23^rd August 2022, Runcorn Linnets FC v Hanley Town : 0-0 Sponsored by RLFC Fundraising Team

An old acquaintance was renewed, as Hanley Town came to APEC Taxis Stadium for the first time since late December 2017. Linnets ran out 2-0 winners that day, on their way to the North West Counties Premier League title.

Hanley were transferred into the Midland Premier League for the Covid-blighted season of 2020-21, and they returned to Runcorn as reigning champions, having won it at the first completed attempt last season.

Both managers were up against it to field a full-strength lineup.

With Sam Heathcote unavailable, Tom Moore, recovering from injury since the first pre-season game at Stockport Town, had his first chance to emulate the impressive central defensive partnership Sam has forged with Sean O'Mahony.

Tom's performance was a highlight, on a frustrating night in which neither side was permitted to put on a real show, thanks to a referee who appeared to have received a memo that football is now officially a non-contact sport.

Nialle Rodney was rested as a precaution, having suffered concussion in the FA Cup win at Trafford on Saturday, so Jamie Rainford took over the No.11 shirt, with Ben Halfacre starting at 9.

Injuries and absences presented a selection challenge for Hanley manager Carl Dickinson, evidenced by the fact that he was able to name only three substitutes.

The absentees were the lucky ones, as both teams applied themselves admirably to entertaining the pre-Bank Holiday weekend crowd of 487. But referee Matt Archibald considered almost every tackle a foul, and the few 'real' fouls worthy of yellow cards. Six of those, shared between the teams, was frankly ridiculous, in a game that didn't feature a single challenge to make anyone wince.

A sparky start by Town gave the Runcorn back four, augmented by Louis Hayes and Jacques Welsh, plenty to think about.

Two threatening runs up the Runcorn left by Sam Turner won the first corner of the night. Sidi Sanogo turned and shot from six yards out, the block fired back in by Turner, and Walford did well to divert it wide from close range.

Two Hanley crosses from the left were headed away by O'Mahony and Sanogo respectively, then in the 11th minute, a neat through ball by Walford reached an unmarked Daniel Glover. The Town centre-forward had to be favourite in a one-on-one with Danny Taberner, but the Linnets 'keeper narrowed the angle like lightning, and Glover's shot could only find the side netting.

Glover had a similar chance four minutes later, when Lawrie intercepted an underhit Moore clearance and set him free for another shot, met by another fine save by Taberner.

It quickly became apparent that scoring chances would have to come from finding and utilising open space, as anything resembling a 50-50 challenge would activate Mr Archibald's whistle.

If either saide was achieving more possession and posing a greater threat, it was Hanley, although there wasn't much in it. But with a lesser performance from Danny Taberner, whose composure Linnets fans were coming to rely on in early season, the visitors might well have taken a lead into the break.

Tabs punched away Lawrie's 35-yard free-kick, then held on to a powerful follow-up shot which was made tricky by a deflection on the way.

Hanley looked physically robust in possession, and Linnets needed more of it to make inroads into the contest.

It is the Runcorn way to build attacks wide, started by swift full-backs Brown and Short. Whether by chance or design, that approach was prevented through the first half by Hanley progressing chiefly through central territory, pulling Ally and Shorty into the middle to support O'Mahony and Moore.

Any attacking success for Runcorn would have to come from wide, as anything they attempted in the middle was dealt with time and again by Hanley centre-back Ryan Shotton. If he wasn't man of the match, I don't know who was.

The first foul worth its name came ten minutes before the break, and Glover received the first yellow card for it, as he halted Tom Moore's advance into the Hanley half.

The free-kick set up Ally Brown for a cross from the right, but Town 'keeper Kieran Harrison plucked it from the air in the six-yard box.

It heralded a brief spell of Runcorn pressure, with Louis Hayes meeting a loose ball outside the area, and rattling the advertising board above the Forest End goal. Harrison was cautioned for speaking out of turn to the referee's assistant patrolling his half.

Hanley went on the attack again, and this time it was Dickinson, who found Glover in space in the area. Tabs didn't have to come to the rescue, as James Short launched a perfectly-timed tackle.

There can be few more reliable ball-wiiners in the middle of any NPL pitch than Sidi Sanogo Fofana, but he was never going to be allowed to put that prowess to effective use tonight. It was in added time at the end of the game that Sidi finally saw yellow, but if he had been genuinely guilty of the catalogue of supposed fouls called against him, he should surely have been sent off before the floodlights were switched on.

The last action of the first half came from a free-kick awarded for Sidi's perfectly fair intervention of Dickinson's through-ball to Glover, 22 yards out. Glover shot just wide of the right post, but Tabs had it covered all the way.

