Ramsbottom United 1, Newcastle Town 0 NW Counties League.

LEE SCULPHER can be forgiven for sticking two fingers up to those critics who have publicly questioned his tactics in recent weeks after he led his side to their third consecutive victory with a terrific win over Newcastle Town.

It was Ramsbottom who created the first real opening of the game in the 18th minute. A good move saw Uddin play the ball into O'Shaugnessy, who in turn delivered an exquisite ball into the Town area only for it to miss the onrushing Liam McManus by inches.

In the 32nd minute, the Rams' pressure finally paid off when they earned a corner. Chris Steele provided a quality cross which was met by the head of McManus who guided the ball past Richard Froggatt in the Town goal.

Three minutes later and Town thought they should have been awarded a penalty when Chris Nestor seemed to bring down a Newcastle forward. However, the referee didn't see any infringement and he waved play on.

In the 40th minute, another penalty claim was ignored by the referee after Adam Vickers released Dean Gillick, who went down far too easily. To the annoyance of the away supporters, the game went on.

The second half was the same as the first. The Rams created a glorious chance when a fast-flowing move involved Moore and MacDonald in the some nice one-touch football, with MacDonald releasing Uddin who in turn squared the ball back to MacDonald, only to see his final cross cut out by John Diskin with Lee Cryer just an inch away from connecting.

Newcastle were trying to find gaps in the Rams' defence but for the first time this season, they looked solid.

In the 81st minute, a great run by Chris Steele - who pressured Dean Gillick enough to win the ball back - provided a great cross into the area and Lee Cryer was unlucky to see his first time shot just go an inch over the bar with the keeper beaten.

In the dying moments of the game, Ryan Moore was involved in some ugly scenes when he was put through on goal but a defender got in front, and with the two players colliding, Moore was seen to throw a punch and was instantly dismissed.

Although it may not have been a fast flowing goal-fest of a game as seen in recent weeks, it did show a different character to the side as they battled out a fantastic result. Each player played their part and all are worthy of man-of-the-match.

On Saturday, the Rams play host to St Helens Town (3pm kick-off).

CHRISTOPHER DUNN.