Rochdale Online Alliance Football League round-up

Rochdale Online Alliance Football League

The Rochdale Online Alliance Football League splashed into cup action last weekend as the majority of divisional cup fixtures beat the weather, if not quite the curse of the clinging muddy pitches!

The surprise of the day came in the AW Trippier Cup as Weavers were held at Firgrove by the ever improving Fothergill & Whittles.

The visitors’ league position belies the quality of football they have produced in impressing many neutral observers this season and John Platt’s goal gave them a deserved share of the spoils in this first round of group matches.

Elsewhere, a Darren Smith hat trick was instrumental in Wardle’s six goal demolition of Roca Juniors while a much closer affair saw goals from Asia’s Kadar and Younis edge out Rochdale Asia by the odd goal in three.

At Crossley, visitors Dusty Miller had the better of the opening exchanges and deservedly went in front through Ridley after fifteen minutes. They could, and should, have doubled their advantage minutes later from the penalty spot but were denied by an excellent save by Ankers. This spurred the home side into action and Bates missed a couple of presentable chances before finally levelling matters just before the interval.

The second period saw Harlequin in the ascendancy and Bates completed his hat trick before Butler made it four from close range. Chambers was then successful from the spot for Miller but it was too little too late for them.

Syke transferred their league form into the E Lythgoe Memorial Trophy with a 4-0 home victory over Hargreaves but they didn’t have things all their own way in this one. Sitting deep, with a lone front man, the visitors were content to soak up the Syke pressure and hit them on the break and this ploy should have given them the lead on more than one occasion in a tense opening half hour.

Hargreaves best chance came ten minutes before the break with two men clean through on Syke keeper Worswick but the chance was squandered when Worsley tried to turn the ball first time in to the open goal instead of taking a touch and his effort bobbled wide. Within minutes it was advantage Syke through Bentley and, as so often happens with them, one quickly became two as Bentley struck again from close range.

Hargreaves needed to adopt a more adventurous approach in the second period but unfortunately for them it was more or less game over within ninety seconds of the restart as Highton netted his nineteenth goal of the season. Bentley completed his hat trick in the final minute and the Syke bandwagon rolls on while Hargreaves will no doubt rue those missed opportunities in the first half hour.

Castleton edged out Jacks House 3-2 in a niggly affair at Firgrove and Waggon heaped more misery on Woodbank with a 6-1 victory at Nuttall Park.

Previous matches between Sudden Carling and Weavers 2nds have been close encounters and this one was no exception even though the final result appears more than comfortable for Weavers. They led through Faulkner inside two minutes and doubled their advantage through Worrall on the quarter hour.

Sudden, handicapped by the loss of their skipper with a knee injury, had chances to get back into the game but they came and went until Holt reduced the deficit three minutes into the second half.

Alas, almost immediately Faulkner restored his team’s two goal cushion and, after Sudden had created and squandered a host of chances, the same player completed his hat trick with ten minutes to go.

Goulding soon made it 2-4 and Sudden had yet more chances to get back into the game before Faulkner made it four for him and five for Weavers in injury time.

The day’s two postponements, at Bellholme and Rawstron Street, both came in the C Potts Cup but there was a surprise in one of the two remaining games played as Donkey Dodgers overturned league form to defeat Castleton 2nds by three goals to two at Firgrove.

Finally Sudden Carling 2nds were victorious with contributions from Khan, Carullo, Larkin Jnr and Kean in a 5-1 victory at Greenvale over Fothergill & Whittles 2nds.