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1st Team

Table, Results and Match Reports for 2010/2011 season

POS 1st Team - Division 1 P W D L F A GD PTS
1  Prestwich 26 19 5 2 82 23 59 62
2  Hesketh Casuals 26 17 5 4 67 42 25 56
3  Bolton Wyresdale 26 13 9 4 43 36 7 48
4  Prairie United 26 13 5 8 72 52 20 44
5  Rossendale Ams Res 26 12 3 11 48 39 9 39
6  Hindley Juniors 26 11 5 10 54 45 9 38
7  Old Blacks Res 26 10 4 12 55 63 -8 34
8  Broughton Ams 26 10 3 13 45 56 -11 33
9  Horwich RMI 26 10 2 14 41 45 -4 32
10  Mostonians 26 8 5 13 50 55 -5 29
11  Thornleigh 26 9 1 16 42 60 -18 28
12  Tyldesley United * 26 8 7 11 53 60 -7 27
13  Ainsworth 26 6 4 16 40 71 -31 22
14  Little Lever SC Res 26 6 2 18 38 83 -45 20
 * 4 points deducted                

1st Team Results, Scorers and Match Reports (where submitted).

Sat. 21st Aug 2010

V

Rossendale Amateurs Res (h)  1 - 2 (ht.0-2) 
scorers :  S. Cummins
The season got off to an encouraging start- but sadly without any material reward. Rossendale began with a very aggressive style (a crunching late tackle on Cummins in the first minute set the tone) and we were bullied out of our stride in that first 25 minutes. A stronger ref would have exerted more control, but we failed to compete and the game was effectively lost in the initial spell. By the time we started to play with any fluency we had conceded 2 poor goals and lost centre back Lever to a thigh injury. That having been said , the next hour saw Broughton begin to exert more control over the game and Rossendale barely had sight of goal in that period. Matt Handley looked solid in defence , Cummins and Hayhurst got a grip of midfield and chances started to come . Sadly, though we went very close on a number of occasions only one was converted - Cummins heading home from close range. With a number of key people missing from this game the squad should become stronger. - DB
Tue. 24th Aug 2010

V

Hesketh Casuals (a)  1 - 4 (ht.0-0) KO: 6.30pm
scorers :  A. Butterworth
For a night match this was a relatively stress free affair. Nobody got lost and we arrived in good time. The stress was in actually arranging a team - and we had a number of changes. The game went well too- for the first 70 minutes. Defensively we looked sound, Handley in particular on top form , and when Jones broke free allowing Butterworth to arrive late into the box and force home the opening goal it looked like we would have our first points. The last 20 minutes were a shambles as for some reason we stopped doing all that had been done well in the first 75% of the game. Talking, marking and concentration all went out of the window - and you see the result in the score line. - DB
Sat. 28th Aug 2010

V

Prairie United (h)  1 - 3 (ht.0-1)  KO: 2.30pm
scorers :  C. Bell
Again down on players we started poorly and on the back foot and had difficulty dealing with the pace of the opposition midfield and attackers. One down after 5 minutes to a long angled ball - a fast run and good finish - we struggled for the first 45 mins to get into the game. For the most part we were working hard but just couldn't seem to get on the front foot to make their defence turn. Just after the break the deficit became 2 and though Russell rattled the woodwork with a cracking free-kick, we didn't look like getting enough support to new front man Heywood. A change of formation - plus some player driven changes - changed things for the better. Heywood started to drop deeper to dictate things and his obvious extra level of ability began to pay dividends. Suddenly Prairie looked at a loss and with his movement and short passing everybody started to be much more effective. Bell popped up in the box to finish a fine passing move and for a while it looked hopeful. It did leave us exposed however and we succumbed to a killer blow late in the game. - DB
Tue. 31st Aug 2010

V

Hindley Juniors (h)  0 - 2 (ht.-) KO: 6.30pm
scorers :  -
Match report will be published here when/if submitted.
Sat. 4th Sept 2010

V

Thornleigh (a)  2 - 7 (ht.1-3)  KO: 2.30pm
scorers :  G. Heywood, A. Butterworth
Still plagued by missing players and forced changes our poor run of form continued. The game followed a pattern seen in a number of previous games – a poor start followed by a strong middle 45 minutes with a weak finish to the game. Thornleigh started with their midfield well on top . As a team we stood off too far and the resulting pressure on the defence was not especially well handled. Result was 1 goal down after 2 minutes and 3 down after the first half hour. Changes were needed and made and for the next 50 minutes Broughton played as we can. With more pressure on the Thornleigh defence we went very close on a number of occasions before Finney won a penalty and Heywood converted. After the half time break we continued to move the ball well and Alex Alston threatened a number of times down the left flank. A last ditch clearance from one fine break led to a corner. Heywood met the corner at the far post, headed it back across goal and Butterworth reacted first to close the gap. At that point and for the next 10 minutes we looked the more likely to come out on top. Bangi came on and gave the attack more movement and it could have gone either way - and then we imploded.. Dozy marking from a basic long thrown followed by a correctly given (but unlucky) penalty put the game out of sight. A full and frank exchange of views followed the final whistle, but out of it came a determination and plan to improve – supported by everybody. And it will improve. db
Sat. 11th Sept 2010
LFA Cup Rd 1

V

Barrowford Celtic FC (a)  0 - 2  (ht.0-0)  EAST LANCASHIRE LEAGUE
scorers :  
Match 36 Another disappointing result, though with a few signs of improvement. Again many absentees - but only 6 this week - and we were bolstered by new signing Rob Horn in central defence. The partnership between Horn and Owen looked solid for the most part, and given they had never met before the game this gives some grounds for hope. Our problem for this game was an inability to create enough sustained pressure on the opposition defence to pull them out of shape. There was no shortage of effort, but neither manager nor players were able to get us off the back foot. Heywood threatened from midfield and Bangi worked hard up front and we had spells of good football, but it never really came together and eventually the pressure told and Barrowford went ahead with just 20 minutes to go. The second goal came at the death as we chased the game. db
Sat. 18th Sept 2010

V

Hesketh Casuals (h)  2 - 6 (ht.0-2)
scorers :  N. Eccles, S. Cummins
Another disappointing result that followed the previously reported pattern. Viz - poor start, strong middle hour, poor end. We started well prepared, but yet again went a goal down within 5 minutes as slack marking on lively forwards produced the predictable result. We got things together after that and seemed to get stronger as the game went on. The return of Sean Cummins and Neil Eccles gave our midfield more drive and though we conceded another goal later in the first half our football was of a decent standard. The second half was just crazy. We played some great stuff. Heywood dropped into midfield and he Eccles and Cummins ran the show. The Alston Bros marauded down the wings and we scored 2 great goals and went close on many others. Eccles finished a good move for the first and a great pass from Heywood saw Cummins drive one home from 25yards for our second. That’s the good news. The crazy aspect was our ability to concede from almost any direction. 2 goals were conceded to corners and one to a hopeful punt from the touchline that swirled into the very top corner. Its clear that we need to add a determination not to concede to our now undoubted ability to play good football. db
Sat. 25th Sept 2010
LAL Cup Rd 1

V

Bolton Ambassadors (h)  0 - 1  (ht.0-1)
scorers : -  

Generally you get what you deserve in this life - and our league position doesn’t really lie - however on some occasions (as this Saturday) you can come off the field convinced that the Gods, lady luck and Mr Sod himself have taken a hand in the result. Playing our best football for this season and last, we contrived to dominate the game – yet still lose. Bolton defended well and had 2 attempts on goal. One a speculative cross from the touchline hit the bar post and keepers knee before dropping to a bemused but grateful attacker 5 yards out (he poked it in) and the other chance went just wide. That apart we played some excellent stuff from start to finish and from front to back. Defensively we looked much sharper than at any point this season and in midfield Heywood and Cummins shone and for the first time this season we had the upper hand in midfield. As we worked the ball through and around the Bolton defence chances started to come – and go. Eccles – still finding his sharpness after a long injury saw a chance go just wide, Bangi hit the bar, Owen went close and it looked inevitable that a goal would come. The second half was even more one sided, Broughton's play lacking only a killer touch. Finney came on and added more penetration but still the goal wouldn’t come. Good opportunities were matched with poor finishes and as the stress levels on the touchline rose to fever pitch the final whistle went and, unbelievably to all present, Broughton got nothing but pride from the game. db
Sat. 2nd Oct 2010
 

V

Little Lever Res (h)  3 - 0  (ht.1-0)  (KO: 2.30pm)
scorers : N. Eccles, K. Bangi, G. Heywood
At last your correspondent can report good news from the 1st team. This is just as well as I was running out of positive slants to put on otherwise losing experiences. The quality of football played continued at the high level demonstrated last week- but with the defence looking considerably tighter and in fact we were on the front foot for almost all the game. Heywood is starting to show his undoubted ability and with Sean Cummins back to his best we were dominant across midfield and threatening down the flanks. We frustratingly failed to turn possession into chances for the first 30 minutes with the front line looking a little static, but eventually chances started to come and Eccles settled a whole lot of nerves when on the half hour mark he burst through the lever defence, rounded the keeper and slotted home. It was as if a weight had been lifted and the 2nd half was a demonstration of attacking football. Bangi had shown good movement and awareness and he finally got his reward on the hour mark - turning in a good cross from Alex Alston- and Heywood also got his just reward 5 minutes later (but I can't remember how ! ). After that the score could have reached double figures. Matt Finney looked sharp through the whole of the half and would normally have expected to convert a number of the chances that he created - though the Lever keeper can claim credit for a number of fine stops from Finney, Bangi and Heywood. Defensively, Aiden Owen is coming back to fitness an Handley was his usual immaculate best and with everybody in fine fettle we can now hopefully look forward with confidence. db
Sat. 9th Oct 2010

V

O. Blackburnians Res (h)  3 - 1 (ht.1-1)
scorers :  M. Finney, K. Bangi, N. Russell
More good news from the first team front as we took our good form of the past couple of weeks into this game and despite a couple of wobbles came out comfortably on top Blacks showed a strong physical presence and this, plus a strong wind , saw us start on the defensive. The back four of Horn, Alston, Owen and Handley stuck to their task however and Coulton made a couple of good saves to keep things clean whenever they did break through. Slowly we worked our way into the game and took the lead when Finney finished with a cracking shot from 20 yards having been released by Cummins. Finney almost repeated the trick 5 minutes later- hitting the far post with an angled drive - but that precipitated a spell of pressure that lead to Blacks forcing home an equaliser. The second half - with benefit of the wind - was little easier and we started to threaten, but then Finney committed personal suicide and got himself sent off and suddenly things didn't look too rosy any more. We did however show our mettle and raised our game and stepped up to the plate- and other sporting clichés. Bangi especially (and literally) did the work of two men upfront and as midfield continued to work hard we forced a result. Bangi gave us the lead with 20 minutes to go - converting a loose ball after a cross from Nathan Russell and then with 5 minutes left the favour was repaid as Bangi released Russell down the left and his pin point effort found the bottom corner. db
Sat. 16th Oct 2010

V

Tyldesley Utd (a) 1 - 2 (ht.1-1) 
scorers :  N. Russell
I seem to recall saying somewhere recently that you generally get what you deserve - and then qualifying it to say that sometimes Sods Law kicks in. Well this was another exception to the rule. We deserved at least a point and but for a strange refereeing decision, that’s what we would have got. We started the game much the stronger and with slightly cooler finishing we could have been ahead quite quickly. Finney was thwarted by the keeper when through on goal and Eccles came close on 2 occasions., but Tyldesley slowly came into the game and by the half hour point were well on top. Good defending and a couple of good saves from Coulton kept things scoreless and it took and unstoppable 30 yard drive from their fullback before they took a lead that on balance was deserved to that point. From that point we tightened things up and allowed much less space for the opposition midfield to work in and Russell levelled things up just before half time. Spotting the keeper of his line he drove the ball in from fully 35 yards and reached the half way mark in good spirits. As is our habit we played good football through the whole of the 2nd half. Tyldesley had good forwards and broke forward quickly, so we had to take care, and from one such break – and probably our only moment of defensive weakness of the half - a long angled ball caught us out. The cross was won at the back post and the resulting header into the box found us for once out of shape and a goal down. We looked to have got our just reward ten minutes later as good interplay between Heywood, Bangi and Ryan Alston saw the latter burst into the box and pull the ball back for Finney to finish. Inexplicably Finney was given offside . Well, I say inexplicably, because we had a ref who refused to take offside advice from linesmen based on the deluded notion that he alone on this earth has 360 degree vision and was totally up with play on all occasions. You may note my soapbox moment here, but it cost 12 good lads a correct reward for a lot of effort. As it happened, we came close with a couple more efforts but never really threatened for the final 15 minutes. db
Sat. 23rd Oct 2010
 

V

Mostonians (h)  4 - 3  (ht.3-1)
scorers : K. Bangi 2, G. Heywood, S. Cummins
Our progress from the bowels of the Division continued satisfactorily , but not without a couple of scares and a bit of un-required stress for the loyal supporters. The first 10 minutes were somewhat slow. We sat off to far and were slow to the challenge, so it wasn't a surprise when Moston broke free and started to threaten. Coulton made a good save from one such break, but from the resulting corner a Mostonian forward was left with the time to pick his spot. From then on we woke up and thoroughly dominated the next hour with some great stuff. Heywood and Cummins ran centre midfield, Bangi and Russell threatened down the flanks and Finney and Eccles started to create space up front. Sean Cummins got himself onto the end of Alex Alston's cross to bring us level and as the pressure built Bangi seized onto a loose ball to give us the lead. 10 minutes before the break, Finney turned the Mostonian defence inside out and laid the ball to Heywood who found the bottom corner. The second half continued in the same way. Heywood went close , Finney rattled the bar then should have converted a one on one, but it was Bangi who extended our lead with a cracking drive from 15 yards to the top corner. And that should have been that - but with a comfortable victory in sight we started to become sloppy. Coulton arrived late to a long cross and levelled the attacker and not the ball. The resulting penalty was despatched and 5 minutes later we conceded another- albeit in less clear cut fashion. We did thankfully see out the remaining 3 minutes- but it shouldn't have got that close. db
Sat. 30th Oct 2010

