27^th August 2022, Prescot Cables v Runcorn Linnets FC : 1-0

A Bank Holiday weekend derby at Prescot Cables reignited jubilant recent memories for Linnets fans. Their last visit to the Joseph Russell Stadium was on Easter Monday, back in April, when a Lloyd Marsh-Hughes header five minutes from time secured Runcorn's place in the promotion play-offs.

Both sides were looking to build on a steady, rather than spectacular, start to the season, with four points from three games for Linnets, and a brace of draws so far for Cables.

That said, always formidable Workington had relied on a last- minute equaliser at Prescot to take a point back up the M6. 

Every Linnets game so far this season has been a close affair, and with the exception of the opening 3-1 win over Widnes, all could have been edged by a single goal either way.

This time, Runcorn had the better of the possession and chances in the first half, but the fans who had travelled the short distance to Prescot were ultimately left disappointed.

Not just by the eventual 1-0 reverse, but more so by the fact that Cables 'keeper Harvey Passant (brother of Marine No.1, and former Linnet, Bayleigh) had almost nothing to do for the last 45 minutes.

The first half chance of the afternoon fell to Cables, from Luke Pritchard's cross, but James Foley headed wide of the left post.

After a half-hour appearance from the bench against Hanley four days earlier, Nathan Corness made his first start in a Runcorn shirt, and he quickly made his mark, to become the most influential Linnet of the first half.

He is lightning quick, and for his size and build, surprisingly strong, on the ground and in the air.

He made an early break into the Cables area, having stolen the ball from Alex Gofton, and set up a Dapo Olarewaju shot that was blocked at close range.

Corness then chanced a powerful shot of his own, after picking up a loose ball outside the 18-yard line, but Passant was right behind it.

After a promising bout of possession among Corness, Rainford and Gumbs, Dapo was upended 25 yards from goal. James Short's free-kick deflected off the defensive wall for a corner, which was headed down into the centre of the area by Sean O'Mahony.

Passant dived to grab the ball from the feet of Rainford, prompting optimistic shouts for a penalty from the Runcorn fans behind the goal.

In the 15th minute, a hospital backpass to Passant was easily intercepted by Dapo. He stepped left beyond the keeper and shot on target from a narrow angle. Matthew Devine covered well to deflect it for a corner.

In the early stages, Cables were operating mostly on the break, with James Foley posing a repeated threat. He was set free for a run on goal, on 20 minutes, but Linnets 'keeper Danny Taberner was out quickly to win a 50/50 tackle.

The visitors were back on the attack through Dapo, and his pass to Eden Gumbs set up a shot blocked at source by James Devine. 

It was part of a pattern that summed up why Prescot couldn't be beaten on the day, and should be hard to beat all season.

They closed down quickly, and denied their opponents a second or a yard on the ball. Similar was true of Runcorn defensive efforts, although Danny Taberner was required to come to the rescue more than his opposite number Passant.

Cables' defensive determination got a little carried away in the 27th minute. James Short had already played the ball up the left wing towards the Prescot half when Anthony Williams followed through with a dangerous two-footed challenge. 

The yellow and green ranks demanded the response of a red card, and Prescot players obviously expected one, as most of them surrounded the referee to plead for clemency.

After what seemed an eternity, Mr Beckett eventually showed Williams a yellow. 

That narrow escape wasn't lost on Cables boss Kevin Lynch, and he sidestepped the probably inevitable by substituting his No.6 with Gregory at half-time.

In his post-match interview, he said that the change was a necessity: "because of the way he plays, right on the edge, we couldn't afford to go down to ten men".

Runcorn went back on the offensive from the eventual restart. Eden Gumbs won a corner when his cross from the left was cut out by former Linnet Harry Cannon-Noren.

Short's kick was headed down into the middle of the area by Heathcote, where it bounced up off Gofton's boot. Rainford's bicycle kick would have made a memorable opening goal, and many a breath was held as it cleared the right post by inches, with Passant beaten.

The feeling grew that it wasn't going to be Linnets' day, when Sam Heathcote's low free-kick through the defensive wall, after Cannon-Noren had tripped Corness 25 yards out, was held at the second attempt by Passant.

It was heightened when Jacques Welsh received a yellow card for winning the ball from Luke Pritchard, who kicked back both heels and went to ground without any help from Jacques.

