CAMPAIGN OPENS WITH A POINT
Rob Wilson fires home our injury time equaliser at Pilkington.
The season-opener started in bright fashion for the new-look Rams, and for half an hour they controlled the game with some neat passing movements that almost created a goal after just six minutes. Debutant Joao Soares managed to flick a cross goalwards, only for the ball to land on the roof of the net.
The visitors continued to probe and were rewarded on 27 minutes when a right-wing corner, floated in by Maine Walder found the head of Luke Sephton, whose backward flick guided the ball into the bottom corner.
Two minutes later, the visiting section of the crowd were ready to celebrate a doubling of the lead as a cross in from the left found Sephton again, but he fluffed the opportunity from two yards, and that seemed to be a transformation point of the game.
Just three minutes more elapsed before a misplaced pass on the Rams left, as they looked to launch another attack, was picked up by Gabriel Ellis, thirty yards inside his own half. He set off on a mazy run which, with Rams defenders backing off, took him into the Ramsbottom penalty area allowing him to drive the ball home past Brad Rose’s left for the equaliser.
This seemed to spur the home team on, whilst the visitors confidence seemed to dip. Misplaced passes replaced the previous confidence, and Pilkington began to get a grip on the match.
No doubt having had a half-time talking to, hopes were high that the second half would begin like the first.
However, Pilkington began to give as good as they got, but on 57 minutes, Sephton again had the ball in the net. However, as he raced on to a high ball from the left, his hand came into contact just as the striker fired home, and it was correctly ruled out.
The game swung from end to end but with just seven minutes left, Sephton was again in the right place but his attempt was smothered at close range by Jake Hilton in the home goal, who then needed treatment.
With the game looking like ending in stalemate, that man Ellis went marauding down the right wing again before eventually playing the ball in to Liam Bott, whose excellent strike from just inside the penalty area , found the top right hand corner of the goal to give the home side the lead.
Credit to the visitors though, for with two minutes of time added on played, a corner from the right was only partly cleared by the Pilkington defence, and it landed at the feet of Rob Wilson, who fired an unstoppable volley through a forest of legs into the bottom right hand corner, to grab a deserved and very welcome late point.
Manager Steve Wilkes was philosophical afterwards:
“I’m obviously disappointed not to pick up all three points.
“First games of the season are always difficult as there are new managers and new players in at clubs.
“Disappointing aspect from my point of view is we were controlling the game, scored a good goal, then gave away a sloppy goal ten minutes later, that seemed to knock us off our stride.
“We didn’t pass the ball quickly enough, we didn’t cause Pilkington enough problems either.
“But the lads showed good character to keep going when we went one down in the 86th minute to grab us a point. We know with the amount of players we’ve brought in, it will take time to gel and people getting to know how each other plays, but we’ve got to learn quickly as this is a tough league.
“We move on to Tuesday night where hopefully we’ll have four more players to choose from”.
RAMSBOTTOM UNITED: Rose, Ogunby (Hayhurst 55mins), Walder, Radcliffe, S.Sephton, Soares (Sullivan 69mins), Wilson, Hoyle (Cliffe 62mins), Whyte, L.Sephton. Subs not used: Lent, Rigby
Att: 80
