Vodkat League

Wednesday 26th August 2009

Three goals in the space of eight second half minutes were enough to see off Bacup Borough in a game which the Bacup Manager Brent Peters described as their Cup Final.

The first half ended stalemate but the turning point in this game was when Referee Brian McGill made what was a disgraceful decision in not sending off the Ramsbottom goalkeeper Damian Rooney. Following a long kick from the Bacup goalkeeper Ashley Timms, the Ramsbottom keeper came racing off his line to clear, unfortunately the Ramsbottom keeper completely misjudged the bounce leaving Bacup Borough’s Steve Smith through. Just as Smith was going to shoot Rooney took the lad out on the line of the eighteen yard box. Smith was the last man and it was a goal scoring opportunity however for some strange reason the Referee Brian McGill following consultation with his Assistant awarded Bacup a Direct Free Kick and astonishingly only a yellow card to the Ramsbottom keeper. This decision turned out to be one that haunted the home side as having been allowed to stay on the pitch Rooney pulled off several good saves to prevent Bacup taking the lead.

In the second half whilst it was the home side that started the brightest, it was Ramsbottom that took the lead. On 54 mins when Bacup’s attack broke down the ball was knocked diagonally to Lee Connell in lots of space down Bacup’s left, Connell exploited the space before delivering a quality ball high across the goal but at the right height for Johnson to head at the far post. This goal seemed to rock Bacup and the knock out blow came six minutes later, Ramsbottom won a corner which Connell took. The ball was knocked long and beyond the far post, a Ramsbottom player had time to chip the ball back in for Connell to head home at the far post, on sixty two minutes it was three when Matthew Edgington skipped past Arran Walters before advancing into the box to slip the ball past Timms in the Bacup goal.

Following the game, Bacup Borough website Asked Manager Brent Peters his views and he had this to say.

“Ramsbottom to their credit started this game really well, a lot has been made reference my pre match comments that this was their Cup Final and to be fair Ramsbottom played throughout the match just like it was their Cup Final. They worked very hard throughout as a group of players, pressed the ball well and got amongst us, this was always my point when a team like Ramsbottom are made up of local Bury & Heywood lads, they know what a local derby means. This in contrast to my team, when I have to explain to lads from a different country what it means for local teams to get one up on their rivals, it was never going to be a local derby in that sense because the majority of my team are not local. A Bacup v Ramsbottom game is just like any other game of football to them but the one good thing that came from my comments, although instigated by a question I was asked by a newspaper reporter, it did turn out to be a good PR exercise in adding a bit more interest for the occasion which put a few more on the gate.

In terms of football we only played in patches but credit to Ramsbottom for not allowing us to play. There is no doubt in my mind that keeper Damion Rooney should have been sent off if the official Mr McGill adheres to the laws of the game. It certainly did not surprise me that he didn’t go because the official has bottled brave decisions before at our place, this was a major turning point in the game with only twenty minutes on the clock as we would have been one goal up and they would have been without their keeper. Following this Rooney to his credit kept Ramsbottom in the game with three very good saves.

Three goals better they were but the score line did flatter them but good luck to them they rode their luck when their goalkeeper didn’t get sent off. They produced an excellent quality ball from Lee Connell who has got that in his locker which led to a good finish for their opening goal from Johnson so all in all good luck to them and the same goes on Saturday when they play in the FA Cup”

Team: Ashley Timms, Kevin Keigher, Adrian Bellamy, Nick Hodson, Dominic Slavin (Aaran Walters), Warren Collier (Martin Cosgrave), Matthew Hampson, Jamie Rother, Steve Hogg, Moises Costa Soares (Lee Oldham), Steve Smith

Subs Not Used: Paul Waine Scott Taylor

Goals:

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