FC Dale make club history with FJ Williams Shield victory

FC Dale made club history on Sunday when their comprehensive 6-2 victory over Whitworth Valley secured them the FJ Williams Shield and in the process the first trophy the team has won in the three years it has been in existence.

From the outset of the match it was FC Dale that provided the biggest threat going forward and they got the scoring underway when Wayne Traynor capitalised on hesitant defending to fire into the bottom corner with a sweet left-footed strike.

With a strong wind at their backs FC Dale were looking dangerous going forward and the fact Whitworth Valley defenders had real problems judging any sort of aerial challenge only added to their problems.

Danny Armstrong should have scored after avoiding the offside trap but his side's familiar defensive lapses struck when a misunderstanding at the back allowed Andrew Foster to score the goal of the game with an exquisite lob over the stranded keeper.

Within 10 minutes however FC Dale had regained the lead and once more suicidal defending was to prove Whitworth Valley’s undoing. A routine corner into the box wasn’t attacked by a single Valley defender and FC Dale’s leading goalscorer Scott Bentley was allowed a free header from six yards which he didn’t need a second invitation to bury.

In the league meeting between the two sides FC Dale scored five times from corners in a 9-1 victory and the lack of a dominant and experienced figure at the heart of Valley's defence was again clearly visible.

Despite the setback Valley looked dangerous themselves going forward and they equalised once again on 28 minutes when Foster caught the FC Dale defence dozing and his cross shot was turned in by Peter Garry despite the appeals for offside.

On 36 minutes Traynor swung in a corner from the left and after nobody reacted to the second ball the unlikely goalscoring figure of Wayne Braund reacted quickest to lash the ball into the back of the net.

Valley were playing with the advantage of the wind behind them in the second-half and they started brightly with Foster looking a handful in attack. In midfield they were competing well with the lively figure of Cameron Halstead refusing to throw the towel in but defensively they hadn’t improved and on 55 minutes Danny Armstrong ghosted in from the left to slot home a crucial fourth goal for his side.

By this stage FC Dale had also introduced substitute Danny Armitage and his calming influence in the centre of midfield had given his side a stranglehold on proceedings.

At 4-2 Valley’s quest for the cup wasn’t over but a regrettable incident on 67 minutes unfortunately did.

Good build-up play down the right-flank saw Valley go close with a shot at the far post that hit the back stanchion of the outside of the net and rebound back into play. Obviously this should have resulted in a goal kick but referee Ryan Bromfield and his assistant Trevor Mayne were unsighted and as Valley players stopped waiting for the goal-kick, FC Dale carried on playing.

At this stage the ball was over 100 yards from the Whitworth Valley goal but their players seemed more intent on arguing with the referee than concentrating on defending and Byron Mile simply waltzed through the middle of the statuesque defence and rounded the keeper to score with ease.

The sense of injustice unfortunately got the better of midfielder Gary Hallsworth and after one bout of dissent he couldn’t resist another dig at the referee and he was shown a second yellow card within the space of 10 seconds and was duly sent-off.

At 5-2 and with 10 men the game was effectively over but FC Dale rubbed salt further into the wounds when substitute Martin Shaw scored a sixth goal with 10 minutes remaining.

After the final whistle FC Dale Assistant Manager Ross Turner said: “It was a great day for us to cap a fairly good season. We have won a cup and reached the Rochdale Online Cup semi-final and are also in the semi-final of the Alan Haughton Cup, with just the league proving to be disappointing. We will start again next season and try to go the extra distance.”