Rochdale Online Alliance Football League Report

Rochdale Online Alliance Football League

It was Aristotle who famously remarked, “The whole is greater than the sum of its parts”, and those ten words sum up to perfection Fothergill & Whittles semi final triumph over Sudden in the remaining Chairman’s Cup semi final at Firgrove last Saturday.

Sudden chose to play into a strong first half wind, and took the attack to their somewhat hesitant opponents, with Tony Knight and Danny Holmes dominating the midfield exchanges and supplying the strong running Fitz McKenzie and Rhys Lewis with plenty of attacking options.

With Jake Dixon marshalling the Fothergill’s back line superbly, and Nick Grindrod handling everything impeccably in goal, the newly crowned Premier Division Champions held firm and struck a massive psychological blow in the forty fifth minute as Danny Armitage’s left wing corner sailed across the face of the Sudden goal and inside the far post to send the better side into the break one down.

Fothergill’s manager Nick Sunderland needs no help motivating his team, but he got it anyway with Sudden’s petty squabbling during the break doing nothing to aid their cause, as well as serving to reinforce Fothergill’s self belief that they could put a difficult forty five minutes behind them and go on to reach the final.

Sudden continued to push forward in the early stages of the second period, but their free flowing football was not being endorsed by an end product, and Fothergill’s were now looking far more likely to catch Sudden out on the counter attack.

With the second goal assuming greater importance the longer the game progressed it was Fothergill’s who struck on the hour mark as Tyler Greenwood’s low drive beat Chaplin in the Sudden goal. Two became three inside five minutes as Greenwood scored again from close range and it looked game over, but Sudden responded inside sixty seconds with the goal of the game from Fitz McKenzie, a good finish from ten yards rounding off a breathtaking passing movement on the edge of the Fothergill’s box.

With renewed hope Sudden began to dominate the game, and were a whisker away from reducing the deficit further when Holmes’ superb header from a right wing corner ran off the underside of the crossbar and out of play on the far side.

A second Sudden goal, and a thrilling end to the game, seemed increasingly likely only for a moment of madness from Paul Nelson to kill the game with thirteen minutes to play. Under no pressure whatsoever Nelson handled a loose ball just inside the Sudden penalty area presenting David Collins with the chance to convert the resultant penalty and end the game as a contest.

With Sudden’s fraglile self discipline quickly evaporating into the Firgrove wind Greenwood completed his hat trick for the league champions in time added on and once again they underlined the value of the team ethos ; well led on the touchline, and on the field, with a willingness to work for, and support, each other from first whistle to last.

The final against Walsden will be played at Mayfield Sports Centre on Friday 15 May with a 7pm kick off.

Falcon will face Rochdale Asia in the first President’s Cup semi final after their respective wins over Mighty Dragons and F&W Rovers.

Rochdale Asia completed a routine victory at Greenvale whilst Falcon continued their end of season resurgence with a thrilling win over the Division One champions at Hollinwood CC.

Falcon led 2-0 early on but Dragons gave notice of their ability, and intent, by reducing the deficit just before half time. Three goals in the space of ten second half minutes seemed to have put Falcon out of sight, but Dragons had other ideas, replying with three goals of their own to set up an enthralling finale, settled in Falcon’s favour by the tenth and final goal of a breathless game well controlled by match official Paul Lister.