LADYBRIDGE FC 2  OLD BOLTS RESERVES 2
 
Although half the team had warmed up for saturday's game by drinking their own weight in stella at the ramblers, it was Old Bolts who took the lead with possibly the fastest goal in the history of the club.  A long ball straight from the kick off was allowed to bounce by the shaky Ladybridge defence, and Ryan Hardwidge streaked through deftly lobbing the keeper, 1-0 after 10 seconds! - even more amazing considering he was probably still 5 times over the drink drive limit!
 
Bolts continued to have the better of the play for large periods of the first half, marshalled at the back by Mark Thomasson & Neil Davies, they defended well restricting Dave Hopkins' duties to goal kicks.  However, despite the majority of posession and the obvious gulf in ability, Bolts struggled to create clear chances for the front two pairing of Hardwidge and Collings.  This lack of goal scoring opportunity was punished in the most ridiculous of circumstances just before the break, as Ladybridge equalised and at the same time confirmed their position as the biggest set of c**ts in the league.
 
After a Ladybridge player was injured in a fair challenge in the centre circle the ref halted the game with Old Bolts on the attack, thus allowing the player to receive treatment.  'Sportingly' a Ladybridge player offered to kick the resulting drop-ball back to the Old Bolts keeper, which he promptly did.  The problem being an outrageous moment followed as the Ladybridge winger sprinted after the ball, nicked it away from Dave Hopkins and rolled the ball into the net, 1-1. To compound what had happened, even after the ref requested that Ladybridge allow Bolts to score in order to cancel out the shambles of a goal, their players and management flatly refused.  The goal stood and a new low in amateur football was scraped, as the concept of sportsmanship has clearly not yet registered in the half a brain the Ladybridge team are collectively sharing.  Unbelievable.
 
The second half saw Bolts fueled by the injustice of the first, and the attacking play showed a greater degree of purpose and cohesion as James Gray and Killer Kilburn in particular provided more consistent support to the forwards.  The pressure paid off as on 60 minutes John Collings was hacked down in the box, and a stonewall penalty was awarded.  The same player picked up the ball and drilled it into the back of the net for his 10th goal of the season -even keeping it interesting by letting the keeper get a hand to it, 2-1 Old Bolts.
 
Now with the lead, Bolts looked comfortable without seriously threatening a third, although it looked like the slender 1 goal difference would be enough.  Even as Ladybridge enjoyed a purple patch in the last 10 minutes they rarely looked like scoring with some woeful long range shots.  With victory in the Old Bolts' nostrils the defence lined up to deal with one last corner deep into injury time.  Disaster! a moment of confusion and some mickey mouse marking saw the Ladybridge striker power a free header into the top corner, 2-2 with literally the last touch of the game.  A moral victory if not an actual victory for Old Bolts as Ladybridge sank to new depths with an embarrassing lack of sportsmanship.