RAMSBOTTOM'S indifferent performance brought them back down to earth with a bump.

After an impressive run in the league which moved them to fourth in the table, they never got going against Stone Dominoes, who left the Riverside content they had gained three well deserved points.

After Ramsbottom failed to break down Stone's defence, the visitors took the lead through Jon Paul Jones just before the break.

A rare defensive mix-up led to Stone's second on 70 minutes when Paul Taylor was allowed space to fire past Mark Andrews.

This duly arrived after 70 minutes following a

> rare mix-up in the Ramsbottom defence allowing Paul Taylor the freedom to

> power the ball through the grasp of Andrews and across the goal line.

Matt Edgington returned in place of Kyle Ingham for Rams, while their Stoke based opponents were missing key players Nick Ward and Dave Shaw but still had enough confidence to complete the double over the Rams.

This was a killer blow for the

> home side as it arrived on the stroke of half time and signified that one

> chance is all that it takes for a side to take the lead.

>

> The second half began with the Rams attempting to fight their way back

> into the match. However, they were guilty of not being able to step up an

> extra gear when required and the visitors were allowed to run out

> comfortable winners. Even the introduction of Ewan Purcell was unable to

> spark the Rams into action although with his first touch he forced Hackney

> into a heroic save to keep Stone in front. After leaving his marker

> standing, Purcell ran through on goal before attempting a left foot drive

> that seemed destined for the bottom corner before Hackney somehow parried

> the ball behind for a corner. This was a turning point in the match and

> gave the rest of the Stone team the confidence required to push forward in

> search of the vital second. This duly arrived after 70 minutes following a

> rare mix-up in the Ramsbottom defence allowing Paul Taylor the freedom to

> power the ball through the grasp of Andrews and across the goal line. This

> was the last real action of the match as the home sides efforts petered

> out in front of goal. Matt Walsh showed a few nice touches following his

> introduction but overall the performance was rather flat to say the least.

>

> Many will think that this was a minor blip against a side capable of

> causing one or two upsets but in reality this was just a case of too many

> players failing to produce the goods on the day! Credit must go to the

> devoted Ramsbottom faithful who never gave up supporting the players till

> the death but along with the management team they will see this as three

> points dropped. Whilst other results went against the Riversiders, they

> will be looking to bounce back in fine style next Saturday when they face

> a potential banana skin away at Atherton LR, kick off 3.00pm.

>

> Ramsbottom United Team (Ratings out of ten)

> 1. Mark Andrews (6)

> 2. Matt Raywood (6)

> 3. Adam Cook (6)

> 4. Adam Kozlowski (6)

> 5. Bill Robertson (6)

> 6. John Blackley (6)

> 7. Chris Mackay (7)

> 8. Todd Hayes (6)

> 9. Michael Saunders (6)

> 10. Bernard Morley (6)

> 11. Matt Edgington (6)

>

> Subs: Matt Walsh (6) replaced Chris Mackay

> Ewan Purcell (6) replaced Michael Saunders

> Keiron Fletcher (6) replaced Bernard Morley

>

> Stone Dominoes Team

> 1. Rob Hackney

> 2. Andy Taylor

> 3. Chris Rowley

> 4. Richard Smith

> 5. Andrew Brownsword

> 6. Stuart Scheuber

> 7. Colin Fletcher

> 8. Paul Donnelly

> 9. Danny Bowers

> 10. Jon Paul Jones

> 11. Paul Taylor

>

> Subs: Nathan Shaw replaced Danny Bowers

> Adam Soane replaced Colin Fletcher

> Wayne Teague replaced Jon Paul Jones

>

> Match Report

>

>

>

> Man of Match: Matt Edgington

>

> Report by Christopher Boothman.

>

>