Football: Runcorn cruise to victory after second half showing

Ryan Brooke (r) with Peter Wylie after the hat-trick

Runcorn Linnets 4
Market Drayton Town 1

By David 'Bill' Davies
Photos by Neil Thornton

Four second-half goals - including a 14- minute hat-trick from the Pitching In Northern Premier League West's leading marksman, Ryan Brooke - ensured that an unusually ineffective first 45 minutes by the Linnets could be quickly forgotten.

Runcorn need eight points from their five remaining league games to secure a promotion play-off spot  which nobody dared to expect at the start of the season. After an exciting 3-1 Tuesday night victory over Bootle, their then closest rivals for a promotion play-off place, Runcorn Linnets welcomed already relegated Market Drayton Town to the APEC Taxis Stadium.

Dapo Olarewaju’s added-time ‘supersub’ clincher against Bootle four days earlier had earned him a starting role, wide on the right, with Eden Gumbs coming in for Lloyd-Marsh-Hughes on the other wing.

In a tricky first half, Dapo looked more likely than anyone to open the door to a Runcorn victory. But stern defending frustrated a home side burdened with the expectation of a comfortable three points. It was the 25th minute, when a Reuban Mackay cross targeted centre-forward Alexandru Margina in the Runcorn area for the first time, but Alex Downes got to it first.

Drayton had been unable to pose much of an attacking threat in the first quarter of the game, but they were making sequences of more than two Runcorn passes at a time a rarity.

As Iwan Murray launched a response with a run through the centre circle, Farnsworth brought him down, and received the first yellow card of the day. The free-kick was headed on by Brooke to Eden Gumbs, wide on the left. His cross was headed towards goal by Downes, but straight to ’keeper Rawlins.

Ten minutes from half-time, Olarewaju played a one-two with Gumbs that won a corner. Downes was the target again, and an accidental clash of heads left Alex with a cut that required a bandage and a change into a numberless ‘blood shirt’. Attacking persistence from the home side still failed to produce many scoring chances.

Welsh set up Brooke for a mazy run on goal past three opponents, but his shot from 20 yards out was blocked by Joe Care’s trailing foot. Referee Joe Cunningham added four minutes to the first half, most of it due to Alex Downes’ head injury.

He permitted Drayton winger Reuban Mackay to use up roughly half of it in tying his bootlaces in the Runcorn half, but he still blew the whistle at 3.49pm, prompting a heated discourse from Calum McIntyre as they walked to the tunnel.

The only incident of note in added time had been a corner, won by an Olarewaju shot deflecting off Sweeney. Jordan Jones headed it just over his own bar, when it could easily have gone just under. When a team has spent 45 minutes on top, but failed to get ahead, patience is usually advised. But Linnets’ approach after the break was impatience personified, with Brooke and Olarewaju getting forward fast.

On 49 minutes, Murray advanced 30 yards into the Drayton half up the right touch line, until Brendon Price’s tackle conceded a Brown throw-in, that found Brooke. He flicked it on into the area for Olarewaju, whose low shot hit the boot of Care and looped up over Rawlins and into the net.

There was an element of luck in Dapo’s goal, but it was more than deserved for the 50 minutes he had spent tormenting the opposition. The breakthrough enabled Linnets to relax into the role of firm favourites for all three points, and the speed of the game at least doubled.

A Dapo-Price aerial duel gave Linnets a corner on the right, which reached Downes’ bandaged head beyond the far post. His well directed header was cleared off the line by Meddows.

Kain Dean was replaced after 56 minutes by Peter Wylie. His involvement was immediate, a ball wide left to Gumbs crossed to Joe Lynch. He beat Sweeney to find Murray in the middle, his first time shot blocked at close range by Care.

Iwan then passed wide right to Dapo, who was wiped out inside the Drayton half by Price. The Town left-back appeared to have been briefed to neutralise the threat of the Runcorn No7, and he fouled Dapo four more times within 20 minutes, without coaxing the yellow card out of Mr Cunnigham’s pocket.

On the hour mark, Price hauled Dapo back by his shirt on the right touchline. Murray’s free-kick reached Brooke just inside the penalty area, his powerful volley on target drawing an excellent one-handed save from Rawlins. Two Market Drayton attacks came in quick succession, O’Mahony blocking Greer’s shot from a long through ball, and Downes clearing up an almost identical effort by Panashe Madama.

Lloyd Marsh-Hughes replaced Eden Gumbs after 69 minutes. Lloyd wasted no time at all in playing a decisive part. He won the ball wide on the left and passed back to the near corner of the penalty area, from where Ryan Brooke delivered a first time shot into the top right corner of the net, leaving the ’keeper rooted to the spot.

Runcorn had warmed to their task, and fewer than three points now looked unlikely. Olarewaju, Murray and Lynch broke forward in unison, giving the latter a shot from inside the area, blocked well by Rawlins at close range. Into the last quarter of an hour, Sean O’Mahony tired of his role as stalwart centre-half and became a midfield maestro, weaving through three defenders before slipping a pass to Brooke outside the right edge of the six-yard box.

Ryan hit a first time shot from a tight angle, across the advancing ’keeper
and inside the far post, to make it 3-0. Domination from the promotion hopefuls had been a long time coming, but come it had.

Murray and Olarewaju were next to lay siege to the Market Drayton goal, encouraged by the noise from the Linnets fans behind it.  Iwan Murray gave way to Louis Hayes for the last nine minutes.

Price fouled Olarewaju yet again, and Jordan Jones hooked away Lynch’s free-kick from inside the left post.  A minute later, Greer took over Dapo-fouling duties, and Mr Cunningham showed him far less tolerance, with a yellow card for his first offence.

The free-kick set Peter Wylie away up the left, and he pulled a cross back into the area, from where Ryan Brooke dispatched another first-time shot behind Rawlins and into the net.  It was his 25th of the league season, and his 30th in all competitions. There was for once insufficient urgency in the Linnets defence as Drayton found consolation.

Eshan Greer received a cross from deep, into the middle of the area.  His shot was stopped by Owen Mooney, but Greer was allowed plenty of time for another stab while the ’keeper was still on the floor, and he scored with ease.

A game of two halves, indeed. Market Drayton had made Linnets work hard for a 20th win from 33 league games, and it was a victory that wasn’t entirely on the cards until 20 minutes from full-time.

The local derby at Warrington Rylands in seven days’ time will have a huge bearing on the promotion prospects of both teams.

In the meantime, Linnets make another short journey, to Ellesmere Port, for a Cheshire Senior Cup semi-final against Vauxhall Motors, on Tuesday, March 29.

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