V

Prestwich (a)  4 - 1 (ht.2-1)
scorers :  A. Owen, T. Lannigan, N. Eccles, M. Finney
With 5 members of our recent starting 11 on a coffee and culture tour to London, a trip to the previously unbeaten league leaders did not sound too promising . However this was a good performance- and I mean really good - and some compensation for our loyal travelling kop (Rob and Dennis ) who have supported us through the dreadful start to the season. We didn't get off to too strong a start and conceded a soft goal to a corner after only 15 minutes, but slowly the game plan to pack midfield and break quickly to get at the Prestwich back 4 began to pay dividends. Finney was blocked off in the box, but Eccles put the spot kick wide however within 10 minutes we were level as Finney again stole a yard of the defence and met a Russell cross field ball. The goal bound header beat the keeper but was just stopped on the line, however Lannigan followed up to complete the tap in. 5 minutes later Owen rose highest at a corner to give Broughton the lead at the break. Prestwich had more of the ball in the second half , but the we defended well as a team and never really gave up any clear sight of goal. Each man did his job and with Lever and Owen in centre defence and Lannigan and Handley in centre midfield we had the strong spine required by any team. Wide midfield Rawsthorn and Bangi covered a huge amount of ground and as Prestwich started to look desperate and commit men forward we started to find more space. Eccles made things more comfortable with 15 minutes to go. Holden intercepted an attack and released Bangi and he in turn fed Eccles. Eccles had too much pace for the isolated defender and finished calmly to the bottom corner. 5 minutes later Bangi again broke forward and looked up to see Finney 30 yard out with no defender within 20 yards. Finney finished with aplomb to seal a great result. db
Sat. 13th Nov 2010

V

Bolton Wyresdale (h)  1 - 2 (ht.1-1)
scorers :  M. Finney
A throwback to games at the start of the season in which we dominated long periods, but failed to kill things off. In actual fact, the standard of football being played now is much better than at the start, but we still ended with nil points. We were tentative for the first 30 minutes, failing to mark their midfield tight enough and being stretched as a consequence, however as time passed we slowly got a grip and the game entered a period of stalemate. Finney gave us the advantage after 30 minutes, capitalising on a defensive error to finish from 5 yards. Eccles saw a powerful drive well saved and Cummins saw a goal bound effort diverted onto the post and somehow scrambled clear. If that had have gone in I feel that we would have pulled well clear, but instead Bolton equalized almost immediately after fast counter attack and accurate finish. If the first half was a fair score draw, then the second should have been a rout. Some personnel and positional changes worked well and we totally dominated the next 45 minutes. Bolton hardly got in our half and had only one effort on goal (of which more later). Mottley up front started to stretch the Bolton defence and everybody across midfield stepped up a gear and it seemed inevitable that if we scored one we would get a hatful. Good theory, but sadly we didn’t get the one. I will spare the blushes of the miscreants, but the blame was spread around the team. As the half wore on nerves started to kick in, but still we dominated - until 5 minutes from the end Bolton managed to get a guy clear on the right. He had a little too much space, but, being so far out neither did he really pose a threat and with no support anywhere near he swung his foot at the ball. We all watched in disbelief as the ball swerved and dipped - Ronaldo fashion - over the keeper and into the top corner. Un-be-liev-able!! db
Sat. 20th Nov 2010

V

O. Blackburnians Res (a)  1 - 5 (ht.-)
scorers :  G. Heywood
Another winnable game that slipped through the net. We had a disrupted defence with Owen pulling out just before the start and Handley suffering an injury not long into the game, but that doesn’t excuse the score line. With both payers and management displaying a carelessness in the business of defensive duties. In fact we played poorly but actually matched the opposition in almost all areas, the key difference being the 2 Blacks forwards who looked more determined and deadlier. They had 6 attempts on goal and scored 5. We had as many chances (if not more ) but the statistics look altogether less impressive. The plus points – Andy Horn deputized and central defence and looked comfortable, Cummins worked his socks off in midfield – with little support – and new signing Jamie Kelly started to find his feet as the game went on and should be a key signing. For the record., Guy Heywood scored a penalty. db
Sat. 8th Jan 2011

V

Mostonians (a)  1 - 1 (ht.0-1)
scorers :  S. Cummins
A solid if unspectacular start to the new year and the 2nd half of the season. A late and disappointing "no show" required a a re-organisation and we looked out of sorts for the first 15 minutes. The storm was weathered however and as the midfield 3 of Mitchell, Heywood and Cummins started to exert more influence, then the game began to become an entertaining end to end affair. Moston took the lead after 25 minutes. A long ball into a crowded box should have been cleared- but a Mostonian forward got there first and we were 1 down. We got off to a flyer in the second half. Good play down the right created havoc in the Mostonian end. Eccles charged down an attempted clearance - and Cummins was on hand to knock in the loose ball. At this point we were playing some good football with the midfield 3 (see above) and Alston usually involved, but we didn't really turn the control into direct attempts on goal. Cummins looked the most likely, and was very unlucky to see another attempt beat the keeper but rebound off the post, but that apart we were restricted to half chances. The last 15 minutes were a problem as we tired and back pedalled. Luckily, Lever and Handley stood strong as the back 4 kept things together and on the odd occasion we were threatened Coulton saved well. Good news was the solid defence, but we need to keep that and engineer a greater threat going forward. db
Sat. 15th Jan 2011

V

Thornleigh (h)  3 - 0 (ht.2-0)
scorers :  N. Eccles, G. Heywood, M. Finney
A good result that lit up an otherwise murky afternoon. Having been battered by Thornleigh earlier in the season we set out determined to get revenge and for half an hour the game was pretty even. Thornleigh have 2 strong experienced strikers , but Lever and Owen were in a determined mood and very little got through to trouble our keeper. Going forward we worked hard, but were too often let down by careless passing and an inability to retain possession in advanced positions, and as a result we were unable to maintain any constant pressure. A simple positional change proved a turning point. Heywood pushed up front and his ability to hold, control and bring other payers into the game combined with Eccles extra energy and impetus provided immediate results. Alex Alston was able to push on from full back, Thornleigh's midfield suddenly were on the back foot and we had them penned back for long periods, Simples – as Sergei Meerkatovitch would say. We took the lead after 35 minutes when Eccles was on hand to put the ball into the far corner and 5 minutes later, with the Thornleigh defence in tatters the keeper was forced into a half clearance that found Heywood 30 yards out. Heywood calmly stroked it over defence and keeper to give us a 2 goal lead. Cummins had a further good opportunity to extend the lead but 2-0 was a suitable reflection on the balance of play. The second half continued in much the same vein. Defensively we looked sound, Lever looking especially sharp, and Handley and Cummins gave away nothing in midfield, but as the weather deteriorated our forward sorties started to look tired and as result, Heywood started to become isolated. The introduction of 3 new men swung the game back in our favour, Bangi and Russell pushed on with more effect and suddenly the connections between front to back were back in place. The third goal came at the perfect time with just 20 minutes to go and came from the best move of the match. A Thornleigh corner was well defended and a loose ball picked up by Bangi. The ball was pushed on to Heywood on the half way line and 3 touches later he had turned the defence and laid the ball into the path of Matt Finney. Finney took it to the edge of the box before executing a classic strike into the far corner - and other than a bit of last ditch up and under stuff we saw the game out with gratifyingly little stress. db
Sat. 12th Feb 2011

V

Bolton Wyresdale (a)  1 - 0 (ht.0-0)
scorers :  own goal (Coulton assist)
Another solid performance, made alll the better by the absence of a number of (fairly) regulars. Handley and Neil Eccles dropped into central defence and Tom Lannigan again stepped up from the 3rds and didn't look out of place. Given the changes and the heavy pitch it took us a while to get started. Bolton's midfield had plenty of possession in our half, but solid defending restricted them to just a few corners that we competently dealt with - and slowly we started to make headway. As the half went on Lannigan and Mitchell began to get control higher up-field and some prompting passes saw us go close with great crosses from Alston and Horn just failing to be converted by Russell and Finney. Heywood came nearest to scoring - the keeper being forced into a great save at the foot of the post. The second half was again close, but with Broughton creating the best chances. Finney came close, we hit the woodwork and generally started to cause panic in the Bolton defence. The winning goal, when it came, was somewhat basic in its form and lucky in the execution. Coulton in goal launched a mighty punt downfield and the defender, under pressure, managed to back-head the ball over the advancing keeper and into the unguarded net. It was just retribution for our last encounter which Bolton won with an even more raggy goal, Broughton having dominated for most of that game. Bolton tried to up the pressure for the last 20 mins, but we held firm with Eccles looking like he had played centre defence all his life!! and Matt Handley literally never lost a tackle , challenge or header all game . Bolton never forced a attempt on goal in that period and indeed we could and should have finished a couple of good chances to make the score look more comfortable. db
Sat. 19th Feb 2011

V

Ainsworth (h)  2 - 1 (ht.1-1)
scorers :  M. Finney, J. Mottley
A positive result but we displayed our Jekyll and Hyde ability to play the game. We started fully organized and motivated - but forgot the whole plot for the first 20 minutes. In that period the whole concept of pass and move, marking , tackling and in fact anything that would mark us out as a group who had played the game before – were forgotten! We went a goal down after 10 minutes- it would depress me to describe the catalogue of errors- including possibly that of the linesman (me) who maybe should have flagged but after that we held them out until finally it started to improve. The improvement was triggered by Heywood and Alston who individually started to spark and threaten and the rest slowly started to up their game. Finally we managed some attempts on goal. Heywood beat most of the Ainsworth defence in a mazy run but was just thwarted by a last ditch save, Alston hit the bar (at the wrong end ) but Finney restored the balance with a couple of snapshots following good work by Heywood and Russell. One of Finney's efforts went in – so we were back on level terms. The second half began in the same vein. We had our share of the ball - but didn’t do much with it until a few changes had the desired effect and perpetuated managements pretence that they know what they are doing. Mottley was introduced up front and scored with his second touch after 30 seconds. Heywood dropped to midfield and suddenly we have a degree of control and passing to admire. The last 20 minutes were a crazy demonstration of the beautiful game . Mottley hit the post twice , Finney hit the post and blasted over when miss hit would have sufficed and generally Bangi and Eccles linked well to provide a constant threat. At the other end the last 10 mins were a bit stressful. The defence were left somewhat exposed but thankfully Owen and Handley managed to “get a foot in” when needed and Coulton made a couple of good save with various parts of his anatomy to keep them out. db
Sat. 5th Mar 2011

V

Hindley Juniors (a)  2 - 2 (ht.1-1)
scorers :  M. Finney, K. Bangi
We started the game rather slowly as we tried to accommodate a slightly different way of playing. The biggest problem however was a seeming pathological refusal to play an easy pass. We insisted of trying to have an extra touch or play a “Hollywood ball” and the result was that when we had it we were rarely in possession for more than 5 seconds. Hindley knocked it around well and the resulting pressure was bound to cause problems. The 1st Hindley goal was lucky (an ignored offside and a dropped catch) but was deserved on the run of play, however it did seem to be a catalyst for us to improve our game. Finney and Russell started to find space down the left and resulting crosses created a number of half chances. Bangi had come close on a couple of occasions and it was he who drew us level with 10 minutes of the first half left. A low driven corner from Finney caught the Hindley defence off guard – and Bangi reacted quickest to turn the ball in at the near post. The second half was much better. We got our passing game going and the consequent level of control that this brought allowed us to move forward as a team. Lever and Ryan Alston looked threatening down the right and we started to play the ball about nicely through midfield , Chris Murch and Mitchell gained control of centre midfield and Aiden Owen and the defence mopped up anything that came through. We took the lead on the hour mark and good passing from the back through midfield created space for Matt Finney – and he obliged with a blistering angled drive that gave the keeper no chance. At that point we were well on top and looked like we could play the game out with ease, however with 20 minutes to go our only 2 real mistakes of the half resulted in an equalizer. First a needless free kick was conceded, then our concentration slipped to allow a free header on goal. We could have won it or lost it in the last 10 minutes. Mitchell and Alston went close, then Adam Huddleston in nets reacted quickly to narrow the angle and force a Hindley forward to shoot just wide. db
Sat. 12th Mar 2011

V

Horwich RMI (h)  1 - 2 (ht.0-0)
scorers :  K. Bangi
Most teams in this Division are quite evenly matched and so it was with this game at Myerscough. Horwich started the stronger and but for Coulton’s penalty save we would have been a goal down after 20 minutes. Without really playing well we started to threaten a little more with Bangi working hard to make things happen. Our best effort save a good effort by Finney well saved by the keeper. And so it went on with the defences in charge. With 10 minutes to go and no score it looked reasonably certain that that’s how it would finish, but we started to tire and conceded free kicks in dangerous areas. Just like last week a careless free kick and sloppy marking gave our opponents the lead. We had to push for the equalizer but as we did so we became more exposed at the back and Horwich made it a 2 goal lead. With a couple of minutes to go we forced a penalty and Bangi converted to get a just reward for a fine display - but it was to late to salvage the game. db
Sat. 19th Mar 2011

