1^st April 2023, Kidsgrove Athletic FC v Runcorn Linnets FC : 0-1

Linnets spent April Fool's Day in Staffordshire, for a critical Pitching In NPL West division clash that could make or break the season, for them and for their hosts Kidsgrove Athletic.

A poor home defeat to Clitheroe seven days earlier had left Runcorn in the promotion play-off places by a single point from in-form Witton Albion, having been ever-present in the top five since early September.

A victory for in-form Kidsgrove would keep alive their own hopes of a play-off berth.

Intrigue was added to the afternoon's events by Linnets being led into battle by erstwhile first team coach, Billy Paynter, who had been appointed manager following the sudden departure of Dave Wild in midweek.

Chaos and confusion, in keeping with the date, resulted in a late start and a sizable proportion of the away support arriving early in the second half.

A serious incident on the M6 had turned the 35-mile journey into a three-hour odyssey and with Linnets players gradually arriving, there wasn't time for many of the 10 present by 3pm to have anything like the normal warm-up.

A request was made to extend the 15-minute delay in kick-off to 30 minutes but Kidsgrove manager Scott Dundas was said by Linnets boss Paynter to have declined.

Runcorn captain James Short in turn wasn't keen to take to the field until Sean O'Mahony, the last of the designated starters to show, had at least been allowed time to get his boots on.

Kick-off ensued at 3.20pm, with eleven Runcorn players on the pitch, and an empty subs' bench only began to fill up once the game was under way.

It was remarkable, therefore, that to a man, the Linnets ran through metaphorical brick walls for 90 minutes, and secured a battling 1-0 victory which could prove pivotal at the imminent league season's end.

Jamal Crawford and Matty Birchall, from either wing, set about causing problems for the Kidsgrove defence, but it was the home side who produced the first attempt on goal, which dipped over the bar from 20 yards, in the sixth minute.

A minute later, Crawford did well to keep the ball in play at the right touchline, and curled a cross through the area. It cleared home 'keeper Ryan Brown, but also the far end of the bar.

By the tenth minute, Runcorn had a full complement of 16 players in the ground, and Ryan Brooke almost marked the moment with an opening goal.

Josh Thorpe and Lewis Bergin dwelt a second too long on the ball in the area, enabling Brooky to snatch it and turn but rattle the right post with his shot.

Linnets maintained a spell of attacking possession, and Sam Heathcote headed wide under pressure, from James Short's free-kick from near the halfway line.

Much to the chagrin of the Grove defence, a corner was awarded but Sean O'Mahony's header was blocked at the far post, a Heathcote shot was checked, and Cameroon Rooney's follow-up was held by Brown.

Kidsgrove responded with a spell of consistent possession, and a throw-in followed by a corner led to a Callum Leigh shot from distance which curled well wide, after 24 minutes.

A pattern emerged, with Grove seeing more of the ball, but disciplined Linnets defending right across the pitch prevented home possession from producing any real chances. 

Billy Paynter later revealed that the game plan, if the toss was won, was to play up the considerable Novus Stadium slope in the first half, and to frustrate the hosts' attempts to make the most of 45 minutes with gravity in their favour. 

It was working. Ally Brown and James Short were advancing up the wings less than they would have liked, but both defended stoically to restrict Grove opportunities to exploit the flanks.

Moore, Heathcote and O'Mahony, augmented by Lewis Doyle, were thus enabled to apply solid composure in the middle, and the home attacking threat was kept at bay.

Lewis Bergin was cautioned for an elbow to the back of Rooney's head, as he jumped for the ball near halfway.

Linnets had less possession than their opponents throughout the first half, but when they attacked, they were causing more consternation in the area.

Ryan Brooke looked as though he would require just the briefest and narrowest of opportunities to put his side ahead, and it was taking a minimum of two defenders at a time to subdue Matty Birchall's forays into the Grove area.

