Having dropped five points out of the last available six, it was important that we got back to playing some of the football that had seen us get off to a flyer – and that had to start today! But it wasn’t going to be easy – as we had 3rd-placed Old Alts visiting The County Ground – so we knew that to a man, we would all have to be up for this…
The pitch looked great when we arrived and considering the amount of that wet stuff that had fallen on it throughout the week, it felt pretty good underfoot. And as the lads started to turn up, there was a good buzz in the air. Sure – there were still several players unavailable for this one – and that included the likes of Connor, Yatesy, Mitch, Chris, Nathan, Bradders and Alex Williams to name a few – but that’s the importance of having a squad and we were going into this one feeling pretty confident…
As the lads came out for their warm-up’s, it was good to see Charlie in with us for the first time – having spent most of this season in and around the 1st team – so as they were put through their paces, the attention turned to the task at hand – finding a way to beat a team that had only lost to Walshaw Sports Reserves this season! The team was announced and it saw Wayne and Brian electing to stick with the 4-3-3 that we started the defeat to the leaders with last weekend. Charlie was between the posts and the back four was made up of Gatesie and Robbie in the middle with Tyler and Harry in at full-backs. The midfield trio was made up of Tom, Jude and the fit-again Liam and this week we were going with the pace and skill of Ste, Spencer and Lewis up top. Wayne urged his players to look at those three – and realise that they will not be winning headers in the air – so it was about sliding the ball in between the spaces if we wanted to get chances out there. The bench was strong – with the likes of Jack, Rav, Matty Fearnley and the returning Matty Leigh to choose from when needed – and as the lads made their final preparations, the message was clear. ‘Get back to playing our football – and do it with a smile on our faces!’. We made our way out there and you know what – this was probably the best performance of the season so far…
As both sides lined up, the opposition looked a lot older and a lot more experienced – but wouldn’t faze us as we had a job to do. They won the toss and as the referee blew his whistle for the first time, it was the visitors who kicked off. And within the opening 20 seconds or so, we thought we saw a way in. The ball was played long and rather than bring it down in the acres of space he had, their No.6 simply headed it out of play for a throw. Were they nervy at the back? Did they just want to get rid of it rather than look for a pass? Interesting and maybe an idea for the boss…
For 15 minutes or so things were pretty tight as both sides worked out each other’s formation and how they were going to play – but with Liam already bossing things in the middle and Jude and Tom busy around him, we did look solid where it mattered. The first real chance of note saw Robbie win the ball well just inside his own half and as he surged forward, we all feared for what he would do next. And he did it! From all of 35 yards, he struck his shot hard – and it’s probably still travelling on it’s way to Bury as we speak…
We were playing some great football in patches and it was so pleasing on the eye to see us spraying it about and pulling the opponents from one side of the pitch to the other. But they did give us a big warning on 20 minutes when for the first time, they managed to get in behind us on the right-hand side. The ball was given to their striker and he cut inside to hit a good shot low and hard towards the far-corner – only to see Charlie get down well to push it onto the post and away from danger. A message though that we were still in a game here…
Not for much longer though. Because on 23 minutes, it was County that got the deserved lead and what a good team goal it was. Gatesie had won another challenge against their striker and this time he looked up to play a beautiful pass into Robbo with the outside of his boot. Tom made a great run into the heart of their defence and as he saw options on both sides, he chose to go to Lewis. With the visiting defence screaming for offside, the referee waved away their protests as the pass had flicked off of a striped defender – and the ball rolled into the path of our Spencer who managed to get to it before their centre-half and he poked it home from about 8 yards out! 1-0 County and that’s Spencer’s 3rd goal of the season. A good start but now we needed to make our dominance count…
All of the good attacking play was happening in the visitors’ half now and we had a gilt-edged chance to double our lead on 26 minutes. Lewis worked well down the left to drag it back past the dangled leg of their full-back and as he dinked his cross in, there were Ste and Spencer going for the header – but not enough power was generated and it fell easily into their keeper’s hands. This was good stuff though and we needed to keep it going…
Two minutes later another half-chance came – when Robbo floated a great free-kick into the back post and there was Robbie free – but he mis-hit his shot and then was so pleased to see the offside flag raised to get him out of it! The lads looked as though they were playing with a confidence that seems to have been missing for a bit now and it was good to see…
And what was also good to see was the defence’s efforts to keep out their opponents and potentially get that first clean-sheet of the season and on the half-hour mark, that was on display in buckets. A ball over the top saw their centre-forward in a foot-race with Gatesie and when it looked as though he was just past him, our No.5 pulled out a superb sliding tackle to get his toe to the ball just before the shot came in – and he got up quickly enough to take possession of the ball and set us on our way forward again. Great defending and excellent commitment to the cause…
There was big tackles coming in now though and we were winning plenty of free-kicks in good areas. The good thing about it was the fact that we were not rising to it and that meant we kept focused on the football. That’s all we’ve asked for a while now and this was proof of why. Harry swung in a great free-kick on 34 minutes that found Ste making a great run – but his flicked header went just wide. Next up saw Liam forge forward leaving their midfield in his wake and as he played a fantastic ball in, Spencer didn’t realise he had loads of time and as he rushed his header, the ball went agonisingly wide of the post. It was coming though…
