Rochdale Online Alliance League round up

Rochdale Online Alliance Football League

A significant weekend in the Matthew Montgomery & Co Second Division as the top four met each other and it was advantage to the home sides as leaders Bridge dispatched fourth placed Sudden Carling by seven goals to two at Heywood whilst a Simon Atkinson hat trick earned second placed AFC Royton a 3-1 home win over Moorcock in third.

Bridge have adapted superbly to the challenge of open age football and led Sudden 4-1 at the break having played some marvellously entertaining football. Sudden struck back early in the second period before Bridge ran away with the game in the closing stages. A great game and a pleasure to referee were the sentiments of referee John Cunningham; sentiments that some clubs/teams would do well to reflect upon.

Five goals for the second week running and this time three points for White Lion as a David Collins hat trick was not enough to save Fothergill & Whittles 3rds from defeat at Greenvale.

Castleton 2nds recorded their first league victory of the campaign as goals from Oldham 2, Faulkner, Meehan, Connor and Tench led them to a 6-3 home win over fellow strugglers Jacks House 2nds while Woodbank gained their third win in five games with a 3-2 win at Firgrove over bottom club Horse & Farrier.

Wardle 2nds opened up a five point gap at the top of the Matterson Cranes First Division with a 3-1 home win over second placed Weavers 2nds at Rutherford Park. Weavers dominated the first half and took the lead when a long range effort took a deflection to wrong foot Fenton in the Wardle goal and really should have opened up a two goal lead moments into the second period.

This proved to be the game’s turning point as Brophy equalised for Wardle on the hour and within minutes Lord’s persistence created an opportunity finished off by O’Sullivan. The game remained too close to call into the final ten minutes until Williams’ thirteenth goal of the season sealed the points for the leaders.
With Balderstone out of action Fothergill & Whittles 2nds joined them on fifteen points with a 5-2 home win over Hargreaves at Whittles Park.

Hargreaves were ahead after just fifty five seconds when Madigan headed home a right wing corner but it didn’t take long for the home side to get into their stride following such a rude awakening. Ashworth’s deflected effort quickly levelled matters only for the visitors to retake the lead after just nine minutes with a stunning free kick from Carey. Greenwood’s goal tied it up at two apiece by half time and Fothergills took the lead for the first time eight minutes into the second half when Johnson beat the offside trap to finish confidently into the bottom left hand corner of the Hargreaves goal. As the visitors tired Astley and Lee added further goals to win a game contested in the right spirit throughout.
Rochdale Sacred Heart are another side enjoying a much improved Autumn and a Tony Kershaw goal earned them all three points against a Whitworth Valley 2nds side that conversely has struggled to find the form of last season so far, whilst hapless Waggon Athletic slumped to an eighth consecutive league defeat as an eight goal reverse at Rochdale Asia saw their goal difference rise to minus forty three; a statistic that might prey on their minds as they travel to Second Division strugglers Horse & Farrier in the President’s Cup this weekend.

Wardle maintained their place at the top of the Concept Filter Products Premier Division though they missed out on all three points as goals from Sumner and O’Neill earned Roca a point at Littleborough Sports Centre.

Weaves closed the gap to just a point, and they have two games in hand, with a 4-1 home win over an under strength Fothergill & Whittles at Matthew Moss.
It has been a tough three weeks for Fothergills with consecutive league defeats sandwiching their exit from Europe and they were two down inside nine minutes last Saturday. They created chances, the best two both squandered by Platt, and paid the price as two late goals gave Weavers all three points.

Jacks House consolidated third place with a 5-3 home win over Asia and FC Bury Town’s promising start is stalling after Marshall 2, Wormald, Clegg, Taylor and Brown scored the goals that amply illustrated the potential that has so far lain dormant in Whitworth Valley this season.

A couple of intriguing ties in this weekend’s President’s Cup games; the afore mentioned battle of the basement sides at Firgrove and Balderstone’s trip to Wardle 3rds being the ones to catch this writer’s eye whilst in the Premier Division Weavers’ title credentials will be thoroughly examined by Jacks House at fortress Walsden Rec.