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with your Advertiser and Times sports team of Chris Boden, Phil Simpson, Adrian Capstick and Edward Lee Boss expects professional performance-


Blues eye chance to gain on leaders


By CHRIS BODEN To th a t end, Sculpher “I had a discussion last but he is only 22, and I feel Rossendale, with players .


1 TH E Blues have th e the fine League Cup win at about Steve, and i t was sion. be professional.


wants his side to build on week with Paul Lynch he’s made the right deci- coming and going, and of course they pipped us to


chance to claw leaders Squires Gate on Saturday: good of him to offer him to “He is a very promising the title three years ago. .. Mosslev back on Satur- “I t ’s up to us to perform, to us. j


^pniniiPT-pvn.nf. nnotlipr son> all that matters is get- Saturday, bu t Paul said will see him back in a . “And playing More- thnrnnohlvPnrofessional ting the three points.


And olaver boss Lee “At this stage of the sea- able to play in the cup last and hopefully, in time, we for the area. th a t providing he didn’t Clitheroe shirt.”


■M ^ sW Ponded their onarollnow- cambe would’be a great


nprformance as his side “The conditions often pick up any injuries, we Sculpher’s squad may be experience, peiiui m t ii ic as “ “ _ reduce games to a battle, could have him, and hope- stretched, but he received “So whichever way lip it


Sports on Tuesday night, we’re hoping to maintain “But Glyn will finally magnificent for us at right but Clitheroe have two that..>


made his debut. back.


games m hand, one of them But he expects St Helens “You can see in training “Glen Ainsworth started on Saturday, while Jason to provide a tough test, that he is a goalscorer, you up front and did very well,


of the Blues - in the i*A that they’re down there, “So we’re praying he will third debut for the club, HeetwoodTown20 13 2 5 41 o6‘ ,


Beckford s men take on despite their lowly posi- put the ball in front of him and Neil Reynolds came clitheroe 22 15 4 3 49 r ru 6 di ~ C


.


-°n?uer£rA tion: “I’m very surprised and he sticks it away. back into the side for his W .


with the history they have


Jeague game in a month: at the top of the league. Whittingham (suspen- “But it was a good, all- A!sagcrTown...22 8 8 6 32 To me it has been disap- “But I believe they have sion), Russell Clark, Jason round, professional perfor- CongletonTownl7 9 4 4 31 pointing not to play m the had financial difficulties, Jones and Gary Jackson


Sculpher is looking for- over the last four, five, six But Sculpher is without, on the pitch, and obviously ao.^ T d0*5 m in 5 I S ward to Clitheroe s first years, they are usually up Neil Spencer and Chris scored a great goal.


league for four weeks and they basically have a (injury), while Andy The draw for the quar- because Mossley were chas- new, young squad. ing us, with games in hand, and now they ve caught up, and even played a couple of gamesmore.


“Now we’re chasing


fill his boots!” and he was the best player Curzon Ashton .24 12 4 8,40 . Nantwich Wii 23 8 8 7 32


mance.” Newcastle Town 21 9 4 8 31 ?Slford?S „ 5 .S


Cowking is “doubtful”, ter-finals of the League £ Z P banonMonday. However, the Lan- Tralford.......24 6 5 13 23 tomorrow night. W arrington Tn .18 7 3 8 24 BmLh2i 9 g r o w ­


“I’ve not seen them this John Paul Pagan is Cup is scheduled to be Skelmersdaleutd23 8 3 12 27 season, but the game is cer- “almost certainly out”, and made on Radio Lancashire . RamsbottomUtd20 7 6 7 27 tainly a potential banana Glen Ainsworth starts a skin.