The second half started with Runcorn looking determined to see more of the ball, and if Town had edged a close game before half-time, the roles were reversed after it. But there was never much in it.

As Linnets got more bodies in the opposition half, there was more scope for Brown and Short to get forward, to widen their side's approach.

As a result, the corner count also mounted. Two in quick succession had the blues of Hanley under pressure. A Rainford shot from outside the area, from Brown's cross, was deflected wide of the right post. The corner was headed on for another from the left, but Jamie's attempt to connect with it was inevitably ruled illegal.

It seemed that Dave Wild's first substitutions were a tactical decision made at the break, because only seven minutes of the half had been played when Dapo Olarewaju came on for Ben Halfacre, and Sam Turner gave way to new signing Nathan Corness. The latter, fornerly of Tranmere Rovers and Lower Breck, made his debut on the left of the Runcorn attack.

As usual, Dapo came off the bench to make an immediate impression on the opposition defence. He picked up a pass from Ally Brown's sprint up the right, and shot from inside the area, a yard wide of the right post.

Those two on the right, and Short and Corness on the left, contributed repeatedly to a greater share of wide attacking possession, promising an increase in chances. During the first 20 minutes of the second half, Linnets spent as much time in possession in the Hanley half as they had in the whole of the first. Nailed-on opportunities to convert it into a lead continued to be limited by the towering performance of Ryan Shotton, a former Premier League player with Stoke City.

Taberner was called upon to maintain the home clean sheet with a great save from Jake Avery's unchallenged shot, after Kyle Blake had picked up a loose ball in the middle and passed forward into the area.

Dapo led the charge at the clubhouse end again, with a great solo run into the right side of the penalty area. He did brilliantly to keep the ball, under intense pressure from two defenders. Bafflingly, the referee decided that that constituted a foul by the Runcorn sub.

The most end-to-end spell of the game continued, with Cotterill's header from a Hanley corner tipped over the bar by Tabs. He rose above everyone else to hold on to the sequel.

Corness crossed from Short's pass, to Sanogo in the Town area. Sidi replicated Dapo's efforts by shrugging off two attempts to take the ball from him. Mr Archibald, perhaps predictably by now, replicated his decision that this was not allowed.

With ten minutes remaining, Sidi beat two men on the right and won a corner. The corner flew long, from where Sanogo returned the ball to the middle for Jacques Welsh to shoot on target. Harrison had to react sharply to hold on to it.

Corness was next to attempt a shot, from a similar position, ten yards outside the area. A heavy challenge by Rhys Thompson prevented him from doing so. As it was an actual foul, the Town right-back saw yellow. Welsh took the kick as a replica of his shot moments earlier, resulting in a similar save.

Harrison's clearance launched a Hanley advance up the left, which was halted by Tom Moore's tackle on Lawrie. It was late, and therefore a foul, and therefore earned Tom his first yellow card in a yellow and green shirt.

The free-kick reached the Linnets area, from where Avery's shot cannoned off the defensive crowd, and Blake's follow-up cleared the crossbar.

A series of James Short long throw-ins up the left touchline sought out a late opening, and Jamies Rainford took a knock in flicking one of them on to Sidi Sanogo. His cross curled out of play and back in, on its way across the area.

Three minutes remained when Rainford limped to the bench, to be replaced for a brief effort to break the deadlock, by Eden Gumbs.

Another of Shorty's throws up the line supplied a one-two between Sanogo and Corness, and a cross that was met firmly in the air by Gumbs. His header was blocked inside the six-yard box.

Three minutes of added time ended in a way that summed up the whole game. A perfectly- executed, ball-winning tackle, 25-yards from goal, prevented the chance of a last-gasp Hanley winner. It didn't prevent Sidi Sanogo Fofana from becoming the sixth name jotted down by Mr Archibald, in as clean a game as you are ever likely to see.

A point apiece was probably a fair outcome. Neither side would have deserved to lose. Hanley's players, officials and fans were gracious guests.

It is to be hoped that the return fixture in January will be allowed to find full flow. Runcorn Linnets:Danny Taberner, Ally Brown, James Short, Louis Hayes, Sean O'Mahony, Tom Moore, Sam Turner (Nathan Corness 57), Jacques Welsh, Ben Halfacre (Dapo Olarewaju 57), Sidi Sanogo Fofana, Jamie Rainford (Eden Gumbs 87). Subs not used: Sam Turner, Isaac Turner.

Attendance:487.

NB. The views expressed herein are those of the author and are not necessarily those of Runcorn Linnets FC or its Board.