Ellison thrilled to have ‘great lad’ Aley back again
● RUNCORN LINNETS fell to only their third loss of their debut campaign in the Evo-Stik League West Division last Saturday afternoon, but they remain at the summit.
Linnets took a second-minute lead at Prescot Cables through Danny O’Brien’s magnificent free-kick but Freddie Potter was dismissed just over 10 minutes later after reacting angrily to Cables’ claim for a foul.
Michael Simpson was also given his marching orders on the stroke of half-time for a handball on the goalline, and Chris Almond send the two teams into the break level when he netted the resultant penalty.
But after holding on until late in the piece, Michael Monaghan broke Runcorn hearts with a deflected winner.
Midfielder Zac Aley made his second appearance of the term from the bench in the defeat after a nasty injury had kept him out for more than a year.
With the former Southport and Blackburn Rovers man edging closer to full fitness, Linnets boss Michael Ellison believes next week’s clash with Vauxhall Motors in the Cheshire Senior Cup could be the perfect opportunity to hand the 27-year-old a start.
“He’s been a massive miss for us. He’s been out for a very, very long time,” the manager said.
“I purposefully didn’t go out and replace him [during the summer]. I’m made up for the lad.
“He’s a great lad, a top player and a good person to have around the changing rooms.
“He was buzzing to get some minutes recently and as I say, he’s got that bug back. He’s been training hard but above all it’s a plus for us. It’s a real plus to have him back in the squad.”
Ellison added: “He’s done well when he came on. He was blowing a bit in his first game and he only got 10 minutes! “I think he’s a little bit off staring a game yet. “We’ve got Vauxhall in the cup at the end of the month and that might be the opportunity to go and get himself 70 minutes or something around that. That will do him the world of good but he’s generally a fit lad. He looks after himself. I think towards the end of the month we’ll look to get him some minutes.”
Linnets are without a match this Saturday. Next Tuesday’s home clash with Vauxhall Motors in the preliminary round of the Cheshire Senior Cup kicks-off at 7.45pm.