“They had a very good Last week also saw the cashire Marsden Cup AbbeyHey 27 5 5 17 20


done in the league for the the cup on Saturday, and team centre back Danny. Blues a mouthwatering Atherton Colls..26 3 4 19 13 last three or four seasons, we will have to play to our P o tts to Colne, and prospect.


them again, like we have win against Warrington in .departure of young reserve draw has handed the st HelensIbwii ^ . 4 5 14 17 Reserve Division


and it’s not always the best capabilities.”


the points in the bag and out two debuts on Satur- “He was starting to find the New Year. let teams chase you.


“I would prefer to have lems, but he hopes to hand


get enough points to make ously Glyn Barker will lenges. He couldn’t quite sure we finish up there.” make his first start.


get into the first team here, Sculpher said: “Danny The Blues will entertain


position to be in in my Sculpher has a number of lives over there, and he eith er Conference side PJbcton .... —13 8 1 4 25 eyes.


injury and suspension prob- needs to gain experience at Morecambe or derby menfe" l l 7 2 2 2a thislevel.


. rivals Rossendale early in Glossop Ne" !! .13 6 2 5 20 W


oodley Sports 111 5 4 2 19


“But we’ll get on with it. phone call from Rossendale was rather easy, and wasn’t “I t was a great draw for “We have 20 games left to about Steve Bird, and obvi- giving him sufficient chal- us, whichever team it is.


day: “I’m waiting for a that reserve team football Sculpher was delighted Padihara .:.... l l' 6 1 4 19 Nekon„......l2 ,5 2 5 17 12 1 1 7 13


recent his to ry with Atherton LR" ”12.' 1 3 8 6 ■ .v ■


announces his return


Squires Gate . . . . . . . . 0 Clitheroe .....................1 NEIL REYNOLDS announced his return to the Blues with a stunning winner as Clitheroe pro­ gressed to the quarter­ finals of the League Cup. Reynolds was part of a


strong midfield display which overran their oppo­ nents in the opening half. From his previous spell at


the club, the fans were well aware of Reynolds’ ability to strike a ball from dis­ tance, and Saturday ham­ mered home a perfect reminder. Having been beaten in


the final of this competition last season, the club are keen to go one better this time around, and were quickly into their stride in the opening minutes of this game.


couldn’t capitalise on. Another player making a


welcome return, Martin Aspinwall, linked up well with Chris Whittingham on the right hand side, and they too caused the home side difficulty. Reynolds was in the


thick of the action on 20 minutes from a Clitheroe comer. Squires Gate appeared to


Neil Reynolds Stuart Parkinson, who


was a handful for the Gate defence all afternoon, pro­ vided several dangerous crosses which Clitheroe


Pentathletes in medal-winning form in Sheffield


RIBBLE Valley Modern Pentathlon Club achieved several top accolades at the National Biathlon Cham­ pionships held in Sheffield. In all, 20 team members


took p a r t in the event, earning six individual awards and two tr i ­ umphant team wins. All the running events


took place on the Saturday in atrocious weather condi­ tions at Concord Leisure Centre, before the swim­ ming the following day at Ponds Forge International Pool. Iii the Masters Ladies section, Julie Pym finished


. second overall thanks to victory in the 100m swim in a time of 1:10.1, and a third in the 1,000m run, with a time of 3:32.7. 1 ' Teammate Susan Burns


finished fourth overall;' after finishing fourth in the


run. ■ i And then combined with


Susan Shaw, who finished second in the run with a time’of 3:50, the Ribble Valley threesome won the masters ladies’ title with an overall record points score


of 6,873."' - ; Bronze medal positions


were secured by both Samantha Murray and


Tony Bush in the Under 15 girls and Masters Men respectively. Samantha finished third


in. the 1,000m run with a time 3:32, while Tony ran in third in the 2,000m in 7:23.6 The other team win was


recorded by the Under 17 girls, consisting of Sarah Vandewalle, Louise High- ton and Sara Bums. And Sarah took fourth


place overall, thanks large­ ly to a second place finish in the 200m swim in a time of 2:16.5. In the Under 19s compe­


tition, Toby Banfield fin­ ished a creditable fourth thanks to an outstanding second place finish in the 3,000m run, in a time of 10:30.2, just missing out on . first by hundredths of, a second. ‘I’ Under 17 Michael Smith


also recorded a silver medal position with his time of 6:54.5 in the 2,000m run, before Elizabeth Highton secured third place in the . 100m Under 15s swim with atimeof 1:04.8. •■•And several of ,the


remaining club members who competed recorded • personal bests.


