Rochdale Online Alliance League round up

Rochdale Online Alliance Football League

Saturday’s league programme was marred by a serious leg injury sustained by Fothergill & Whittles youngster Joe Barnes in the opening minutes of the game against Wardle at Whittles Park. The game was abandoned and everyone wishes Joe a complete and speedy recovery.

The only game played in the Concept Filter Products Premier Division saw Weavers move to the top of the table with an ominously comfortable 4-1 win at Walsden Rec against a Jacks House side that has been in good form of late themselves. O’Brien 2, Traynor and Hands were on target for Weavers who seem to be coming into their own after a somewhat unsettled start to the season personnel wise.

Only two league games played in the Matthew Montgomery & Co Division 2 and both produced shock results as second placed AFC Royton lost 2-1 at improving Woodbank, McDonald and Crew with the goals for the victors, and third placed Moorcock lost 3-1 at Greenvale against Fothergill & Whittles 3rds.
Only one win in eight before Saturday but Fothergills were strengthened by an influx of reserve team players and dominated the early exchanges only to fall behind to Shamim’s thirteenth minute strike for Moorcock. Culshaw soon levelled and the teams turned round at 1-1 after a well contested half.

With the visitors guilty of over elaborating on the tight undulating Greenvale pitch Fothergills were back in the lead through Clark on fifty minutes and just before the hour mark White made it three after taking Culshaw’s through ball round the keeper. Clark then missed from the spot and sentenced his team to a nervy final quarter as Moorcock piled on the pressure but with no end result.

The second round of The President’s Cup saw its fair share of shock results too as Horse & Farrier defeated Division 1 strugglers Waggon Athletic 4-2 at Firgrove, With just a single point from sixteen league games between them, and almost one hundred goals conceded, this was a hard one to call but Horse & Farrier came out on top on the day as did White Lion in the competition’s other major shock ; the new boys winning 3-2 at Division 1 title chasers Weavers 2nds courtesy of goals from Diamond 2 and Kershaw.

First Division leaders Wardle 2nds are also out – beaten on penalties by Castleton at Rutherford Park. With both defences well on top the game was a tense affair played on a deteriorating surface and a goalless ninety minutes resulted in penalties as agreed before kick off. With Wardle missing three successive spot kicks Castleton eased through into the third round that sees the advent of the Premier Division outfits in the competition.

Two goals from Grundy and one from Madigan saw Hargreaves avenge their recent league defeat to Rochdale Sacred Heart but elsewhere results went with the form book as Balderstone, Whitworth Valley 2nds and Bridge all took their expected places in the round of the last sixteen.