RMFC

Another day to forget to RM, who started slowly here and never really recovered from going 2 down in the early stages. Missing several regulars, RM had Jon Mole making his debut at centre half, Paul Soper making a rare appearance and Simon Collett returning to play up front. On a very heavy surface, RM didn’t get started at all well, and fell behind early when an incisive Rutherford break down the right was finished easily past Andy Smy. And an almost duplicate move made it 2 moments later, again Smy having no chance. RM did pull one back on the half hour though, when Bobby Pearson’s low corner found it’s way to Neil Hillier who managed to swivel and get his shot away into the roof of the net. That should have given RM something to build on, but almost immediately Rutherford made it 3 when a corner was met by a powerful header. And just before half time it was 4, RM again exposed down their right setting up an easy finish.

Andy Smy and Dave Humphreys limped out of the action at half time, meaning a stint up top for manager Simon Litt – and within seconds of the re-start he had a glorious chance to reduce the arrears. Simon Collett drove along the by-line and pulled it back but Litt was agonisingly just short of getting a toe on it with the goal gaping. The opposition went straight up the other end and scored a fifth, again from a corner – this time a low finish beating several RM blocks. Try as they might, RM just couldn’t fashion any clear cut chances, although Collett was certainly making a nuisance of himself. And it was Collett who grabbed RM’s consolation, after Hillier had carried the ball unchallenged from the edge of RM’s box deep into the opposition’s half and fed Andy Warmington. Warmington tricked his way past his marker into the box and when his effort was saved, Tom Srawley’s follow up was also blocked before Collett tapped in from a yard out. To compound RM’s miserable day, Ian ‘Gudge’ Smith was shown a straight red card in the dying seconds for foul and abusive language towards the referee, but by that stage the game was up.

Losing to a team below them in the table at the start of play, coupled with results elsewhere, means RM drop into the relegation places for the first time at this late stage of the season. Next week’s game against bottom placed Checkingdon Exiles now takes on massive importance in the bid to beat the drop.