V

Ainsworth (a)  2 - 0 (ht.1-0)
scorers :  M. Harrington, A. Owen
On some days you know its going to be all about finding a way to win- and so it was on Saturday. On a poor pitch and against solid, if uncultured opponents , it was the case that concentration and opportunism would win the day. As a team we defended well all game with Owen and Handley again impeccable . The Ainsworth game plan was essentially to get it in midfield - and get it forward with 30 yard balls. On a rough pitch it meant that we have be on our game from the start - and but for a couple of early scares we dealt with the threat well. Broughton persevered with a passing game and slowly we started to threaten, Ryan Alston and Finney went close but the breakthrough came from a 25 yard screamer from Matt Harrington that the keeper, players and packed terraces could only stand and watch with approbation. The second half was better . Monks, Harrington and Eccles closed down midfield a little tighter and Eccles began to break forward more. The Alstons and Finney started to find more space and threaten the back line , but the clinching goal , when it came with 15 minutes to go, came from an unlikely source. Lever broke up an attack and fed Finney. Finney beat 2 men in the box and pulled it back for Ryan Alston 6 yards out. Alston cunningly mis-hit his shot and Ade Owen (why ? – but thanks) found himself free and pushed the ball past the keeper. db
Sat. 26th Mar 2011

V

Prairie United (a)  2 - 3 (ht.1-1)
scorers :  R. Lever, C. Murch
Against a team pushing for promotion we showed that we are steadily improving – albeit that the result just went against us. Unusually we came out of the blocks faster than our opponents and for the first 20 minutes looked the most likely to score. We managed to get our wide guys fully involved and started to get behind the Prairie defence. Mitchell shot just over, but our best chance fell to Lever – however his less than clinical finish screwed loose to Eccles – and his shot was well saved by the keeper Lever did make amends only 5 minutes later stealing in unopposed to meet a corner with a classic headed goal. As the half progressed the Prairie midfield gained the upper hand and against 2 very fast forwards we started to become stretched. With 30 minutes gone Prairie equalized – and we were glad to finish the half on level terms. The 2nd half started in similar way, buy slowly we started to close the game down and with the midfields then well matched it was a question of who made the most of the chances. In the end it was the pace of the Prairie forwards that was the telling factor, though in both cases we did leave the back line a bit too exposed. After conceding the second goal, Chris Murch brought bring us back on level terms with a great free kick – but only for 5 minutes – yet despite that we finished the game on top and probably should have had at least one more goal as reward for our efforts. db
Sat. 2nd Apr 2011

V

Rossendale Ams Res (a)  1 - 0 (ht.1-0)
scorers :  R. Taylor
One of my esteemed managerial colleagues ( Fergie, Brucie or Winny – I cant remember which) commented in his recent match report that the beer and curry always taste better after a winning Saturday. Well, that piquancy is heightened even further after a hard fought 1-0 victory away at the hill fort of Rossendale. Again we started very well and with welcome appearances from Rick Taylor and Sean Cummins we looked by far the more dangerous. Neil Eccles, fresh back from a 4 day stag do - clearly benefited from his increased blood sugar levels and lead the line with some great control and dangerous running and generally the Rossendale defence existed in a state of mild panic. It was from one of these hysteria attacks that we took the lead. Under pressure all across the back four they finally caved in and Rick Taylor was on hand to punish their mistake. The lead could and should have been extended as a number of good chances came and went, but slowly the game levelled off as Rossendale found their feet. Our defence of Owen, Handley, Alston and Lever now looks a secure unit and with a midfield 3 of Monks, Cummins and Mitchell we had a base from which to attack. The second half followed this pattern. Rossendale shaded the possession stat, but other than a free kick that was well saved by Coulton and a few corners that were well defended they rarely engineered any threat on goal. At the other end we again went close and again probably should have extended our lead. Eccles finished a great move between Alston and Mitchell only to have it ruled offside, then sharper finishing should have seen a cross from Finney knocked in at the near post. Finney then tested the keeper with a great drive from 25 yards and after that we professionally saw out the remainder of the game with an excellent and confident defensive display. db
Wed. 6th Apr 2011

V

Horwich RMI (a)  2 - 1 (ht.2-0)
scorers :  R. Lever, M. Harrington
Broughton victories in night matches are as common as rocking horse droppings – and the odds on Lever and Harrington being our 2 goal scorers were probably equally unlikely - however both came to fruition at Horwich. We again started well, though playing with the wind we tended to over hit too many passes and really never got any coherence in our play. When we did we looked dangerous. Alex Alston and Russell down the left looked most likely to make a breakthrough and good link play with Eccles created a number of half chances that the Horwich keeper was equal to. Our first goal was one of the best of the season. For once we engineered a couple of passes in midfield and the defence splitting ball* from Monks was latched onto by Lever bursting forward from full back, his finish was worthy of Rooney at his best - fortunately there were no TV cameras in the vicinity. Within 10 minutes we were 2 up and it was very nearly 3 up. Both times passing moves created confusion in the Horwich defence and both times Matt Harrington was on hand to force the ball goal-ward. Only one went in – but we were satisfied with a 2 goal lead at half time. Against the wind, the second half was a battle, but one thing we can do now is defend with confidence. Again Handley and Owen were outstanding, but in truth everybody played their part and whilst Horwich had the possession they rarely forced an attempt on goal until the last 10 minutes. This last 10 were played in almost total darkness. Coulton made a great one handed save to deny a goal bound header, but could do little to keep out a similar attempt 5 minutes later. Howrich resorted to a degree of skull duggery to try to unsettle our back 4 and force the equalizer, but it back fired and by the time one of their guys had been cautioned and sent off for foul play, the light had almost totally gone and the stars and comets were visible overhead. The ref had little option but to call it a days soon after and we groped our way back to the changing rooms.  db
[* Editors correction !! It seems that the “defence splitting ball” so expertly finished by Mr Lever- was in fact provided by Mr S Mitchell and not Mr P Monks. Mr Monks did many, many other fine things in the game – but to paraphrase meatloaf - he didn’t do this!!]
Wed. 13th Apr 2011

V

Little Lever SC Res (a)  1 - 1 (ht.0-1)
scorers :  M. Harrington
Night matches - don’t you just love em. It’s a time when the form book means nothing and reserve teams become first teams or vice versa. You just have to deal with it. Against a team sitting bottom of the league we didn’t deal with it for most of the game, but eventually the character in the team came through and a point was salvaged. For the first 15 minutes we were well on top as we knocked the ball about well. Murch was heavily involved and Finney looked lively up front and as a result chances were fashioned - but not converted. Murch and Harrington had shooting opportunities from the edge of the box, but failed to hit the target. Eccles and Finney were unlucky to see scorching efforts come back off the woodwork. It looked only a matter of time before we took the lead - but then a collective torpor* seemed to settle over the team and we spent the next 45 minutes on the back foot. Lever were quicker to the ball and more determined in the tackle and deserved their one goal lead at halftime. Without Hurst’s calming influence in goal it might have been worse. Paul Harford and Seddon were introduced early in the second half and though it took 10 minutes or so we slowly started to regain control. Suddenly we started to string together a few passes and with the extra time that this created we started to get the full backs on the ball more and we looked much more threatening. Alston and Seddon in particular looked dangerous, but the best opening fell to Matt Harrington down the right. Harrington has been a bit of a goal machine of late, but faced with a clear run on goal made a right balls of it and to the amusement of the crowd the chance went begging. The crowd were made to eat their words 5 minutes later however when Harrington lashed a 15 yarder into the top corner to give us an ultimately deserved point. It all went quiet over there – as they say. Still time for a bit of excitement at the end as first Harford went close with a snapshot and then we were saved by a brilliant, perfectly timed, last ditch tackle from Murch as the Lever forward was clear on goal. db

* torpor : a state of physical or mental inactivity; lethargy.
Sat. 16th Apr 2011

V

Tyldesley United (h)  0 - 2 (ht.0-1)
scorers :  -
A very disappointing build up to the game saw Owen withdraw at 12 noon and Finney turn up for the game “unwell”. At least he turned up which was more than Lanagan bothered to do and so Finney had to start “unwell” or not - and we had the manager as the only sub until half time when Chris Bell answered a late call for help. Not great for the club first team (meaning not great we had to make late changes not that Chris had to turn up - ha !!). That said, the players on the pitch were good enough to have done the job, but for most of the first half we were pretty much on the back foot. Given the number of enforced changes this was not surprising and the team should take credit for the way we got ourselves back into the game in the second half. Handley was again outstanding in the centre of the defence and the efforts of everybody else meant that we got to the break only one down – and indeed a great effort by Monks could have seen us level. The second half was much more even. Paul and Karl Harford started to link well. Monks played deeper and nullified at least some of the opposition passing game and Finney was finally put out of his misery and replaced by Chris Bell to give us a more movement up front. Neil Eccles came close on a couple of occasions, one of the Harfords (they all look the same to me !) saw a shot go just over and Chris Bell saw his goal bound effort just finger tipped wide by the keeper. Jim McHugh had had a great game at full back but succumbed to a muscle injury with 20 minutes to, meaning that management had to make an appearance. With 5 minutes to go Tyldesley exploited this weakness and created a second decisive goal to close out the game. db
Sat. 23rd Apr 2011

V

Prestwich (h)  3 - 5 (ht.1-1)
scorers :  P. Monks, J. McHugh, M. Finney
Last game of the season, against the winners of the Division – proved to be a mixed affair. Prestwich play a great pass and move game and we struggled to match them in the opening stages. We are organized these days however and though Prestwich had plenty of possession we kept them in front of us and our goal intact - for 30 minutes. The next 15 mins were mainly bit of a calamity mixed in with good bits. First we dozed off and conceded our first goal, then Handley suffered an injury and came off. Finney looked to have been fouled in the box but play was waved on then 5 mins later he was fouled again and Monks converted the penalty coolly. Soon after, keeper Coulton was dismissed for a professional last man foul. Luckily, the sight of Monks as replacement keeper was sufficiently off putting and the Prestwich man put the penalty badly wide. With 10 men (and sub goalie) the 2nd half could have become a nightmare, but we actually played very well. Mistakes were eliminated and we began to retain the ball with some confident passing. As a result we continued to pose a threat and the next 4 goals were equally shared. McHugh notched with a long swirling effort and Finney converted great cross-field ball from Butterworth. As the game entered it last 10 minutes the extra man advantage finally told and Prestwich pulled ahead. A great effort from the team with everybody working hard and actually putting together some decent play. Owen and Harrington deserve particular praise. db


Click one of these links to see seasons details for that team.
1st Team  -   2nd Team  -  3rd Team   -  4th Team   -  Friendlies / Vets

2nd Team

Table, Results and Match Reports for 2010/2011 season

POS 2nd Team - Division 3 P W D L F A GD PTS
1  North Walkden 24 22 1 1 124 20 104 67
2  Ashtonians 24 16 1 7 70 43 27 49
3  Radcliffe Town Res 24 12 5 7 58 50 8 41
4  Failsworth Dyn Res 24 12 4 8 53 43 10 40
5  Bacup United 24 11 4 9 62 59 3 37
6  Castle Hill Res 24 11 2 11 46 53 -7 35
7  Tottington United 24 10 3 11 55 62 -7 33
8  Chaddertonians 'A' 24 9 2 13 55 64 -9 29
9  Rossendale Ams 'A' 24 7 6 11 51 67 -16 27
10  Mostonians Res 24 6 5 13 56 70 -14 23
11  Broughton Ams Res 24 7 2 15 46 71 -25 23
12  Astley Bridge * 24 7 3 14 54 87 -33 20
13  Bolton Wyresdale Res 24 5 4 15 43 84 -41 19
* 4 points deducted                

2nd Team Results, Scorers and Match Reports (where submitted).

Sat. 21st Aug 2010

V

Ashtonians  (h @ BROUGHTON)  2 - 6 (ht.0-3)
scorers :  K. Harford, A. Needham
With the management team away, taking an early mid-season break, an almost brand new second team struggled against a strong Ashtonians side and failed to cope with the dead ball situations. The second half showed an improvement but much is still needed to get the team bedded in. As consolation K. Harford scored a spectacular long range goal and near the end Needham added another for Broughton.
Sat. 4th Sept 2010

V

Bolton Wyresdale Res  (h)  4 - 4 (ht.-) KO 2.30pm
scorers :  A. Chattell, C. Bradshaw, W. Omerod, K. Harford

Match report will be published here when/if submitted.
Sat. 11th Sept 2010

V

Tottington United  (h)  3 - 1 (ht.1-0)
scorers :  J. Seddon, P. Harford 2
With the management and captain back from their jollies and the squad at near full strength, we took on a good Tottington side that we have not beaten for years. First 15 minutes was cagey with both teams cancelling each other out. Then we had a break through when Needham burst through and got cleaned out in the box, penalty, up stepped Seddon who coolly slotted the ball in the net. That's how it stayed for till the 80th minute with the help of some excellent defending by man of the match Smith. After 65 minutes Mcgill made his long awaited debut and did not look out of place after 6 years out!. To our relief P.Harford beat the offside trap and then easily beat the keeper from 25 yards. Tottington got what turned out to be a consolation soon after, but P.Harford's second secured us are 1st 3 points of the season with an excellent 40 yard lob when their keeper fluffed a clearance. Every player put a good shift in. Hopefully we can keep it up. - JS
Sat. 18th Sept 2010

V

Mostonians Res  (a)  2 - 3 (ht.2-0)
scorers :  A. Needham 2
Shocked is an understatement, how we lost this game i'll never know!. After what can only be described as the best 1st half team performance i've been involved in, in my 8 seasons at Broughton. Anyway after a slight mix up on the motorway and ending up at the Trafford Centre we finally arrived with a bare 11 after being let down at the last minute. We started like a house on fire and were 1 nil up after 5 minutes when Needham smashed one into the top corner from 30 yards. We continued to bombard the Mostonian goal and by the time Needham put us 2 nil up from a great through ball from Boas it should have been 5-0 at least. Going into half time we were in cruise control which ultimately led to our downfall. Mostonians had 3 attacks in the 2nd half and scored three goals if only we could have been that clinical it would of been double figures. Good performance but need to cut out conceding sloppy goals. - JS
Sat. 25th Sept 2010
Cup Rd 1

