Saturday 23 November 2024
NWCFL Premier Division
Matchday 23
West Didsbury & Chorlton 1
Hughes 88
Ramsbottom United 3
Whyte 31p
Hoyle 45, 73
Attendance: 448
West line-up:
1 Martin, 2 Darkwah (14 Roberts, 59), 3 Sutton (15 Billingsley, 43), 4 McConnell, 5 Riley, 6 Rowney, 7 Banister, 8 Murray (16 Hughes, 55), 9 Briggs, 10 Abadaki (12 Grimshaw, 78), 11 Matthews. Subs not used: 17 Yarwood.
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After four away trips in a row, West hosted table-toppers Ramsbottom United in a match that is unlikely to be remembered too fondly by those who braved Storm Bert to attend. Whilst West were one of only two teams in the division who managed to host a match on grass last Saturday, they were ultimately washed away by a strong Ramsbottom side that left M21 with a six-point cushion at the top of the league.
The day itself started positively for West as new signing Andy Briggs was unveiled following his move from Bury. Briggs was drafted straight into West's starting XI and he was one of two changes from the side who lost 2-0 at Colne the previous weekend. The other change saw the return of Briggs' strike partner Victor Abadaki, and the pair led the line in a new 4-4-2 formation. Elsewhere, Jake Kenny was suspended following his dismissal at Colne, and he was replaced at right back by winger Cameron Darkwah.
As the rain lashed down ahead of kick off and West's ground staff continued to work away as the players entered the pitch, it was clear that the weather would play a significant part in the afternoon's proceedings. With the entirety of the Brookburn faithful huddled under the only two covered areas of the ground, the early stages of the match saw both teams struggle to get to grips with a pitch that was rapidly turning into a mudbath.
Ramsbottom had the better chances in the first half and, although Billy Matthews missed a good opportunity from close range after 20 minutes, it wasn't a great surprise when the visitors broke the deadlock on the half-hour mark. The goal came from the penalty spot after Cameron Darkwah was deemed to have tugged on the shirt of visiting winger Harvey Hayhurst. Hayhurst's namesake Harvey White then converted the resulting spot-kick to put the league leaders ahead. That lead was then doubled when Thomas Hoyle cut inside and drilled a low shot into the bottom corner moments before the break.
West were also dealt an additional blow in the moments leading up to half-time as Max Sutton limped off and was replaced by Lewis Billingsley. That change saw both of West's full-back positions being occupied by attacking players to demonstrate the selection difficulties that manager Paul Marshall is experiencing at the back.
Whilst the stormy weather did calm somewhat for the second-half, West struggled to make any real progress after the break and Ramsbottom adapted better to a pitch where it was hard enough for players just to keep their footing. One positive for West was the impressive debut of Harvey Roberts, who joined the club from Longridge Town in midweek. He was introduced for Cameron Darkwah with half an hour to go, but the game was put beyond doubt ten minutes later when Thomas Hoyle completed his brace. His goal illustrated the visitors' pragmatism in the face of the conditions, as Hoyle was first to reach a 60-yard through ball from the back to fire under Ollie Martin and kill the game completely.
It was clear by then that the points were heading back to Ramsbottom, but Connor Hughes did manage a consolation for West with two minutes remaining. He received the ball on the edge of the box and calmly drove the ball home to give the West fans something to cheer about after a miserable afternoon.
The final whistle sounded and there would be few inside Brookburn Road who could have argued with the outcome. Manager Paul Marshall did explain afterwards that he is looking to find further reinforcements over the coming weeks, but he said that he was pleased with the performances of his new signings and that he is confident that West will recover from their three successive defeats. The first opportunity to address that decline is at Wythenshawe Town on Tuesday night in the Manchester Premier Cup.
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We spoke to West manager Paul Marshall after the match:
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Your Burton Road Brewing Co Supporter of the Match were West's supporters from Sweden, Jesper, Moa and Fredric, and their Player of the Match was Paul Riley.
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Browse through our wonderful match galleries, from club photographers:
Nathan Ashmall, Chris Michell, Jack Todd and Christina Bowett.
