Win keeps Rammy title tilt on track
9:07am Monday 30th January 2012 in Amateur Football
RAMSBOTTOM United moved top of the North West Counties Premier Division after a 3-1 win at home to secondbottom AFC Liverpool.
With the Bootle game at Colne called off due to a frozen pitch, Rammy knew before kick-off that a seventh win in eight games would see them leapfrog the leaders.
The promotion-chasing side were made to work for their victory. Lee Gaskell’s second-half brace secured all three points after Jordan Hulme’s 15th-minute opener was cancelled out by a Jack Sinnott strike just before the break.
Third-placed Barnoldswick Town kept up the pressure with a 2-1 win at Winsford United.
That victory – also Barnoldswick’s seventh in their last eight games – saw them draw level on points with Bootle and keeps them two points behind Rammy with two games in hand.
Bottom club Atherton LR’s desperate form continued with a 1-0 defeat at Congleton Town.
They held out until the 78th minute before conceding Daniel Doherty’s winner but there are small signs of improvement after suffering two 5-0 losses in their last three games.
However, LR will need a drastic change in fortunes if they are to beat the drop after claiming just one point from their last eight games.
For neighbours Atherton Collieries, the problem is less losing matches as getting them played.
The NWCL First Division side have only played twice in the last two months, with five matches postponed in December and January.
Saturday’s home fixture against Rochdale Town was the latest to be hit, this time called off due to a frozen pitch.
Daisy Hill may have been praying for a similar intervention as they travelled to the division’s form team, Norton United.
There was no such luck though, as Daisy were well-beaten, 3-1, with Daniel Gregory scoring their consolation on 83 minutes after two firsthalf goals from Lee Talbot and a second-half strike from Wayne Brotheton put the game out of reach.
Radcliffe Borough did not have much to cheer about either, going down 3-1 at home to Curzon Ashton in the Evo-Stik League Division One North.
It was a similar story to last weekend’s 4-1 defeat at Skelmersdale United, with Boro opening the scoring before capitulating.
This time, Steve Burke pounced on a mistake by the Curzon keeper, tapping into an empty net on 14 minutes.
But Boro’s defensive frailties soon resurfaced, Andrew Watson levelling from a corner on 22 minutes before Matthew Kay put the visitors 2-1 up six minutes later.
Slack defending led to Curzon’s third early in the second half, man-ofthe- moment Christopher McDonagh poaching his fifth goal in as many games.
Boro’s sixth home defeat of the season leaves them 16th on 26 points, just above Mossley and Prescot Cables on goal difference.
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