Rochdale Online Alliance League round-up

Rochdale Online Alliance Football League

Several outstanding issues were resolved in the Rochdale Online Alliance Football League as the long and winding road entered its final three week stretch in unfamiliar bright sunshine and blue sky.

In the key midweek games Wardle clinched runners up spot in the Concept Filter Products Premier Division with a comfortable 3-0 win at Springhill Sports Centre over last season’s champions Weavers Arms. Whiteside, Hill and Smith scored the goals in a low key affair played out on a hard pitch in very windy conditions between two under strength sides. With a President’s Cup semi final to look forward to this coming weekend perhaps Wardle had the extra motivation on the night, and their victory was a relatively calm and comfortable one in relation to recent matches between these two old foes.

Asia went into their final league game of the season needing to better Whitworth Valley’s 1-1 draw with Roca Juniors four days previously to avoid relegation to the first division. However, they were second best on the night and a 5-1 defeat, also to Roca, sends them down with Rochdale Asia.

Jacks House will definitely be replacing one of the Asia’s next season as a 3-0 midweek home victory over Castleton 2nds sealed the Matterson Cranes Division 1 title for the Walsden based outfit. A competitive game on Jack’s compact pitch could have gone either way until a double from Alan Sutcliffe eased the nerves of the plentiful home support. Castleton had their chances, and made life difficult for Jacks from the first whistle, but the champions had strength in all the key areas of the pitch and look capable of making an impression in the top flight next season.

Meanwhile three wins in a week, with a goal difference of plus thirteen, for Whitworth Valley 2nds have seen them join Weavers Arms 2nds on forty points from nineteen games in second place in this division. Weavers final game is against bottom club Rochdale Sacred Heart on Cup Final Day while Valley are at home to Hargreaves two days later. It’s still advantage Weavers … just… with a goal difference of plus two over Valley.

At the wrong end of that division Waggon really are in free fall after their double figure demolition against Valley but with Sudden Carling and Rochdale Sacred Heart also losing to the same opposition in midweek, and the latter also going down to Castleton 2nds, it’s remains likely that two from those three will go down but Hargreaves are still not safe on eighteen points after a 4-1 defeat to Jacks House.

In the Matthew Montgomery & Co Division 2 Balderstone are all but champions in their inaugural season in the league and Sun Hotel are almost certainly runners up in spite of a disappointing 1-1 home draw with Jacks House 2nds at Whittle Park in their final home game of the season. This is because the enthralling 4-4 draw at Matthew Moss between the other two promotion contenders, Sudden Carling 2nds and AFC Royton, opened the door for Sun to go past them both.

However, it is such a shame, after a fascinating season long promotion tussle involving so many clubs, that failed fixtures right at the end have had such an impact on the final placings and with Rochdale Asia 2nds failing three fixtures those final placings may yet be subject to arbitration.

It’s cup semi final day this Saturday and what chance Woodbank, who amazingly have won as many games in the cup as they have in the league, being the “David” yet again against Whitworth Valley 2nds in the Alletson & Mitchell Memorial Trophy game at Springhill Sports Centre. The second semi between Hargreaves and Prestwich Town at Rawstron Street appears too close to call whilst the “clever” money is probably on a Castleton v Fothergill & Whittles President’s Cup Final – but over ninety minutes who can tell?

Castleton, having finished their league campaign some time ago, meet Wardle at Whittle Park whilst F&W are up against a Whitworth Valley side now free from the fear of relegation at Rutherford Park – all ties kick off at 2.00pm and must be decided on the day even if the much maligned penalty shoot out is required at the end of extra time.