Ramsbottom United turned in a rusty, unconvincing performance in front of a three-year best attendance at the Riverside as they beat a Atherton LR 3-2 – but the result took them back to second place in the Vodkat League Premier Division.
It was far from a perfect showing on a solid surface but the 249 fans went home happy as the Rams claimed their win.
The home side had the better of the early stages and came close to scoring when co-manager Bernard Morley failed to connect to a fine cross from the right from Lee Connell when the Rams had claimed the first corner of the game.
The deadlock was broken on 19 minutes when Barry Massey converted the third of three Rammy opportunities in the space of two minutes.
The visitors were relying on some long-range shots which were hardly testing Tommy Allen in the Rammy goal but, on the half-hour, the scores were surprisingly level.
With Rammy bearing down on the Atherton goal, the ball was speculatively cleared and the pacy Ashford Blake outpaced the home defensive line and placed the ball beyond Allen for the equaliser.
Two minutes into the second half Eddie O'Neill crashed home his fifth goal of the season to edge Rammy back into the lead before the visitors levelled again through Bradley Cooke. But Carl Lomax won the game for United with a smart finish.
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