RAMS SHINE IN BERT’S GLOOM

Tom Hoyle fires in his first of two goals as the Rams battled difficult conditions on Saturday.

Fans and players endured incessant rain at the usually pleasant stadium in this leafy part of Manchester as the Rams battled through storm Bert to record an impressive win on the road.

Both teams started with purpose, but conditions meant that the ball wasn’t running smoothly making passing difficult.

One Rams vulnerability this season is dealing with the quick counterattack, but the cute Didsbury passing was intercepted on occasion by the amount of water on the pitch.

It was also a day for sliding tackles, and Scott Sephton provided a dramatic example of that in intercepting Victor Abadaki’s advance with a spectacular, but fair example of the art.

Playing in their usual blue, the Rams began to assert themselves. On thirty-seven minutes Harvey Hayhurst stormed down the left on a trademark overlapping run and then continued and cut into the box – before being dramatically felled.

There was some delay and discussion before the referee awarded a penalty. Up stepped big game player, Harvey Whyte, scorer against Bury, to confidently smash the ball into the top of the net and give the visitors the lead.

Rams started to pick up the tempo, and both teams managed to produce some attractive attacking football. The Rams moved the ball around confidently for extended periods of possession, driven on by two expert readers of the game in Maine Walder and Richie Baker. The pair also delivered a series of corners where, despite clearly signalling intent, no one read them, and the chances went begging.

Just as Rams hoped to get to half time ahead, Tom Hoyle broke down the right and cut into the box to deliver an accurate hard low shot which nestled into the net at the far post to give a two-nil lead at the interval.

Further delight for the fans at half time as scores from elsewhere filtered through with league rivals faltering.

As the match resumed, any doubts that dangerous leads might be dissipated were gone as Rams turned on this season’s wonderful total football – with Hoyle appearing everywhere – and a series of chances created.

The rain continued to pour with the substantial Rams support chiming in with the incongruous ‘in the summertime’ anthem urging their team forwards – and the team responded from back to front.

Brad Rose won a league award for his goalkeeping in October and part of his skillset encompasses clever distribution. His low driven clearances allowing the ball to be controlled by the receiver.

On 73 minutes Rose drove a 60-yard through ball for the switched-on Tom Hoyle to take the ball in his stride, before advancing and then slamming low and hard under West’s keeper, Ollie Martin, for goal number three. Game over; Simple effective football, perfect for the conditions.

Substitutions from the home side added a bit of urgency, exacerbated when Scott Sephton had to go off injured.

Didsbury did get the goal their attractive football deserved in the final couple of minutes as a low cross into the box was stabbed in from close range by Connor Hughes to reduce the deficit.

The Rams managed out the closing moments to deliver another of their increasingly frequent master classes away from home.

For those wishing for pre-packaged fare and home comforts this experience was probably not for them. For those seeking the soul of football it certainly was.

The sodden team ran over to acclaim their drenched fans at the end with especial gusto. With results elsewhere going Rams way, they now sit six points clear at the top of the table.

Manager Steve Wilkes was naturally delighted: “First of all, I’d like to congratulate the West Didsbury groundsman for getting the game on and the referee for letting the game play out.

“I thought we were excellent from minute one. Apart from one chance after about twenty minutes, West never caused us any problems, so to nullify a team on their own patch with the quality they possess is once again credit to the players.

“Individually to a man we were excellent. I couldn’t single out one player as it was a brilliant team performance. The only downside was the two injuries we picked up. Hopefully Lynchy isn’t out too long, but the same can’t be said for Scott Sephton as it looks like a serious knee injury will probably keep him out for the rest of the season.

“It’s a huge blow for us, but more importantly for Scott who’s been immense since his arrival in the summer.”

RAMSBOTTOM UNITED: Rose, Radcliffe, Hayhurst, Baker (Tinker 81mins), S.Sephton (Meadowcroft 90mins), Walder, Lynch (Stacey 15mins), L.Sephton. Camara (Evans 68mins), Whyte, Hoyle, Sub not used: Khan

Att: 488