Weavers progress in amateur cup

Rochdale Online Alliance Football League round-up

ROAFL Champions Weavers FC progressed to the fourth round of the Sharrocks Lancashire Amateur Cup following their victory at North Lancashire Premier League Galgate FC on Saturday.

Weavers began well with Hodson and Stanniland winning the midfield battles whilst Hands was proving a handful up front. A goal looked inevitable and it came from Peters who was put through by Sykes and beat the advancing keeper to give the local side a crucial early advantage.

Galgate started to move the ball around well and created several half chances, one of which struck the woodwork, but with half time approaching Hands cut inside from the left hand side, passed two defenders and curled the ball into the top right hand corner of the net to double Weavers’ advantage.

With Galgate looking to regroup at the interval Hands struck again, poking a loose ball into the roof of the net from close range to send the local side in 3-0 to the good.

The North Lancashire outfit were a much more determined team after the break and within five minutes had given themselves a lifeline when their number nine beat the offside trap to slide the ball home. They were now beginning to dominate the game and were right back in the contest on the hour mark when a mix up in the Weavers’ defence following a corner allowed an easy tap in.

Weavers responded with a fine header from Peters from a Hands corner, the home keeper making an important save, and as Galgate pressed forward in search of an equaliser the local side began to exploit the space left to them with a series of dangerous looking counter attacks.

This made for an entertaining final quarter and a nervous period of time added on as the referee found no less than seven additional minutes but no further scoring meant Weavers progress to the next round and another away tie, Hurst Green (Clitheroe) who defeated Appley Bridge on penalties.

This was an outstanding performance from the Rochdale side with Nick Hodson earning the man of the match award on his return from injury.

In the day’s other tie involving a Rochdale side, Wardle faced East Lancashire League high fliers Enfield who have scored plenty of goals this season and dispatched last season’s semi finalists Winstanley St Aidans in the last round.

Wardle took the game to their opponents from the start and played some excellent football in the first period and could have taken the lead through Smith or March who both had opportunities.

Enfield are a physically big, yet athletic side, who play to their strengths, looking to the long ball tactic and set pieces as their main sources of goals.

Wardle began to rue those missed chances as the game progressed and on 65 minutes Enfield took the lead; a long throw in was flicked on twice and poked home from inside the six yard box. However, Wardle rallied and were level ten minutes later after Brierley bamboozled the visitors’ defence drawing a foul that enabled Wood to level from the penalty spot.

Unfortunately, an unsavoury incident almost immediately after resulted in the match referee Craig Littler dismissing an Enfield player and two Wardle players but as Enfield pressed home their numerical advantage it was Wardle who could have won the game in the 90th minute but Williams couldn’t get enough purchase on the ball in from the right and the visiting keeper completed the save with his backside!

The game went into extra time but despite Wardle’s efforts it was the visitors who sealed a place in the last sixteen five minutes into the second period, another untidy goal forced over the line at the back post after yet another long ball launched forwards.

The home side battled to the end, and suffered the agony of a disallowed goal after Whiteside chipped the keeper from twenty five yards, but it wasn’t to be and Enfield progress.

Jones was outstanding for Wardle and the whole team deserve credit for giving their opponents a torrid afternoon courtesy of their high standard of football and unremitting commitment.

County Cup action presented Whitworth Valley with the opportunity to go clear once again at the top of the BKC Trophies Premier Division and goals from Foster, Marshall, Craggs and the dreaded OG sufficed for a 4-2 victory over hosts Roca Juniors at Firgrove.

A hat trick from Naveed Butt inspired Rochdale Asia to an identical margin of victory over Fothergill & Whittles, Hussain adding the other goal whilst Holbrook and Law kept Fothergills in the game.

In the basement battle Harlequin registered their first points of the season despite a nervy start to their game at fellow strugglers Dusty Miller. The nerves dissipated somewhat in the 27th minute when player manager Ash Lomas volleyed home a superb cross from Butler. Miller then enjoyed the majority of possession either side of the interval yet would have gone two down but for an outstanding save from their keeper. A mix of poor finishing, bad luck and resolute defending kept Miller at bay and in the 75th minute they paid the price as Lomas was brought down in the area and Butler converted the spot kick. The onslaught continued but Miller just could not find the breakthrough until the dying seconds of the game and even that was an own goal from Harlequins sub Fahy. A game full of commitment yet played in the right spirit and thoroughly enjoyed by players, spectators and referee Trevor Mayne alike.

