Saturday the 22nd of March 2008 - a date to be remembered as one where the Old Boltonians 1st team dream of silverware this season came to an end. Or probably one that will be easily forgotten due to the copious amounts of alcohol that was thinning our blood from the over-excesses from a couple of days earlier at the Sportsman's Dinner (and the Ramblers trip from a day earlier – no names mentioned).
The Old Boltonians knew that this was going to be a tough cup game; they had played Bury Amateurs twice already this year and had only taken one point despite their efforts. With Managers Simon Shields and Baz Culf absent, Paul Finch, as one of the elder statesman in the team, took the reigns as manger. His nuggets of tactical genius shall remain entrenched within the four walls from whence they came, but put into practice then this match report may have commenced with an entirely different tone.
Now I wouldn"t like to say that the Old Boltonians weren’t fully concentrated or weren’t completely ready for the start of the game, but after a matter of minutes they were 1-0 down. A free kick was conceded just inside our own half, close to the touchline. The ball wasn’t delivered particularly dangerously into our box and their forwards didn’t challenge particularly aggressively for the ball but somehow it managed to evade every player, apart from their player at the far post, who tapped the ball in the net from three yards. A positive response was required. It didn’t come. Bury Amateurs continued to dominate for large spells in the first half and although being restricted to long shots, they looked dangerous.
The second half produced a slightly better display from the Old Boltonians, but they flattered to deceive. The Bury Amateurs keeper that resembled Jabba the Hut and could barely jump six inches off the ground was rarely tested and there were far too few meaningful crosses delivered into the box. The final score was 1-0 to Bury Amateurs. There can be no real complaints.