In the Main, a disappointing day for Linnets in Cup

RUNCORN LINNETS ....... 1 MALTBY MAIN ................ 2 MALTBY Main added their name to an ever-growing list of Emirates FA Cup frustrations for Runcorn Linnets, as the Step 5 outfit from Yorkshire came to the MLS on Saturday and left with a place in the next round and a handsome prize money cheque.

It’s been quite rare for teams to leave the MLS with a win, and even rarer that a team turns in a performance as impressive as Maltby did.

However, despite the fact that Main thoroughly deserved their win, it was very much an afternoon where if key moments had gone slightly differently, the result probably would have been different as well.

Boss Michael Ellison was forced into one key change from the side that had ground out Linnets’ first Evo-Stik West victory against Chasetown the previous Tuesday night. With Freddie Potter unavailable, Adam Gilchrist was given a chance at the spearheaded of the attack.

The early stages were dominated by Runcorn as they took the game to Maltby, the visitors unable to contain the pace of Kurt Sherlock and Paul Shanley or the movement of Kris Holt.

The Linnets took a deserved lead on 15 minutes with a wellworked goal. Aaron Morris played a ball into the feet of Gilchrist, who held the play up well and made a lay off to Shanley. The winger advanced with the ball, beating two men as he cut in from the left wing, and curled a cracking finish from 18 yards into the bottom corner.

With an early lead at home against a side from a league below, from this point it’s often a case of a straightforward victory but Maltby hadn’t read the script in full. Falling behind seemed to unshackle the visitors, who started to create a glut of clear goalscoring opportunities.

Having already shot wide from six yards out at the far post and spurned a glorious chance when clean through on Dylan Forth’s goal, drawing a superb save from the Linnets stopper, the visitors saw a strike from outside the penalty area headed off the goal line by Louis Corrigan.

And with the very last kick of the first half, Maltby got the equaliser and it was another frustratingly simple goal to concede. A long ball was flicked on from midfield into the path of Ross Duggan, who bludgeoned his way past a Linnets defender to fire across Forth and into the bottom corner.

Had the whistle blown five seconds earlier, the Linnets would have led at half time with both team talks being completely different.

But the vast majority of the second half was a real struggle for the Linnets due to Maltby’s physical threat from set pieces.

Having spurned a number of chances to take the lead, Maltby should have been punished as Linnets created a glorious chance to retake the lead.

Aaron Morris returned a loose ball into the six-yard box, giving Gilchrist a free header and open goal from almost under the crossbar. But Gilchrist appeared to be deceived by the flight of the ball, mistiming his run and making no connection with the ball.

With 20 minutes remaining, Maltby took the lead, but frustratingly from a wasted Linnets free kick.

The hosts had already tried to play a short pass with a free-kick which went nowhere, but the referee gave them a second bite of the cherry as he pulled it back for a moving ball.

Instead of loading the Maltby penalty box and swinging a cross in, another rushed short pass was played into the feet of Kurt Sherlock.

Sherlock was muscled off the ball and play broke down the left wing with a cross finding Danny Frost on the far side of the Linnets’ box.

Frost still had plenty to do but pulled off a terrific half volley that flew into the top corner.

Linnets struggled to create but a very late rally almost salvaged a replay with a scramble from a corner but Maltby’s man on the goal line was able to force the ball clear.