29^th August 2022, Runcorn Linnets FC v Witton Albion : 1-0 Sponsored by CBES - Frodsham

Witton Albion are always welcome guests to Runcorn Linnets, the neighbours from Northwich having been invaluable allies and supporters of the 'rebirth' of the Runcorn club in 2006. Their Wincham Park Stadium was home to Linnets for the first four years of its existence, until the new Murdishaw site that is now the APEC Taxis Stadium was established.

A home friendly against Albion has been a highlight of the pre-season schedule ever since, but that was sidelined this year, as Witton's relegation from the NPL Premier Division brought the two sides into competitive opposition for the first time.

They came face to face on August Bank Holiday Monday with four points and a single win apiece so far. Albion had played three league games to Linnets' four, and their last, two days previously, was a 3-2 home win over Workington.

A great crowd of 696 came to see it, and the 'Murdishaw Massive' responded to an excellent Linnets performance, in the second half especially, with noisy support that helped spur them on to victory.

It was secured by a stunner of a goal by Ally Brown, set up beautifully by Dapo Olarewaju, ten minutes from time. 

Albion, in a fetching new purple away kit, showed attacking intent from the off, and this demanded a clearing header by Sean O'Mahony from a first-minute corner.

Linnets quickly found their way into a passing game across the width of the pitch, executed with a revised lineup, in which Nialle Rodney returned after a two-game injury absence on the left.

Nathan Corness moved wide right, and Eden Gumbs took over the 9 shirt in the middle.

That width was exploited by Doyle, Welsh and Sanogo winning the ball in midfield, with a choice of attacking options in front of them.

Witton's attacking approach concentrated chiefly on the wings, with Mike Koral supporting Vani Da Silva up the right, and one-time Linnet Taylor Kennerley being paired with Sam Billington up the left.

Da Silva looked a threat early on, requiring sterling work from James Short to keep him quiet. 

The first real Runcorn chance came from a great Lewis Doyle ball ahead of Brown up the right flank. His cross set up a low Corness shot through a crowd of three in front of him. Sanogo and Rodney both chased it into the six-yard area, conceding a free-kick for contact with a defender who got there fractionally before them.

Prolonged spells of Linnets passing possession had proved difficult to achieve in the last couple of games, and there were pleasing signs of greater success in that department.

A requirement today would be vigilance to deal with Albion on the break, whenever that possession was lost. No9 Joe Duckworth sat well forward, looking to get beyond the Linnets back line in the nick of time to chase through balls into the penalty area. 

Relying on offside flags would be risky, and that was proved the case in the 14th minute, when Duckworth broke away to latch on to a Billington pass. Danny Taberner was off his line typically fast to close Joe down, limiting him to a flick towards the right post which Ally Brown reached in plenty of time.

Three minutes later, Duckworth had a similar chance when he slipped past the defence to receive Cameron Fogerty's diagonal pass. He could have done better than the shot that flew high and wide of the target. The home defence would have to allow him less space. 

Albion won three corners inside two minutes, from interventions by Short, O'Mahony and Heathcote, before the latter headed clear to set up another spell of Runcorn possession.

Brown, Corness and Sanogo combined to provide a ball into the area for Eden Gumbs, whose pressured header lacked the power to trouble Ollie Martin in the Witton goal. 

On 25 minutes, Heathcote was next to find Gumbs in the penalty area. He pulled it back to Short, who found Brown via Sanogo, for another cross into the area. Corness was tackled by Lee Jackson, and Ally found the net from the rebound, but an offside flag had already been raised. 

As the half-hour ticked by, slow footwork among the Linnets defence allowed half a dozen Albion touches from heads and feet, but an eventual lobbed shot was too weak to present any problem for Taberner.

Niggly fouls were starting to creep in, as both sides sought to carve out an advantage by half-time. Referee David Nicholson was stepping in to do enough to prevent any escalation, but did his best to avoid disrupting a keenly-contested game.

A push in the back on Rodney led to a 35-yard James Short free-kick, which flew too fast for O'Mahony to meet it beyond the right post. A similar offence by Lewis Doyle, halting Da Silva's charge into the Runcorn half, produced a free-kick which was foiled in the Runcorn area by Heatchcote and O'Mahony, and cleared long by Gumbs. 

Five minutes before the break, Nathan Corness took a heavy knock in front of the dugouts, and was forced to make the short journey to the bench. Dapo Olarewaju took his place.

As so often before, Dapo's first lightning charge up the line alerted the opposition to the only reliable tactic to deal with him. He would be the most fouled man on the pitch for the rest of the game. One had to wonder how much he misses the presence of Iwan Murray.

Short's free-kick for the first such offence flew too close to 'keeper Martin. 

Just before the half-time whistle, Nialle Rodney attempted to flick the ball inside the left post, but he was offside.

Either side would have felt aggrieved to be behind at half-time, but Linnets had seen a bit more of the ball in the first half, and their mission for the second would be to turn more of it into scoring opportunities.

Mr Nicholson appeared keen to prevent increasing physicality descending into indiscipline, and he threatened Kingsley Williams with a hand to his pocket for a late high challenge on Sidi Sanogo.

Lewis Doyle was first to see yellow moments later, for a trip from behind on Billington. The 35-yard free-kick would have made a decent rugby conversion.

