5^th November 2022, Clitheroe v Runcorn Linnets FC : 0-1

Linnets visited an in-form Clitheroe with the aim of leap-frogging the Lancashire side into the top five of the NPL West Division.

Encounters between the two are habitually close and hard fought, and rarely uneventful. Before kick-off it makes it near impossible to predict an outcome, but it's always a 90-minute trip worth making, to a good ground, with plenty of shelter from the inevitable rain, hospitable people, and a top-notch dose of pie, peas and gravy.

It was to be another incident-packed game, with both sides doing their utmost to attack, frustrated by on-song defences and goalkeepers. That resulted in the points being secured by a single goal, converted by Jamie Rainford from a great Eden Gumbs run and cross after 73 minutes.

By then, both teams were down to ten men, with Danny Wilkins and Ryan Brooke having seen red in a game that was often testy, but never dirty.

A sickness bug which had surged across the North West during the week, took its toll on both line-ups.

It prevented James Hooper from returning from a cup-tied absence from the FA Trophy win over Belper Town, and also sidelined the notoriously dangerous Clitheroe striker Sefton Gonzales.

Linnets hit the ground running, with consistent attacking pressure in the opening minutes.

Zack Clarke, ahead of Ally Brown up the right, and Eden Gumbs, in front of James Short on the left, got forward fast and looked to set up Jamie Rainford and Ryan Brooke in the area.

After just a minute, Zack was tripped as he advanced towards the area, and James Short launched a peach of a free-kick which drew a great diving save by Chris Thompson.

Rainford headed on the corner for Brooke to turn and shoot, but his effort was blocked at source.

The opening minutes were dominated by Runcorn pressure, and Rainford shot again from just inside the area, but aimed high.

Clitheroe wore a stylish blue and white kit reminiscent of many worn by the Italian national team, but they had started the game looking more like the Italy that had failed to qualify for the forthcoming World Cup, than any of the Azzurri that had won four of them.

After ten minutes without an advance on the Runcorn goal, their frustration led to a number of challenges that were increasingly heavy, in tandem with the teeming rain. The conditions didn't help them to get a foothold in the game.

They were chipping away to make forward progress when they were forced to make an early change in personnel. Left-back Darren Holden attempted a back-heel in front of the dugouts, and went down in obvious pain. It appeared, later, that a nasty achilles tendon injury had added Daz to Clitheroe's casualty list.

Only 16 minutes had elapsed when Billy Priestley replaced him. By the end of the game, one had to wonder why Priestley hadn't featured in the starting line-up, as he was surely to be the main rival to goalkeeper Thompson for home man of the match.

Linnets continued to dominate, and a Lewis Doyle switch with Ally Brown led to a weak Richard Baker clearance. Ally's volley cleared the bar by millimetres.

Picking up most of the loose balls kept Runcorn on top, and Short and Gumbs swapped passes into the area that enabled Eden to shoot from ten yards, calling for another excellent save by Thompson.

Linnets chances kept coming, with Ally Brown firing into the side netting from Jamie Rainford's sideways pass, but their domination throughout the first half-hour remained fruitless thanks to determined Clitheroe defending.

Priestley was at the heart of most of it. His head intercepted a string of crosses from Clarke and Brown on the right, and twice he cleared low balls in from the left from Eden Gumbs, before Rainford or Brooke could connect.

It was in the 28th minute that Linnets 'keeper Danny Taberner was first called into meaningful action. He punched away from the head of Danny Wilkins, from a long throw on the left, and then pounced on a low follow-up shot.

Linnets were quickly back on the attack, and Sam Heathcote headed on target from a corner on the right, but Thompson was right behind it.

There were only ten minutes of the half remaining when Clitheroe achieved a spell of telling possession for the first time, and they kept the ball in the Runcorn half for a good three minutes.

But an imperious Linnets back four, augmented by Doyle, Sanogo and Brooke, limited the hosts' spoils to a single lob towards goal that was gathered with ease by Danny Taberner.

Four minutes from the break, Clitheroe had their best chance of the half. Reece Webb-Foster's distant shot took a wild deflection off Lewis Doyle, and it demanded an excellent diving save by Tabs.

Jack Burrows' attempt to shepherd the ball out for a goal-kick conceded a Runcorn corner, which is an outcome of the ignored obstruction law which never fails to delight your correspondent. But it ironically presented Clitheroe with a half-chance.

Sidi slipped on the wet turf as he attempted to shoot from the cleared corner kick, and Wilkins was away on a determined sprint towards the Runcorn goal. O'Mahony and Heathcote backtracked quickly enough to eliminate the danger.

Honours remained even at half-time, but without the efforts of Thompson and Priestley to shut out Linnets' most enterprising opening 45 minutes of the season so far, the visitors would surely have been ahead. The Blues Twitter commentary concurred, with the comment 'Can only get better'.

Linnets started the second half as they had the first. Three quickfire thow-ins on the left presented three separate attacks within a minute. Eden Gumbs' cross was headed out by Priestley. Doyle's shot on target was blocked en route, and Sidi Sanogo sliced wide from 20 yards out.

Rainford also sliced the slippery ball wide from Brooke's flicked-on header, and Jamie returned the compliment with a pass to Brooky, who was brought down just outside the area, earning a yellow card for Richie Baker.

Ryan's free-kick glanced off the shoulder of the last man in the defensive wall, and missed the left post by inches.