; .Clitheroc RUFC. (A061203/2) Winger stars in


Clitheroe..........................22 Colne and Nelson..................... .14 POWERHOUSE wingman Danny Glover was the hero for Clitheroe as they notched their first-ever win in a competitive game against local rivals Colne and Nelson. ■ Glover crossed the try line twice in


the last 10 minutes to initially put Clitheroe into the lead for the first time in the game, then claimed his second try to put the game safely out of reach and ensure the two league points came the way of the Maroon, and Golds.


" 1 I t was, however, a team perfor­


mance as Clitheroe showed resolute defence for long periods of the f irs t: half, while Colne and Nelson ham­


mered unsuccessfully on the home try line.


1 1 Excellent tackling from Ollie


McIntyre, Matt Dugdale and Harry Proctor kept the door,‘firmly shut in ■ the face of the visitors; as the boot of Nathan Peel was always on hand to ' give territorial relief. - , , „ Despite two Peel penalties, Dave ’


Watson’s team found themselves 14- 6 adrift a t half-time as Colne and Nelson had the lion’s share of ’the pos-.


, session, but were unable to put points" on the board in sufficient quantity to : make the game theirs. •


' Two’more Peel penalties cut'the ;


lead down to just two points by,mid-1 way in:the period, but the visitors were far from finished. , -


win They strung together several phas­


es of possession, only for the attacks to come to nothing as ttye home defence held firm. . . . vl, ■ ) ‘ The game threatened to,boil oyer


as tempers jfrayed, b u t i t >w*as Clitheroe who took advantage as_Peel came into his own.^ .


'


blind side rand .twice, he: created enough space to release Glover. :?*rc ■


1 . On each occasion the'Clitheroe speedster had covering defenders'to evade, and he macle it look easy, as his pace took him clear to score; ‘ ■Jtifc; ’ | Peel failed with both conversion


attempts, but that mattere’dlittle, as the final whistle heralded an excellent win for the men from Littlemoor.'.: ■ i


‘ Twice he made breaks down'the > ■■<■■


have cleared the ball, but it fell invitingly to Reynolds who, from 25 yards out, struck a sweet volley that the goalkeeper eventually held at the second attempt. The game’s only goal


arrived on 25 minutes, and both goalkeepers played a crucial role in the build up. A. long kick from Kris


Ritchens gave the Clitheroe forwards a ball to chase, and Andy Speight in the


Gate goal chose to punch the ball clear from ju s t . inside the penalty area. . His clearance fell to


Reynolds 35 yards from goal, and his delightful chip back over the stranded Speight gave the Blues the lead. Reynolds was again


involved moments later with another stunning long- range effort. This time, . however, Speight was equal to the task, and smartly tipped over the 30-yard thunderbolt from the Clitheroe midfielder. Fellow midfielder Paul


Stansfield was in on the action early in the second half, and he himself had two good goal scoring opportu­ nities. On 55 minutes the keeper


pushed his header over the bar, and then 10 minutes


later he shot over when well placed. Squires Gate did stage a


revival in the final quarter of the game, and both Scott Bradford and Chris Blun­ dell wasted good opportuni­ ties. The pace of Parkinson


and Whittingham provided an outlet for the Blues in this final period as they looked to run the clock down. And with the game deep


into stoppage time, Squires Gate almost snatched an equaliser as a close range shot bounced back off the post. Overall Clitheroe were


full value for their victory, and the return of Reynolds and Aspinwall will provide a crucial impetus to the team over the coming weeks.


