The Old Boltonians crashed back down to Earth with a bang this weekend as they suffered their first defeat of the season and in so doing were eliminated from the LFA cup without making an impression on the competition. Their opponents were Whalley Range FC from the Lancashire and Cheshire Amateur League. The Old Boltonians approached the game in the knowledge that they were not about to oppose a team of gentlemen, but what ensued surpassed all previous experience of bad sportsmanship and intimidation.

The game started without significant incident and was keenly and fairly contested. Neither team created any clear cut chances and were limited to long range efforts on goal that didn't trouble either keeper. The first meaningful chance of the game resulted in the Old Boltonians taking a deserved lead. Rob Taylor flicked on a neat through ball to Rick McCllelan who struck a fierce shot in to the bottom corner of the net from 25 yards. A superb finish from a player who would be the first to admit that he is not renowned for his shot accuracy! The Old Boltonians maintained their one goal advantage going into the half-time interval, but there had already been signs of what was to come from Whalley Range as they didn"t take kindly to going a goal behind on their own patch. Their tackles were becoming increasingly late, with keeper, Dave Hopkins taking a particularly late tackle on the ankle. It was also becoming evident that the referee didn’t have the necessary strength or support to deal with the Whalley aggression and foul play and that they were being allowed to get away with it.

The second half was, in fairness, dominated by Whalley Range. They dominated the possession and suppressed any attacking creativity that the Old Boltonians could produce to glimpses and in the wrong half of the pitch. However, the Old Boltonians defence looked solid and even in the face of the physical and verbal intimidation did not look like conceding an equaliser. However, with less than 10 minutes remaining in the game, the Whalley Range striker produced a nice goal to equal the score. Perhaps he was on a high from having spat in and elbowed the face of our defenders and producing a series of potentially leg-breaking tackles. With a stronger and more vigilant ref, he wouldn’t have been on the pitch but nonetheless it was 1-1.  

There was only going to be one winner after the equaliser. Whalley, playing their brand of long ball football, had worn down the Old Boltonians and unsurprisingly their winner came from a set piece where they used their height advantage to forced the ball in.

The Old Boltonians could not force an equaliser as there was too little time in the game to react. They may have been knocked out of the competition, but they could leave the pitch with their heads held high in the knowledge that they played the game in the correct manner. The Whalley players on the other hand were an embarrassment to their club.