ROAFL report

Rochdale Online Alliance Football League

The poor weather had an adverse effect on Week 5 of the ROAFL season as only six games survived the deluge; four of those testament to the much improved playing surfaces at Firgrove, due in no small part to the gentlemen’s agreement currently in place with the RSL.

Of the other two games one was on the 3G at Hopwood Hall and saw Balderstone back in action following a difficult month of player recruitment.

Following up their comprehensive LFA Cup win of seven days previously they were far too strong for an Asia side that is also struggling to maintain a viable playing squad, and goals from Butterworth, Jopson, Sands, Taylor and Petrillo gave them a comfortable 5-1 victory, with Asia’s lone strike coming from Rizwan Khan.

At Firgrove champions Wardle outplayed top flight new boys Moorcock with hat tricks from Hill and Smith though it would be remiss not to highlight the sole Moorcock reply from Paul Caton.

Wardle 2nds were also in action at Firgrove on an adjacent pitch and they went top of the Matterson Cranes First Division after the only game played in that section with an easy 5-1 win over Rochdale Sacred Heart; Large 2, O’Sullivan, Oldham and Collier with their goals.

The most significant action came in the Matthew Montgomery & Co Second Division as leaders Woodbank were held to a draw at Matthew Moss courtesy of two Ross Greenwood goals for Sudden, and found themselves displaced at the top by White Lion who had no less than seven different scorers against Rochdale Galaxy. Jacobs with a hat trick and braces for Blake and Monks ensured an easy win though Galaxy had their own hat trick man in Humza Araf.

Meanwhile life gets no easier for bottom club Horse & Farrier as they conceded nine at home to AFC Royton with the day’s third hat trick in this division being dispatched by James Cook.

One can but hope the predicted rain for toay does not descend otherwise an interesting fixture programme will once again be decimated. At the moment all games are on with the divisional highlights being Balderstone v Fothergill & Whittles in the Sartori Sharpening Services Premier Division on the Matthew Moss 3G ; Hargreaves v Jacks House at Goshen in Division 1 and White Lion v Sudden in 2 at Firgrove.