Another Top win as Oddies falter

UP FOR IT . . . Oddies’ Danny Smith (stripes, right) goes for a header as John Gilder (far right) looks on.

Oddies 14 0, Top House 3

TOP House were made to work hard for their ninth consecutive victory in Martin Buckley Division Two of the Oldham Sunday League by a spirited Oddies 14 side.


On a bright spring afternoon at Clayton playing fields, House secured their latest win at the expense of an Oddies side beset by injuries and absences.

Pivotal central defender Tom Holroyd was forced to forsake his usual role, Oddies manager Dave Pullen selecting the robust youngster to play in midfield, where the side was at its weakest.

House don’t boast a 100 per cent record for nothing and, even with one or two key players missing, still have enough strength in depth to win games comfortably.

But if Mark Howard’s men thought they were in for an easy ride, they were made to think again by an Oddies side that showed its intentions – and invention – from the start.

House had their goalkeeper Marc Howard to thank as early as the first minute when a blistering drive from the lively Lewis Jones was superbly turned away by the goalkeeper.

After a fairly even exchange of play between the two sides in the game’s first quarter, House took the lead after 26 minutes. A smart breakaway ended with Matthew Chilton finishing with composure from just inside the box.

The goal of the game came 10 minutes before half-time when Matty Crothers showed superb control with his left foot in latching on to a long pass before blasting an unstoppable drive with his right into the roof of the net.

House were firmly in control at this stage, but it was only when Martyn Gurr slotted home a 72nd-minute spot-kick that Howard’s side could finally take their collective feet off the gas.

Howard said: “It was a good game of football and we had the better of it, but Oddies certainly made it hard for us.”