Bury win and both Wythenshawe clubs failing to pick up three points, the title will be won at the Harry Williams Riverside Stadium.
The game is an all-ticket sell-out and there will be a strict ‘no ticket, no admission” policy on the day. Security will prevent unauthorised access and the advice to travelling supporters is to arrive as early as you can and, if local, walk to the ground or travel by public transport if possible (buses, and East Lancs railway).
If supporters need to arrive by car there is no parking at the ground, they are advised to use town centre car parks (some have time restrictions) or local streets.
The Rams head into the clash having experienced a mixed bag of results in the last week.
After their defeat against Bury at Gigg Lane, they bounced back with a stunning 5-1 win in St Helens against Pilkingtons.
On an artificial pitch the Rams took the game to their hosts from the off, with some neat interplay, and it was no surprise when the scoring was opened as early as the twelfth minute. Dylan McMahon created space down the left, and his ball into the box found Oumar Camara, who gleefully hammered home.
Mind, before that, the away side nearly had a scare when a hopeful lob into the box from Gabriel Ellis rebounded back into play off the crossbar.
The Rams early goal instilled the confidence to continue to attack the home goal. Harvey Whyte was denied by the keeper at close range, then fired over the bar as they sought a quick second. Camara drifted another effort just wide while Luke Sephton saw his shot saved by the home keeper.
Failure to add to the score seemed to instil hope for the home side, and they began to play the Rams at their own game. That effort brought it’s reward after 33 minutes, when a poor back header left Freddy Garbutt with the opportunity to poke the ball home from close range, and suddenly, against the run of play, it was all level.
After the break a great through ball from the outstanding Theo Butterworth fed Luke Sephton, but he was denied by an excellent covering save by Jake Hilton in the home net. Hilton was equal to an effort from Manouchehr Tavakoli, but the resistance was soon to be broken.
On 56 minutes some determined running down the right wing saw Tavakoli keep the ball in play, feed it to Sephton on the by-line, and his low cross was met by Camara from a yard out to give the Rams the lead again.
Minutes later, Butterworth charged through the middle only to be denied as his fierce drive bounced back off the foot of the post.
However, on 64 minutes, the game was effectively over as a Whyte corner from the left was met by the leaping Roman Allen who headed home to make it 3-1.
At that point it was a case of how many. The Rams roared forward on multiple occasions. Whyte saw his shot well held by the diving keeper, before a tempting low cross from Oscar Radcliffe just failed to be converted by Camara.
A long throw-in from Radcliffe found Dylan McMahon, whose trickery deserved better than to see the ball land on the roof of the net, but on 73 minutes the fourth goal did arrive.
A sweeping run down the left from Sephton saw the captain-for-the-day’s cross converted at the far post by Camara who celebrated a well-deserved hat-trick.
Indeed, he almost added his fourth when he was just over from a Henri Ogunby centre, but he would not be denied later.
In the meantime, the free-flowing visitors created another fine chance as a Sephton cross from the right evaded Camara only for Ogunby to hit the side netting as it flashed along the front of the goal.
Defender Harvey Hayhurst decided to join in the fun, with a strike that flew inches wide and a low drive that the overworked custodian managed to save.
The same keeper then turned a fierce shot from Sephton wide before denying Radcliffe.
There was still time for the Rams to add a fifth, and it was that man Camara who was in the right place to convert another assist from Sephton.
The 5-1 scoreline did certainly not flatter the Rams, who, with the exception of a fifteenminute spell before halftime, completely dominated proceedings, and maybe should have returned home with an even bigger reward.
Manager Steve Wilkes said: “Good to finally get the rewards from a game that we’ve deserved.
“Apart from conceding a sloppy goal I thought we
dominated the 90 minutes and 5-1 doesn’t actually reflect just how much we dominated the game.
“Let’s hope we carry the form into the four remaining games all of which are derby games.”
On Tuesday, the Rams began a run of three home games in five days with a disappointing 0-2 reversal against a Colne side that looked more up for the challenge.
The away side showed more determination from the off, leaving the home side on the back foot.
As early as the third minute, home keeper Chris Thompson needed to use his legs to block a goal-bound effort from Lucas Weaver, before the stopper had to, once again, be on his guard as a dangerous in-swinging cross needed to be clawed away from under the bar.
Ryan Bolton fired over the bar as the visitors kept up the pressure before the Rams gradually forced their way into the action.
A fluent move ended up with the ball at the feet of
Matty Birchall, but some desperate defending sent it out for a corner. Another block prevented Harvey Whyte from firing in an effort, but the away side’s determination to wrestle back control saw a number of opportunities created in the Rams box. Thompson had to be alert to defy Tom McCann before finding himself in the right spot to gather a ricochet off the body off Jakob Hebda.
Just as it looked like the teams would go in at the break level, an errant ball on the Rams left, was picked up and slammed across to the far side. Former United player Billy Hasler-Cregg was the recipient and he sent in a cross that evaded everyone but struck the inside of the far post. Despite a frantic attempt to clear, the assistant referee flagged to say that it had bounced over the line, and suddenly the halftime team talks from both sides changed.
The second half continued in a similar vein, with
misplaced passes from the home side inflicting damage to any attempt to find a foothold back in the match.
With the exception of a Luke Sephton long-range attempt which flew over the goal, Charles Monk in the Colne goal had a relatively easy night.
A second goal after 69 minutes finished the game off as a contest.
The ever-impressive Weaver was on hand to receive a pass into the penalty area, and he turned superbly to fire home a gem of a goal, leaving Colne well in command.
From then on, the game tended to peter out with little in the way of opportunities for either side with the home side rarely looking capable of producing anything worthwhile.
The end of a long season really can’t come quick enough, and this was a game, played at the fourth attempt, that seemed to confirm such thoughts.
Manager Steve Wilkes was a disappointed man at the final whistle.
“Disappointing performance and result, especially after the last couple of performances.
“The goal on half-time has killed us. Chris Thompson had made a couple of good saves and we had a couple of halfchances, but it looked an end-of-season game in my eyes.
“We made poor decisions with the ball in the first half and second half we didn’t create enough chances to threaten the Colne defence.”