And then we saw what must be a strong contender for Goal of the Season already and it was that man Lewis that got it. This lad has been known for scoring some stunners over the years but this one must rank up there with the best of them. Pressing their back-line well, they could only force the ball out about 30 yards from goal – where our No.10 took hold of it and unleashed a stonker of a shot that looked as though it was going well but curled at exactly the right time and gave their No.1 absolutely no chance of stopping it as it rocketed into the top corner of their net! What a strike! Lewis just stood there as though it was common-practice as his team-mates rushed to congratulate him – and the Old Alts defenders knew there was nothing they could do about that. 2-0 and we were good for it…
Half-time: BOLTON COUNTY A 2-0 Old Alts Reserves
There wasn’t much that Wayne and Brian could say as they came in – but as usual, they found something. We were looking good and playing some lovely football – but we were also guilty of just ‘kicking it’ at times and that wasn’t good enough. At 2-0 this next goal was crucial because if they got it, it was game-on again. So the most important thing here was to keep possession of the football because if the other team haven’t got it, then they cannot score. Keep working hard and go out there knowing it’s 0-0 and we have to do it all again. No changes were made and as they went back out there, they really did look like they wanted to win this one…
And within a minute of the re-start, we should have gone 3-0 up. Harry and Lewis combined well on the right – again – and as Lewis roasted his full-back once more, he played in an inch-perfect cross that saw Ste get up that slight second too early – and there wasn’t enough on his effort to trouble their keeper. Good signs that we were not finished yet though…
And on 48 minutes, we got that third goal. Tyler had won it well on our left and as he looked up, he played it into the path of Spencer. With the bench urged him to spray it out to Lew in acres of space, he chose to slide a superb ball through the channel that cut their defence in half – and there was Ste to easily out-sprint their full-back and hit his shot through the legs of their goalkeeper and into the back of the net. A great move and a great finish at the end. 3-0 and we were flying now…
That goal seemed to deflate the opposition now and as we began to notch it up another level, our midfield were instrumental to most of the good things happening out there. Tom was infuriating their middle-men with some of his touches and movement and with Liam orchestrating things, we were on top of that battle. Another great move down our right saw the ball fed into the space and Lewis was onto it in a flash. Easily beaten the challenge, the goal opened up – but rather than smash it with his right, he went with his favoured left but could only curl his shot inches wide of the opposite upright. Would he have done that at 0-0? We’re not sure…
County made their first changes on 57 minutes as Rav and Jack came on to replace Tyler – who had earlier made a great goal-line clearance that made his Mum shout ‘I want more grand-children!’ and Jude – who had played really well out there – and on went the game.
On the hour-mark, Spencer once again linked up brilliantly with Lewis and as they played their way through about four striped defenders, the ball came into the space of Jack – and with his first real touch of the ball, he smashed his shot like a bullet from about 20 yards that was past their keeper before he could even react. The ball nestled into the back of their net and with the score at 4-0, surely even we couldn’t throw this away. Wayne was all about the clean-sheet now…
Our attackers didn’t care about that though and on 69 minutes, we made it 5-0. Harry – who had played superbly once again – had realised that every time he got the ball, all he needed to do was play it over the top and into the space in front of Lewis. So once again, he chipped it to the exact right place and like a whippet, Lewis was onto it. He fired the ball across the six-yard box and there was Ste charging in at the back-post to slam the ball home and grab his second – and our fifth – goal of the game. This was more like it! This was the lads back enjoying their football again…
Then came a decision we could all be made to regret. With Wayne whispering in Brian’s ear, the next thing that happened was Harry and Spencer coming off to a warm round of applause – and Matty Fearnley and Matty Leigh coming on at full-backs. That meant that Rav was given a 15 minute spell up top – and he only went and scored didn’t he! The Old Alts keeper doesn’t know our Rav like we do – so when he went to try and dribble it around our No.2, that was just something that wasn’t going to happen. Our Rav nicked the ball and took it forward a couple of paces – and with the County fans all holding their breath – he calmly slammed the ball into the empty net with his LEFT – yes LEFT – foot and then all hell broke loose! The County subs and bench were jubilant! The players raced towards him and then jumped all over him! Rav had scored! 6-0 and what a game this had been! And then we all had that horrible realisation of what this meant. Would we ever hear the last of this? We doubt it…
It nearly got worse – oh sorry – better when he had another golden chance to brag a brace but this time it looked as though he had been shot as he went down under a challenge in the box – and it even had the referee smiling as Rav demanded a penalty. Wayne was heard to say that if Rav did score two, he would be bringing him off – as there was no way on earth we could deal with him scoring a hat-trick!
And that was that really. We saw out the rest of the game with most of the ball and when the whistle went, it was County that were keeping all of the points. This was more like it. The camaraderie and togetherness was there for all to see today and the result showed what happens when we do it well. The handshakes were done with pride and as we left the pitch, we knew we had done well out there…
From start to finish, they all played their part in this win and the atmosphere was first-class. From helping setting up to taking things down at the end, we are as one – and that’s exactly what we need from the moment we meet up again next weekend. Tottington United Reserves are the visitors as we host yet another home game so if we play like this again, there’s every reason to be confident of another good result…
The PPSL Man of the Match was difficult to decide today – with many candidates – but it was awarded to Liam Haycock – and as the dust began to settle on Radcliffe Road, that was that for another Saturday. Three points was the task – and it was challenge met. We go again…
#UpTheCounty!