They were compelled to keep Matty's back to goal when he had the ball, and Brooke, Rooney and Doyle were all poised to latch on to his lay-offs across the 18-yard line.

In the 30th minute, Lewis Doyle fastened onto one such Birchall assist from the left corner of the area, and his shot dipped a foot over the bar.

Down the slope, Will Saxon did well to control a clearance from Ryan Brown, and he found Kieran Knapper on the right, for a shot which hit the bar.

An attritional five minutes in the middle third of the pitch followed, with petty fouls outnumbering telling passes by either side.

After 38 minutes, another Birchall advance into the area produced a shot which Brown did well to parry, then Jamal Crawford launched a cross from the right which Kyle Stubbs blocked, conceding a corner.

Sam Heathcote met the kick with a header that flew wide, under pressure from Oliver Jepson.

Ally Brown won the ball well from Saxon inside the touchline, and played it ahead of Crawford. His cross was met by Birchall, and when it dropped to Cameron Rooney, the 'keeper did well again to block his shot.

At the break, Kidsgrove had seen more of the ball, but Linnets had looked more dangerous in attack.

A greater share of possession by Runcorn developed from the start of the second half, encouraged by the favour of the slope and by increasing noise from the Linnets fans. Their number had been augmented by the much-belated arrival of a missing coachload, which made a nonsense of the already- confirmed official attendance of 232.

Three minutes into the half, Ryan Brooke made a solo run on the area from Ally Brown's long pass, and his lobbed shot was thwarted by the 'keeper's fingertips, diverting it for a corner.

That was eventually cleared, after a string of Runcorn passes across the edge of the Grove area.

After a foul on Matty Birchall inside the Kidsgrove half, the free-kick was intercepted by Jepson for a corner. Tom Moore made a clean header from the kick, but it glanced well wide.

Sam Heathcote spent some time receiving attention after his run into the opposition half had been halted by Ernest Ofosu's raised arm. The loud opinion from the Kidsgrove dugout continued to suggest that it was impossible for a Kidsgrove player to commit a foul.

The first personnel change of the afternoon saw Ollie McFadyen replace Cameron Rooney, after 55 minutes. 

A second came three minutes later, when Jamal Crawford gave way to Eden Gumbs, or as he was exotically renamed Eden Oumba after a mix-up on the team sheet.

There was a narrow escape for Linnets when Sean O'Mahony was wrong-footed outside his own area, and Josh Thorpe broke through, only to shoot wide of the far post, as Danny Taberner came out to close him down.

Sean made amends moments later, with a perfectly-timed tackle as Thorpe advanced in search of another chance.

Eden Gumbs was involved quickly, doing well to retrieve a ball up the right before it crossed the goal line, to pass inside for Brooky.

His flick inside the near post was kept out by Brown, as the ball bounced awkwardly in front of him.

Increasingly impressive work by Linnets in the Kidsgrove half appeared to have been in vain, when the hosts attacked on the break, and Saxon was brought down as he progressed towards the Runcorn goal.

He sprawled headlong inside the area, and the referee pointed immediately to the penalty spot.

The assistant on the right jumped to the top of the Linnets' Christmas card list, when he advised the referee that the challenge had occurred before the 18-yard line.

Even so, Bergin's free-kick was heading inside the right post until Tabs pulled off a great airborne save.

Linnets attacked again, with the help of a free-kick from Ofosu's foul on Ollie McFadyen, ten yards from the left corner of the penalty area.

Shorty's dangerous kick into the six-yard box prompted four vertical headers, alternating between either side, until the referee deemed the last, by Sam Heathcote, to have been made unfairly.

Kidsgrove made a double substitution, with Aaron Bott and Kieran Knapper being replaced by Jack Bromfield and Shaun Miller.

With 20 minutes remaining, Tabs was called to the rescue again, making a great block with his feet after a bout of pedestrian passing among the Runcorn defence had allowed another shot by Saxon.