V

Hesketh Casuals (a)  1 - 2  (ht.1-1)
scorers : A. Needham  
With Hesketh being two divisions above us and near the top we knew it wasn't going to be easy. But if you were a neutral spectator you would have thought we were two leagues above them! Again we got of to a fantastic start, with little one twos all over the pitch and good movement off the ball. Our early pressure paid off with Needham coolly lobbing the keeper from the edge of the box. With all the pressure we put on them we should have extended the lead. But, it was Hesketh who scored next when we switched off for a split second, and that's how it stayed till half time. The 2nd half was the same with us having most of the possession, and just lacking that killer touch in the final 3rd. Man of the match McGill was winning all the flick-ons but we couldn't capitalise on any of these opportunities. We lived to regret it when Hesketh scored what turned out to be the winner from some slack clearing. Boas had the chance to equalise in the last minute but somehow missed an open goal from 3 yards out which challenges McGill's miss last week for miss of the century!!!. There is lots of positives to take from this performance, we are getting better and better each week. Just need to turn these performances into wins !!!! - JS
Sat. 2nd Oct 2010

V

Chaddertonians 'A'  (a)  1 - 2 (ht.1-2)
scorers :  K. Harford
With 5 players out from the previous week and a bare 11, we still expected to win - and we should have!! Well as usual we were one nil up after about 5 minutes, some quick thinking from a corner, Seddon and McGill did a quick one two which resulted in Seddon spanking a fierce drive on goal, with Chaddertonians full back doing his job on the post to save it but from the resulting scramble K.Harford tapped in the opener. But we weren't playing well and Chaddertonians got the equaliser albeit from a cross that made its way into the top corner. Again some slack marking let them in to score, what proved to be the winner, from a cross that should have been cut out. This was all in the first 20 minutes, the worst 20 we've played all season and we were lucky only to be 2-1 down! with Chaddertonians missing a penalty, which should never have been given to be fair. Anyway we seemed to come alive after that and had all off the possession for the rest off the game, with Chaddertonians restricted to the odd counter attack, but unfortunately we didn't create any real goal scoring opportunities and the game ended in disappointment. - JS
Sat. 9th Oct 2010

V

Rossendale Ams 'A'  (a)  1 - 2 (ht.1-1)
scorers :  P.Harford
With a full squad for the trip to Rossendale we had high hopes of coming away with 3 points and as per usual we got of to a fantastic start going one nil up thanks to a cool finish from P.Harford after being put through with a defence splitting ball from Boas. Both sides were cancelling each other out but Rossendale hit back with a scrappy goal just before half time. With us creating more chances than the previous week it looked inevitable we were going to score but we were guilty of fluffing some good chances and the goal didn't come. Rossendale punished us by scoring what turned out to be the winner due to to some slack defending. Again the performance wasn't bad and we didn't deserve to lose, but we've been saying that the last few weeks and we all know we need to start picking up points. Changes will be made next Saturday!!! If everyone keeps putting in 100% the results will come. - JS
Sat. 16th Oct 2010

V

Failsworth Dynamoes Res  (h)  3 - 2 (ht.1-1)
scorers :  R. Pomfret, A. Chattell, A. Needham
Finally!!!!!!! a result that matched our performance. After weeks of playing teams off the park and not taking three points, we got the win we needed to kick start our season. With the usual annoyance of trying to find a keeper a couple of hours before kick off, up stepped a Broughton legend Mr John Major to pull us out of the s**t. Word must have got around Major was back because 3 more Broughton legends came to watch McGill Snr, Seddon Snr and Pomfret Snr!!! and with the biggest crowd of the season watching we knew we had to perform. As usual we started like a bullet out of a gun and should have been 2 nil up after 10 minutes, but our enthusiasm to score backfired when Dynamoes scored on the break - after our corner. With some shocking tackles going in from Dynamoes we knew it was going to be a long tough game but knew we had the quality to get back into the game. After another bad foul on Myers we got a free kick on the touchline which was superbly whipped into the back post where Pomfret came from out of nowhere to smash in a volley. One-one it stayed till half time. After the break we kept the pressure on and it paid off when sub Chattle coolly slotted the ball home after a good move from the Broughton boys. At this point we were in total control and looked like scoring a third, the defence looked solid all game, so when Dynamoes scored their equaliser due to some slack clearing it was hard for the lads to keep there heads up, but they did !!!! Taking back the lead couple of minutes later when Needham (Mr Unorthodox) clipped the ball over the oncoming keeper. We also had the most obvious penalty ever turned down after McGill was brought down when just about to slot in the fourth. A fantastic performance by the whole team and well deserved win - roll on next sat!!! - JS
Sat. 23rd Oct 2010

V

Bacup United  (a)  1 - 7 (ht.0-0)
scorers :  A. Needham
One word SHOCKING, after going into the break all square and being on top, we looked like favourites to come away with 3 points, and when Needham put us 1 nil up we were cruising and if anything looked like scoring more. That's when it all went wrong, Bacup scored an unstoppable free-kick and soon afterward went 2 - 1 up when they scored a scabby goal from a cross that made its way into the top corner. That deflated the team and our heads dropped, which in turn boosted Bacup's confidence, and 10 mins later they were 7 - 1 up!!!. The final score did not reflect the game, but we must learn how to not collapse when a game starts to slip away!!! - JS
Sat. 30th Oct 2010

V

North Walkden  (h)  1 - 9 (ht.-) 
scorers :  J. Mottley
A shocking performance!!! The day started badly when 4 players (nice one lads) dropped out 2 hours before kick-off, leaving us with 8 men. Somehow we managed to scratch a team together, but it wasn't the strongest and considering we were playing top off the league who haven't lost all season, it wasn't looking good. That being said we never go into a game thinking were going to get beat and started the game well as we always do. For the first ten mins we were on top creating some good chances and should've took the lead a couple of times, buts that's the story of our season, missed chances. North Walkden took the lead due to bad tracking, but we equalised within minutes when Mottley used his pace to skin 3 players and slot the ball under the keeper. After that it was a horror show as the full time score reflects, it didn't help being down to ten men either thanks to some shocking behaviour by our stand in right back. All we can do now is make up for it next week. - JS
Sat. 6th Nov 2010

V

Astley Bridge  (h)  4 - 0 (ht.4-0) 
scorers :  A. Needham, P. Monks, T. Lannigan, own goal
Cant do a full report as i wasn't there, but as the result showed we got a greatly needed win, and from what i hear played really well. With half the team in Newcastle, Chris Bell got a team together which was a blend of the all teams. Playing a 4 3 3 formation worked a treat and with goals from Needham, Monks, Lannigan and an own goal - all in the first half won the game for us. The second half wasn't as good as the first but we kept a much needed clean sheet. Well done lads!!! JS
Sat. 13th Nov 2010

V

North Walkden  (a)  1 - 6 (ht.1-3)
scorers :  J. Seddon

As you can probably guess, as usual we started well, and went 1 nil up from the penalty spot when twinkle toed Monks got crunched in the penalty area, from the resulting penalty Seddon sent the keeper the wrong way to put us in front. After that we were holding our own against the league leaders for 15 minutes and created a couple of good chances (if Murchy had his shooting boots on we could of been 2 or 3 up) anyway North Walkden equalised after we switched off from a corner, and the 2nd and 3rd came shortly after due to slack marking. The second half was good, and in periods we played like the team that was 3 - 1 up, but like the story of our season we missed our chances to score and they didn't!! resulting in them scoring in the three or four counter attacks they had. We need to tighten are defence up if we want to move up the league. JS
Sat. 20th Nov 2010

V

Bacup United  (h)  0 - 3 (ht.0-1)
scorers :  -
A poor performance, we never really got out of first gear this week. All over the park we were 2nd best, and without man of the match C. Murch in nets it could have been a lot worse. I'm told by the manager next week there is going to be some changes, some people wont be happy, but things need to change as we are not winning games we should be doing. We have enough quality throughout the team to be challenging at the top. Hopefully we can turn the season around on Saturday with a good performance and more importantly a win!!!. JS
Sat. 11th Dec 2010

V

Ashtonians  (a)  2 - 3 (ht.1-2)
scorers :  P. Harford, A. Alston
Another 3 points that slipped through the net!! I've lost count of the times we should have won and haven't. After again being let down with people not turning up we set of Wigan with a bare 11, which included one of our strikers in nets, Cheers Chattle!!. We unusually got of to a slow start, think we were still asleep!! With Ashtonians going 2 nil up in the first 10 mins, one of which was a penalty - which was never a penalty. Anyway we started playing better and was starting to boss the match when twinkle toes Monks again got crunched just on the edge of box, and from the resulting free kick P.Harford curled the ball into the top corner with the last kick of the half. We stared the second half on fire and soon brought the game level with some slick one twos between Alston and McGill, Alston burst through and slotted past the keeper. Unfortunately with us pressing for the winner the referee gifted them the winner when he got in the way of a clearance which resulted in them scoring what turned out to be the winner. Also a mention for Matty Harrison who got man of the match at centre half, hopefully he can get a run of games together for the first time this season!!!. 3 big games coming up with the teams around us so need at least 7 points to get us out of a relegation dogfight that we shouldn't be in. JS
Sat. 8th Jan 2011

V

Mostonians Res  (h)  3 - 2 (ht.1-0)
scorers :  J. Seddon, K. Harford, R. Pomfret
We needed a good start to the year after a poor ending of 2010 and that's what we got with a gritty well deserved win. With the lads looking a couple of pounds heavier than they did a few weeks ago i knew we needed to get off to a good start. We dominated the possession for the first 10-15 mins and should have took the lead. After a mix up from the Mostonian keeper and defender we were awarded an indirect free-kick just inside the area, which resulted in Seddon clipping the ball over the flapping keeper. It was a lead we deserved, and we should have made it two or three before the break, but slack and rusty finishing let us down. With the defence looking solid we went into half time 1 nil up. The start of the second half was not good, we looked tired and lack lustre and Moston soon took advantage with two goals in the space of 5 minutes, at this point we were playing awful and did not look like getting back into the game, something needed to change. With P. Harford managing from the sidelines he could see what needed changing, with that he made a couple of shrewd substitutions which turned out to be a masterstroke!!. C. Murch came on and started taking control of the midfield, and Pomfret came on and looked good overlapping on the right. After some dogged work down the left, Iddon whipped in a superb cross which Myres somehow with the net gaping headed on to the bar, but luckily for us fell at the knees!!! yes Knees!!! (dont ask why he was on his knees) of K. Harford, who kneed it in from 1 inch out. With both teams looking to snatch a winner, Broughton looked the more likely and with wave after wave of attack we grabbed the winner with a deliciously curled shot from the edge of box by super-sub Pomfret !!!!. A good much needed win, lets hope we can keep up the undefeated streak for 2011 up. Ps special mention for man of the match Schultz who bust a gut in the centre of the park, well done. JS
Sat. 22nd Jan  2011

V

Radcliffe Town Res  (a)  1 - 3 (ht.0-2)
scorers :  C. Murch
After getting lost on the way there, we arrived with 2 mins to ko. Starting the game with out a proper warm up didn't help, but we got of to an ok start - that was till about 15 minutes in when we conceded 2 goals in as many minutes due to slack and sloppy tracking back and defending. That's how it stayed till half time. For most of the second half we dominated and with new signing Dan Burn playing well in the centre of the park we looked like we would get back into the game. But yet again another defensive lapse let Radcliffe in to get the 3rd totally against the run of play, C.Murch grabbed a late consolation in the last few minutes when he chipped over the keeper from a good through ball by K. Harford. But it was too little too late. We seriously need to stop conceding easy goals. Our goals against total this season is shocking and will need to be addressed.  JS
Sat. 5th Feb 2011

V

Astley Bridge (a)  1 - 2 (ht.0-0)
scorers :  P. Harford
This game should never have been played, 5 inches of mud everywhere, anyway it was the same for both teams but suited their direct style of football, which was rubbish!!! They got 2 scrappy goals in the second half which won them the match, P.Harford got our consolation. The ref and the pitch cost us a much needed 3 points. JS
Sat. 12th Feb 2011

V

Castle Hill Res (h)  2 - 3 (ht.1-1)
scorers :  W. Ormerod, M. McGill
Another game that slipped through the net. With us dominating most of the game it was very disappointing to lose. The only positive to come from the game was McGill's first of the season, a good right footed strike into the bottom corner. Ormerod also scored with a late run to the back post. We're in a relegation fight now and seriously need a good win next week. JS
Sat. 19th Feb 2011

V

Radcliffe Town Res (h)  2 - 0 (ht.1-0)
scorers :  J. Seddon,  P.Harford
Just what we needed and deserved, a fantastic 2 nil win against 2nd in the table who have only lost twice all season. From start to finish we bossed the game all over the park from defence looking solid, midfield working tirelessly and attack closing everything down. With a changed formation of 4-3-3 Radcliffe didn't know what to do. It was only a matter of time till we took the lead, and that's what we did, Seddon and Burn worked a short corner which saw Seddon burst into the box only to be taken out inside the area, Clear penalty!! to which Seddon confidently slotted in the bottom corner to make it 1 nil. After the break and a few substitutions man of the match K.Harford slipped his brother, P.Harford, through to double our lead. To be fair it could have been 5 nil overall if we took our chances. This could possibly be our best performance of the season and proves we can beat the best teams in this league. Lets just hope we can keep it up and get out of this relegation battle. JS
Sat. 5th Mar 2011

V

Rossendale Ams 'A' (h)  3 - 1 (ht.-)
scorers :  A. Needham, R. Murch, P. Monks
No report submitted.
Sat. 12th Mar 2011

V

Tottington United (a)  1 - 4 (ht.-)
scorers :  J. Seddon
No report submitted.
Sat. 9th Apr 2011

V

Castle Hill Res (a)  1 - 3 (ht.-)
scorers :  A. Chattell
No report submitted.
Tue. 19th Apr 2011

V

Chaddertonians 'A' (h)  5 - 2 (ht.-)
scorers :  J. Seddon 2, R. Murch, M. McGill, A. Needham
No report submitted.
Sat. 23rd Apr 2011

V

Bolton Wyresdale Res (a)  1 - 1 (ht.-)
scorers :  J. Seddon
No report submitted.
Sat. 7th May 2011

V

Failsworth Dynamoes Res (a)  1 - 2 (ht.-)
scorers :  P. Harford
No report submitted.


