As Ramsbottom United ceded home advantage with safety work being carried out at the Riverside Stadium, they travelled to Chadderton for a tricky encounter in the Macron Cup.
Rams, in blue, started brightly before the home side, led by former teammate Luke Barlow, began to impose themselves with a series of smart passing moves.
As the game unfolded it looked as though Chadderton were bound to break through.
Waves of red attacks followed and, at times, the Rams rode their luck.
This was coupled with terrier-like tenacity from Rowan Chambers, who tackled with guile and energy and popped up in front of the back line to snuff out danger before promising home moves had the chance to fully develop.
It wasn’t all one-way traffic though.
The pressure was alleviated by captain Oscar Radcliffe with some storming counterattacks.
The best, a headed effort by Gareth Hill, went over the bar, whilst a tame free kick from a promising position went straight to home keeper Oliver Culkin from the otherwise impeccable Matt Dudley.
With half-time arriving at nil-nil, the scoreline represented a pleasing first half’s work for the visitors.
As the game resumed Chadderton again went on the offensive before a match-changing moment in semi-comedic fashion, as a long forward ball saw debutant William Bould press the home fullback—who reacted by attempting to poke the ball back to his keeper.
His touch was heavy and the ball veered high into the air, before sailing over Culkin and nestling in the goal.
Encouraged, the visitors put together some lovely fluid moves.
In the fifty-first minute Bould advanced into the box from the left, ignoring well-placed teammates, he fired a hard low shot which beat Culkin and arrowed in at the back post to the delight of the travelling ultras gathered behind.
The Rams upped the tempo and could have had more.
A fine driven shot saw Culkin divert a Bould effort which hammered against the post — the sound echoing around the stadium.
Gareth Hill almost added a third, missing a tempting low cross by inches, as the visitors threatened to run riot.
As was the case on the same ground last season, a contentious decision went against the Rams on seventy-three minutes, with substitute Tyler Beck flattened, and everyone waiting for the whistle and a possible card — but the referee allowed play to continue with the ball reaching Andrew Theo in the box.
He fired past the exposed George Kenyon to put the home side back in the hunt.
The pendulum swung to the home side who appeared to have drawn level as a fine shot by Bannister beat Kenyon but crashed back off the inside of the post to the home supporters’ dismay.
Once again, the Rams responded.
Hard work from Owen Collinge, Dudley, and the non-stop Chambers saw the men in blue hold firm, but there was one more sting in the tail.
A long-driven ball from defence was reached by substitute Isaac Lam, who did well to control it before teeing up Gareth Hill in support.
Hill calmly walked the ball past Culkin and tapped it into the unguarded net for the third and to restore the two-goal lead.
Chadderton tried to lift themselves again, as their pacey substitutes threatened on occasion, but the stuffing had been knocked out of them, and Ramsbottom saw out the closing minutes relatively calmly for the victory and registered one of the best performances of the season.
The Rams played with passion, spirit and no little skill and deserved to go through to the next round of the Macron Cup, when they will travel to Barnoldswick Town.
In the meantime, they face another stern challenge in the league at Glossop on Saturday.
Manager Rob Henry cut a much happier figure after the game.
“A much improved performance after a couple of difficult games.”
He added: “The players showed real character and fight, showing the required energy, commitment and aggression.
“We had moments of real quality but also dug in when we needed to, showing different sides to our game.
“There were some good individual performances, as Matt Cleary, Rowan Chambers and Owen Collinge were outstanding, with a promising debut from Jack Sixsmith.
“We must build on this on Saturday where we will hopefully have some new faces in to strengthen the group.”
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