Having made his 300th appearance in a Rams shirt, Ramsbottom United Chairman Harry Williams presented a framed action photo to Phil Dean before the FA Cup replay against Kidsgrove Athletic.
Widely known to the Rams followers as “Wizz”, the left-sided winger-cum-defender turned out for the club for the 300th time in the game against Mossley last Saturday, and the club made him an honorary Captain for the day against the Lilywhites.
After the Kidsgrove game, Phil’s record now stands at 301 games played (50 from the bench) with 60 goals scored, some achievement in the fluid world of non-league football.
Ramsbottom United manager Mark Fell handed versatile left-sided player Phil Dean the Captain’s armband ahead of the game away at Mossley on Saturday as recognition of the 27 year old’s 300th appearance for the club.
Joining the Rams back in 2009 as an 18 year old, he was instrumental in the club’s rise from The North West Counties League through to the Evo-Stik Premier, and the diminutive full back-cum-winger has been a firm favourite at the Harry Williams Riverside Stadium over the years.
He followed the club’s former joint-managers Anthony Johnson and Bernard Morley to Salford City, and had spells at Warrington Town, Shaw Lane and Colne, before returning to the club last season.
Dean, pictured above, wore the Rams shirt for the 300th time at Seel Park, with 250 starting appearances, 50 from the bench, and an impressive scoring record of 60 goals for Ramsbottom United.
Here's a few of Phil's action shot from this afternoon's match
This Friday 31st August (7.45pm kickoff) the Ramsbottom United Reserves will play at the Harry Williams Riverside Stadium for the first time when they face Morecambe FC Reserves. Entry is only £2. Come and support the future of Ramsbottom United!
The Rams make the short hop across Bolton to take on old rivals Atherton Collieries at the Kensite Stadium (M46 9EY)
Colls were promoted to the Evo-Stik League last season having clinched the North West Counties League title, and enjoyed a fruitful first year at the higher level.
Having finished the campaign in a creditable 10th spot, they then collected their first piece of silverwear at this level by defeating Coalville Town from the Premier Division in the Final of the Integro League Cup, by 2 goals to 1 at Alfreton Town’s ground.
On the way to the final they just happened to eliminate the Rams at their place in the quarter final 2-0, whilst also defeating us there in the League a couple of weeks later by virtue of a late free-kick which edged the five goals scored on the day, in their favour.
They would have regarded that as fair justice, after we ended their excellent ten game unbeaten run by defeating them 1-0 at home in early March.
The two clubs have met many times over the years, mainly in the NWCFL, so old rivalries will be renewed on Monday, and hopefully a good number of Rammy supporters will be there cheering the lads on in what is certain to be a decent crowd.
Still out for the visitors is Tom Kennedy. The farcical situation regarding the application for his International Clearance following his stay in Wales with Bangor City, has still not materialised, much to the frustration of both the player and the club.
Greg Daniels is also likely to be missing, as is captain Dean Stott who suffered a nasty injury when colliding with the advertising boards at Kidsgrove on Saturday.
The Rams made two changes to the side that held Mosley to a weekend draw only three days previous. Luke Jordan and Dean Stott were recalled with Tom Brooks and Nathan Brown missing out on a place in the starting eleven.
On a cold early Autumn night down at the Riverside, Rammy came out fighting starting the game firmly on the front foot. In the opening minute, Jamie Rother hit the post with a stinging shot and shortly after, Jerome Wright had a shot saved when through on goal.
The early exchanges set the tone for the night as Rammy huffed and puffed for an opening goal. However it was Kidsgrove who had the ball in the net in the twenty sixth minute. The Rams defensive line held firm when Anthony Malbon lobbed Sam Ashton in the Rams goal, yet referee Ben Wyatt adjudged the Kidsgrove number ten to be in an offside position.
Yet Rammy didn’t let Kidsgrove growing presence in the game hinder them as they continued to create chances. Ryan Ellison missed the target with a header and a Jack Higgs shot also failed to test the keeper.
HT: Rammy 0-0 Kidsgrove
Ramsbttom again began the second half like they started the first and were rewarded with their efforts when Wright won a penalty under a challenge from Kidsgrove midfielder Rhys Thompson on the hour mark. However Wright failed to convert the penalty and sent his shot wide.
Yet the drama continued to unfold ten minutes later. Thompson again went into a challenge on Rams captain Dean Stott which concluded with the midfielder being given his marching orders and left the visitors a man down.
The home side continued to huff and puff as extra time loomed. Left back Phil Dean sent in several dangerous crosses which with any contact from a Rams player would have put them ahead. Then in injury time substitute Ben Deegan could have won the game, only for his effort to have been charged down by the ever strong Kidsgrove defence and blocked by Kurasik between the sticks.
