4^th March 2023, Runcorn Linnets FC v Glossop North End : 0-0 Sponsored by Russell and Gloria Cornes

Linnets' campaign for a second consecutive promotion play-off spot moved on to a home fixture against Glossop North End. 

Kevin Spinelli, who had debuted in the No9 shirt in Tuesday's Cheshire Senior Cup win over Macclesfield, had an early opportunity to face his former club, for whom he had played against Linnets in a 1-1 draw at Surrey Street back in October.

He did so after replacing Eden Gumbs, who was struggling with his breathing, just before kick-off.

Kevin was joined up front by two other new signings, Jamal Crawford and Cameron Rooney, and 12 minutes into the second half, he was to make way for a third, in St Kitts & Nevis international Raheem Hanley.

All three debutants impressed, Crawford crowning his first appearance with the Dron & Dickson-sponsored man of the match award.

Linnets ultimately had to be satisfied with honours even for the season against Glossop, after only its second goalless draw at APEC Taxis Stadium.

There were some dissenting voices among Runcorn fans afterwards, at failing to win against the division's 18th- placed side, which played the last half-hour with ten men.

But that was an unfair assessment of a home team that featured three players who were yet to train, let alone play, together. It didn't look that way.

It was also unfair on a North End side which had put up a great fight for a deserved point, and might even have snatched all three in added time.

Kevin Spinelli threatened the Glossop area in the first minute, and was fouled outside it. North End's former Linnets 'keeper Craig Ellison fumbled James Short's curler, but held on to Spinelli's follow-up header.

The first Glossop attack came from a similar free-kick, after Sean O'Mahony's wrestle on Nathan Valentine.

Danny Taberner also failed to hold on to his save, but Sam Heathcote stepped in to clear.

Linnets started to take more control of the ball and generate chances. From a throw-in on the left, Sam Heathcote picked up a cross from Shorty, advanced ten yards but shot just over the bar.

Then, from a corner, Sam was poised to replicate his midweek goal against Macclesfield, but a deflection produced another corner.

Sean O'Mahony's on-target header was cleared at the second attempt.

In the 12th minute, Nathan Valentine received a yellow card for leaving a foot in when Jamal Crawford beat him to the ball in the centre circle.

Another tricky Crawford run into the middle set up 18-year-old Cameron Rooney, on loan from EFL side Morecambe, for a shot, which Ellison held on to.

Rooney quickly showed the fans of his new club how strong he is on the ball, and on another charge towards the Glossop area, he shrugged off two defenders to set up a Spinelli shot from the edge of the area. It cleared the bar.

At the mid-point of the first half, Matty Gillam made ground up the right before shooting from an optimistic angle and distance. Taberner had the effort covered, as he watched it clear the far angle.

It spoke volumes for the efficiency of both defences that most attempts flew high, without causing problems for either goalkeeper.

A Gillam exchange with Teddy Lavelle, up the left, produced a cross which ran long and out on the far side.

Ellison had to clear up two Linnets efforts in quick succession: a high cross from Crawford, who had won the ball near the right corner flag, and a probing Ollie McFadyen shot from 35 yards.

Going into the last 15 minutes before half-time, Glossop had their first spell of consistent possession in the Runcorn half, without penetrating a confident back line. Heathcote, O'Mahony and Moore repelled anything that flew high towards the Linnets penalty area. Yoak and Maguire were doing likewise at the other end, as they would do all afternoon. 

In the 35th minute, Harry Freedman did manage to turn his marker O'Mahony enough to get in a shot from outside the area, but Tabs got down to hold it with ease.

Former Linnet Bev Burey won the ball from Ollie McFadyen at the edge of the Glossop area, but Ollie won it back, and made a great run into the six-yard box. Bev recovered his ground to block for a corner, which was headed on to the roof of the net, off the far end of the bar.

Gillam was cautioned for a chop on Ally Brown, and Shorty's free-kick from just inside the right touchline, flew long and beyond a crowded six-yard box.

Shorty then delivered a great cross from the left, from McFadyen's pass up the line, which eluded Spinelli's run into the box by inches.

McFadyen made a swift run into the area, but his pass was blocked before it could reach Rooney. 

At half-time, most of the 620 in attendance must have felt that Runcorn should have been ahead. But in truth, the vocal Glossop 'keeper Ellison, who had spent a large part of the first half closer to the halfway line than to his goal, had not been called into urgent action.

Many are quick to see a 0-0 scoreline as an indictment of ineffective attacking, but the defences of both teams had performed immaculately.

But Glossop boss Stuart Mellish clearly felt that his side needed to change things up going forward, and he started the second half with Niall Moran and another former Runcorn man Keaton Mulvey, in place of Jacques Etia and Teddy Lavelle.

They began on the attack, and after Ally Brown had blocked a cross to concede a corner, an overhead shot by Mulvey cleared the bar.

Tom Moore was the first Runcorn man to see a yellow card, for a challenge just inside his own half which prompted a brief but populous scuffle.

Linnets were a touch fortunate to survive a Freedman run on goal, when they believed he was offside, and Tabs was stranded well off his line. But a scramble back by O'Mahony and Heathcote forced Freedman to pass wide to Burey, whose cross was blocked, for another corner.

After 57 minutes, Raheem Hanley made his Runcorn debut, in place of Kevin Spinelli.