“Obviously with our : Daisy Hilt :K’! l4 ! 2 2 10 8 P W D L P cents oodley Sports’l l 15 1 5 46


Valley aces send Eton to the wall in ISFA Gup


FOUR Ribble Valley footballers helped Queen Elizabeth Grammar School, Blackburn into the semi-final of the Boo­ dle and Dunthorne Independent Schools FA Cup semi-final - a t the expense of Eton College. The team are captained by Martin


Grindrod of Dinckley, while Langho’s Richard Benson and brothers Frank and Nick Fielding, of Mellor Brook, are also key members of the side. And the quartet all played their part as QEGS won 3-1 in Windsor to earn a


home tie with Repton next month. If the side beat Repton, they will face


a final tie at Premiership Leicester City’s Walkers Stadium in March.


. Strong defence has been the backbone of the side’s progress through the compe­ tition, with Eton’s consolation the only goal they have conceded so far. The Ribble Valley q u a rte t are pic­


tured, left to r igh t, F ran k Fielding, Richard Benson, Nick Fielding and skip­ per Martin Grindrod. (s)


Goal-gorged weekend!


Chatburn.............. .8 SkiptonTown


........1


CHATBURN climbed to the top of the league with an emphatic second-half per­ formance that blew Skipton away. The top two teams in the


league took some separat­ ing in the first half, but Skipton gained the advan­ tage after an error by Hugh­ es at the back gifted the vis­ itors the lead. Chatburn levelled cour­


tesy of R. Sullivan after some route-one football to go in level at half-time. Football is often referred


to as a game of two halves, and this is one Skipton will want to forget. Chatburn took the lead


when Newton popped up at the back post to make it 2-1, and centre half R. Howarth made it 3-1 with a 20-yard screamer. Duffy produced a fourth


when he rounded the keeper only to see his effort hit the post, and a Skipton defend­ er turn the ball into his own net. Further goals came when


Newton completed his brace with another header from Sweeney’s pinpoint cross, before he grabbed his hat- trick goal to make it 6-1. S. Hodgkinson then got


in on the act with a seventh goal from a powerful header, before completing a great day for Chatburn with his second to see a final score of 8-


1. . A superb second half per­


formance from the home team with, Rahman, Howarth and Brown the pick of a good all-round per-' formance. On Saturday Chatburn


entertain Cowling, kick off 2 p.m.. Ribble Valley Borough .8 Clitheroe RBL ............. 2 A COMPREHENSIVE victory for Anthony Clark­ son’s men helped maintain their title challenge at the expense of struggling neigh­ bours Clitheroe ■ To be fair, Legion played


with bags of spirit, and despite an early two goal deficit, courtesy of Chip­ pendale and Parkinson, fought back to level with strikes by Fowler and Far- quhar.


goal of (he season in a sec­ ond half performance that was merciless. Paul Chippendale’s four


goal haul brings him close to the 50 goal mark in only a season and a half. He also, took the man of


the match award ahead of pass-master Liam Lishman, and midfield powerhouse Paul Parkinson, who had their own personal duel. I t was hard to separate


them in this particular shootout, both taking aim from distance and neither missing the target. Lishman’s brace, complet­


ed by a late penalty, saw him come out level with Parkinson in this particular challenge. With the, Berry-Brown


centre back pairing back in tandem, and Wes Clarkson emulating his hero Cafu, there was no way back for the dispirited Legion, and in all fairness they’d have wel­ comed the final whistle 20 minutes sooner than i t came. All in all, another good


win for the Badgers to take into Saturday’s showdown at champions and current league leaders Goodshaw, in good heart. Waddinglon..................6 OxenhopeReserves ....1 WADDINGTON made several changes at the week­ end in search of their first victory in' a number, of games. Oxenhope Reserves.


turned up with only 11 men, and lost one within the first 20 minutes. <\ Waddington had the bet­


ter of the first half and it was Robert Lloyd who broke the deadlock with a fine header.


