Linnets flying high after epic Vase games
SUNDERLAND RCA .................................. 1 RUNCORN LINNETS ................................. 2
ASUPERB stoppage-time goal from Mark Houghton earned Runcorn Linnets a cup-tie victory which will count among their most memorable and best.
What was already an epic encounter was made all the more unforgettable when Linnets struck four minutes beyond the 90 to secure their place in the Buildbase FA Vase third round.
Seeing really was believing as Michael Ellison’s side drew on every resource possible after being left a man short from a relatively early stage.
Not for the first time in such situations, Runcorn only grew stronger and more threatening as the game wore on.
With a second extra-time period in the space of four days beckoning for the two well-matched teams, The Hallmark Security Leaguers pulled off something truly magical.
Seeking one golden chance to seal a comeback from 1-0 down, skipper Kyle Hamid picked out Kris Holt on the right edge of the box and the Linnets’ Vase replay specialist delivered a perfectly timed, weighted and directed cross for Houghton to drill home instinctively.
After scoring as the Linnets knocked out Team Northumbria in round one, the dual-registered midfield man has certainly made his presence felt along the Runcorn road to Wembley in his two comeback appearances since re-signing for Atherton Collieries, his now firstclaim club.
Sunderland RCA were stunned and their visitors in dreamland, realising that in getting past the second round of the Vase for only the second time, they had again rewritten club history.
After maiden success over Northern League opposition in Team Northumbria also at the second attempt but in front of their own fans at the Millbank Linnets Stadium, Runcorn were now finally triumphant in the North East.
Arguments continue to rage as to whether they should have been expected to make a 330-mile round trip on a working day.
A 2am return to Runcorn yesterday morning – with additional travelling ● home time to follow for some – was the last thing the overjoyed players, officials and travelling fans were thinking about. But it is something they should not ever need to consider.
Six-hour journeys in midweek, be they for initial ties or a replay (Linnets have done both in the last three seasons) are simply unacceptable, especially when players unable to catch the team bus are forced to drive such a distance at night.
Travelling teams are hugely disadvantaged under these circumstances and the obvious solution is Saturday fixtures in all such Vase situations and not just in the later rounds.
Midfield dynamo Michael Simpson had failed to recover from the knock taken in the closing minutes of Saturday’s original two-hour struggle.
Top scorer Stuart Wellstead and recent signing Warren Bellew were unavailable and with youngsters Kasie Jones and Rio Gill likewise not making the journey, boss Ellison and first-team coach Danny Salt were named as substitutes alongside the still injured Zac Aley.
Linnets were at least able to call on a strong-looking XI but all that changed in the 34th minute.
Mitch Bryant was sent-off after needlessly getting embroiled in an off-theball altercation with an RCA defender.
Trying to wrestle free from the clutches of Craig Hodgson, Bryant was alleged to have used an elbow and summarily dismissed by referee Lynsey Robinson, largely it seemed on the say-so of one of her assistants.
Hodgson was taken off injured, although happily reports of him nursing a broken jaw now appear exaggerated. As for the seriousness of the offence itself, probably only Bryant will know the level of contact and intent.
At the end of an even first half that had produced few, if any, real chances in open play, Runcorn’s literally uphill fight against the considerable slope in the second 45 minutes became all the steeper.
Into the last minute before the break, RCA went ahead as centre-back Ross Preston directed a steepling header from James Armstrong’s right-wing corner into the far side of goal.
Runcorn had to withstand further pressure after the restart. But goalkeeper Matt Holmes was unflappable with central defenders Aaron Morris and Jimmy Moore similarly impregnable in open play. Full-backs O’Brien and Matt Atherton also played full parts in the rearguard action by repelling the inevitable threat from the flanks.
O’Brien hauled Linnets back into the contest after 52 minutes, sending ‘keeper Keith Finch the wrong way from the penalty spot after Houghton had been brought down by giant substitute Adam McGuinness, having got beyond the defender who was pretty well the last man. No card was issued this time although there were two cautions for RCA and four for Linnets.
As the tie progressed, Runcorn defied the numerical inequality by getting runners forward. Invariably either lacking a perfect option or unable to produce a final ball, they had to bide their time - waiting and hoping for a genuine opportunity. What a time to find it – and finish off RCA’s challlenge.
It has to be remembered that the Wearsiders had reached the last 16 in the last two seasons and their part in proceedings should not be forgotten either.
It was a great way to win but a cruel fashion to lose. However, over two rollercoaster games, there is no question that Linnets deserved to go through. They now await another Northern League side and the highest ranked yet in terms of league position.
Marske United, lying second in their table two points Morpeth Town with a game in hand, will visit the MLS on December 2. Relatively fresh and still raw for Linnets are memories of their heavy defeat by Markse, after a similarly controversial and much less rewarding Tuesday night trip in the second round of the Vase back in November, 2015. RUNCORN LINNETS ................................. 1 SUNDERLAND RCA .................................. 1 TUESDAY night’s unforgettable replay was set up after the teams shared a more than lively 1-1 draw in the first game at the Millbank Linnets Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
Linnets had captain Kyle Hamid shown a straight red card after only five minutes for a foul.
The visitors took advantage of the numerical disparity by taking an 18th minute lead via a Dylan Elliott free-kick.
But Linnets levelled through a fine 20-yard strike from Stuart Wellstead on the half-hour.
Soon after, RCA goalscorer Elliott was sent-off for a foul on Chris Lawton.
The game was tight from then onwards and with the scoreline still all-square after 90 minutes, the match went into extra-time. Linnets had keeper Matty Holmes dismissed for a controversial handball offence during the second added period but his replacement, Matty Atherton, kept RCA at bay to ensure the tie would continue up in the North East.