HESKETH CASUALS 1  OLD BOLTS 'B'  3            

Goals: Barrett 2,Freeborn

Crunch time had come for the B Team Boys….Away at league leaders & most likely Title rivals Hesketh Casuals, this game was likely to go a long way in terms of gaining a literal and psychological advantage in the season"s run-in. Manager Milne had been talking up this game for weeks - everything would be planned to a tee.

That is until a late splurge of injury & withdrawals from the team threatened to make the game redundant from a Bolts' point of view and threw Milne"s best-laid plans into crisis! Club leading scorer Rob 'SuperBob’ Southern had sustained a neck injury whilst flicking his flowing locks at Premier Fives in midweek, with inspirational skipper Ben Horan also crocked. With first choice full-back Wes Davies ‘unavailable,’ (shopping) and preening centre-half Olly Pimblett otherwise occupied, nothing short of a full-blown selection crisis appeared to have engulfed the Bolts squad…

But never fear - riding to the rescue came the evergreen Jeff Taylor (with his original pair of 1973 shinpads) and Jimmy ‘Pub’ Freeborn, who had answered a late plea from the Gaffer and agreed to sack off both his Saturday work & his usual heavy Friday night session to appear.

But out of adversity came a steely determination, as the team were put through a rigorous warm-up (sort of) by Major Adam Norse…As a result, Bolts raced out of the blocks against a useful Hesketh side and were on the offensive immediately. The usually reticent Freeborn had loudly announced pre-game that he was confident of putting on a display of "real quality” and that the reunited Bolton School strike partnership of himself & Barrett (aka F.A.B) was sure to "rip it up.” Indeed.

But this was no empty threat; After 10 mins, Freeborn laid off a ball to Barrett and screamed for the return. It duly came with precision, and a marauding Freeborn was freed to steer the ball past the advancing keeper with aplomb…It was like Bob Southern had returned! One-Nil.

Bolts continued the good work, with the front two continuing to link up seamlessly and Freeborn could have doubled the lead after another through ball from his partner. But as if unsure what to do after such an unusually strong opening spell, Bolts began to give away possession & let Hesketh back in the game. A deserved equalizer duly materialised from a corner, but the ship was steadied until half-time. 1-1.

Milne was encouraged by the early display & demanded more of the same. (But not more of the flailing elbows that had left him with a beauty of a shiner – And looking like Louis Walsh‘s boxer twin) The team sensed that this game was definitely winnable; Matt Fray was untroubled so far, late replacements Mark Lomax & Jeff Taylor were looking more than a match for their predecessors and midfielders Ross Taylor, Rick Kilburn & Liam ‘Baby’ Watkinson were grafting efficiently.

As the second half wore on, however, there did seem a real possibility that the game may stay locked at a draw. That is, until, Dan Barrett brought down a bouncing ball, clipped it neatly over his marker’s head and swivelled on the edge of the box, aiming to unleash a howitzer with the left peg…Well, the Howitzer machine appeared to have jammed momentarily, but still a well-aimed if fairly light shot left the keeper rooted and sent the Bolts into raptures! 2-1 and with the end in sight. Just prior to this, battling boss Milne selflessly gave way (not for the first time this season) to give a dangerous-looking Ed Jacobsen a useful run-out.

Hesketh heads then seemed to go down and the Bolts picked up the scent, with young Liam coming more into the game and Jeff Taylor growing more in stature by the minute. Freeborn’s pace & unpredictability was always a threat and the result was sealed in the most bizarre way; a deflected cross from Kilburn had found its way into their keeper’s hands, who then ludicrously managed let it squirm through his body…It dribbled its way towards the goal line until a following-up Barrett poked it in gleefully, if not a little sheepishly. (Having handballed just 3 seconds earlier)

So 3-1 and job done…. Pretty much. The predictable late Alamo-style siege did threaten to materialise and Matt Fray was forced to pull off a brilliant point-blank save from their useful No 9 to keep the nerves from jangling. But the Bolts defence stood firm as it had all afternoon, with sprightly Si Turner even showing signs that his ‘chicken’ is in danger of finding its ‘head’

Barrett & Freeborn claimed the goals glory but it was genuinely a top-drawer group effort, with special mention going to good old Jeff Taylor who rounded off a superb individual performance by being christened ‘David Ginola’ by the opposition…Not bad going at all.

So a great win and a superb, gutsy performance from a supposedly weakened team that leaves us sat proudly at the top, clear by 2 points and with a game in hand.

But with a glut of closely-scheduled games to come and the curse of the Midweek Game / Ringer Tradition more than likely to arise, this team will have to deliver more displays of this ilk if silverware is to claimed – The countdown begins here….Get your ticket.