RAMMY TOUGH IT OUT FOR WIN

Harvey Hayhurst wheels away in celebration after opening the scoring.

In a tense encounter, the Rams held on to victory despite a second half onslaught from the visitors. Substitute Oumar Camara scored the winning goal, latching onto a mistake from Irlam keeper Jack Buckley after the opposition keeper spilled an Oscar Radcliffe cross. Harvey Hayhurst and an own goal from Jacob Holt scored the Ramsbottom goals, with Declan Daniels and Toby Humphries netting for Christopher Lowe’s outfit.

Having named an unchanged starting eleven from the side that beat FC St Helens, the Rams flew out of the blocks and were ahead after only 12 minutes.

Following a marauding run forward from right back Oscar Radcliffe, his low cross was turned home by Harvey Hayhurst who fired a low shot home from the edge of the area.

Following Hayhurst’s goal, chances were few and far between for the home side in the opening half with Brad Rose the busier goalkeeper.

After Regan Brown’s low drilled volley crashed into the bar, Nick Taylor also nearly levelled, although Rose was equal to the latter’s shot.

As the half drifted to a close, Irlam right winger Toby Humphries tried his luck from distance, yet was unable to curl his effort the right side of the post.

The half time whistle came at a good time for the home side who were firmly on the back foot.

Despite a tense first half, the attending fans were then treated to a goal fest in the second period, with three goals in the initial seven minutes.

Irlam started the second half as they ended the first and were level within moments of the restart. Rose was finally beaten in the 47th minute when a Declan Daniels shot from distance found the far corner of the net.

However, the Rams responded superbly and were ahead again after 52 minutes when a cross from Hayhurst was turned into his own net by Irlam skipper Jacob Holt. The opportunity had nearly escaped Rammy when Buckley initially repelled Hayhurst’s low drive, yet the number seven did well to retrieve the ball before seeing his deflected cross fly past the keeper.

The lead lasted barely lasted five minutes however and Irlam had equalised again. Toby Humphries neatly complemented a clever pass from Daniels to bring the visitor’s level. The goal came only 10 minutes after the restart.

The game’s deciding goal came in the 65th minute with Oumar Camara nodding home the winner. Radcliffe’s cross was spilled by keeper Buckley and the ball fell to Camara to turn in Ramsbottom’s third of the night.

Chances were few and far between in the closing stages, with Steve Wilkes’s side holding firm despite the visitors having the lion’s share of the possession. The scenes at the full-time whistle between the players, managers and staff highlighted the importance of the victory, with only goal difference now keeping the Rams off top spot.

Manager Steve Wilkes summed up the game: “Most pleasing win of the season for me. We didn’t play well and were probably second best for large parts of the game, but I saw another side to the players, one that we didn’t have last season.

“We had to dig deep and grind out a result, which we did.

“Not sure how Irlam have only one point as they are by far the best team we have played so far. This was definitely a game we’d have lost last season”.

RAMSBOTTOM UNITED: Rose, Radcliffe, Walder, Tinker, S.Sephton, Winstanley, Hayhurst, L.Sephton, Hoyle (Turner), Whyte, Chingwaro (Camara). Subs not used: Jackson, Ogunby, McEvoy

Att: 219