Click one of these links to see seasons details for that team.
1st Team  -   2nd Team  -  3rd Team   -  4th Team   -  Friendlies / Vets

3rd Team

Table, Results and Match Reports for 2010/2011 season

POS Division 6 - North P W D L F A GD PTS
1  Rossendale Ams 'C' 20 14 3 3 69 35 34 45
2  Prestwich 'A' 20 14 2 4 72 35 37 44
3  Thornleigh 'A' 20 12 3 5 67 35 32 39
4  Broughton Ams 'A' 20 12 2 6 63 44 19 38
5  Old Blackburnians 'B' 20 12 1 7 73 54 19 37
6  Tottington United Res 20 8 4 8 56 66 -10 28
7  Hesketh Casuals 'B' 20 7 5 8 47 60 -13 26
8  Broughton Ams 'B' 20 7 4 9 51 59 -8 25
9  Rossendale Ams 'D' 20 4 2 14 35 74 -39 14
10  Horwich RMI 'A' 20 2 4 14 35 67 -32 10
11  Bolton Wyresdale 'B' 20 1 4 15 26 65 -39 7

3rd Team Cup Final Squad
Sat. 7th May 2011

Back Row: Mick Bowerman, Fraser Farrington, Carl Duffy, Tom Lowcock, Tom Lannigan, Rob Pomfret, Ashley Butterworth,
Marcin Mierzejewski, Richard Grundy, Chris Fillingham.
Front row: Simon Rawsthorn (Capt), Jim McHugh, Simon Hurst, Daniel Cook, Ian Winn (Manager).

3rd Team Results, Scorers and Match Reports

Sat. 28th Aug 2010

V

Bolton Wyresdale 'B'  (h)  5 - 0 (ht.3-0)
scorers :  D. Cook, G. Halse 2, og, M. Mierzejewski
Groundhog day I thought occurs sometime in February but not in our part of Lancashire, where in spite of celebrating "promotion" at the end of last season we still find ourselves in the same league on the first day of the season late in August. A league re-organisation on the basis of geography and new clubs is the reason - although the allocation of clubs to north and south sections in the league demonstrates an absence of geographical ability to rival the late Jade Goody (who you may remember did not know where East Anglia was). The usual problems of getting a team out for the start of the season on a bank holiday manifested itself and although we had a strong 11 on the pitch we had to rely on a blend of experience and more experience in the subs with Major and Winn demonstrating that whilst the first couple of yards are in the head that's also where it tends to stay these days. However the opponents centre forward, Morgan Freeman, did make these two look mere whipper-snappers in comparison. As for the game well we totally dominated possession in the first half and played some excellent football, all be it that we were abetted in this by Wyresdale standing off us. Lannigan and Cook down our right side saw most of the ball in the first 25 minutes and used it well. After going close on a number of occasions Cook eventually got the first one. The second came from a penalty converted nonchalantly by Halse. The third was again finished well by Halse after a twinkle-toed moment from Lathom (who spent the first half making a good go of being a Jan Molby look-a-likey, only without that odd Danish Scouse accent). Within 5 minutes of the restart we were 4 nil up, when a pass out from defending a corner resulted in Halse breaking and squaring for McHugh to terrorise their defender into slotting into his own goal. After this complacency possibly took over and we dropped off a little. Grundy decided he needed some practice and threw one to their winger to see if he could score from 30 yards - fortunately it hit the bar and bounced out so protecting his clean sheet. In the last 15 minutes Marcin got ever more adventurous from centre half, culminating in him slotting in the fifth from a free kick directed to him, and causing our venerable webmeister consternation as he realised he would have to spell his surname correctly. A pleasing performance in terms of passing and movement but lets not kid ourselves its going to get tougher than this in the weeks to come. - IW
Sat. 4th Sept 2010

V

Horwich RMI 'A'  (a)  5 - 1 (ht.2-0)
scorers :  F. Farrington 2, G. Halse, L. Gavigan, D. Low

In the end a comfortable win against a team who proved awkward to say the least. On a firm pitch Horwich played to what was their advantage, which was to lump it forward as quickly as possible to their big centre forward - they had clearly been schooled by Charles Hughes the original doyen of POMO (go on google it!) or simply watched too many John Beck sides. To the credit of Tom Lowcock and Jim Mchugh (an emergency centre half and to quote his facebook entry the oldest player on the pitch - no you just looked the oldest player on the pitch!) they just about dealt with the threat. In footballing terms we did not quite reach last weeks standards but we did create any number of chances. At half time we were two nil up thanks to a tap in from Farrington, after good work from Cook, and a penalty converted with aplomb by Halse, again after good work by Cook. In the second half we should have been out of sight after missing some glaring chance - Halse (in spite of his top scorer status) being the worst offender. However after a quickly taken free kick, when Horwich demonstrated they were awake and we weren't, they pegged a goal back. It was to prove the one blip. Farrington got another one but also went down with cramp after 55 minutes. Gavigan made a welcome return from injury from the subs bench scoring one and missing one glaring chance. In the last few minutes a great ball from Halse found Doug "Lanners" Low leaping like a salmon to notch the fifth. A final word of mention for the referee, who in spite of being four feet nothing and 16, put some of his older colleagues to shame and had a very good game. - IW
Sat. 11th Sept 2010

V

Tottington Utd Res  (a)  3 - 2 (ht.2-2)
scorers :  R. Grundy, S. Rawsthorn, L. Gavigan
Victories always taste better when you have to work to achieve them and this result certainly fell into that category. Given that it's early season the side was once again shuffled to deal with absences and McBowerman Snr made his first competitive start of the season a few pounds lighter monetarily, and a few pounds heavier round the middle after his travels (and travails) with the Tartan Army. Our opponents were a number of notches up from what we had so far encountered this season and dominated the early part of the game, yet we looked dangerous on the rare breaks we managed. It was through two breaks that we found ourselves 2 nil up after 25 minutes. First good work from Gavigan and Cook found Grundy unmarked in the six yard box to convert (quite what our left back was doing in such an advanced position I have no idea) and then Rawsthorn chasing down a Cook shot scored from the goalies fumble. At this point we should have gone on and killed the game, however we didn't. Two cracking goals from their centre forward, which would have graced a game far better than ours but which also were the result of a failure by us to get tight enough meant that at half time it was all square. The second half followed a similar pattern to the first with our opponents dominating possession but with us looking dangerous every time we broke. Our third goal came when Farrington woke up from his first half slumbers and his good work created a chance for Gavigan to smash it into the net from about 6 inches. Hurst kept our lead intact with one particularly spectacular flying "spiderpig" save and looked solid (no pun intended) throughout. It was good to see Gavigan play 90 minutes, even though he was clutching most parts of his anatomy by the end and got one in the crown jewels, where the referee demonstrated his need for a visit to Spec Savers by awarding a free kick for handball. - IW
Sat. 18th Sept 2010

V

BROUGHTON AMS 'B'  (h)  6 - 2 (ht.2-2)
scorers :  L. Gavigan 2, G. Halse 2, T. Lowcock, S. Rawsthorn
A real cracking derby game ended with the 3rds coming out on top. 3rds started much the stronger and Leroy cracked a crisp half volley into the bottom corner after 3 mins and for the next 15 mins the 3rds dominated and were disappointed not to add to that good start, Simon striking the bar with one good effort. The 4ths came back into the game but as they started to get a foothold the 3rds scored a second, when Leroy headed against the bar and Halse followed up to knock the loose ball in. But back came the 4ths and they started enjoying more possession and spent more time in the oppositions half which after 30 mins  resulted in them pulling a goal back when Mick B was pressured into scoring an own goal. The 3rds had keeper Hurst to thank for making a great double save but the comeback was complete when Chris B evaded a tackle out wide on the edge of the 18 yard box then smashed the ball past the helpless keeper. It stayed at 2-2 till ht when both managers had strong words for their teams, one for a bad start and one for a bad finish to the 1st half. There was little between the teams during the first part of the 2nd half both teams battling hard and probing but no-one able to break the deadlock then came the moment upon which the game turned. a penalty was awarded to the 3rds when as they attacked down the left a cross struck the arm of a defender and the ref didn't hesitate in pointing to the spot. Whilst the "handball" was probably accidental it did stop the ball getting to an attacker. Either way Halse despatched the spot kick coolly. The 3rds then grew in confidence whilst the 4ths slipped the other way !! So the 3rds added 3 more goals two of which were great strikes from Lowcock and Gavigan with an opportunist strike from Rawsthorn in there as well. Gavigan always posed a threat for the 3rds while Rick Fenton was outstanding for the 4ths. In summary the 3rds deserved the win but the margin flattered them a little.
Sat. 25th Sept 2010
Cup Rd 1

V

Horwich RMI 'A' (a)  3 - 1  (ht.2-1)
scorers : G. Halse, S. Rawsthorn, D. Cook  
A return visit to the scene of a straight forward victory three weeks ago and undoubtedly there was a certain amount of complacency around both the performance and result. First 10 minutes we started really well playing some decent football with Doug "Lanners" Low getting involved with some marauding runs from left back - dispelling the myth he can't play left back and uses his left leg purely for standing on. However once it was clear we could attack at will and presumably score at will we shifted into first gear - from which we never moved from. On a better day Gavigan could have had a hatrick, bringing to mind what Hoddle once said about Andrew Cole (and it had nothing to do with faith healers, the disabled or karma). Halse scored from the now obligatory penalty and Rawsthorn scored with a well taken goal before their centre forward, Hagrid, found more space in the area than he should have done to convert a good header. The second half continued in the same vein with us barely raising a sweat or tempo and we scored a third from a 20 yard effort by Cook. A comfortable victory but more urgency and tempo will be required in weeks to come. - IW
Sat 2nd Oct 2010

V

Rossendale Ams 'C' (a)  1 - 2 (ht.0-1) KO: 2.30pm
scorers :  D. Low
There are two types of defeat; one where you are completely out of your depth and simply thankful that a game lasts only 90 minutes and pubs still sell beer and then there are those when you under perform or are robbed - and the pubs still sell beer it just that it doesn’t taste very nice. This result was the later and took the shine off my Saturday night (that and being forced to watch X Factor). In a first half when we created enough chances to win three games not just one, yet we managed to reach the break one down when our opponents scored with their only half chance of the first 45minutes – it was however a very smart finish from a poor clearance. Patience and composure was called for at half time and our reward would come. Sadly neither was present as we managed to give away a disputed penalty within the first 10 minutes. Thankfully a combination of Hurst’s intimidating physical presence and their forwards club foot resulted in one of the worst taken penalties many have seen – it wasn’t even close to troubling the goal. The hope was that would prove a turning point, and we continued to create chances all be it that they were increasingly coming from long balls to our speedy forward Gavigan, rather than through composed, patient football. Eventually we equalised after an assist from Rawsthorn (proving that he does have eyes in the back of his head or is that two faces), the ball bouncing off his back into the path of Doug “Lanners” Low who steered his shot into the corner of the net. We had further chances hitting the post and their goalie pulling off some decent saves. However in the last quarter our opponents increasingly came into the game finding time in midfield and space behind our full backs. When they hit the post and Hurst saved well with his feet that should have been a wake-up call, however it was not. With a matter of minutes to go they scored the winner from a shot from the edge of the penalty area – probably their fourth or fifth attempt on goal. No matter what we may think the only stat that matters is the final score – hopefully this was a salutary reminder to us that if we want to do well in the league we are going to have to work harder. - IW
Sat. 9th Oct 2010

V

Thornleigh 'A'  (h)  1 - 0 (ht.1-0)
scorers :  S. Rawsthorn
For the first time this season almost a full compliment of players and selection dilemmas a plenty - time for some lateral thinking or not as the case may be! A first half display that was competent but not much more. There were some occasional moments of good football and we created a number of chances with only one being converted by Rawsthorn. Second half we got worse we lost shape and stopped doing the simple things of passing to a fellow player in a red shirt. We were assisted by the fact that the referee, who was being assessed by an octogenarian with glasses, sent one of their players off mid way through the second half when he attempted to throw a punch at Pete Monks (how many have been tempted to do that!). However once they were down to 10 men it was difficult to tell which side was a man short. Monks still had time to hit the post from an "up and under" (he claims it was "a long range lob") but that was probably our best chance of the half. Some odd substitutions and positional changes from the manager led to a further loss of shape, although McBowerman showed a couple of Archie Gemmill glimpses in an unfamiliar central midfield role (if only he had a left foot ... and a right one). The defence came out of the game with credit and a rare clean sheet for Hurst and we got three points - enough said. - IW
Sat. 16th Oct 2010

