Rams record points tally matched

The sun shone brightly at the Riverside Stadium in Ramsbottom on Saturday as the home side had already made the playoffs and although Stockport Town were there to make things awkward.

A feel-good atmosphere prevailed as the yellow-clad visitors started brightly with a flowing move leading to a shot which flashed over Mendes crossbar after just two minutes. 

They followed up with some slick interchanges, and with an excellent away record, it looked like they would present a formidable hurdle as the Rams seek to cement a top three place and home play-off advantage. The  Rams kept their shape however and responded with Walder, playing on the left, advancing and delivering a lovely cross which Hoyle read and volleyed just over the bar in the fourth minute 

‘In the summertime’ appropriately chimed around the stadium as the Rams moved up a gear with Tom Hoyle appearing everywhere along the front line. Hoyle's work rate in closing down defenders meant that Stockport could never relax in playing out from the back.

Rams ratcheted up the pressure and it was no surprise on sixteen minutes when the breakthrough arrived.  A trademark Maine Walder in swinging corner was too high for keeper Schofield but then dipped and was read by Luke Sephton stationed on the goal line. He had the simplest of tasks in nodding the ball across the line and into the goal for the opener. Rather than receive the acclaim of the home fans Sephton instead ran across Walder to thank him - such was the quality of the delivery.

Rams were into their free-flowing rhythm and Hoyle kept up the pressure to advance down to the left where a clever raking shot by Hoyle had the goalkeeper Schofield scrambling back towards his goal line to tip over a shot which was headed into the top corner.

Strike partner, Oumar Camara, was also in the thick of things.  Shielding the ball with back to goal he was on the receiving end of a number of robust challenges with the referee allowing play to play to carry on in the hope of an advantage - but then not bring play back for a series of fouls. Camara’s sense of grievance was shared by most of the home crowd.

Rams’ total football continued and, in the thirty-sixth minute, a hard driven shot from Richie Baker’s could only be parried out and fell loose in the box.  Camara made up the ground and was able to plant the ball firmly past Schofield and in, to his - and the ultras - delight.

Two nil to the good, the Rams were in full flow as the midfield began generating wave after wave of attacks and with fluid football which had Stockport clinging on to avoid a rout. 

After the break it was game management by Steve Wilkes.  He knows that he will need his squad to be fit and ready for the crunch following the end of the normal season.

He brought on Tom Walker and made a series of substitutes throughout to rest tired limbs and ensure there were no injuries. The visitors were allowed more time to develop their own attractive passing game but lacked the venom to make it count when in promising situations.

Glenn Matthews and Luke Barlow kept their shape as the Rams never quite hit the heights of the first half and saw out the half for what ended up as a routine home victory.  The Rams have accumulated a stellar 96 points in the season, equally a club record from season 2011-12, with two games remaining and guaranteed to finish in the top three and the home semi-final play-off game advantage.

The sun-kissed crowd stayed to acclaim the team as once more they ran over at the end in lovely sunshine. The Rams have two more games before the playoff tie, likely against Padiham, on Saturday 26 April.

“Another game where I thought we were in control throughout apart from maybe the first five minutes”, commented manager Steve Wilkes, after the game.    

“I thought first half we were excellent and should have scored more than the two goals”, he continued, “Second half we saw the game out really well.

"The game became stop-start with the ten substitutions, but we’ve now equaled the club record points tally so hopefully in the next two games we can create a new record”.

The Rams are next in action with a trip to Chadderton on Friday night (11th April), live on Roch Valley Radio.