RAMSBOTTOM’S busy start to the season continued with a 1-0 win against Trafford.

Trafford began the contest positively on the back of their FA Cup victory against Burscough two days earlier but neither keeper was seriously troubled.

The Rams almost broke the deadlock when the in-form Ruben Jerome was denied by a save from Matt Cooper and wide man Irywah Gooden sent a shot flying off target.

Shortly after the half-hour mark Gooden again was at the centre of the action but his surging run ended with a wayward shot.

The remainder of the first period contained plenty of endeavour from both outfits and it ended goalless.

Trafford made a bright start to the second half and fashioned their best chance of the match when Dontai Gabidon worked some space down the left wing before sending an inviting cross into the path of Darius Palma, who failed to convert from close range.

With the temperature gauge rising it became more apparent that the use of substitutes was likely to have a positive influence on the game, though neither goalkeeper was being called into any meaningful action.

The Rams were first to dip into the replacements available when Nic Evangelinos took the place of Karl Jones but in truth the longer the game progressed the more it appeared as though one goal may prove decisive.

Trafford responded with two changes of their own as manager Tom Baker looked to introduce fresh legs.

Ramsbottom perhaps looked the more likely side to break the deadlock and Gooden had a spectacular scissor kick attempt which sailed over the crossbar after a Tom Kennedy corner fell kindly to the youngster on the edge of the penalty area.

Then, with little more than a quarter of an hour remaining, superb closing down by Jerome allowed him to dispossess visiting defender Sam Egerton.

As the striker ran towards goal the recovering Trafford player brought down the Rams striker for a free kick on the edge of the area.

Kennedy stepped up and perfectly beat the defensive wall and also the despairing dive of Cooper to find the bottom corner of the net for his first goal of the season.

The Rams skipper has now netted in the last three meetings between the two sides, having scored in both matches at Shawe View last season, in the FA

Trophy and February’s league fixture.

The remaining minutes of a tightly fought encounter saw Trafford inevitably push forward looking to restore parity but a well-marshalled defence restricted Trafford to just one effort on target, which was easily dealt with by Tom Stewart in the home goal.

After the additional time ticked away the Rams were delighted to hear the final whistle, confirming a victory that means Chris Willcock’s charges are one of only three teams that have a 100-per-cent record after the first three league games.

Also pleasing for the manager was their first clean sheet of the season.

Rammy will look to extend that record when they travel to Pontefract Collieries this Saturday.