Ramsbottom United... 2

St Helens Town... 4

THE Rams surrendered a two-goal half time lead against a St Helens side who completely outplayed them after the break.

At the interval there was nothing to suggest Ramsbottom would concede four goals in such a dramatic turnaround.

A delightful build up involving Russell Brierley and Chris Willcock provided Chris Brookes with an opening on nine minutes and the midfielder made no mistake with an excellent finish.

Both sides had spells of pressure without actually creating any clear chances but with 10 minutes of the half remaining Saints goalkeeper Phil Wood made a great stop from Darren Bowman and on 37 minutes Bowman's cross was met by Brierley who steered his first touch past a helpless Wood.

The first half ended with Ramsbottom good value for their two-goal lead.

Three minutes into the second period Wood was fortunate to keep out Willcock's shot saving with his feet as he went the wrong way.

That save was the turning point proving a springboard for the Saints revival as they immediately pulled a goal back when Chris Quirk scrambled the ball home following a corner on the right.

On 35 minutes Rams keeper Keith Nield made a rare error when his misplaced clearance went straight to Tony Fearns who promptly lobbed the ball back over the stranded Nield and into the empty net.

St Helens were now really buzzing and outplaying Ramsbottom in every area with a third goal looking a certainty.

It duly arrived on 63 minutes when Fearns scored with a diving header into the bottom corner.

Somehow the shell shocked home side hung on and with the game into its final 15 minutes Ramsbottom sent on substitute Mark Heyes.

With just a couple of minutes remaining the gamble of playing three strikers almost paid off when Heyes hit a fine shot which beat Wood only to finish a couple of inches the wrong side of the post.

With just seconds left on the clock and with Rams desperate for an equaliser they were caught out when Saints sub Lee Cooper raced away to notch goal number four.

Whilst no one could deny that it had been an excellent second half display by St Helens, the Rams own performance can only be described as woeful and they offered little if any resistance as their unbeaten seven-match run came to an end.

RAMS: Nield 5, Porter 6, Wallace 6, Smith 5, Morris 5, Cameron 5, Bowman 6, Orrell 5, Brierley 6, Willcock 5, Brookes 6. Subs: Holt (for Bowman 46), White (for Cameron 75), Heyes (for Orrell 77).

This Saturday Rams entertain Skelmersdale United at the Riverside, kick off 3pm. Because of a big fixture pile up, Ramsbottom play again on Tuesday evening, this time against Abbey Hey. Kick off at the Riverside for that one is 7.45pm.