THE Rams missed their chance to progress in the Marsden Trophy as Nelson upset the odds last night.

The pattern of the game was established in the opening 10 minutes when the lively Craig Bradshaw was presented with a chance after some lacklustre defending from Ged Walsh, and he made no mistake by firing past the Rams keeper Paul Horridge.

Ramsbottom got back on level terms with a rather dubious equaliser when Lee Buggie's header hit the bar and bounced out but to the amazement of both the players and supporters, the assistant referee signalled it had crossed the line.

Aggrieved, Nelson re-emerged after the break and regained the initiative on 54 minutes after some good work from Berry found Andrew Bennett in acres of space and he calmly slotted in.

The individual class of Buggie appeared to be the only hope for the Rams to get back into the match and he duly delivered his second of the night on the hour, following a jinking run that led to a fierce shot into the bottom corner.

But Nelson always looked capable of scoring and after slack defending from both Walsh and Raywood went in front for the third time on the night, a cool finish from the impressive Bradshaw.

This was the killer blow for the Rams as they could only muster one more effort towards goal, a shot from Buggie in the dying minutes that went agonisingly wide.

On the whole a very disappointing performance and maybe Vince Overson will be able to see one or two problem areas that need to be quickly addressed in the coming weeks. After back-to-back away trips in the league to Glossop North End and Newcastle Town, the Rams will be focusing their attentions to the League Cup quarter-final against another local rival, Great Harwood Town.

RAMSBOTTOM UTD...2

NELSON...3