Rochdale Online Alliance Football League Report

Rochdale Online Alliance Football League

Only three games were played in the Rochdale Online Alliance Football League last Saturday with the most significant action taking place in the Matterson Cranes First Division.

With Whittles Park under water, Fothergill & Whittles 2nds switched their home game against Mighty Dragons to Greenvale and were grateful to four goals from the division’s leading scorer Andrew White as they overcame their mid table rivals 7-5 in a frenetic encounter. Johnson, Gibson and an own goal made up Fothergills’ seven with a Craig Bailey hat trick plus two from Costin in reply.

The win moves Fothergills to within a point of second placed Sudden, with a game in hand, and both teams have less than routine away trips this weekend to Hargreaves and Chadderton Park respectively.

Leaders Rochdale Asia will be looking for a slip up or two here as they should add another three points to their tally with a home game against Rochdale Galaxy.

In the day’s other first Division 1 game, Balderstone 2nds completed a routine victory over bottom club Horse & Farrier with no less than eight different scorers at Kingsway Sports Centre: Sands 2, Butterworth 2, McDermott, McLennon, Kelly, Agg and two generations of Kay making up the ten.

In the only Sartori Sharpening Services Premier Division game to take place bottom club Star Athletic knew that nothing less than three points would do if they were to kick start their usual new year push to avoid relegation, and the game began well for them as an early break saw Sazadul Haque on hand to open the scoring.

Walsden began to push the home side back, but were susceptible to the quick break as Star had chances to double their lead, before Danny Brown leveled from the spot after being brought down when through on goal.

Poor discipline then let Star down, and significantly decreased their chance of three points, when Sufyan Khan kicked out at Brown after being fouled by him and was sent off.

For a period players from both sides lost their composure, and indulged themselves in a series of petty fouls and squabbles, before the game sprang back into life with two more goals just before the break.

A wonderful angled ball over the top from Maqsood sent Sazadul Haque through to net his second goal but just as it looked like Star would enjoy a rare half time lead a lapse in concentration at the back was punished by Brown with practically the last kick of the half.

The second half was much quieter than the first, with Walsden surprisingly unable to take advantage of the numerical advantage they enjoyed until five minutes from the end when Rooks was dismissed for two cautions in quick succession.

Both sides created half chances but a largely sedate half was briefly illuminated by an inspired piece of thinking and execution from Maqsood who, seeing the Walsden keeper off his line, curled a wonderful dipping effort from inside his own half that was equally brilliantly turned over the bar by the back pedaling Walsden custodian.

In the end a draw consolidated Walsden’s mid table position in their first season in the league but did little to help extend Star’s stay in the top flight beyond the end of an increasingly fraught season for them.

The first of several key league games occurs this Saturday afternoon in the Premier Division as second placed Balderstone entertain leaders FC Bury Town at Kingsway Sports Centre, kick off 2pm, with Balderstone’s 3-1 reverse at Bury on the opening day still their only league defeat of the season to date.