Soccer boys face fixture pile-up

OLDHAM under-15s boys football team have a mammoth task ahead of them if they are to complete all their scheduled games by the deadline dates.

The local youngsters have been hampered by bad weather conditions this season which has renderred their favoured ground - at the Lancaster Club - unplayable on many occasions.

Last weekend’s Greater Manchester Schools’ League game against Bolton fell victim to the weather yet again, with many grounds across the region under a foot or more of snow.
And Oldham now find themselves at the midway point of the season having played only one league game from their scheduled eight-match programme.

The under-15s have also entered two knockout cup competitions and deadlines for those games are fast approaching.

The local lads will host Manchester in the second round of the Greater Manchester Schools’ County Cup, which may turn into a double-header as they have also been drawn against the Mancunians in the Preliminary Round of the North West Alder-Owen Trophy.

Under-15s team manager Steve Patterson will be hoping that the conditions improve somewhat over the coming weeks, but with more snow forecast it looks as though any hope of play this Saturday is unlikely yet again.