Ramsbottom United hit top form as Whyte double sinks Prestwich Heys 3–0

Ramsbottom United hosted neighbours Prestwich Heys on Tuesday evening at the Riverside, the rain and drizzle meant that the ball fizzed along the pitch under the floodlights, until becoming increasingly heavy.

Prestwich, playing in red, came into the game in high spirits having beaten league leaders Padiham on their own turf a few days previously and the Rams knew that they faced a stern test of their own title credentials.

 The game started brightly, and the first contentious decision was to see Finn Wallbank go over in the box and the referee, Kaan Hayes, pointed to the spot which drew sustained and vehement protests from the visitors.  He went to the linesman and gave a TV review gesture, the penalty, correctly, was overturned and a corner given instead.

From it, and as the ball moved around the box, Ramsbottom almost drew first blood as a Jacob Holland-Wilkinson header struck the Prestwich crossbar.

As the game developed both teams were very much in the game, but the home breakthrough came from a move down the left wing. Harvey Hayhurst delivered a low cross which looked to be covered by goalkeeper Lee White but a combination of spin and the wet conditions led to it becoming loose.  Following in was Harvey Whyte who gleefully slammed the ball over the line to his and his teammates’ delight.

Undaunted, the visitors continued with their purposeful game and towards half time a dangerous move down the left flank led to a powerful top corner bound header which looked destined for an equaliser but Brad Rose, reacting with lightning speed and agility, hurled himself across and upwards to force the ball over the bar - another in the catalogue of astonishing gravity-defying saves - to preserve the precious lead.

After the restart Prestwich continued to show menace and Rose had to be alert once more as a cross from the left flashed across goal and he again turned away the shot, arrowing for the far corner of the net. Rose's confidence transmitted itself to both teammates and supporters, with tenacious wholehearted defensive tackling and blocks enabling Rams to ride the storm.

The crowd provided lively accompaniment with a drum augmenting the repertoire of sometimes unique songs - and a growing number of players gaining bespoke tunes– enjoyed by all - adding to the positive atmosphere around the stadium.

Perhaps buoyed by this it was still slightly against the run of play when an intricate passing move on 67 minutes led to the home side advancing down the right.

Hayhurst played the ball into the box where it was read by Richie Baker who strode forwards to hit it on the half volley where it crashed past Lee White for the most dramatic of finishes.  Baker enjoyed the moment with his teammates and the fans shared the delight and a realisation that their team had the chance to go top of the league – even if only for 24 hours.

The move reflected hard unseen hours on the training pitch as the home side gained a degree of breathing space.  Steve Wilkes made a number of substitutions to keep the energy levels high.

Rams weren’t finished and smart play from a throw in on the left led to the ball reaching Harvey Whyte who superbly volleyed past White from the edge of the box much to the delight of the Ultras behind the goal and a 3-0 lead as the performance turned into a show of intent.

Rams managed the game out and were deserved winners with an emphatic result against very good opponents. They have strung together the run of four clean sheets, the true sign of any team with serious intent but at the other end have been scoring freely.

Looking back at the statistics of October with seven straight wins makes perfect reading as they go again on Saturday - once more against Prestwich Heys.