The much-loved Bolton Hospital Cup made its long-awaited return this past week, with the opening round a charitable cocktail of passion, drama, late goals and penalty shoot-outs.
Tuesday night saw a tempestuous affair between Turton and Daisy Hill cut the ribbon and go to the wire with the scores level at 1-1 after 90 minutes.
The Tigers boast a stellar-track record from 12 yards and lived up to their reputation, emerging victorious with a nerve-shredding 7-6 win from the spot –– booking their place in the quarter-finals at the expense of the fired-up Cutters.
The referee was the busiest man on the night at Thomason Fold, dishing out four red cards, though keeping a lid on frayed tempers in this one looked an insurmountable task from the outset.
The view from afar as Turton took on Daisy Hill
A further two games took place on Tuesday night, including a local derby at Eagley who took on Old Boltonians.
It was a vintage display from Old Bolts, who overcame the lacklustre Eagles 3-0.
Over in Leigh, Pennington lost 1-0 to a defensively-sound Elton Vale side who were thrilled to book their place in the last-eight.
The drama continued into the second batch of first-round games on Wednesday night, with the pick of the fixtures coming from CMB.
They hosted Horwich St Mary’s and having found themselves 3-1 up conceded two late goals, forcing another game to be determined by penalties.
CMB kept the coolest heads and prevailed 4-1 from the spot.
Bolton County hosted last season’s finalists Walshaw, who will be seeking another final appearance after winning 4-2 on penalties after a 1-1 draw in normal-time.
Bolton Wyresdale gave up a first-half advantage and lost 2-1 away at Hindsford — as Tempest rocketed through to the next round with a 4-1 win over Stoneclough.
Action from the meeting between Atherton LR, in orange, and Atherton Town in the Bolton Hospital Cup. Picture: James Lobley
The final game of the round took place on Thursday evening at Crilly Park with an all-Atherton derby between LR and Town.
As expected, there was more drama to be had as Town nicked a last-gasp winner to see off LR in their own backyard and progress into the next round.
Action from the meeting between Atherton LR, in orange, and Atherton Town in the Bolton Hospital Cup. Picture: James Lobley
It was a triumphant return for one of the towns most beloved sports tournaments, with more than £1,000 raised for charity across the eight matches.
Last 16 results: Turton 1-1 (7-6 pens) Daisy Hill, Pennington 0-1 Elton Vale, Eagley 0-3 Old Boltonians, CMB 3-3 (4-1 pens) Horwich St Mary’s, Hindsford 2-1 Bolton Wyresdale, Tempest United 4-1 Stoneclough, Bolton County 1-1 (2-4 pens) Walshaw, Atherton LR 0-1 Atherton Town.
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