V

Rossendale Ams 'D' (a)  5 - 2 (ht.2-1)
scorers :  T. Lannigan 2, L. Gavigan, R. Grundy, D. Cook
Second time in a fortnight that we returned to the foothills of the Pennines to play a game, and expecting a better return than the last time. The manager, possibly learning his craft from Benitez, indulged in a bout of squad rotation and man management - informing the team before hand that it had been a difficult task to select the subs as all the team had been crap the week before. We started the game playing 10 men and yet like the previous week you would not have known it. They took the lead through a smart finish from their number 9, who was a thorn in our side all afternoon and yet inexplicably was taken off with 20 minutes to go. With 10 men our opponents dropped off us and conceded space and possession yet too often we simply resorted to humping the ball long as there was an absence of movement off the ball. We did create chances and eventually from a dead ball we equalised through a goal from Tom "Low" Lannigan who bundled the ball over from close range. Lannigan scored a second before half time with a good strike from 20 yards out. In the second half we did start creating more chances and our opponents seemed to run out of belief and confidence. Our third was scored by Gavigan, ending something of a goal drought for him. Our fourth came from deep in our own half when Grundy opened his legs and embarked on a 70 yard odyssey which culminated in him rounding the keeper, slotting into an empty net and then executing a bow to the non existent crowd. Cook finished the scoring with a good strike from distance. Their keeper was a mixed bag of some very good stops, which prevented us extending our lead, and some moments of ineptitude. Chris Fillingham looked assured at centre half, even allowing for his booking, which whilst not necessarily merited was probably "karma" for his unpunished challenge at the same location two weeks ago. Special mention should also go to the teams "metrosexual" - Halse, who sported shocking pink boots (to go with the man bag, purse and probably moisturiser). - IW
Sat. 23rd Oct 2010

V

Prestwich 'A'  (h)  2 - 4 (ht.0-3)
scorers :  P. Monks, L. Gavigan
There are some games when you have no choice but to accept that you were second best, and no matter what myriad of excuses you use (mole hills was one!) the simple truth is that you weren’t good enough on the day. This match was one of those games. In the first half we created chances Lannigan hitting the bar, Rawsthorn making the keeper save smartly and Gavigan managing to miss from a yard out – however every time our opponents moved the ball forward at pace we looked exposed. We were one nil down with about twenty minutes gone but by no means out of it, but then a mad 5 minutes just before the break saw us go three nil down. The sad truth was that when we didn’t have the ball we simply did not work hard enough to get it back and they had players who could make us pay. We also were out muscled by our opponents. Second half and we managed to reduce the arrears when Monks smashed one in from the edge of the area (I could be overstating this a tad given it took a deflection). However we very quickly managed to shoot ourselves in the foot when through non existent marking we managed to give away a fourth. There was no way back now even though we did get a second when Gavigan tapped in after a cross from Halse. No smart arsed comments or references to eigthties football this week – hopefully normal service will be resumed next week when we realise that it is just as important to work when you don’t have the ball as when you have it. - IW
Sat. 30th Oct 2010

V

Hesketh Casuals 'B' (a)  3 - 0 (ht.1-0)
scorers :  D. Cook 2, L. Gavigan
A return to winning ways and a clean sheet which made the Saturday night curry taste nicer and X Factor almost bearable. Absences in the first team meant that we had to shuffle the pack to cover Rawsthorn and Lannigan's promotion - and as a mark of respect to our promoted captain we even retired his "infamous" no 4 shirt for the game. We also welcomed Adam Huddlestone back in goal, the last time he had played for us he was a single man about to get married and that was April, not sure if this was the first time he had been let out of the house. Craig "The Fridge" Lathom was rewarded for his patience with a start and almost scored from a smart header inside the first 5 minutes. We didn't have to wait long to take the lead when Gavigan rose like a wardrobe (sorry salmon) to head in from a corner from Cook. The first half was a mixed bag with some good moments from Gavigan, Cook and Butterworth but punctuated by moments of lack of concentration - although Huddlestone rarely had a save to make. Second half saw a few forced changes due to injury with Grundy departing from a tweaked hamstring after one too many overlapping runs (it sounds better than the real reason) and for the first ten minutes our opponents had plenty of the ball and possession without ever really threatening. After that we took control of the game with Halse eventually assuming the position he had been given at the start of the game and having a storming last 30 minutes - unfortunately he continues to endure a scoreless run in his pink boots so I fear we could be about to endure a change of colour next week to magenta? Cook scored twice and Gavigan yet again had a number of chances proving the old adage wrong about lottery tickets and winning. One minor scare at the end when McBowerman tried to emulate his heroes and defend in a Scottish way, and simply succeeded in playing a one two off the post. A final mention for Monks who always moans about his lack of credit in the match reports - Monks washed the kit !! An update will be provided next week about how well he did it. - IW
Sat. 20th Nov 2010

V

Thornleigh 'A'  (a)  2 - 2 (ht.0-1)
scorers :  G. Halse, L. Gavigan
First match for three weeks and the manager was faced with any number of selection dilemmas in mid week, with two goalkeepers and 15 outfield players to select from. However it never quite works out that like that. Lannigan failed a late fitness test on his knee, probably not helped by the fact he was paralytic the previous night/ Saturday morning? (I am sure any alcohol taken would have been for purely medicinal reasons). So we left the Winger with 12 able bodied players and a 42 year old sub to terrify them from the bench. Nothing against Thornleigh as a club, but I hate playing at Moss Bank Park and the game certainly bore that out. After only 5 minutes it became clear that our referee for the day had clearly got out of the wrong side of the bed or just had a row with his wife and we were going to bear the brunt. His zero tolerance approach to dissent seemed to take in not just any direct remarks of an industrial nature made towards to him but also any comments/ scowls/ outward signs of expression displayed in any form to anyone including dog walkers in the park. However as bad as the referee was with regard to his attitude we managed to trump that with ours in the first half. The first fifteen minutes were relatively even with Rawsthorne blazing over when put through. However once we had picked up three bookings for amongst other things admiring nature, a professional trip and "looking" we lost our heads and were abysmal (prams, rattles, man-bags all spring to mind). The game was stopped midway through the first half to remove a dog turd from the pitch - I will leave you to draw your own analogies or punch lines. We were lucky to be only one down at half time. The manager went for the cerebral approach with his team talk and proceed to rant that everyone was crap and he could have been at Old Trafford watching United and then flounced off in a huff - leaving the players to sort out tactics for the second half (which is probably an improvement on most weeks). To be fair the second half was an improvement and a good first twenty minutes saw us first draw level through a theatrical dive from Rawsthorne earning a penalty for Halse to convert - and so break his duck in the jinxed pink boots - and then take the lead from a header from Gavigan. However Thornleigh continued to create chances and only some great stops from man of the match Hurst in goal and some good defending by Fillingham stopped them going on to win it once they had equalised from a poorly defended set piece. It was strange that the referee never booked an opponent for dissent and it remains to be seen whether he ever sent off their Number 9 who decided our linesman was a cheat of East German proportions and made his case in very loud, robust terms which the ref was unable to hear but could be heard at the Reebok - four miles away. - IW
Sat. 8th Jan 2011

V

BROUGHTON AMS 'B' (a)  4 - 2 (ht.0-0)
scorers :  T. Lannigan, C. Duffy 2, D. Cook
A return to league action after an extended Christmas lay-off and the local derby to boot. The pitch could best be described as “squidgy” in places and bumpy through out, not a pitch suited to playing football - which probably suited both teams. 3rds had the best of the first 25 minutes, with the back four organised well and with a little more composure any one of Gaivigan, Ralse or Rawsthorne could have scored – however they didn’t. For the remainder of the first half 4ths got on top as 3rds yielded space in front of their back four when defending and being like a banker (or something else sounding like this) in possession of the ball (reckless and negligent). 3rds could, and perhaps should have conceded during this period but didn’t thanks to some tidy keeping by Hurst – who had taken advantage of the winter break to indulge in some conditioning training in Vegas. The second half started with 3rds back on top and eventually they took the lead through a smartly taken goal from Lannigan. 3rds brought on couple of substitutes to freshen things up, and this appeared to work when Duffy scored the second with a cool finish. The Fourths however refused to buckle and continued to create chances reducing the deficit with a goal by McCrudden. Duffy was then gifted his second by a cushioned header from one of the Fourths defenders. Yet the Fourths still came back scoring again through Sanders before Duffy having run from his own half won a penalty, which he failed to convert for his hatrick but from which (eventually) Cook tapped in.
Sat. 22nd Jan 2011

V

Prestwich 'A' (a)  2 - 6 (ht.2-4)
scorers :  L. Gavigan, S. Rawsthorn
Surprisingly in spite of the sub zero temperatures in Preston this game was on in Manchester, and we found ourselves travelling 35 miles South for a league game in Div 6 North - by my reckoning the Div 6 South of the LAL encompasses most of Cheshire and North Staffordshire. In spite of a number of players being unavailable we had what should have been a strong side out. We started well for the first twenty minutes taking the lead when Gavigan headed in from a cross stood up for him by Farrington. We looked in control and were stretching the play making good use of the wide but short pitch (a description which could be used for our goalkeeper). Inexplicably we then handed Prestwich two goals on a plate - one direct from a corner and one from a long punt up field. We still managed to equalise when Rawsthorn, after a good move, shinned one into the top corner. However no sooner had we equalised than we found ourselves 4:2 down after a combination of poor marking and a failure to clear our lines when needed. Gavigan still found time in the first half at 3:2 down to beat almost all their team in a mazy run before somehow shooting wide after rounding the keeper. Lax marking in the second half produced a fifth goal for our opponents 5 minutes into the second half which effectively killed off the game. We continued to try but the game had gone. IW
Sat. 12th Feb 2011

V

O.Blackburnians 'B' (h)  2 - 1 (ht.0-1)
scorers :  F. Farrington, A. Butterworth
Following from a disastrous result at Prestwich two weeks ago, this was a must win game against top of league if we had any ambitions of promotion. With Manager Winn on a scouting mission at the Manchester derby, Simon Rawsthorn took charge. With this came a new formation 3-2-3-2, the players look when told was 'what is this idiot talking about', which later proved to be a stroke of genius as every player and as a team produced arguably our best performance of an up and down season. Old Blacks turned up with 5 subs, a few players who looked like from higher teams not in action, but this did not effect our performance and in spite of going in 1-0 down from a freak 40 yard free-kick, we had dominated all areas with Mick B replacing the injured Jim after 30mins, we kept the same system. The 2nd half was full of action, and as we continued to dictate play they got ruffled and on 55mins a former Broughton player was shown a straight red for head butting Lowcock. We continued to create many chances with Rawsthorn, Halse, Butterworth and Farrington all working the keeper. Old Blacks then went down to nine when a two footed lunge on Farrington came another Red Card which also saw Gavigan yellow carded for a shove. A change was made Duffy replacing Gavigan, to ensure he didn't get sent off too, and within minutes Duffy crossed for Farrington to expertly volley home from 8yrds. 1-1 with 5mins to go we continued to push hard and spent virtually all that time in their half and it was Cook who provided the pass for Butterworth to fire low from the edge of box with a minute to spare. A thoroughly deserved result and this must not slip next week at home to Tottington Res. - SR
Sat. 19th Feb 2011

V

Tottington Utd Res (h)  3 - 3 (ht.2-2)
scorers :  D. Cook 2, M. Bowerman
After last weeks victory against one of our rivals for promotion this should have been an opportunity to consolidate our position, unfortunately we wasted it. Our opponents arrived over 30 minutes late, timekeeping and directions clearly not their forte. After the successful tactical switch last week by Simon "Mourinho" Rawsthorn to a 3-1-4-1-1 formation, to avoid confusion we started with the same set-up. Two nil up within 25 minutes it was clearly working, Cook getting both goals, the first a stunning volley from a cross from Rawsthorn and the second a shot from 15 yrds. The wheels then came off as a sloppy, careless period either side of half time cost us three goals. The first a comedy of errors, the second a penalty decision the referee should never have had to opine on if we had defended properly and the third the result of trying to play some deft touches that would not have looked out of place on Wembley - unfortunately we were playing on a bog in Broughton. To be fair we continued to play some football in patches, Halse hitting the post, McBowerman having one cleared off the line by Rawsthorn!! and another series of near misses. We eventually equalised from a corner when McBowerman forced home from close range. In patches we played some good football on a pitch not exactly conducive to it, but more often than not our casualness and complacency cost us and ultimately prevented us from getting the three points we needed. - IW
Sat. 5th Mar 2011

V

Bolton Wyresdale 'B' (a)  4 - 1 (ht.4-1)
scorers :  G. Halse, L. Gavigan, C. Fillingham, C. Duffy
A game against the team bottom of the league should have been a chance to accumulate three point and some goals - however it did not always work out like that. Injuries and unavailability had meant that we had a surfeit of attackers and a shortage of defenders. We started brightly, up the hill, with Gavigan finding lots of opportunity to exploit his pace behind their back four. However the fell running soon took its toll and our early promise dimmed. Inexplicably after twenty or so minutes we found ourselves 1 down after a under hit back pass by Rawsthorn gave their forward an easy chance to score - Rawsthorn clearly thought our goalkeeper was a finely tuned athlete able to cover 100 metres in sub 10 seconds rather than a Subway inspired athlete. It proved to be a brief lead with Halse equalising from close range, the first goal notched from open play in his pink boots (perhaps now they can go in the bin?) and Fillingham striding forward to score from 35 yards with a hopeful punt (sorry screamer) to put us in the lead. Gavigan managed to hit the post before scoring with a diving header after good work by Holding. Duffy woke from his slumbers to score the fourth. Four one up at half time and playing downhill in the second it was surely just a matter of who would not score - wrong. Nothing to say about the second half as it was a dull, uneventful, tepid performance which has already been forgotten. McBowerman gets a mention for another competent performance as the shield in front of the back three, he might not be quite Claude Makelele but at least he is no longer doing an impression of Gary Neville. And a final mention for Morgan Freeman, who in spite of being an international movie star, continues to find time to turn out for Wyresdale and at the age of 82 must be the oldest active player in the league. - IW
Sat. 12th Mar 2011

V

Rossendale Ams 'C' (h)  1 - 3 (ht.-)
scorers :  D. Cook
Manager refused to speak with press so no match report available !!!
Sat. 19th Mar 2011

