AINSWORTHS RESERVES 2 OLD BOLTONIANS 'B' 3
Off the back of a 0-0 draw and a 5-0 thumping, the B Team were looking to make amends and get the show back on the road. Duly strengthened by the return of stalwarts Mark Brookes and Ross Taylor, plus the fresh injection of Old Bolt Jimmy Freeborn, only a win would do….
One look at the ludicrously slanted pitch may have troubled warriors of lesser spirit, but not the Bolts" Braves. (Except the player, who shall remain nameless, who suggested he’d prefer to only play the half in which we faced downhill.) A dreary first half was utterly unremarkable except for a searing Barrett left-foot volley which threatened to bend inside the far post before just missing. (Morris - "I was praying it went wide.”)
Ainsworth then took advantage of some Bolts ball-watching to nick the first goal and we went in at half-time to a slightly disappointing but reasonable deficit.
Ron Manager sent his boys out to the 2nd half raring to go, determined to start well. But the limited tactics of the first half proved difficult to shake off and Ainsworth bagged their second goal with a well-worked move.
So 2-0 down, Bolts had a mountain to climb. Or not, as we were now kicking down the mountain. Anyway, the penny appeared to have dropped and we hit back almost immediately with a classic Mopsey Morris long-ranger (2 yards) following nice work from Brookes. Suddenly, Bolts could smell blood and great marshalling and encouragement from senior figures Worsley, Twist, Milne and Tankard kept the younger legs working tirelessly.
After spending most of the game shaking off the rust, returning Old Bolt Jimmy Freeborn dragged Bolts level with a moment of inspiration, neatly skinning his hulking marker on the left before drilling home with his left foot, an instinctive strike of real quality.
Both teams now seemed to sense that there was only one winner here, and after good pressure, MOM Mark Brookes popped up with his 7th goal of a great season with a well-placed strike that proved a deserved winner. We still needed a great save from Dave Sandbrook late on to preserve the lead, but overall a good win against a fairly ordinary side.
With other key players set to return, Ron’s B- team now appear to have an almost-maternal healthy glow about them.
A special mention to Jeff Taylor who filled-in for the absent referee and did superbly in the face of some unbelievable whinging from the oppostion.