Old Boltonians 1 Rochdale St Clem 0
Report by Craig Jolley
The 1stXI squad arrived at Turton in confident mood for this 3rd round tie in the LAL cup and were greeted once again with a superb pitch that could only encourage us to play good football. The opponents on this day were Rochdale St Clements - the reigning league champions and the victors in the league fixture that has already been contested between the two teams this season. The game started at a frantic pace with the Old Bolts having the better of the early exchanges. It seemed that Old Boltonians were the side keener to keep the ball on the deck and avoid the hindrance of the strong, swirling wind, whilst Rochdale were looking to take advantage of their physical presence by bombarding our defence with long and high balls. Despite the difference in playing style, the two teams were evenly matched and it was apparent from the start that there was not going to be an easy winner in this one.
The team had undergone a couple of changes from recent weeks with Daz Dalton and Ryan Hartwidge being drafted in to add some youth and enthusiasm to the team and also chip in with an added goal threat. It wasn't long into the game when the decision made by manger Simon Shields was proven to be a good one as both youngsters looked sharp and lively. However, the most notable chance of the first half was an awe inspiring solo effort from Rob Taylor. Another long punt from the Rochdale keeper was again rebuffed by the ever solid Old bolts defence and the ball was given to the midfield partnership of the evergreen Ju Stevens and the young skipper David Owen as a platform to launch another attack. The ball was quickly fed to Taylor, who brought the ball under control with ease before beating two Rochdale 'inter-league" defenders with apparent distain before striking a 20-yard drive towards goal – the keeper was beaten, but the frame of the goal came to the rescue of Rochdale. By the time the half time whistle blew Old Bolts had created numerous, if not clear cut, chances but had been far the better team and could consider themselves unlucky to go in without breaching the Rochdale defence.
The second half was a slightly different game for the Old Bolts, as the limitations caused by the strength of the wind came to light. However, the Old Bolts attempted to stick to a passing game and as a result coped much better that the long, high ball game adopted by Rochdale in the previous 45 minutes. This said, Old Bolts had a tough 20 minute period in the game where the ball was being cleared by our defence only to come straight back. However, the team (and not just the defence) defended manfully and with no little competency and restricted Rochdale to shots from distance and long crosses into the penalty area that, even with this swirling wind, are no trouble for a keeper of Anthony Duffy’s capability and stature. Having absorbed all that Rochdale could throw at us, the Old Bolts once again began to get a grip on the game. Three, four, five then six good chances went begging, including a goal mouth scramble where the ball was cleared from the Rochdale goal line no less then three times in a matter of seconds, but the elusive goal was still not claimed.
The game entered into its final five minutes with the deadlock still unbroken and it looked as though a painstaking and nervous 30 minutes of extra time would have to be played. Old Bolts launched another attack with Kris Nuttall playing a ball up to the feet of Daz Dalton who tried to use his quick feet to turn the defender but was cynically brought down from behind. This gave us a free kick approximately 25 yards from goal on the left corner of the penalty area. With usual dead ball ‘specialist’ Kieran Walsh substituted through injury the responsibility fell to Craig Jolley Nick Luke. This is where I’d love to say that Nick drove the ball into the top corner of the net, however, he didn’t strike it as well as he can and the ball approached the goal at ground level at a saveable pace. Whether the Rochdale keeper lost concentration or was trying to keep himself from laughing due to the lack of ferocity in the shot only he can say, but the ball nestled into the bottom right corner of the net and the large number of fans surrounding the pitch went wild. Once order had been restored by the ground stewards, Old Bolts had three minutes to hold out and keep a clean sheet that have not been frequent so far this season. After a nervous few minutes the final whistle was blown, much to our relief and the Old Bolts march on to the Quarter Finals.
All in all a good display both technically and from the perspective of effort. If we play like this every week we will be a very difficult team to beat.