Football: Runcorn's final dreams dashed in shootout

Dapo Olarewaju's early exit compounded Linnets' injury troubles. Photo: Neil Thornton

Vauxhall Motors 0 Runcorn Linnets 0
Vauxhall won 3-1 on penalties

Written by David ‘Bill’ Davies

Runcorn dreams of a first appearance in the Cheshire Senior Cup final were dashed as a way under-par performance only got worse in the decisive spot kick shoot-out.

The perceived advantage of a one-tier difference between the teams, Vauxhall being in the North West Counties League Premier Division, had been compromised by a new wave of injuries in the Linnets camp.

James Short was sidelined for the Pitching In Northern Premier League West play-off hopefuls with a calf strain, and Alex Downes’ brow sported 14 stitches after a clash of heads in the weekend's 4-1 win over Market Drayton.

His place went to Carl Spellman, who had been on dual registration at Lower Breck and last appeared in a Linnets shirt in the 7-1 Senior Cup victory over Cheadle Town in November.

A shoulder injury made Iwan Murray a doubt, but he started. In addition, 30-goal striker Ryan Brooke was suspended, after picking up two yellow cards in the quarter-final win at Staybridge Celtic.

A bitter reaction to a very disappointing night might observe that the outcome would surely have been different, if referee James Wright hadn’t been incredibly tolerant of two-footed late tackles.

An objective view, however, would also be that there was more than enough talent on the pitch for Linnets to have given Vauxhall Motors a much harder job than they had to maintain a clean sheet.

One should never turn straight to the final page of a thriller to discover the outcome. But this was no thriller. Taking the first penalty in a shootout, and requiring the opposition to take only three to win it, is a problem.

Early activity suggested that there wouldn’t be a repeat of the distinctly sluggish first half against Market Drayton three days earlier, which had been rectified by a four-goal onslaught after the break. But it proved to be a false dawn.

In the ninth minute, a one-two between Olarewaju and Lynch on the right produced a great through ball for Louis Hayes to run on to, and he placed a shot across O’Loughlin that glanced off the far post and out for a goal-kick.  It was to be the closest Linnets came to scoring all night.

Dapo quickly became the prime target for the kind of ruthless challenges routinely meted out to Iwan Murray. In the 12th minute, he won and kept the ball near the left corner flag, only to be launched into a somersault by Ethan Goldbourne, who received the first of the night’s eight yellow cards.

A couple of minutes later, Dapo went down with a howl of anguish on the opposite side of the pitch, appearing to have landed badly on an ankle. Following attention from physio Luke Davies, he soldiered on, but after just enough time for a Vauxhall Motors attack that ended with a wild shot from distance by Ben Holmes, Dapo was down again, and he was replaced by Eden Gumbs.

Through the middle of the first half, a series of corners were achieved from a period of Runcorn pressure that failed to find a way through the home defence. The Motormen had a game plan, to get to the ball first and propel it as far from their goal as possible, without too much concern for where it would land.

It was working, and it continued to work, with the addition of a growing number of hefty tackles, many two-footed, and the help of a referee in a liberal mood. Runcorn possession was short lived, and passing sequences rapidly curtailed.

In the 29th minute, Motors had what was to prove the best chance of the night. Michael Burkey’s cross from the left was headed towards the top corner by Craig Cairns, and it looked a goal all the way until Owen Mooney pulled off a great save.

In hindsight, it might have served Linnets better if he hadn’t. Injured pride on the part of the higher- ranked side could have prompted a more concerted response to the highly-effective spoiling approach of their opponents.

For the Motormen, the near thing bolstered their confidence, and for around ten minutes they had more than half of the threatening possession on offer. The stalemate continued chiefly because Linnets were controlling and passing the ball more effectively at the back than they were in attack.

At half time, the Runcorn fans hoped their side would break the stagnation in the way they had against Market Drayton, but it was not to be. Vauxhall Motors’ smothering tactics were to prove even more effective after the break, encouraged by the fact that increasingly aggressive challenges were deemed acceptable by Mr Wright. It’s hard to criticise a plan that works.

Fouls came thick and fast when Runcorn advanced up either flank, and why wouldn’t they, when the resulting free-kicks were repelled again and again by effective central defending.

As the flying tackles gained frequency and ferocity, the referee began to see the need to flourish the yellow card, and James, Mitchell and Riley all received one between the 62nd and 70th minutes, with Louis Hayes also giving his name to Mr Wright.

Riley might have seen a red for his part in a mass brawl in the middle third of the pitch, and that was probably the reason for his replacement by JosephHeath, three minutes after his booking.

Louis Hayes departed after 69 minutes, replaced by Lewis Doyle. After some kind of calm had been restored, Linnets managed their most sustained passing sequence of the game, with seven players moving the ball from wing to wing twice over, but without gaining more than 20 yards into the Vauxhall half.

From a clearance, the hosts built a golden opportunity. Drummond’s diagonal ball through the penalty area reached Cooper at the right-hand post.

He hooked it wide, when scoring appeared easier. Twelve minutes remained when Jacques Welsh saw yellow for bringing down Garner-Knapper, 30 yards from goal. Eight minutes were left when the most prolonged spell of Runcorn possession battled to advance through the middle third, against tackle after tackle.

Joe Lynch broke away to pass three opponents into the penalty area, but Marcus James pressured him off his stride enough for his shot to miss the left post by a yard.

The wave of yellow cards continued when Garner-Knapper collected another for reacting to Lewis Doyle’s tackle. The feeling among Runcorn fans was that a moment of inspiration was required, to find a way into a cup final that hadn’t so far been deserved.

The last two minutes saw three more all-in attempts to grab a late Linnets winner, but the Motors defence remained resolute.  In the dying seconds, O’Mahony received last of the game’s eight yellow cards. The free-kick from 25 yards out was scooped up by Mooney at the foot of the right post. The best that can be said for the shoot-out was that the agony was not prolonged.

Linnets went first and left Motors needing to take only three to put them into the final against Stockport County. Jacques Welsh’s spot-kick cleared the bar, and Lloyd Marsh-Hughes’ and Peter Wylie’s were both saved by McLoughlin.

In between those two, he also got a hand to Sean O’Mahony’s penalty, but couldn’t keep it out of the top right corner.  The Motors ’keeper completed his role as local hero by beating Owen Mooney with the last of his side’s three conversions.

It was a night to forget for Linnets, which will help in allowing undivided attention on the last five league games of the season.

The first of them involves the short trip to Warrington Rylands. Completing a season double over the current NPL West leaders would leave a target of five more points, from a maximum possible of twelve, to make the play-offs.

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