ROAFL report

Rochdale Online Alliance Football League

With leaders Wardle’s trip to Fothergill & Whittles falling foul of the weather it provided an opportunity for the chasing pack to close the gap at the top of the ROAFL’s Sartori Sharpening Services Premier Division and two of those clubs did just that, albeit narrowly in both cases.

Whitworth Valley are unbeaten since their opening day defeat to the leaders, and claimed all three points against Asia in a tight game at Hopwood Hall a month ago, and this latest encounter was no different. On a heavy pitch Valley displayed a defensive resilience that has often been found wanting in the past and a single goal settled this one and moved Jan Wormald’s team clear into second place, courtesy of Moorcock’s surprise away defeat at struggling FC Bury Town.

Balderstone underlined their gradual improvement with a fourth win in five games at the expense of bottom club Rochdale Asia, a win that moves them above Moorcock also. Sands 2, Worrall, Brookes and the Taylors, Jack and James, scored the goals that secured an edgy 6-4 away win at Firgrove.

Curiously, exactly the same scenario unfolded a division below as Wardle 2nds home game with Hargreaves was called off, and Valley’s second string recorded an impressive 2-1 away win at Jacks House to join the leaders on thirteen points from six games.

Four points behind, but with two games in hand, are newcomers Westdene and a Chris Wilton hat trick fired them to their latest victory, a 7-1 home win over Rochdale Sacred Heart. Boyoh 2, Wagstaffe and Smalley completed the scoring at Redvales.

At the wrong end of the table Fothergill & Whittle 2nds gleaned their first points of the season as a Tyler Greenwood hat trick helped them to a 5-2 win over Balderstone 2nds at Springhill. Shepherd and Smith also scored as the bottom club moved to within a point of Hargreaves.

At least Wardle 3rds played some football in the Matthew Montgomery & Co Second Division and they inflicted a ninth straight league defeat upon long suffering Horse & Farrier with a seven goal victory at Firgrove.

Disappointingly, the weather was the only winner at Nuttall Park as the rain prevented the top two, Woodbank and White Lion, from going head to head, and the only other game played saw Sudden move into the top half of the table with a 3-1 home win over Fothergill & Whittles 3rds at Matthew Moss.

On a tight pitch with a tacky surface both sides played some excellent football, though Jim Matthew’s young side always had the edge against a Fothergills outfit missing some key players on the day. The arrival of Matthew Knowles from Wardle, alongside Tony Knight in midfield, gives Sudden a dominance in a key area of the field and their interplay and prompting caused the visitors problems from start to finish. Knight it was who opened the scoring for Sudden and they always looked the more likely to add the crucial second goal, especially through the mercurial Fitz McKenzie, who ran his markers ragged throughout.

The only real surprise was it took seventy two minutes for that second goal to arrive but when it did it was a cool finish from McKenzie after more good approach play from his team mates.

Fothergills, to their credit, continued to press forward when they had the ball and a thumping header from Culshaw brought them right back into the game with ten minutes to play, only for a late Winterbottom goal to finally seal the points for the home side.

This weekend’s three key games all feature Wardle as the first team host Whitworth Valley at Rutherford Park, the reserves cross the border to take on Jacks House and the thirds make the shorter, and friendlier, trip to Firgrove to face unbeaten White Lion.