In the Asia Restaurant Division 1 clash of the day at Oulder Hill it was honours even as Castleton and Syke drew 1-1. Doolin’s goal for the hosts was cancelled out by Milne for Syke who remain at the top of the table despite dropping their first points of the season.

Waggon Athletic went into their game with fourth placed visitors to Firgrove, Hargreaves, full of the confidence back to back 8-1 victories tends to bring to a team. Waggon certainly dominated the first third of the game with Lesley and Jenkins, curiously known as “The Penguin”, causing havoc in the visitors’ rearguard. Both players possessed the skill to drift past opponents almost effortlessly but a succession of half chances and near misses were all Waggon had to show for a half hour of dominance. Almost predictably Carey then fired Hargreaves in front on thirty one minutes as Waggon’s square back four were beaten for pace again and the run was timed for once to beat the offside flag.

As Lesley and “The Penguin” continued to cause problems for the visitors the real villains of the peace now came to the fore – the Waggon defence! Time and again they were found guilty of comic strip defending only to be saved by the Hargreaves number nine, inaptly named “Tiny”, who just could not time his runs to avoid being caught offside. As frustration grew for both sides Waggon began arguing amongst themselves and their woes were compounded in the fortieth minute when Shine gave Hargreaves a 2-0 lead.

The game’s turning point might have arrived on the hour when Worsley was left with an open goal inside the six yard box to put his side three up but incredibly he stumbled and only managed to stab the ball against the post from where it rebounded into the arms of the astonished Waggon keeper and from there the ball was worked out to Lesley on the left who promptly ghosted past four players as he cut inside and fired low in to the bottom left hand corner to bring his side right back into the game.

To compound a mad five minutes “Tiny” then beat the offside trap and rounded the keeper before astonishingly rolling the ball wide when he could have walked it into the net. His claim that he had heard a whistle for offside fell on deaf ears!

As sanity was gradually restored Waggon continued to argue and Hargreaves continued to beat a now almost non existent offside trap and goals from Worsley (75) and Carey (80) sealed the points for the away side, though Wild did net a consolation for Waggon four minutes from time in a game they will want to forget in a hurry.

Elsewhere, a suspicion that one or two of the Weavers 2nds regulars might have preferred an afternoon in Galgate as they slumped to a 6-1 reverse at Rochdale Sacred Heart and Wardle 2nds misery at the points deduction for playing an ineligible player was compounded by a 4-1 reverse at Sudden Carling in a game which featured a hat trick from Michael Rushden. Jacks House six goal thrashing of Woodbank completed the day’s action in this division.

Only seven weeks into the season the top three in the Matthew Montgomery & Co Division 2 have opened up a nine point gap on fourth placed Wardle 3rds who were beaten by a Colin Ogden goal at New Barn as AFC Royton joined Castleton 2nds on eighteen points. Castleton themselves were not very convincing winners over a spirited Donkey Dodgers side whilst leaders Whitworth Valley 2nds made a mockery the suggestion of an upset with a seven goal thrashing of Sudden Carling 2nds. Gabriel Dench took a five goal tally to add to goals from Hoyle and Oddie.

In the division’s other games two goals from Ben Jorgensen gave Sun Hotel a share of the spoils with Rochdale Asia 2nds, Rashid and Dumitru their scorers, and Todmorden Vets triumphed 3-1 at Greenvale against Fothergills & Whittles 2nds.

Something has to give on Saturday as BKC Trophies Premier Division leaders Whitworth Valley return to Firgrove to meet Weavers, both sides aiming to maintain their perfect starts to the season, and third placed Wardle will be able to weigh up the threat to their title challenge as they have a free date. In the Matthew Montgomery & Co Division 2 Valley’s Reserves will be expecting maximum points to exploit the fall out from Oulder Hill as their nearest challengers, Castleton 2nds and AFC Royton, go head to head, both games kick off at 2pm.