Five minutes into the half, Witton had their best chance of the game. Dapo's run up the left was blocked and cleared, and it set Duckworth free on a run towards the right corner of the area. Taberner was the only line of defence, and while he closed him down as rapidly as ever, the Albion centre-forward lobbed wide of the post, when the goal was a gaping target.

Linnets grew in confidence on the ball, with ever longer passing exchanges that kept them in Witton territory. Opportunities would clearly result from possession, but when they reached the opposition third, massed defending frustrated them. Patience was paramount, but dwelling on the ball in search of a 'sure thing' permitted a highly- competent defence to intervene.

A low ball from the right by Eden Gumbs set up a low Short shot that Martin couldn't hold at the first attempt. He pounced on it again just before Rodney could follow up.

From the clearance, Da Silva crossed for a Fogerty shot. Sean O'Mahony's reputation as a 'ballsy' defender is well established, and he probably didn't breathe for a good two minutes, after 'taking one for the team' at point-blank range.

Sean's recovery was complete soon after, however, and he looked like the league's biggest winger as he beat three men up the left touchline and crossed for Jacques Welsh to shoot from outside the area. It ballooned up off Lee Jackson's boot, looping wide of the post when it could have gone anywhere.

Dapo sprinted up the left, with Rodney closing in on goal awaiting a cross. Koral brought Dapo down in the nick of time, to concede a free-kick inches outside the area. Two shots were blocked at close range from the free-kick.

Goals had been the missing link in recent Linnets performances that had lacked nothing in terms of effort, and the fans were torn between thinking 'it was coming' and fearing that it wouldn't.

Gumbs, Welsh and Sanogo queued up to shoot from two corners, but all were blocked. There was an obvious appetite in the Runcorn ranks to find the target, and with the ball in Linnets possession, Doyle and Welsh were able to spend less time augmenting the defence, and more in pursuit of a lead.

Evidence that Witton were facing a rising tide came with a double substitution. Huxley and McGee replaced Da Silva and Billington for the last 25 minutes. 

Further proof that Albion were feeling the pressure came from Linnets attacks being stemmed by more fouls, on Olarewaju, Gumbs and Rodney, before they could penetrate the penalty area.

Dapo was fouled on the right touchline, for a free-kick that crossed the six-yard box unmolested, and Eden Gumbs was tripped after a one-two with James Short. Heathcote's free-kick from 20 yards cleared the bar.

Into the last 20 minutes, Short ran 50 yards up the left and crossed, only for Nialle and Dapo to dwell a little too long, looking for a 'sure thing', and the opportunity was lost.

The two media moguls perched above the stand were in (admittedly amateur) agreement. If there was a missing piece in the Linnets jigsaw, it might be a maniac with the philosophy 'shoot first, ask questions later'.

With 15 minutes remaining, I knew I was tempting fate when I wrote that Runcorn were clearly in command. With the ball, and most players, spending the great majority of their time in the Witton half, a break against the run of play is always a threat.

Sure enough, a rapid Albion break up the left had defenders back-peddling, but there was nobody in the area to connect with the resulting cross. 

Then a Short sliding tackle on McGee appeared late, but a corner was the only consequence. Eden Gumbs headed it away from inside the near post. Witton attacked again, but McGee was well offside when Duckworth's through-ball was played to him.

Dapo's tireless efforts to break through up the right were finally rewarded, with ten minutes left on the clock. He collected a great Lewis Doyle pass, turned Kennerley and cut into the area. With more bodies in purple between him and the goal, he pulled the ball back into the middle, where Ally Brown galloped forward and smashed a shot from 20 yards, beyond Martin's dive and into the left corner.

It had, as they say, been coming. It made the long-serving right-back Linnets' joint top scorer, and edged him ahead of at least half a dozen other candidates for the man-of-the-match award.

Witton naturally threw bodies into the Runcorn half to try to rescue a point, and the yellow and green inevitably mustered behind the ball. But possession had been the key to what was by now a deserved Linnets lead, and they set about retaining it. 

Welsh, Doyle and Sanogo had run through brick walls all afternoon to win and use the ball, and they never let up. And while full-backs Brown and Short might have been forgiven for concentrating on helping O'Mahony and Heathcote to keep the doors bolted, they both continued to press forward on either wing. 

Apart from the prospect of creating a second and decisive goal, it made attacking an effective form of defence, as it kept more of the opposition busy in their own half.

Linnets came close to doubling the lead in the last minute of normal time, as a Jacques Welsh free-kick from deep was headed inches wide of the left post by Sam Heathcote.

Added time remained enough of a contest for one more yellow card to be shown to each side, one for  Taylor Kennerley and the other for the most fouled man on the pitch, Dapo Olarewaju.

Prepared as I am to call referees to account, it is only fair that Mr Nicholson should take credit for enabling a lot of football to be played, while insisting that he wouldn't allow a rising tide of fouls in the middle of the game to escalate.

During August, a single result makes a big difference. Seven points from five games took Linnets to 7th place in the table.

The victory was equally valuable in providing a boost of confidence before Saturday's trek to the Cleveland coast, for the FA Cup First Qualifying Round tie at Marske United. 

Runcorn Linnets:Danny   Taberner, Ally Brown, James Short, Lewis Doyle, Sean O'Mahony, Sam Heathcote, Nathan Corness (Dapo Olarewaju 39), Jacques Welsh, Eden Gumbs, Sidi Sanogo Fofana, Nialle Rodney (Louis Hayes 90).  Subs not used: Sam Turner, Jamie Rainford, Isaac Turner.

Attendance: 696.

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