22^nd October 2022, Glossop North End v Runcorn Linnets FC : 1-1

Linnets arrived at Surrey Street seeking to overcome the disappointment of a last-gasp turnaround at Workington, seven days earlier. Five minutes of added time in Cumbria, which lasted for eight, turned a 1-0 lead into a 2-1 defeat.

The afternoon in the Derbyshire hills was to end honours even, and that was probably justice. Not because neither side deserved to lose, but rather because neither deserved to win.

The Linnets matchday squad was down to the bare bones, thanks to injuries and suspensions, to the extent that the bench was limited to four teenagers, including goalkeeper Josh Roberts. Also among them was Macauley Clifton, promoted from the Under 21s squad in midweek. He made his first-team debut for the last half-hour, and vindicated his elevation with a display of obvious talent on the left of the Runcorn attack.

There was a gaping hole in the Linnets engine room, with Lewis Doyle serving a one-match suspension for an accumulation of yellow cards, and Louis Hayes starting a three-match ban due to his red card at Workington eight days earlier. That was a harsh outcome from a challenge in which no visible physical contact had been made.

Captain James Short's return from his own three-match suspension was timely in the extreme. It was rendered all the more so, after 82 minutes, when his cross accidentally morphed into the equaliser.

Striker Eden Gumbs had deputised admirably at left-back during Shorty's enforced absence, but despite being named as a substitute, he was unavailable. It appeared that Eden had literally made the No.3 shirt his own, as Shorty started the game wearing 18.

We didn't even know we had a No.18 shirt but the No.3 of the Linnets orange and black away kit had been irreparably torn at Newcastle – not even the Repair Shop could have done anything with it. A replacement is on the way.

The preamble to this report is lengthy, and that owes something to the fact that this was not the most action-packed game of the season so far. The word 'rubbish' hastens to mind.

Linnets started with five recognised strikers on the park, but two of them, in the shapes of Ryan Brooke and James Hooper, played in deeper positions than is their wont, as they filled creative midfield roles.

Sidi Sanogo, usually a forward-going ball-winner, stood in for Doyle and/or Hayes, in front of the defence.

Sidi did a solid job, as is costumary, and afterwards Dave Wild described him as the best player on the pitch. A fair assessment, although they say that in the country of the blind, the one-eyed man is king.

North End were also beleaguered by absences, and were forced to play two forwards at the back, including former Linnets winger Bevan Burey at right-back. They also had to reshuffle before kick-off, thanks to an injury in the warm-up.

So, it was something of a makeshift fixture, and it was honoured by makeshift football.

Glossop took the initiative from kick-off, with a surge forward and a blaze way over the bar by Luke Nock.

The first corner of the game was won by an exchange between Jacques Etia and Kevin Spinelli, after five minutes.

Keaton Mulvey hooked it way beyond the far post, and harmlessly out for a goal-kick.

Early attempts by the visitors, chiefly through James Hooper and Ryan Brooke, to set up attacks by Jamie Rainford were thwarted by a muscular defence.

After ten minutes, which had yielded no clear chances either way, Linnets had what would prove to be their best opportunity of the day. A great through ball by Hooper enabled Zack Clarke to win a corner off Stanyer's block.

A solid Brooky header from Shorty's corner rebounded off the crossbar, and a follow-up header was cleared off the line by Bev Burey. Sean O'Mahony volleyed on goal, but it flashed wide.

The remaining 80 minutes would yield nothing as promising either way, apart from the defensive lapse that allowed Mulvey to give Glossop the lead with their first shot on goal, ten minutes into the second half.

An attacking masterclass, this was not.

The game took on an end-to-end nature, but it was more third-to-third, as scrappy efforts by either side to create something fell on stony ground. Both defences, augmented by players who would prefer to be involved at the other end of the pitch, ensured that thrills would be kept to minimum.

Jacques Etia, who had to be one of the smallest players to wear a No.9 shirt anywhere in the NPL on the day, sought to redress the balance with a determinedly physical approach. He conceded free-kicks for hefty challenges on Brooke, Short, Sanogo and Clarke, before finally receiving a yellow card for a 30th-minute waist-high lunge on Sam Heathcote, just outside the Linnets area.

Little of interest had transpired in the preceding 20 minutes, in terms of threats on either goal. Two more Glossop corners from the right had flown long and out, on a brisk sideways wind, and two wind-assisted long throw-ins by James Short had been repelled by punches from North End 'keeper Morgan Bacon.

On 35 minutes, Ally Brown passed for Dapo Olarewaju to skin Stanyer up the right wing and cross, but Nock headed clear with no opponent near him.

As half-time beckoned, neither goalkeeper had been given much to worry about, apart from that tenth-minute double attempt involving the woodwork.

Two minutes before the break, a long ball from the Linnets half caused Bacon to sprint to the edge of his area to clear. Dapo just beat him to it, but his first-time toe poke flew a yard wide of the left post.

Going into added time before the break, Sam Heathcote conceded a free-kick just outside his own area, with an unnecessary shove in the back on Etia.

It resulted in a game of pinball in the box, with three blocks by defenders, and another by 'keeper Danny Taberner, which represented the only real attacking threat of the first half for the home side.

Runcorn had edged first-half possession, but they had dwelt on the ball too often, and far too many passes had gone astray. That remained a problem for the rest of the afternoon.

The first ten minutes of the second half were occupied by Runcorn possession, almost entirely in the Glossop half, but precious few chances resulted. Too many passes found men in Glossop blue, or space for loose balls that Runcorn men repeatedly failed to exploit.

Brooky found Dapo with a pass to the right touchline that drew a foul by Stanyer. Hooper's free-kick was deflected away.