Either side could have been ahead by now, and it appeared that a single goal might well determine the outcome. 

Two minutes later, it came to pass.

A patient string of eight Linnets passes, from the left wing to the right, and back again, ended with a high diagonal ball into the area by James Short. It was headed away, but played back in by Ally Brown, with Brooke and McFadyen both fighting off close challenges, to attempt a turn and shot on goal. The ball ran to Matty Birchall, who held up three defenders in the area, to make a great pass into the path of Lewis Doyle. 

From the edge of the area, Lewis applied a perfect blend of power and control to find a path through the crowd of bodies, and into the top right corner.

It was a goal worthy of securing three priceless points, as it ultimately did.

Linnets allowed Kidsgrove another spell of attacking possession, but the defence kept its shape and composure, and the only threat to materialise was a long shot which Miller sliced well wide.

Matty Birchall, who had worried the Kidsgrove defence as much as anyone, was felled by a waist-high challenge as he picked up Tom Moore's flick into the Grove half. It earned Jepson a yellow card.

Shorty's free-kick from 25 yards was played short to Lewis Doyle, who teed up a low shot from the Linnets skipper that glanced off the outside of the right post.

Runcorn came again, from a repelled Kidsgrove attack, and once again Birchall was grounded by a studs-up foul. Matty was saved from further punishment when he was withdrawn in favour of Kieran Nolan, with eight normal minutes remaining.

Nobody would question Bucket Hat Radio's naming of Ally Brown as man of the match, from an array of worthy candidates, but for me, Birchall had at least as much impact on the final outcome as anyone. The Grove defence had to be glad to see the back of him.

Kidsgrove replaced Callum Leigh with Kingsley Adu-Gyamfi.

After Ryan Brooke had received lengthy attention, resulting from an accidental clash of heads with Ofusu, James Short launched another free-kick, from a trip on McFadyen, towards the far post.

Sam Heathcote won the ball in the air, but was judged to have fouled Byers. 

Linnets hadn't given up looking for the chance of a second goal, but they concentrated on keeping the ball, mostly in the Kidsgrove half.

When they conceded a goal-kick, Ryan Brooke was cautioned for being in no hurry to allow its execution.

A last chance for Kidsgrove to level might have come from a long diagonal ball into the Runcorn area, but it ran too long, with Taberner ushering it out of play.

Kidsgrove possession in added time was corralled in their own half, and Tom Moore received the last of the day's four yellow cards, for upending Saxon as he tried to forge further forward.

Linnets celebrations, when the final whistle confirmed three precious points, showed that a troubled week had ended on the most positive of notes.

Elsewhere, Macclesfield's 3-1 win over Trafford confirmed them as Pitching In NPL West champions, while victories for Clitheroe and Witton Albion maintained the status quo in the three-horse race for the last two play-off places. 

With four games each to play, Linnets remain in fifth place, behind Clitheroe on goal difference, and one point ahead of Albion. Two of the three will surely face Leek Town and Workington in the semis.

The forthcoming Easter weekend will feature crucial games for Linnets at home to Prescot Cables, and away to City of Liverpool.

Before that, Tuesday will see the visit to the APEC Stadium of Vanarama National League side Altrincham, in a Cheshire Senior Cup semi-final. 

The Robins suffered a heartbreaking defeat to AFC Halifax Town after a penalty shootout in Saturday's Isuzu FA Trophy semi-final.

Runcorn Linnets: Danny Taberner, Ally Brown, James Short, Tom Moore, Sean O'Mahony, Sam Heathcote, Matty Birchall (Kieran Nolan, 82 mins), Lewis Doyle, Ryan Brooke (Kieran Nolan, 45 mins), Cameron Rooney (Ollie McFadyen, 55 mins), Jamal Crawford (Eden Gumbs, 59 mins).  Subs (not used): Isaac Turner, Josh Elverstone. 

Attendance: 232.

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