WALDER’S WONDER SEALS WIN
Maine Walder’s free-kick finds the far top corner.
On a cold, wet and blustery night in Cheadle, the prospects of the Rams playing their usual fluent passing game looked remote, and so it proved.
Against a team determined to prevent such, the visitors were harried and hustled by a home side determined to throw the team top-of-the-league off their stride, and the plan almost worked.
Yet as early as the first minute, the Rams could have taken the lead. A dangerous low drive in from the right, agonisingly missed the boot of the on-rushing Oumar Camara as it skidded past the far post.
From then on, the game was mainly confined to the middle of the pitch, with neither side able to take a firm control of the game.
The closest the Rams came was when the home keeper fumbled a long-range effort from Harvey Whyte, and moments later an audacious attempt from Cheadle’s Darren McKnight just cleared the top corner of the net.
A first half devoid of any real chances ended goalless, but it didn’t take the visitors long to score what proved to be the winner.
On 54 minutes, a foul just outside the corner of the box, saw Whyte and Maine Walder line up. It was the latter who eventually took it, and he curled the ball high into the far top corner of the net, giving the host’s keeper no chance.
Any hopes that the visitors would then take total control came to nothing, as Cheadle began to put the Rams under pressure.
Brad Rose, in the away goal, twice proved the saviour as the home side broke through on a number of occasions, but it certainly wasn’t one way traffic. Tom Hoyle’s angled drive spun wide of the far post, whilst Rob Wilson was also unlucky with his strike.
Debutant Raj Uppal, signed from Burscough 24 hours before, was sent through, but he mistimed his control allowing Hodges in the home goal to smother the ball at his feet.
Five minutes of added time were then played out as the Rams were determined to hold on to what they had, and as the final whistle blew, the three points were gratefully accepted in what was a difficult game, played in difficult conditions against a Cheadle team that defied their lowly position.
Manager Steve Wilkes summed up the game: “I’ll give credit to Cheadle who gave us major problems in the first half. Once we got to grips with it, it was a more even game.
“We’ve been fortunate to score with a bit of a freak goal that this time last year wouldn’t have gone in for us.
“It was also nice to get a clean sheet and I think we have more already than we had the whole of last season.
“I’m happy with the three points, but we have to be better. Can we play better? Of course we can. We’d like to win 3-0 or 4-0 every week, but that doesn’t happen in this league.
“I said to the players you have to find a way to win football matches, sometimes ugly, sometimes with free-flowing football. Tonight was ugly, and they have had to dig deep. But they have done it, got three points and a clean sheet”.
RAMSBOTTOM UNITED: Rose, Radcliffe, Hayhurst, Teague, S.Sephton, Walder, Lynch (Wilson 74mins), L.Sephton (Tinker 29mins), Camara (Uppal 66mins), Whyte, Hoyle (Ogunby 86mins) Sub not used: Jackson
Att: 108