FT: Rammy 0-0 Kidsgrove
Extra time began with now complete darkness and another wave of Rams attacks. Midfielder Rother saw two chances go amiss and number nine Lee Gaskell’s attempt also failed to burst the net. Despite the missed opportunities, the home side played the ball around with much confidence and posed constant threats from wide areas throughout the game. Full backs Dean and Henry grew into the game and their crosses proved tough to handle for the Kidsgrove back line.
Extra Time HT: Rammy 0-0 Kidsgrove
The final fifteen minutes began with Kidsgrove enjoying their best chances of the replay. Malbon forced Ashton into doubles saves as the Kidsgrove striker proved their greatest threat all game. He could have won it at the death after twisting and turning past several blue shirts however failed to test Ashton this time around and the opportunity came and went.
Between Malbon’s near misses Rammy continued to pose a threat at the other end having arguably the best chance of the game. From a Wright corner, Gaskell failed to make the most of the free space he had and failed to head home from an inviting ball delivered by Rammy’s left winger.
Extra Time FT: Rammy 0-0 Kidsgrove
With no goals in either normal or extra time, the game went to twelve-yard kicks in order to determine a winner.
The visitors took an early advantage leading 2-1 after three penalties. Adam Freeland and Peter Williams scored for the men in lime green yet only Rother could convert for Rammy with Gaskell and Wright both unable to score the first two spot kicks.
The pendulum swung in Rammy’s favour during the fourth wave of kicks as Phil Dean leveled up the scores after Malbon failed to put Kidsgrove 3-1 up.
Rumemio Barai kept his cool to put Kidsgrove 3-2 ahead meaning skipper Dean Stott had to score his penalty to take the shootout to sudden death. Sadly it wasn’t to be for the Rams and Kidsgrove progressed to the next round of the cup on Saturday in a game against Atherton Colliers.
Despite the disappointing defeat, Rams boss Mark Fell remained positive and praised the performance of the team.
“I’m proud of the lads who took the penalties. To be honest I’m proud of the way we played, we continued to do the right things’.
‘We didn’t have the cutting edge, but some nights this happens. We have a free weekend, which we didn’t plan for but we’ll work for Kendal next week. If we create this many chances, we’ve got a great chance to win that game”.
‘Points wise we’re in a good position and squad wise I think we’re in a much better position than we were last season’.
‘The message from me to the players is we go again and stick together as a team. That’s all we can do’.
Ramsbottom United made the trip to the foothills of the Pennines on Saturday afternoon to take on a Mossley side that had gained maximum points from their opening three league matches of the season.
The Rams starting line up was unchanged from their previous outing at Atherton on Bank Holiday Monday with skipper for the day Phil Dean proudly wearing the captains armband on his 300th appearance for Ramsbottom United.
It was indeed the visitors that fashioned the first goal scoring chance of the match with barely 3 minutes on the clock when a superb threaded pass from Higgs sent Jerome Wright through in the left hand channel but his low shot was blocked by home keeper Diba.
The early stages of the contest were fairly even with Mossley looking to put pressure on the away sides defence with their direct approach, it appeared from quite early on in the match that the home side would look to get the ball into the Rams penalty box as often as possible with long throws a weapon that would certainly not be under utilised by the home side.
With around a quarter of an hour played both teams exchanged attempts at goal with Brooks testing home stopper Diba with a low drive before a Mossley head flicked a long throw goal wards but Ashton was well positioned collect the ball.
The contest exploded into life with around the 20 minute mark when Mossley full back Downey and Ramsbottom United central defender Luke Thompson competed strongly for a loose ball in what looked a 50:50 challenge but referee Mr Ball decided that the Mossley player had fouled his Rams counterpart and issued Downey a red card much to the disbelief of all connected with the hosts.
With a man extra for the remaining 70 minutes of the match hopes were high amongst the travelling Rams that their favourites would make the most of their numerical advantage, minutes later the visitors almost took the lead when a stunning left footed shot from Wright beat Diba but hit the inside of the post before being scrambled to safety.
The remainder of the first half was played out with neither goalkeeper being seriously tested although it was clear Mossley were feeling very aggrieved at the sending off of Downey and would look to utilise their feeling of injustice to spur them on in the second half.
No sooner had the contest restarted than Mossley broke the deadlock when a right sided corner from former Ram Ben Richardson found Jones six yards from goal and the towering defenders downward header beat Ashton to give the ten men a lead to protect.
The early goal appeared to stun Ramsbottom United and the home side had an opportunity to double their lead when another corner caused consternation in the visitors rearguard as another header fizzed wide of Ashton post.
Manager Mark Fell responded with a change from the bench giving ex Bury and Rochdale player Tom Kennedy his competitive Rams debut in place of the ever industrious Jamie Rother as the away side chased an equaliser.