Hanley made his presence felt immediately, with a tricky backheel to make a run up the left and a cross that was blocked.

Ollie McFadyen was brought down by a cynical swipe by Maguire that earned the Glossop centre-half a yellow card. Shorty's free-kick from 25 yards found Tom Moore beyond the far post, but his header flew high.

Quick end-to-end runs by both sides were met by risky tackles, suggesting that referee Bilal Moosa would find more use for his cards, and that a set- piece might settle the outcome.

Weight was added to that impression when Glossop were reduced to ten men, after 63 minutes.

Sean O'Mahony strode away from his own area in possession, and was hauled down by Matty Gillam. A second yellow card ended his contribution to the game.

Jamal Crawford redoubled his threat up the right, and gave North End left-back Kacper Mialkowski a torrid time in preventing Linnets from breaking the deadlock.

The pace of the game was rapid, and it seemed that calm and patience would be the key to Runcorn exploiting their numerical advantage.

Raheem Hanley was replicating Crawford's tricky presence on the other wing. He nutmegged Moran, and was bodychecked before he could get away to deliver a cross. 

Hanley and Short combined to deliver a ball into the area, but Yoak headed away, and Crawford's cross from the other side, from Louis Hayes' pass, was dispatched in similar fashion by Maguire.

From the clearance, Shorty curled a ball through the area that might have served as a cross or a shot. Ellison was equal to it. He held on to another cross resulting from a passing sequence between Rooney, Crawford and Hayes.

Fifteen minutes remained when a similar Shorty ball, set up by a one-two up the left between Hanley and Rooney, narrowly cleared the top right angle. Ellison had it covered anyway.

Linnets were dominating possession, as eleven against ten should, but Glossop kept their shape and discipline, and prevented any Runcorn chances from acquiring a gilt edge.

Dave Wild rolled a dice to change that, bringing on Matty Birchall in place of Ollie McFadyen.

His team had to be wary of leaving themselves exposed as they chased all three points, and they were a little lucky when with only Tabs to beat Mulvey pulled a shot wide when a loose ball was prodded ahead of his run into the Runcorn area.

Inside the last ten minutes, James Short was left to battle Burey and Freedman near his own left corner flag. Burey eventually prevailed to deliver a cross, but it flew behind the Linnets goal.

Within a minute, a Crawford cross from the Runcorn right achieved a similar fate.

Five normal minutes remained when a Louis Hayes ball from the centre circle set Matty Birchall away on a run towards the Glossop goal. Craig Ellison was the last line of defence when he sprinted from his area and deliberately brought the Linnets sub to ground.

Mr Moosa went to his pocket, surely to produce a red card, and leave Glossop to survive the remaining few minutes with nine men and a makeshift goalkeeper. But he showed Ellison a yellow.

Runcorn outrage at the decision was defused by 'retrospective VAR', with a later look at video footage of the incident. Three Glossop defenders were covering rapidly from the right, and they would have been able to close down Matty's progress if he had been allowed to continue his run. The referee got a difficult decision right.

James Short's free-kick across the area was headed away by Yoak, with Maguire ready to intervene if it hadn't been. Centre-backs at both ends of the pitch had earned their corn all afternoon.

Heathcote, Moore and O'Mahony continued the trend, as two Glossop corners at the Forest End failed to achieve a famous smash-and-grab win for the Hillmen.

Back in front of the clubhouse, Linnets advisedly gave up on trying to bypass Yoak, Maguire and Ellison in the air, and had a go at walking in a winner, via possession on the ground between Birchall, Rooney and Hayes. The Glossop defence stood firm.

Four minutes were added by Mr Moosa. During that time, Runcorn had a last great chance when Sam Heathcote's long ball into the area was headed over the bar from six yards by Tom Moore. If he'd kept it on target, Ellison would have been in his way, at point-blank range.

Otherwise, stoppage time was dominated by the visitors, augmented by the late replacement of Freedman by Elliot Williams. 

A struggle at the corner flag won a Glossop corner kick, from which Taberner had to punch Williams' in-swinger, to concede another. Tom Moore headed that one away from the near post.

A fifth-placed team might be expected to win against opponents in 18th, especially when the latter played the last half-hour with ten men. But that view is as simplistic as the idea that a 0-0 draw is boring. 

Neither assumption was justified here. It was an absorbing contest, with positives to be taken by both sides. A pair of clean sheets said far more about excellent defending than they did about any failure to create chances.

A new-look Linnets line-up offered much to anticipate, and Glossop looked nothing like a team that should be worried by the possibility of relegation. Both moved one place up the league table, thanks to defeats for Clitheroe and Widnes.  

All Linnets fans who had been paying attention can look forward to seeing the week's new signings settling into their team's efforts to secure a play-off berth. The first of eight remaining league games will be away to Bootle, on Saturday March 11th. 

Runcorn Linnets: Danny Taberner, Ally Brown, James Short, Tom Moore, Sean O'Mahony, Sam Heathcote, Jamaal Crawford, Louis Hayes, Cameron Rooney, Ollie McFadyen (Matty Birchall 77), Kevin Spinelli (Raheem Hanley 57).  Subs not used: Isaac Turner, Josh Roberts (GK), Eden Gumbs. 

Attendance: 620.

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