A Taberner clearance was knocked on to Corness, who reached the 18-yard line before shooting just over the right angle of post and bar.

A Prescot chance before the break drew 'oohs' from the home crowd, as John Murphy's shot from 20 yards flew narrowly wide of the left post, but Taberner had his goal covered all the way.

The Williams card controversy alone had used up three minutes, but just one was added to the half, and Mr Beckett blew the half-time whistle before even that had elapsed.

The balance of the first half suggested that if either side should have been ahead, it was Runcorn. They wouldn't look as likely to take the points thereafter.

A scrappy start to the second half had a great deal to do with Cables disrupting Linnets attempts to keep possession and build chances.

When Cables won the ball in their own half, they played it forward fast and long. When it reached the Runcorn third, they tried shots from distance. Those that were on target were taken care of by Taberner, but it was telling that his workload was increasing.

Gumbs and Olarewaju had swapped wings, but despite their hard work, Cannon-Noren, Gofton and both Devines matched their efforts, and prevented inroads into the Cables penalty area.

Ally Brown was playing further forward up the right, and firing crosses from deep that mostly reached Dapo wide on the left, or were cleared by Gofton from the area.

One of Ally's high crosses was headed back from the far post by Dapo for Short to run in and shoot. He chose to place it rather than blast it, and it bounced wide of the left post.

Dave Wild made a change, with the introduction of Sidi Sanogo Fofana for Jacques Welsh. 

Prescot advances into the Runcorn half were quick and incisive, and Taberner was twice required to make smart saves from shots by Pritchard and Goodwin.

A lucky escape resulted when indecision between Tabs and O'Mahony allowed a dig by Murphy that flew wide.

Olarewaju was the main instigator of Runcorn attacks, testing Cannon-Noren and Gregory up the left. One Dapo cross might have brought a moment of magic, if it hadn't eluded Rainford's attempted back-heel on goal by millimetres. 

The decisive moment of the game came on 65 minutes. A long through ball found Foley on the left, amid Runcorn calls of offside. It wasn't, and with the Linnets defence caught too far forward, it was two-on-two as Foley crossed into the middle for Murphy to drill home from the centre of the area.

By accident or design, the next ten minutes or so were disrupted by niggly fouls and substitutions.

Ben Halfacre was introuduced for Jamie Rainford, and Cables replaced Harry Cannon-Noren, who had gone down injured three times in five minutes, with George Nugent. 

Nathan Corness took a blow to the head, the consequent free-kick being collected easily by Passant outside the far post. Corness also retreated to the bench, with 12 minutes remaining. Sam Turner took over.

The last substitution, which took an eternity to execute, brought on William Dunne for Kyle Sambor.

In the last 15 minutes of the game, sequences of more than three passes by either side were rare. Linnets attempted to gain possession and use it, with Sanogo working hard in the middle with Doyle, as Welsh had before him. But they faced determined close attention from a Prescot midfield finding fresh reserves of energy, courtesy of the 1-0 lead.

That lead had come from a fast break forward, and Cables saw their best tactic as more of the same. 

Runcorn impressions that it just wasn't meant to be were compounded by Dapo being twice flagged offside, when he picked up long passes with Nugent clearly goalside of him.

Dapo was permitted to beat his markers once, from the left and into the area, from Sanogo's pass. He shot into the side netting from a tight angle, but Passant had the near post covered anyway.

Three minutes were added to the end of the game, but they seemed unlikely to alter the pattern of the previous 45. 

The last chance of the afternoon came from another high cross to the far post by Ally Brown. Dapo got his head to the ball, but Nugent also made contact to slow it down, and it dropped harmlessly into Passant's arms.

The final whistle heralded Prescot's first league victory of the season, and left them unbeaten from three games.

There is no doubt that Cables should have played the last hour of the game with ten men. What remains in doubt is whether that would have resulted in many more Runcorn scoring opportunities. 

Momentary lapses aside, the Linnets defence will stack up against most in their league. Question marks remain at the other end of the pitch.

Runcorn Linnets:Danny Taberner, Ally Brown, James Short, Lewis Doyle, Sean O'Mahony, Sam Heathcote, Eden Gumbs, Jacques Welsh (Sidi Sanogo Fofana 57), Jamie Rainford (Ben Halfacre 67), Nathan Corness (Sam Turner 78), Dapo Olarewaju.  Subs not used: Isaac Turner, Louis Hayes.

Attendance:583.

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