Park take another big step towards promotion

Daisyfield Rangers V Royton Park, match played at Oasis Academy, Oldham. Chris Morris, playing for Daisyfield, with a bloody nose after a tackle.

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Daisyfield R'rs 0, Royton Pk 2

ROYTON Town took a massive step towards promotion in Division Three of the Sports Tours International Tameside Sunday League with victory over Daisyfield Rangers at the OASIS Academy.

Defeat for Rangers has all but ended their promotion hopes - and it came at a price.

Chris Morris, who scored six goals - five of them headers - in Rangers' 11-1 thumping of Tameside Wolves a week earlier, was taken to hospital with a broken nose with less than half-an-hour gone as the result of an accidental collision with a Park opponent.

Rangers' joint-manager Karl Jones said: "I think we lost our way when Chris went off because he is our main creative player.

"We didn't create any chances after that incident, and we conceded two sloppy goals. I think that any hopes we had of promotion have all but ended now."

Morris almost gave Rangers an early lead, but his close-range header was superbly beaten away by Park goalkeeper Tom Ogden.

HARD-FOUGHT

Rangers and Park had already met twice before in cup ties, each winning by a 4-2 scoreline. This was an entertaining, evenly-matched and very hard-fought contest which was handled expertly by referee Richard Burton. As Sunday football goes, this was as good as it gets.

Tactical changes in the second half by Park manager Lewis Waterman saw his side control the game, with Like Kolakowski slotting home an Adam Sutcliffe cross from 12 yards after 55 minutes, before Max Sherriff secured the points with a well-placed drive from eight yards out with ten minutes to go.

Waterman said: "It was always coming in the second half and our hope is to secure a second-placed finish."

This latest win cements Park's third-placed position in the table with still eight games left to play and with games in hand on the top two.

Rangers' season isn't quite over yet, though, as they have a Divisional Shield semi-final tie on the horizon against Bohemian Lounge.

Park go to First Division outfit Snipe FC in the semi-final of the Challenge Cup this weekend.

DAISYFIELD: Wilkinson, Taylor, Breen, Seward, Dootson, Arnfield, C Quinn, R Quinn, Edwards, Morris, Hampson. Subs: Jones, Brown, Owen.

ROYTON PARK: Ogden, Jones, Osborne, Harrop, Ramsden, Calland, Orr, Kolakowski, Lovatt, Sutcliffe, Beckett. Subs: Burgess, Kershaw, Sherriff, Avery.

REFEREE: R Burton.

STAR MAN: Max Calland (Royton Park) - Assured display in a defensive midfield role.

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