V

Hesketh Casuals 'B' (h)  3 - 4 (ht1.-0)
scorers :  L. Gavigan, J. McHugh, R. Pomfret
After the "Fergie" inspired media silence following defeat to Rossendale (ie. no match report last week) normal service was restored against Hesketh Under 12's. A hand injury to Rawsthorn, not caused by "self love" but due to him hitting a window which had the audacity to give a throw-in decision the wrong way, forced the retirement of the No 4 shirt and Hurst to be installed as skipper. Hurst provide the pre match entertainment with a medley of Classic Manchester tunes on his ipod, which made our bona fide Manc, Bell (who was helping out from the seconds), feel at home, and should have had the effect of making us "Mad Ferrit!". Sadly Made of Stone by the Stone Roses summed up our last five minutes of the game - but more of that later. We dominated the first half without playing too much football. Our opponents when defending simply left one up front which should have allowed our back three to play from the back - unfortunately most of the time the ball seemed to end up at the feet of Lowcock whose club feet proceeded to knock it anywhere but to a red shirt. McHugh was probably the pick of our midfield in the first half with a number of attempts on goal. We eventually broke the deadlock when Gavigan scored from close range. After half time we continued to create some chances but our lack of legs in midfield allowed our youthful opponents to begin to get a foothold. Bowerman and Lathom were substituted before they expired, and Grundy was taking on water on an industrial scale to try and re-hydrate himself. Skip Hurst at this stage was keeping them out on his own with a double save, the pick. However the inevitable finally came and they equalised. We took the lead again when McHugh crossed from the right and deceived the goalie into simply watching it go over his head. 2:1 up with 7 minutes to go. Hesketh then equalised but almost immediately we were back in the lead when Pomfret charged down a clearance with his knob which went straight back into their goal. However there was no chance for him to celebrate a) because he was bent double in tears and b) Hesketh then went and equalised after their centre forward was allowed to run through and beat Hurst. Then with the last kick of the game a long punt from their keeper bounced off the top of the last defender Bell's head (it was an attempt to head back to Hurst which failed) falling into the path of their centre forward who rounded Hurst to score the winner. Our inability to defend and our lack of energy in the last 15 minutes had cost us - at least we can concentrate on the cup. - IW
Sat. 26th Mar 2011

V

O.Blackburnians 'B' (a)  1 - 4 (ht.1-1)
scorers :  C. Duffy
There has been some competition just recently, but this by a country mile was our worst performance of the season. After only 2 minutes we were ahead when Duffy chased down a long punt up field by Pomfret, it somehow went through the legs of their veteran defender and Duffy was able to take advantage and slot home. Looking at their backline, which had an average age of 62, and their erratic keeper it looked at this point that this would be doddle. Unfortunately they had legs and guile in midfield and two forwards who made our defence look like mugs. Before equalising they managed to hit the bar twice and the post at least once. At half time it was one all and possibly a chance for things to pick up in the second half? For the first 10-15 minutes of the second half we began to hold our own and during this period Farrington managed to miss a sitter with his head from inches out. However this was the last time we were in the game - they took the lead and for the last half an hour ran us ragged scoring another two but probably could have had more. Butterworth tried gamely to make an impression on the game, but like the rest of our midfield found himself being bypassed by superior movement and passing. - IW
Sat. 2nd Apr 2011

V

Rossendale Ams 'D' (h)  5 - 3 (ht.3-1)
scorers :  R. Grundy, P. Harford, F. Farringtom, S. Rawsthorn
In spite of only having to put two teams out the struggles to get 11 players on the field this Saturday proved testing. We welcomed Chris Bell, Paul Harford, Pommy (again) and Seddy (just about sober) from the seconds and Craig Lathom from oblivion. Fingers were crossed that we could arrest our recent slide in results. Clearly they were not very well crossed when after only a few minutes our opponents took the lead. The next twenty or so minutes were just a continuation of our recent poor performances - a change of formation not working when clearly we needed to revert to 4-5-2 (do the math as the Americans say). Slowly we got a foothold in the game and equalised when Grundy shinned in from 10 yards. Our second came from a piece of kamikaze play by their keeper who managed to throw the ball almost straight to Paul Harford and then palmed his resultant shot into the roof of the net. Our third came from the slightest of touches from Faz's fringe. We increased our lead in the second half when Faz scored with his second header of the game. Four - one up and cruising but our capacity for self destruct is never far away. A couple of soft goals for them and three more bookings to add to the mounting tally of fines we are accumulating and suddenly from nothing our opponents were back in the game. However we just about managed to keep our collective cool - although I will exclude Simon "Mr. Angry" Rawsthorn from that - and scored our fifth when Rawsthorn finished after a defensive lapse. Full marks go to Hurst who allowed a free kick to sail directly into his own goal, knowing it was an indirect free kick, and Holding who was an oasis of calm when all around were losing theirs. - IW
Mon. 4th Apr 2011
Cup Rd 2

V

Bolton Wyresdale 'A' (a)  3 - 1  (ht.0-0)
scorers : J. McHugh, C. Duffy, D.Cook  
The cup is all we have to play for now in what has been a disappointing season to say the least. With many changes again from weekend we were only side who looked like winning this game from the off, although Hursty was caught out positionally a few times though he claimed this was wind aided and the fact we were using a £2.99 Sondico fly away ball. Anyway Duffy and Rawsthorn both had good first half chances, one from a speculative back heel by Monks splitting their defence in half and spaces across their back line were plentiful so it was only a matter of time. It came early in the 2nd half when McHugh followed up a knockdown from Duffy to round the keeper and smash into the roof of the net. It was soon 2-0 as a long ball by Hursty cleared their defence for Rawsthorn to intercept and round their keeper before pulling back to Duffy who then waltzed in between two defenders in the 6yrd box to slot home. Our defence who were comfortable for the most part, had their now trademark lapse for 5mins which allowed them to score a scrappy goal, but the result was never really in doubt and good link play from Farrington and Rawsthorn allowed Cook to tidily curl low into the bottom right from the edge of the box. We now look forward to a Semi Final and see if we can make it two finals in 3 seasons. - SR
Sat. 9th Apr 2011

V

Horwich RMA 'A' (h)  5 - 2 (ht.3-1)
scorers :  M. Mierzejewski 2, S. Rawsthorn, F. Farrington, C. Duffy
It's that time of the season when even with only two teams to put out it is a struggle. Shopping, injuries, holidays and IKEA deliveries had taken its toll on numbers with the result that Major was drafted into goal and Birch was on the subs bench. We also welcomed back Marcin who agreed to play at the 11th hour (it was actually about 11.30am), probably down to the fact that he was promised a starting role as centre forward. We lined up 4-3-3, with a good old fashioned, traditional English Centre Forward - ie. big fella useful in the air - who just happened to be Polish. Birch on the subs bench with his first team manager's airs and graces spent the first ten minutes questioning the virtues of Marcin as a centre forward - however he was soon made to eat his words when Marcin scored the first two goals both perfect examples of the centre forwards art. To be fair we were on top most of the first half and carved out a number of chances, the best effort coming from Pomfret with a free kick curled onto the bar with Farrington just failing to head in the rebound. However for the last 10 minutes of the first half and at the beginning of the second half we let our opponents begin to get a foothold in the game. We extended our lead when Rawsthorn latched onto a through ball and shinned it in from 15 yards. Our opponents got one back when they scored from a poorly defended corner, so denying Major a clean sheet. Marcin's chance for a hat-trick came when he had the opportunity to convert a penalty won by McBowerman Jnr, however perhaps displaying more centre half than centre forward he crashed his penalty against the bar. There was still time for Farrington to score with another header, our opponents to convert their own penalty, and Duffy to score the fifth and final goal (when both he and Rawsthorn should have squared for Birch to notch). The game finished for us with two forty plus players and one fifty plus player on the pitch - you can't beat experience. So the end of what has been a disappointing league season and we look forward to next season and how the League will "dick" about with geography and put Lymm A in our North section! - IW.
PS. Cup Semi (and then Final ?) to sort out before season actually concludes.
Sat. 30th Apr 2011
Cup Semi

V

Hesketh Casuals 'A' (h)  4 - 0  (ht.1-0)
scorers : A. Butterworth, D. Cook, R. Grundy, C. Duffy  
Its been a long time coming but this was possibly our best performance of the season - we even managed a clean sheet. However the match almost never took place. As it was a semi final we had a team of three officials to officiate. Unfortunately the referee had clearly got out of bed the wrong side, and was clearly not sharing in the general post Royal Wedding glow. In spite of of the fact that the pitch had been freshly cut, and for Broughton looked in good nick, it was not up to the standard required by our "officious" official. His inability to see the lines, which said more about his eye sight than our lines, and a lack of ropes round the pitch (which I would have gladly strangled him with) meant that the pitch did not meet his "high" standards and he was not prepared to officiate the game. Frankly the mood he was in he would have found fault with Wembley stadium. There followed a tense 15 minute stand off when in spite of intervention from our opposition (who also attracted his ire) and calls with the league secretary it appeared he would carry through his threat not to officiate the game. He eventually relented and informed us that not content with reporting us to the league he had gone higher than that, whether Kofi Annan is now debating at the UN about the lack of ropes at Broughton I know not. But for a brief moment in the second half when once again he seemed to lose any grip he had on reality the referee and his two assistants refereed the game very well. Just a shame that our referee's absence of proportion or common sense, and a complete lack of a sense of humour means that I have just written a paragraph on him - hopefully he won't read this.
To the game - a strong swirling wind was never going to be conducive towards good football (even if either team were capable of it) and so it proved for the first half. Hesketh started the better pouncing on a lack of concentration in our defence to create the first couple of chances. However once we had cleared our heads our midfield trio of Butterworth, Farrington and Lannigan began to win their battle in the midfield. We looked dangerous from dead balls with a succession of corners and free kicks won during the first half, and had a goal disallowed when Lannigan thought he had put us ahead. Hesketh continued to look dangerous when playing balls behind our two full backs, using the wind that was clearly at their backs - however we rode our luck and managed to survive this tactic. We eventually took the lead when the ball broke to Butterworth on the edge of the penalty area whose smart shot beat their keeper. Only one final heart in mouth moment in the first half when Hurst allowed an indirect kick to sail over his head into the goal, a repeat of a couple of weeks ago. He knew what he was doing !! In the second half our front three of Marcin, Rawsthorn and Cook continued to combine well and the basic tactic of the two smaller men feeding off the bedlam created by our large Pole - worked and created the second goal for Cook who smartly lobbed their advancing keeper. Cook could have had a hatrick with a number of other chances, one of which hit the post. By and large we were now in charge, with only a brief scare when they hit the post. Our third came when Grundy struck a left footed rocket from outside the penalty area which their keeper never stood a chance with - causing much embarrassment for the manager who had been on the verge of substituting him. At three nil Hesketh realised the game was just about up and the last 15 minutes were made even easier when Duffy notched the fourth goal. A good performance from everyone, we now just need to raise it to the next level, tighten up in a few areas and look forward to the final with confidence. - IW
Sat. 7th May 2011
Cup Final

V

O. Boltonians 'A' (ht.0-1)  1 - 1  aet: LOST 3 - 5 on penalties
scorer: R. Grundy    VENUE: Blackburn 
The first thing to do before launching into a match report on this cup final is to commend the efforts and skill of the 14 who turned out for us - it was a great effort and performance, however history is written by winners and when we win the cup again in years to come we will see that the winners for 2011 were Old Boltonians not us.
In advance I apologise to those readers of this who will do so on a smart phone, and in so doing will probably use up your monthly download allowance (as match reports go it goes on a bit). It was pleasing that most of the team, in spite of the previous evenings end of season do had abstained from alcohol (and I suspect in some cases even sex - although whether this was voluntary or forced is a mute point and it is worth noting that Hurst turned up with a strapped wrist!). However some things never change, and in spite of seeking to get there early so that Mr Birch could put the team through a rigorous warm up, Farrington was his usual late self with the usual excuses about traffic, directions etc. etc. Although we were grateful to him and Mrs Faz for passing up the opportunity of a penguin encounter for the LAL 3rd XI Cup Final (to give it its full title). Our opponents, as statto McBowerman had pointed out on Facebook earlier in the week (nothing like being positive), had won their league, Division 4, by a country mile scoring an average of four goals a game and winning their semi-final six nil. However if they thought it was going to be a walk in the park then the next 2 and a half hours put paid to that. No problems to report this week with the team of four officials, or the pitch, both were conducive to a good game of football. One change was made from the winning semi final starting line up, with Lowcock coming in and Grundy moving to the bench. It was important that we started the game by getting in our opponents faces and applying pressure to them when they had the ball - and we achieved this. We were actually quicker to start, Rawsthorn's honesty in not going down under a challenge inside the first few minutes making it an easier decision for the ref not to give a penalty. Rawsthorn and Cook looked dangerous from the start finding space behind our opponents full backs. In the first twenty minutes we had the better of the territory winning a number of corners, from which we could not capitalise. However our opponents did look better when in possession and were managing to find space in amongst our midfield three, and their deceptive second no 10 (two no 10s on the pitch) who was slower and older than he looked kept trying to lull Pomfret into forgetting all about marking him. It was important playing opponents in a league above us that we did not lose concentration, however with 25 minutes gone we did and in a moment Bolts were one nil up when one of their guys found space on the edge of the area to rifle home a smart strike. We cleared our heads and managed to hold our own for the remainder on the first half - one or two scares allowing. By and large our two centre halves, Fillingham and Lowcock were working well snuffling out chances and Butterworth was having a stormer covering every blade of grass. Short of a couple of chances to our opponents we bossed the second half. Their no 8 who had been influential in the first half, disappeared possibly through a combination of fatigue and the odd dig, and their second no 10 who caused confusion through a combination of his age and shirt number was also removed from the equation. We created a number of chances, including hitting the bar direct from a corner. McHugh, probably through fatigue and through the game catching up with his pace rather than visa versa, started to play in the position he was instructed to play ie. as a shield in front of the back four. Grundy came on for Lannigan, and with his sweet left foot and a deflection (no more than we deserved) scored the equaliser with a strike from just outside the penalty area. We were on top and almost took the lead when their goalkeeper in a Gomez moment almost spilled a fairly speculative shot into his goal. Trev "Mr Broughton" Lafferty who was at a good angle to judge it was called upon to provide an insight in the absence of goal line technology (come on FIFA!) and his call was it was "close but no cigar". In a final attempt to win the game in normal time Duffy was thrown on for the penguin lover Farrington, and Marcin who had worked tirelessly at centre forward was asked to move back to centre midfield. Up until three weeks ago Marcin was not even a centre forward so centre midfield would be a walk in the park. We could not break the deadlock and the game finished all square at 90 minutes. It was now down to who was the strongest team. The first half of extra time was probably shaded by Bolts. There was a rare lapse of discipline from Lowcock when the red mist momentarily descended but he regained his composure very quickly. At the start of the second period McBowerman was put on to provide some fresh legs and replace Pomfret, who was so fatigued by marking a veteran for the first half of normal time that his legs were cramping. This final reshuffle resulted in Marcin moving back to centre half, his third position of the day. The second half of extra time for both sides was simply a case of holding on and seeing if they could take the one or two chances that would come their way - we couldn't and thanks to a double save from Hurst neither could our opponents. It was now down to the lottery of penalties. An inspired or imbecilic decision by the manager resulted in a change of keeper for the penalties, Grundy stepping in on the basis that he provided a larger barrier - although given their relative dimensions its arguable in terms of displacement which represented the greater filler of the goal. The officials were consulted and after a quick confab confirmed that the change could be made. Its a credit to Hurst that he accepted the decision with good grace and was prepared to do what was best for the team. Bolts had first go at the penalties, and it soon became clear that even with Paul Cooper in goal (for the older readers he used to appear in goal for Ipswich Town and in 79-80 saved 8 out of 10 penalties taken against him) it might not have been enough. We had one penalty saved (rather than missed) but dispatched the others but it was not enough - in spite of a fantastic effort we had lost on the lottery of penalties. Lets just hope we can take the performances of the last few weeks into next season, get Craig Latham fit, and bring an end to our stay in the groundhog day that is Division 6. - IW