A great James Short tackle ended Etia's break into the Linnets half, and Zack Clarke was fouled as he mounted a counter-attack. Shorty's free-kick was cleared, and a lapse of concentration in the Runcorn defence allowed the Hillmen to take the lead.

Linnets boss Dave Wild took the blame for the goal, believing it resulted from an ill-advised tactical switch on his part.

Helliwell advanced up the right, and crossed all the way to Gillam on the left. He played it into the area, where Keaton Mulvey was allowed too much space, and his shot evaded Danny Taberner's full-length dive, to find the bottom left corner.

It was North End's first attempt on target, after 55 minutes. But it was one of very few at either end, and there was little evidence to suggest that it might not be the decisive moment of a far from impressive game.

The goal prompted Linnets to attack, and they continued to have more of the ball. But they also continued to show an uncharacteristic inability to pass accurately to teammates. The travelling fans groaned repeatedly, as their players won possession, but gave it away to the opposition, or played the ball into touch.

Sean O'Mahony was penalised for a shirt-pull as he contested an aerial duel in the Glossop area, when he had clearly been impeded himself. But this wasn't an occasion when the referee could be blamed for hindering Runcorn progress. Time and time again, men in orange were playing the ball to men in blue.

After 62 minutes, Zack Clarke made way for Macaulaey Clifton's debut in the Linnets first team. The 19-year-old immediately proved to be a handful for the Hillmen. His turn of pace and skill on the ball had Bev Burey and Jack Hopkins spinning, as they strove to prevent his combinations with James Short clearing the way to an equaliser. It took ten minutes to bear vital fruit.

All over the pitch, however, Runcorn's passing game continued to betray its customary accuracy and fluency. A stray pass from Sidi Sanogo, meant for James Hooper, allowed North End to mount an attack from which a speculative long shot from wide on the right drew a diving save from Danny Taberner. It lacked his usual composure, and it was fortunate that there was no Glossop man on hand to pick up the ball from the half-fumble.

As the final 20 minutes approached, North End replaced Kevin Spinelli with Harry Freedman, and Dave Wild withdrew right-back Ally Brown, in favour of the further teenage attacking presence of Adam Moseley, another U21s graduate who again drew praise from his manager for the impact he has made.

Ryan Brooke received the only Runcorn caution of the day, after he was penalised for a 50/50 aerial duel with Morgan Bacon. We have long been used to goalkeepers being over-protected when they lose the ball in the air, but it was impossible to see how Brooky had played any part in the big, burly 'keeper ending up prone and in pain.

Brooke and Olarewaju both chased balls into the Glossop area that they couldn't keep in play, before the first real Runcorn chance of the half came, with ten minutes remaining.

A promising Dapo cross from the right was picked up by Clifton outside the left edge of the area. He pulled back a neat pass for Sam Heathcote to shoot from 22 yards. It took a deflection for a corner, which Sam headed a yard wide of the left post.

Glossop had what was to prove their last chance to make all three points safe, when Keaton Mulvey tore into the Runcorn area on the break, with only Tabs to get past. The 'keeper narrowed the angle at the near post, and Mulvey could find only the side netting.

There were eight minutes to go when James Short salvaged a point, with a goal that surprised him as much as any of the 446 spectators present.

Clifton won a chase with Burey to keep the ball in play, and pulled it back to his captain. Shorty launched a high cross which was intended as ammunition for a charge into the area by Rainford, Brooke or Hooper. But it cleared everyone in the box, including a confused-looking Morgan Bacon, and cannoned off the inside of the far post, and into the net.

It was one of those days, when the best-laid plans come to nothing, but fortune prevails.

It would be generous to suggest that Linnets had deserved that stroke of luck, but the Hillmen didn't deserve to take any more from the game than their visitors.

North End manager Stuart Mellish said that he thought his side had been 'oustanding, to a man', and that they had deserved all three points from a 'magnificent' display in an 'entertaining game'.

I wondered if I had accidentally attended a different match, but when the Glossop boss added that his side couldn't be expected to compete with a 'big-spending club' like Linnets, I thought I had in fact entered a different dimension of space and time.

I felt reassured that my senses hadn't deserted me for the afternoon, when Dave Wild described the afternoon's events as 'a really dire game of football, devoid of any real quality, from both teams'. He said 'we were so far below par, it was frightening', and speculated that the Glossop management team would feel similar.

Apparently not. Wildy might have to console himself for that error of judgment with another extravagant 'spending spree'. Strange.

The closing minutes of Linnets' worst game of the season so far yielded hardly any more chances, apart from a powerful last-minute shot by Macauley Clifton. His effort from outside the area would have capped an impressive first-team debut, but it flew a yard wide of the left post.

Throughout added time, the travelling fans around me beseeched referee Daniel Tyas to blow the final whistle. Not because they were desperate to cling to a point. They just wanted to end the suffering and go home.

That's where they will be for two cup games over the coming seven days. Prescot Cables come to APEC Taxis Stadium on Tuesday, 25th October, to do battle in the Liverpool Senior Cup, followed by Belper Town's visit in the Isuzu FA Trophy first round proper, on Saturday 29th.

Lewis Doyle and Eden Gumbs will be available for both of these fixtures, while the Cables game allows Louis Hayes a break from his three-game ban, the county cups being exempt from suspensions acquired in league games. Runcorn Linnets: Danny Taberner, Ally Brown (Adam MMosely, 70 mins), James Short, Sidi Sanogo Fofana, Sean O'Mahony, Sam Heathcote, Dapo Olarewaju, Ryan Brooke, Jamie Rainford, James Hooper, Zack Clarke (Macauley Clifton! 62 mins). Subs not used: Josh Roberts, Isaac Turner, Eden Gumbs.

Attendance:446.

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