Thirds do respond well after interval but Welsh outfit have the edge

Runcorn Men’s III 3 Llandudno Men’s II 5 RUNCORN took on a good Llandudno team at The Heath School on Saturday.

The sides were close in the league so a tight game was expected.

Runcorn did not play well in the first half. They were short of pace and effort in the tackle.

In contrast, Llandudno were able to dominate territory and possession and scored a pair of well-deserved goals.

The half-time team talk sparked the home side into life, and the game changed in Runcorn’s favour in the second period.

A fine run from Riley Cooper set Jake Fitzsimons up for a well taken goal.

Runcorn were then unfortunate to concede another goal, but excellent effort from the whole team saw a real push at the visitors’ defence. Several penalty corners finally produced a fine strike from Ian Townley to make it a one-goal game.

The momentum had changed and when Townley scored again from another corner, the draw or better was definitely on.

With Runcorn pushing for a winner, a breakaway from Llandudno led to a very sloppy goal being conceded.

With minutes remaining, the Welsh visitors scored an excellent fifth goal and the game was lost for the home outfit.

The efforts shown in the second half certainly give cause for optimism for the future, with bright performances from youngsters Robert Mault and Jake Fitzsimons in particular.