The Bucks Stay Up!

By Brendan Doyle

Bootle entered the game on the front foot looking to put Wythenshawe Town in deep waters early on as Ben Hodkinson whipped a ball into Nathan Sandison early on which looked like a decent position for Sandison to connect the ball but he couldn’t quite his body angle on point as the ball bounced past him.

Although a few minutes later Jay Roberts was brought down in the Wythenshawe Town area by an opposition defender which resulted in a penalty for The Bucks and Ben Hodkinson successfully converted the spot kick putting Bootle 1-0 up in the twelfth minute.

As Bootle looked to have their foot on the game looking comfortable, Sean Williams looked up as he had possession of the ball just a couple of yards just past the half way line and seen Wythenshawe Town keeper Gregory Hall off his line and attempted to strike the ball towards goal with a lofted effort but Hall was on his line just in time to catch the effort.

In the later stages of the first half the visitors from Manchester tried to force themselves level by getting the ball forward near Bootle’s area, a free kick from shooting distance came their way was played out wide and short to George Boyd who attempted a ball into the Bootle area but it was cleared by Tom Hannigan. Unfortunately for Bootle however, a straight red card was given to Sean Williams after a challenge on George Boyd which left The Bucks down to ten men heading into the tunnel for half time but still lead 1-0 nonetheless.

Wythenshawe Town entered the second half with a more physical approach whilst letting Bootle know they’re still in the game and have their own objective to stay up in the division. Within the space of minutes both Ben Hodkinson and Tom Hannigan shouted for a penalty but referee Daniel Sims waved play on both occasions.

Wythenshawe Town forward Jacob Blyth twice had a chance to level the game with a shot on goal which was saved by Bootle skipper Tony Thompson and his rebounded effort was blocked by Tom Hannigan. A good chance came for Bootle to make them game 2-0 as a Jay Roberts free kick fell to Ben Hodkinson in the Wythenshawe Town area but Hodkinson just couldn’t get the ball under control.

Bootle skipper Tony Thompson once again shined for his club in between the sticks as he made a superb save by denying a Jacob Blyth equaliser after being one on one with Thompson via a shot at the near post and with just minutes to go in the game, Blyth was once again denied by Thompson after his volley was stopped with a low down save by the Bootle keeper. Bootle secure a 1-0 at home to Wythenshawe Town which would be enough to keep The Bucks in the Northern Premier League West Division for the 2025/26 season, a happy day for Bootle Football Club.