RAMS NEED CONSISTENCY BACK
Luke Sephton wheels away after heading in the Rams equaliser.
The Rams returned from the Arbories at Padiham with an emphatic four one victory in midweek as they faced old rivals Glossop North End.
The early chances went to the visitors with Brad Rose diving low to keep out a shot from the orange clad visitors as early as the third minute, and to deflect the ball wide.
Glossop were to enjoy an excellent first half with their attractive football based around neat angles and interchanges and well-weighted passes, which invariably found willing runners, especially up front.
The Rams were countering on the flanks and through getting crosses into the box, and it was like two heavyweight boxers going toe to toe, rather than either team dominating.
Luke Sefton was unlucky after 11 minutes when he was found free in the box by Josh Tinker, side-stepping the keeper he saw his low shot blocked on the line by one defender and then cleared to safety by another.
It was no surprise when the Glossop front pair picked their way through the Ramsbottom defence on 28 minutes as Reilly found space in the box and then the time to calmly plant the ball past Rose to give them the lead.
Stung, the Rams responded with two Harvey Hayhurst crosses from the left both finding Oumar Camara in the box. The second was an excellent move with Camara rising early and high in the box, his body shape seemed perfect, but the header just cleared the crossbar and Glossop headed into the break with a not undeserved lead.
An early second half substitution by Steve Wilkes helped the Rams find the cohesion for which they had been striving. This came with the introduction of Tom Hoyle who immediately set to work in supporting and linking up with strike partner Camara.
The Rams were wresting control and the ball staying at the front as the team began finding their usual fluency. A seemingly endless series of corners were won with the resulting crosses being met with both headers and shots at goal – and getting closer and closer to finding the net.
On 57 minutes, Hayhurst again drove down the left flank to deliver an inviting deep cross towards the far post. It was met by a marked, but battling, Luke Sephton who climbed to meet it and emphatically head home the equaliser – much to the delight of the home fans massed just a few feet away behind the goal.
Impetus was maintained as the Rams began putting Glossop through the wringer and looking like worthy league leaders. Could they now go on to win the game?
Another series of the corners followed. One from Maine Walder on 65 minutes, saw Oscar Radcliffe head just wide of the post as the Rams pressed for the winner. Radcliffe was also instrumental a few minutes later as he overlapped on the right before trying to find Camara with a hard low cross into the box which Glossop cleared.
Unfortunately, just as Radcliffe was pulling the strings, a bad head wound led to the young right back leaving the field with blood pouring down his face in what looked a nasty gash.
The resulting series of positional changes saw Rams lose the impetus which had seen them blitz Burscough, South Liverpool and Padiham in recent weeks, with second-half bystander Rose called into action on 80 minutes to keep out an isolated Glossop raid.
Although Rams tried their utmost to find a winner a series of niggles, curious injuries and petulant bookings saw the visitors saw manage out the remaining minutes as the game petered out for a draw.
Manager Steve Wilkes shared his thoughts after the game: “Talk about Jekyll and Hyde. Once again we’ve thrown away points in a game where we have had enough chances to win two games.
“We were really poor first half and had Brad (Rose) to thank for it only being one nil at half-time. Having said that, we’ve missed three absolute sitters from inside the six-yard box.
“Second half we upped the tempo and again missed chances that have cost us, two free headers in the six-yard box and we don’t hit the target with either.
“We can’t keep going from a performance on Tuesday to one like today, we need to find the consistency that we had a few weeks back.
“Fair play to Glossop who came and made it difficult for us, and they fully deserved a point”.
RAMSBOTTOM UNITED: Rose, Radcliffe (Rigby 75mins), Hayhurst, Meadowcroft, S.Sephton, Walder, Wilson (Chingwaro 78mins), L.Sephton, Camara (McEvoy 84mins), Whyte, Tinker (Hoyle 53mins). Sub not used: Ogunby
Att: 304