With just over an hour of the contest played the Rams would find a leveller when a shot from distance from Tom Brooks was blocked on route towards goal before falling kindly to Lee Gaskell whose low right footed drive beat the diving Diba to find the bottom corner of the net to give the striker his first goal of the season.
It was hoped that the equaliser would provide the Rams with the momentum to go and find a winning goal as Luke Jordan was introduced in place of Brown mid way through the second period.
As the minutes ticked by it was apparent that ten man Mossley were more than happy to settle for a point as they perhaps understandably attempted to slow play down whenever possible to deny the Rams any opportunity to gain any attacking impetus. With that said, the home outfit still looked to threaten the visitors goal from set pieced and long throws but the visitors defence protected Ashton
Although the away side had the majority of possession for the final quarter of an hour and despite the clever promptings from Kennedy clear chances were limited with Jordan sending a shot wide and man of the moment Dean going down in the penalty area but the referee waived away the muted shouts for a spot kick.
The final chance of a tempestuous encounter fell to the away side as with the five minutes of injury time almost up Jack Higgs sent a free kick wide of the target from around 25 yards out, shortly afterwards the referee brought an end to proceedings and both sides settled for a point apiece. Overall it would be difficult to suggest that either side did enough to take all 3 points in a hard fought contest between two sides hoping to improve on last seasons showing.
It should be noted that the Rams have garnered 4 points from their opening three away fixtures to date this season and it took until November 18th to get to that total in away matches in the previous campaign.
With Ramsbottom United finishing off a run of four consecutive away fixtures in less than two weeks the team have collected seven points from their opening four league matches and sit in eight position in the fledgling league table whilst having an FA Cup replay against Kidsgrove Athletic to look forward to on Tuesday night.
The winner of our FA Cup Replay v Kidsgrove Athletic on 4th Sept will play Atherton Collieries away on Saturday 8th September in the FA Cup First Qualifying Round.
Captain Dean Stott went to hospital after yesterday's match and received four stitches for his head cuts. He returned home afterwards and is doing fine. We are wishing Dean a swift recovery.
After earning four points from two tough-looking away league games, the Rams look to make progress in this season’s FA Cup, with a replay against fellow Evo-Stik West side, Kidsgrove Athletic.
A late Jerome Wright penalty levelled thing up in Staffordshire ten days ago, so both sides try again at the Harry Williams Riverside Stadium, with the victors facing a trip to Atherton Collieries on Saturday (for the losers, it means at Saturday off!)
Should the score be level after 90 minutes, extra time, and if required penalties, will decide the outcome.
For the Rams, the incentive is a speedy return to Atherton where the 3-1 win on Bank Holiday Monday gave them a welcome three points in what turned out to be a hard-fought encounter.
Colls recovered from the set-back by thrashing Skelmersdale United 9-1 on Saturday, so whoever goes through will have their work cut out to make further progress in the competition.
Due to the delay in obtaining International Clearance, Tom Kennedy will be ineligible for the replay.
Back in the late 1970’s and early ‘80’s, Mossley were arguably the most successful non-league club in the country.
Twice champions of the Northern Premier League, when the League was the next level below the Football League, followed by a couple of runners-up spots, along with a visit to Wembley in the Final of the FA Trophy, the Lilywhites were only denied entry to the newly formed National League (then The Alliance) due to ground grading issues.
Since then, it’s fair to say, the club from a small town nestled in the foothills of the Pennines, has suffered a chequered history.
Financial problems almost put them out of business, whilst mixed results on the pitch has seen them turn into what most people would describe as a fourth tier non-league side.
However, a change of management this summer has seen Dave Wild and Terry Hincks installed in the hot seats, and a transformation on the pitch has been immediate.
Away wins at Chasetown and Droylsden, with a home victory over Widnes has seen a 100% start to their League campaign, whilst a draw away at newly-amalgamated Ossett United in the FA Cup has ensured an unbeaten start to the season.
The Rams are also on a high after drawing away at Kidsgrove in the FA Cup (Replay at Rammy on Tuesday night) and an excellent hard-earned victory at much-fancied Atherton Collieries on Bank Holiday Monday.
So an intriguing game is in prospect just down the M60.
At last International Clearance has come through for Tom Kennedy giving manager Mark Fell another option, and whilst Greg Daniels may just fall short, Dean Stott will hopefully be available after the nasty injury he received at Kidsgrove.
Rams make most of ground swap as they take all three points on the road.
The Rams made three changes to the side that held Kidsgrove in the FA Cup last Saturday. Nathan Brown, Lee Gaskell and Jack Higgs came into the side replacing Alex Downes, Luke Jordan and the injured Dean Stott.