Click one of these links to see seasons details for that team.
1st Team  -   2nd Team  -  3rd Team   -  4th Team   -  Friendlies / Vets

4th Team

Table, Results and Match Reports for 2010/2011 season

POS Division 6 - North P W D L F A GD PTS
1  Rossendale Ams 'C' 20 14 3 3 69 35 34 45
2  Prestwich 'A' 20 14 2 4 72 35 37 44
3  Thornleigh 'A' 20 12 3 5 67 35 32 39
4  Broughton Ams 'A' 20 12 2 6 63 44 19 38
5  Old Blackburnians 'B' 20 12 1 7 73 54 19 37
6  Tottington United Res 20 8 4 8 56 66 -10 28
7  Hesketh Casuals 'B' 20 7 5 8 47 60 -13 26
8  Broughton Ams 'B' 20 7 4 9 51 59 -8 25
9  Rossendale Ams 'D' 20 4 2 14 35 74 -39 14
10  Horwich RMI 'A' 20 2 4 14 35 67 -32 10
11  Bolton Wyresdale 'B' 20 1 4 15 26 65 -39 7

4th Team Results, Scorers and Match Reports

Sat. 28th Aug 2010

V

Rossendale Ams 'D'  (a)  5 - 0 (ht.-)
scorers :  S. Thompson, J. Fannon 3, D. Bingham.
And so the season had finally arrived, with us still basking in the glory of being champions of division 7. The freshly cut pitch, together with the traditional English weather, created an almost picturesque afternoon in Lancashire. With the busy transfer activity Richard Fenton had undertaken and successfully completed, there was a slightly different look about our starting eleven. The signing of old-boy Chris Bradshaw and the acquisition of youthful Ashley Smith looked to give the side a more expansive squad, together with a sense of freshness - keeping competitiveness for places high. The game was always going to have Broughton held high as the favourites, as so the match played out in a predictable fashion for long spells. Broughton passed with fluidity and calmness, with Yates the orchestrator for the most part, although early season rustiness was evident in him and nearly all others on the pitch. The first goal came via some neat football, with Smith getting a decent cross in to the front post. Thompson reacted quickest and prodded home for 1.0. The order of the goals, is not easily remembered. Bingham scored a free-kick that owed more to a dodgy wall than exquisite finishing, and Fannon got his usual 3. Two things that are easily remembered include two sides to our game, which ferociously intertwined constantly during the match. The attacking prowess of the side continues to impress. Particularly with 'the ginger assassin', as he is known on the terraces, Joe Fannon. Possibly the most effective player in the league and many leagues above. Him, with Bingham, Smith, Thompson and Bradshaw are all extremely competent at giving the side craft and flair which can cause teams all sort of problems. Defensively though, all the above, and the team collectively have massive room for improvement. The times in which the Rossendale midfield were 4 against 1 (Jason Yates being the 1) was astonishing. The relieving thing for us was that Rossendale are, at best, a limited attacking force. But for the future, we must defend from the front, the first line of defence being the strike partnership. The discipline must be kept, with 3 midfielders bombing forward not being the most advantageous, especially as better teams will them expose the deficiencies in defensive numbers. To end positively however, the football was great and the fact the season is here already is refreshing. Roll on '10/11. - RF
Sat. 11th Sept 2010

V

Prestwich 'A'  (h)  3 - 3 (ht.-)
scorers :  C. Bradshaw 2, D. Sanders
No report submitted.
Sat. 18th Sept 2010

V

BROUGHTON AMS 'A'  (a)  2 - 6 (ht.2-2)
scorers :  o.g. C. Bradshaw
A real cracking derby game ended with the 3rds coming out on top. 3rds started much the stronger and Leroy cracked a crisp half volley into the bottom corner after 3 mins and for the next 15 mins the 3rds dominated and were disappointed not to add to that good start, Simon striking the bar with one good effort. The 4ths came back into the game but as they started to get a foothold the 3rds scored a second, when Leroy headed against the bar and Halse followed up to knock the loose ball in. But back came the 4ths and they started enjoying more possession and spent more time in the oppositions half which after 30 mins  resulted in them pulling a goal back when Mick B was pressured into scoring an own goal. The 3rds had keeper Hurst to thank for making a great double save but the comeback was complete when Chris B evaded a tackle out wide on the edge of the 18 yard box then smashed the ball past the helpless keeper. It stayed at 2-2 till ht when both managers had strong words for their teams, one for a bad start and one for a bad finish to the 1st half. There was little between the teams during the first part of the 2nd half both teams battling hard and probing but no-one able to break the deadlock then came the moment upon which the game turned. a penalty was awarded to the 3rds when as they attacked down the left a cross struck the arm of a defender and the ref didn't hesitate in pointing to the spot. Whilst the "handball" was probably accidental it did stop the ball getting to an attacker. Either way Halse despatched the spot kick coolly. The 3rds then grew in confidence whilst the 4ths slipped the other way !! So the 3rds added 3 more goals two of which were great strikes from Lowcock and Gavigan with an opportunist strike from Rawsthorn in there as well. Gavigan always posed a threat for the 3rds while Rick Fenton was outstanding for the 4ths. In summary the 3rds deserved the win but the margin flattered them a little.
Sat. 25th Sept 2010
Cup Rd 1

V

Rossendale Ams 'D' (h)  3 - 0  (ht.-)
scorers : A. Smith, C. Cornwell, D. Bingham  
No report submitted.
Sat 2nd Oct 2010

V

Thornleigh 'A' (h)  2 - 4 (ht.-)
scorers :  C. Bradshaw, S. Thompson
No report submitted.
Sat. 9th Oct 2010

V

Horwich RMI 'A'  (a)  4 - 3 (ht.-)
scorers :  D. Bingham 3, J. Yates
No report submitted.
Sat. 16th Oct 2010

V

Rossendale Ams 'C' (h)  0 - 3 (ht.-)
scorers :  -
No report submitted.
Sat. 23rd Oct 2010

V

Bolton Wyresdale 'B'  (a)  0 - 1 (ht.-)
scorers :  -

No report submitted.
Sat. 30th Oct 2010

V

Tottington Utd Res (h)  7 - 4 (ht.-)
scorers :  A Smith 3, S. Thompson, C. McCrudden, R. Upton, R. Fenton
No report submitted.
Sat. 6th Nov 2010

V

Thornleigh 'A'  (a)  0 - 5 (ht.-)
scorers :  -

No report submitted.
Sat. 20th Nov 2010

V

Horwich RMI 'A'  (h)  3 - 3 (ht.-)
scorers :  T. Greenhalgh, S. Thompson, D. Bingham
No report submitted.
Sat. 8th Jan 2011

V

BROUGHTON AMS 'A' (h)  2 - 4 (ht.0-0)
scorers :  C. McCrudden, D. Sanders
A return to league action after an extended Christmas lay-off and the local derby to boot. The pitch could best be described as “squidgy” in places and bumpy through out, not a pitch suited to playing football - which probably suited both teams. 3rds had the best of the first 25 minutes, with the back four organised well and with a little more composure any one of Gaivigan, Ralse or Rawsthorne could have scored – however they didn’t. For the remainder of the first half 4ths got on top as 3rds yielded space in front of their back four when defending and being like a banker (or something else sounding like this) in possession of the ball (reckless and negligent). 3rds could, and perhaps should have conceded during this period but didn’t thanks to some tidy keeping by Hurst – who had taken advantage of the winter break to indulge in some conditioning training in Vegas. The second half started with 3rds back on top and eventually they took the lead through a smartly taken goal from Lannigan. 3rds brought on couple of substitutes to freshen things up, and this appeared to work when Duffy scored the second with a cool finish. The Fourths however refused to buckle and continued to create chances reducing the deficit with a goal by McCrudden. Duffy was then gifted his second by a cushioned header from one of the Fourths defenders. Yet the Fourths still came back into it scoring again through Sanders before Duffy having run from his own half won a penalty for the 3rds, which he failed to convert for his hat-trick but from which (eventually) Cook tapped in.
Sat. 12th Feb 2011

V

Prestwich 'A' (a)  0 - 2 (ht.-)
scorers : 
No report submitted.
Sat. 19th Feb 2011

V

O.Blackburnians 'B' (a)  2 - 2 (ht.-)
scorers :  A. Hunnisett, T. Greenhalgh
No report submitted.
Sat. 5th Mar 2011

V

Rossendale Ams 'D' (h)  3 - 1 (ht.-)
scorers :  C. McCrudden, J. Fannon, C. Cornwell
No report submitted.
Sat. 19th Mar 2011

V

Rossendale Ams 'C' (a)  0 - 8 (ht.-)
scorers :  -
No report submitted.
Sat. 26th Mar 2011

V

Bolton Wyresdale 'B' (h)  4 - 2 (ht.-)
scorers :  S. Thompson, D. Bingham, J. Fannon, R. Fenton
No report submitted.
Sat. 9th Apr 2011

V

Hesketh Casuals 'B' (a)  6 - 1 (ht.-)
scorers :  C. Cornwell 2, D. Bingham, T. Greenhalgh, J. Fannon, D. Harle
No report submitted.
Wed. 13th Apr 2011
Cup Rd 2

V

Old Boltonians 'B' (h)  1 - 3  (ht.0-3)
scorers : J. Fannon  
Match report will be published here when/if submitted.
Sat. 16th Apr 2011

V

Hesketh Casuals 'B' (h)  4 - 2 (ht.-)
scorers :  J. Fannon 2, D. Bingham, C. Cornwell
No report submitted.
Wed. 20th Apr 2011

V

Tottington United Res (a)  1 - 1 (ht.-)
scorers :  D. Cook
No report  submitted.
Sat. 23rd Apr 2011

V

O.Blackburnians 'B' (h)  2 - 4 (ht.-)
scorers :  T. Greenhalgh 2
No report submitted.

 

 



Click one of these links to see seasons details for that team.
1st Team  -   2nd Team  -  3rd Team   -  4th Team   -  Friendlies / Vets

Friendlies, Vets Team, and Other Matches
during 2010 / 2011 season

No Vets competition this season.

PRE-SEASON FRIENDLY
Sun. 25th July 2010

 

1st Team v Ribbleton FC (h)  5 - 2  (ht.2-2)  at BROUGHTON
scorers: J. Seddon 2, P. Harford 2, N. Eccles-
Our first pre-season match against local side Ribbleton, a mixture of all 4 teams featured and it was a decent run out for the lads. We were 2-0 down after 10 minutes but came through in the end. - NE
PRE-SEASON FRIENDLY
Sat. 31st July 2010

 

1st Team v Oswaldtwistle St. Marys FC (h)  2 - 4  (ht.2-2) KO: 2.00pm  @ BROUGHTON 
scorers: A. Alston, ?
A lively encounter that provided both teams with a physical workout. they scored in the first 2 mins and we fought back from behind twice to go in level at half time. Despite us having more possession they stung us twice more in the second half as we could not find enough punch to break them down
Note: This Pre-Season friendly has been played between our two clubs almost every pre-season since 1993. Check out the Ossie St Marys website for more info on our long term friends and opponents.
So far (inc this match) playing record is: P.17 - W.10 - D.1 - L.6 - F.53 - A.35
PRE-SEASON FRIENDLY
Thu. 5th Aug  2010

 

2nd Team v 3rd Team (at BROUGHTON)  4 - 3 (ht.1-1)  
scorers: 2nds goals: P. Harford, ? ? ?  3rds goals: S Rawsthorn, T Bowerman, F Farrington
The 3rd team missing a number of players from their promotion winning squad, were unfortunate to end up on the losing side of a closely contested friendly that saw a strong 2nd team line up win overall. A well taken free kick from Paul Harford in the 2nd half was the highlight of the performance of a team that is being rebuilt. The team spirit of the 3rds showed through as a team that working for each other with many players to return in the coming weeks, their first outing of pre-season is one that if taken forward can bode well for the season to come. - SR

 

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