Manchester Metro ticket = £5
Toilet at Bury = 20p
Tea = 70p
Entrance = £9
Bus (Ramsbottom-Bury) = £3-80
Total = £18-70
On a potentially wet day in November, I headed off for Darwen's ground - another 'difficult to do' one worth a crack as winter approached. I was wary of postponements and kept a close eye on the Twitter feeds for the NWCFL and the club themselves. And lo and behold the FA Vase game at Darwen had been called off. Fortunately I had come prepared with alternatives, and as the train pulled into the edifice of Piccadilly, I decided to make a punt on Ramsbottom United. Sitting just north of Bury, I established that I could catch a tram out and walk/bus it from there. Irritatingly I had to catch the tram to Bury from Market Street, perhaps the busiest tram stop in Manchester. As the tram trundled through the streets and gradually cleared the city, I began to relax and look forward to today.
Arriving at Bury, I had to quickly see a man about a dog (paying 20p for the privilege) before setting off on a quick march to 'Rammy' as it is affectionately known. This must have taken just over an hour to walk, with the non-descript grey housing of Bury giving way to some glorious Lancashire countryside. This was a great time of year to visit as the Autumnal colours lent a certain rich tint to the fields and hills up to the town.
Ramsbottom is something of a non-league hoppers' favourite, and I can see why. Nestled alongside a railway line for a steam engine, and in the shadow of a nearby moor, this had a classic feel about it. As I have done so many NWCFL clubs recently, I completely forgot that this was actually an Evostik Premier match, until the £9 at the turnstile sent me a clear message! I then opted for an excellent cup of tea in the club-house to the right of the turnstile, served in a china mug with the club's emblem on the side.
It must have been a long trip for Grantham today, but they out-did themselves in the first half. I was particularly impressed by the accurate passing of the midfield and strikeforce, who had an early penalty shout when 6 went down in the box. On 11 minutes (according to my watch), Grantham's 10 had a free header which he planted centrally into the goal to make it 1-0. Ramsbottom looked like a decent side trying to get out, and created chances of their own when 11 fired wide with his left foot, and 10 had a one-on-one shot well-saved. Despite the vociferous support of the home crowd, Grantham went in at half-time a goal up.
After the break, it was pretty clear that Ramsbottom had received a clear message from their manager! They were all over Grantham, who were beginning to flag and display weaknesses in defence. The home side's 10 fired over from the left wing, before their right-back made it 1-1 on 53 minutes. I now got the impression that this was Ramsbottom's to lose. In the midst of all this pressure from the home side, one of the Grantham central defenders burped, and said 'excuse me'! I wonder what he had eaten as a half-time snack?! As predicted, 'Rammy' took the lead on 64 minutes with a goal from number 9, before 4 had a shot saved, and 10 fired wide again (clearly not his day). On 90 minutes one of the Ramsbottom subs (15) made it 3-1, and the home side then earned a penalty when 14 was scythed down in the area. Somehow their number 9 contrived to plant the shot onto the bar. Either way it didn't matter, and Ramsbottom were excellent value for their win. Grantham's solitary second-half chance came when 2 had a shot which flew just wide.
On the way back, I decided to catch the bus back to Bury, and was shocked at the rather steep £3-80 fare. Nonetheless it saved my tired legs, and although I had to share a busy tram with crowds of Bury FC fans, I made it back to Manchester (and Sheffield thereafter) at a reasonable time.
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