The Rams showed why life on the road has been tough in recent months as Atherton immediately had Rammy on the back foot.
The forward line for Atherton consisting of Ben Hardcastle, Adam Farrell and Connor Gaul gave Mark Fell’s side a few scares early on creating some dangerous chances that threatened Sam Ashton in the Rammy goal. The home side looked particularly dangerous early on, however failed to work the Rammy keeper properly into a save.
Right back Dave Sherlock was the leading problem for as Rammy as Atherton pressed for an opener, his overlapping runs and crosses lead to Farrell’s header over the bar whilst Hardcastle dictated play from the midfield with great affect.
It wasn’t till the 20th minute that the Rams had a shot on goal. A Lee Gaskell free kick flew straight into Atherton keeper Jack Cookson’s arms.
However it wasn’t long till the Rams had something to celebrate. Jack Higgs made the most of his return to the side, firing home from close range after a well-taken free kick from Jerome Wright landed at the feet of Higgs who put Rammy a goal ahead.
It took just five minutes more for Fell’s men to double their lead. Luke Thompson was brought down in the box giving Wright the opportunity to double the away sides lead from the spot. The penalty was one of perfection, chipped over Atherton keeper Jack Cookson as the Rams went into half time with what seemed a comfortable lead.
Half Time: Atherton Collieries 0-2 Ramsbottom United
The home side came straight out of the blocks in the second period, within minutes halving Rammy’s lead. From a free kick, Danny Lafferty hit the post before Hardcastle turned in the re-bound, reacting quicker than any Rammy player to the ball smashing home, opening up the possibility of a dramatic second half comeback.
The Rams survived the second half pressure that Atherton provided, the solid back four of Henry, Dean, Ellison and Thompson holding out superbly as Atherton gained momentum from the early second half goal.
However it was Ramsbottom who scored the winning goal in the most bizzare of ways. Winger Nathan Brown’s free kick flew past everyone before beating Cookson in the Atherton goal. Only the tricky winger could tell us whether it was a cross or a shot, however sent the Rams on their way to a much-valued three points.
The home side threw caution to the wind in the final stages. Vincent Bailey’s shot was well saved by Ashton whilst at the other end Rammy sub Ben Deegan could have rubbed salt into Atherton’s wounds but could only fire over the bar.
Rammy held out for a well earned three points. Boss Mark Fell was particularly pleased. ‘You want to get off to a flying start, I though the lads were excellent, we had enough quality in the team to create those opportunities.
‘From my perspective we were resililant when we needed to be but we still had the quality to score the goals and see the game out’.
Mark Fell made 3 changes to the team that played against Colne on Tuesday. Nathan Brown & Alex Downes missed out as they are cup tied and Dominic Marie dropped to the bench. Tom Brooks, Jerome Wright and Rob Henry returned to the side.
Kidsgrove could have had their first chance in the opening five minutes but Jordan Cole fouled Rammy’s no 6 Ryan Ellison.
Kidsgrove’s best chance so far came on eight minutes when Alex Lingard ran down the left hand side and fired his shot across goal.
Phil Dean tried his luck with a long range effort, 25 minutes into the game but it went well wide.
Kidsgrove took the lead on 31 minutes when there skipper Ant Malbon scored from just outside of the 6 yard box with a left footed shot into the back of the net. Kidsgrove 1 Rammy 0
Not many chances graced the last 15 minutes of the 1st half apart from a Luke Jordan header on 43 minutes which was claimed by the goalkeeper
The first 10 minutes of the 2nd half started like the first half ended for the Rams, until Luke Thompson’s header was cleared away by the Kidsgrove defence.
Jerome Wright crossed for Luke Jordan, seven minutes later but it was intercepted by the Kidsgrove keeper.
Three minutes later, Kidsgrove’s Lewis Bergin goes down with a serious knee injury he was stretchered off. Oliver Jepson came on in his place – we wish Lewis all the best.
On 73 minutes, Sam Ashton made a great save to deny Alex Lingard could have easily been 2-0 to Kidsgrove.
Eleven minutes from time, Jerome Wright was fouled in the box by Rhys Thompson. Jerome stepped up and converted from 12 yards. Kidsgrove 1 Rammy 1
Rammy & Kidsgrove had chances into the final 5 minutes of normal time but none of them were converted.
With two minutes to go, Rammy skipper Dean Stott hit the advertising boards on the side of the pitch after colliding with Kidsgrove’s Rhys Thompson, he had to be stretchered off and has been treated by the local ambulance service – we will keep you up to date with Dean’s condition in the coming days.
The referee played eight added minutes but neither side could convert a chance. So the two teams will go again, a week on Tuesday (4th September) at the Harry Williams Riverside Stadium.
