Baths FC Vs AFC Didsbury 2 / ecsfl league cup (30/10/16 - Bollington Rec, Bollington)

BATHS FC 7
​AFC DIDSBURY 2

AFC DIDSBURY: Carr, Johnston(Garcia), Hield, Birtwistle, Bermingham (Plowright), Simpson, Williams, Coleman (Reynolds), Tauro (Higginson), Luxton (Rouf), Rohman

GOALS: Coleman, Simpson
ASSISTS: Williams, Higginson
MAN OF THE MATCH: Coleman

DIDSBURY TAKE A BATH AT BOLLINGTON

Romance was nowhere to be seen in this cup tie as Didsbury 2’s took on Baths FC at Bollington.  Once Claude Birtwistle had unveiled yet another pair of new boots (that he hadn’t even tried on) to the dressing room, conversation turned to the whereabouts of Amit Tauro.  After arriving on time, he vanished for 20 minutes but thankfully reappeared during the warm-up looking refreshed.

Didsbury started well, and there wasn’t much to choose between the two sides in the opening minutes.  With Jack Simpson and Tauro on the wings and Sham Rohman leading the line, Didsdury had pace in abundance to unlock the Baths defence, looking threatening from the outset, but it was Baths that took the lead early on.  The travelling crowd were loud in support, with avid Didsbury 2’s fan Tom Whiteley so excited for the match he managed to get into a stranger’s car in a MacDonald’s car park on the way there.

The Didsbury midfield of Stu Williams and Jake Coleman looked solid, and the momentum began to build despite a break in play to remove some excrement off the pitch.  After much debate over who would remove the faeces, and with what, a less than willing Baths substitute opted for the carrier bag as opposed to the training cone method of extraction.  Invariably, Baths used this opportunity to gather themselves before scoring a second.

In the last 10 minutes of the first half Didsbury looked dangerous, with Rohman breaking through for a chance and Tauro sending a shot over the bar.  It was a strong end to a half where Didsbury created plenty of opportunities and were unfortunate to be losing 2-0.

Numerous changes were made during the second half with the introduction of James Plowright, Rob Higginson, Oscar Garcia, Rabbi Rouf and a late ‘run’ out for Dave Reynolds, whose desire and passion to be introduced was only surpassed by the speed at which he made his way onto the pitch. 

Didsbury couldn’t generate the same momentum in the second half that they ended the first with, but a beautiful delivery from Williams into the box was met by a leaping Coleman to guide the ball into the corner past a helpless keeper.  Coleman dominated in the air all game, like Harry Potter in Quidditch….without the need of a broom.

Invigorated, a Didsbury move down the left resulted in Higginson cutting onto his right before floating a deep ball into the box.  There to meet it, like a trick or treater with an empty bucket, was a ferocious Simpson, who planted the sweet, sweet ball into the far corner.  He celebrated like Didsbury had won the cup itself, unleashing some of the fire he’d earlier displayed, leading the ref to request Mark Hield to calm him down for being very angry.
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Baths scored five goals in the second half with the result ending 7-2, but more importantly Didsbury have a chance to reflect before their next game on November 13th in the ECSFL Divisional Cup.

Words by Ash Luxton

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