RAMSBOTTOM were undone by a second-minute goal in their 1-0 defeat in the Evo-Stik West Division at Colne on Tuesday night.

After both teams had won their opening-day fixtures it was hosts Colne who added a further three points with another victory, courtesy of Reece Webb-Foster.

A poor clearance was seized upon by the home attack and Alex Curran got in behind the visitors’ defence before squaring the ball for Webb-Foster to tap the ball into an empty net to give Colne a lead they ultimately would not surrender.

Encouraged by the early strike, Colne continued to have the upper hand in the opening stages as Rammy struggled to get a foothold against a youthful home outfit.

With almost 20 minutes played the Rams fashioned their first sight at goal when Ben Deegan laid the ball off to Jamie Rother but the shot from outside the area sailed over Hakan Burton’s goal.

Shortly afterwards a positive run and cross from the lively Nathan Brown found Deegan at the far post but his tame header was easily dealt with by the home stopper.

As the first period wore on the Rams began to enjoy more of the game but were wary of the threat posed by Curran and Brad Lynch.

Colne almost doubled their advantage just after the half-hour mark when a well-directed set-piece found the head of former Ram Marcus Poscha but his header narrowly missed the target.

Moments later Rams goalkeeper Sam Ashton pulled off an excellent near-post save to deny Curran.

The remainder of the opening period was punctuated by a number of free kicks for both sides, though there were noteworthy attempts from Brown and Dom Marie, both just missing the target.

Ramsbottom picked up five bookings inside a 15-minute spell early in the second half as a competitive contest threatened to boil over with the official seemingly brandishing yellow cards for any slightly mistimed tackles.

The Rams began to get wide players Luke Jordan and Brown more involved as they looked for an equaliser but the Colne defence was holding firm.

At the other end they almost doubled their lead when Ashton was forced into a fine save as a free kick was not cleared properly by the Rammy defence.

Both sides created presentable chances late on, with a Colne header clearing the bar and home defenders scrambling to clear the ball off the goalline.

The Rams continued to have the better of the possession but Deegan flicked a header wide and Dean Stott fizzed a shot just off-target and Colne saw out the 1-0 victory.

Jack Higgs and Luke Thompson had been the men on target in their 2-1 win at home to Market Drayton Town on Saturday.

The Rams will be hoping to respond this Saturday as they prepare for their FA Cup tie at Kidsgrove Athletic.