Zack Clarke was cautioned for the late prevention of Cameron Lancaster's charge away from the Clitheroe area.

Roared on by a substantial travelling share of the 658 attendance, Runcorn pressure continued, rapidly producing three Lewis Doyle corners from the left. Rainford, Brooke and Sanogo all let rip from just outside the area, but Priestley, Baker and Lancaster got in the way.

On 56 minutes, it appeared that Brooky had found a way through. He stepped past Burrows to the goal line and snapped a shot back across goal. It beat Thompson, but ricocheted down off the bar. Lee Pugh cleared just before Zack Clarke could meet the rebound.

Then three minutes of indiscipline delivered consequences.

Brooky launched a heavy challenge after the ball cleared the Clitheroe penalty area, and it was hardly necessary, as the ball was running out for a Linnets throw-in. It earned him a yellow card, and he was to collect another only moments later.

Danny Wilkins unleashed an ugly high challenge on Sidi Sanogo, just inside the Runcorn half, prompting mass unrest involving most of the 22 playing personnel. Then there were 20. Wilkins was shown a straight red, and Brooke followed him to the changing rooms for his role in the 'afters'. The referee reported that Brooky's second yellow was for his 'aggressive attitude', which was a harsh judgement on his dragging an opponent off the prone Sidi.

A busy afternoon for referee Tom Maher threatened to become more demanding, but he stamped his authority on proceedings, and was due credit for preventing an entertaining game from descending into chaos.

The instant switch from eleven-a-side to ten might have caused the game to either open up, or close down. Rising tempers might have promised the latter, but fortunately it went the other way, and the last half an hour did justice to an absorbing contest.

After 63 minutes, a great one-two between Eden Gumbs and James Short on the left flank produced a cross into the six-yard box, where Jamie Rainford appeared to be nudged off the ball as he slid in. But there wasn't enough contact for Mr Maher to see any offence.

With 23 minutes remaining, Zack Clarke gave way to Macauley Clifton.

The first real threat on the Runcorn goal in the second half came from a surge into the area by Malick Diakite, his eventual shot deflected by Sean O'Mahony for a corner.

Macauley Clifton's presence gave the Clitheroe defence a new concern, as he picked up passes from Sidi Sanogo and Ally Brown, and a number of Blues clearances, and looked determined to bag his first goal since his recent elevation from the under-21 squad.

He turned his man and shot, after Sidi had blocked an attempted clearance, but couldn't muster the power to beat Thompson.

Macca then appeared to have been fouled on the halfway line, but the referee felt otherwise, and from the breakaway, a Webb-Foster shot found the side netting.

With the extra space afforded by the double dismissal, the final 20 minutes promised little in the way of carefully-constructed football. Neither side showed any inclination to slow down and take a point. Counter-attacking was the order of the day, and it seemed that the outcome might be decided by a rare defensive error.

As I jotted down those words, it happened.

Eden Gumbs outpaced Burrows into the left side of the penalty area, and pulled a low cross into the six-yard box. For the first time in the game, Jamie wasn't wearing a defender like a second shirt, and he slotted the ball home past a stranded Chris Thompson.

The only goal of the game was a fitting tribute to a close Linnets man-of-the- match contest between Gumbs and Rainford.

Clitheroe had been second best, albeit not by much, for most of the 73 minutes that had been played, but it wasn't over, and falling behind prodded the hosts into an offensive frenzy. They attacked far more than they defended for the last quarter of an hour, but the remaining ten Linnets defended with determination and composure in equal measure.

Burrows shot high. Diakite shot wide of both posts. Tabs punched away crosses, and caught high balls aimed at Blues subs Edwards and Russell. O'Mahony, Heathcote, Brown and Short blocked shots, and headed away high balls into the area.

The Clitheroe onslaught was always likely to allow a telling Runcorn break, and twice Eden got away to deliver crosses for Macca. The first was headed with insufficient power to beat Thompson, and the other was met by a shot which ballooned over the bar.

Clifton also received the final yellow card of the day, and his first as a Runcorn first teamer, for a late tackle in added time.

Lewis Doyle had the chance to put the game to bed. A ball forward by Sidi set him away on a one-on-one with the 'keeper. Rather than shoot, he unselfishly slipped a pass left, in front of Rainford. Lancaster did well to nip in and force him off his stride, and the ball looped wide of the post.

Ten Linnets combined to keep the door shut for the last two minutes of added time, and they secured an exhausting but thoroughly-deserved victory.

The rapturous celebrations between Runcorn fans, players and staff after the final whistle was a compliment to Clitheroe. They were disappointed with their failure to get on top at any point on the day, but any team that beats them rightly considers it a feather in their cap.

Not many teams head home from Shawbridge with a clean sheet, and with this one, Linnets had risen to fifth in the table, with only eight goals conceded in twelve league games. Only league leaders Macclesfield could boast a tighter defensive record, having yielded seven.

Linnets tails will be up, as they regroup for the home local derby with 1874 Northwich, in three days' time. Runcorn Linnets: Danny Taberner, Ally Brown, James Short, Lewis Doyle, Sean O'Mahony, Sam Heathcote, Zack Clarke (Macauley Clifton, 67 mins), Sidi Sanogo Fofana, Jamie Rainford, Ryan Brooke, Eden Gumbs. Subs not used: Josh Roberts (GK), Isaac Turner, Tom Moore.

Attendance:658.

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