Oxenhope did break once


or twice but some fine goal keeping from Walsh kept the score at 1-0, before Har­ rison slotted home to put Waddington 2-0 up at half, time. ■ ■ In the second half,


Waddington took advan­ tage against 10 men. Adrian Hurst, on his debut, proved impressive in midfield, and created plenty of options.


■ < '■ . ■>: A second Chippendale -


; Mark Harrison to. take the score to 3-0.


: strike just prior to the break's; gave the Badgers a lead .- they were not to lose, and: although the Legion >went


into the'break with some,, confidence and no little pride; the signs were omi­ nous for a second half that


.ultimately handed them a bit of a battering.


u ■


found the back of the net.' Waddington increased


the pressure and got their rewards when two penalties were awarded, which were both converted by Lloyd to give the locals a well deserved 6-1 win. Waddington face Horton


Rimington................... 3 ......... 4


on Saturday at home, play­ ers to meet at 1-15 p.m. at the ground. Stacksteads


RIMINGTON slumped to only their second defeat of the season, bu t i t leaves them with a mountain' to climb if they are to even emulate last season’s posi­ tion of league runners-up. A defensive performance


described by Terry Braith- waite as “shambolic and schoolboy-like” ruined the fact that the locals managed to score three goals against a usually water-tight Stack- steads defence. The opening goal came


for the home side as a mis­ hit shot reached the far post, where two players were left unmarked. Rimington created three


good chances which were spurned, before a Tom O’Neill corner found Mankowski, who headed home on the stroke of half­ time. Playing into the wind in


the second half seemed to help the visitors as they , passed the ball better and


, went in front oh the hour. Coulter had his first shot


blocked, but he slammed the rebound into the top comer.


' The first rule when you


have ju s t scored is, of course, to keep things tight, bu t Rimington managed


; just 30 seconds as Barker was robbed close to the by­ line, and the ball was pulled back for a forward to score. Worse was to come as ■ slack marking allowed the


. home side to score twice more, and all the goals were


A great move resulted in . and Haslam broke through a spectacular header from :


■i) .' Oxenhope still put up a; •fight, and the number nine'";. ■ got through the Wadding- : ton defence to score after a good save was not cleared by the Waddington defence. The locals 'th e n had


chance a f te r chance; but could not convert as they’


S'^The Valleymen engaged'; themselves in a chase for.the.;


^regained 'control ;of v.theV ‘ game, and after’some flow-'1, ‘ing,football,iTiniFagans


, actually scored from within 10 yards of,Kershaw’s line, who certainly could not be faulted for the first three. But to the visitors’credit they came,back to score • again through Mankowski,


; in the last minute to see the wrong-footed keeper just-


keep out his goal-bound : effort.


/ Rimington boss Braith- . waite was disappointed with . some of his players’ appar­ ent lack of commitment in such an important fixture, and will be pondering on a change of systems and posi-


■ tions with a local derby at. : home to Clitheroe RBL and - i


: a Craven Cup tie a t Settle before Christmas.’?. '


.


Mossley extended their “In our last two games “He splayed at this level mances in particular: largecrowd.” lead at the top to eignt against opposition from before, and won the title “Martin Aspinwall played points with al 2-1win over our league, we have won with Rossendale, and he his first full game for nigh third-placed Woodley and kept a clean sheet, and would be a great asset.


on 18 months and was


but we have to look to get fully he will be here for Sat- a boost agains t Squires is, I would expect it to be a urday-


rniTNTrPQ mpTOAr r


LEAGUE First Division


or w ^


Gate with three perfor- great night in front of a ' NORTH WEST


“He wouldn’t have been be a very good centre half, a little, and it will be good •


player, and will turn out to “So that will spice it up making KGIithe W ?


only £3^450 •


Relaxing Stress


Relieving


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j))ilt ^ r l ? n ; i i ^ ^ »4tj, • Thursday, December 11th, 2003, 34


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