Worst showing under boss Ellison turns out to have a
RUNCORN LINNETS ........1 PRESCOT CABLES ...........1 stayed in control.
However, in the opening 45 minutes, their control led to no meaningful test for Matty Holmes in goal. The ‘keeper had made a surprise return in goal with Bayleigh Passant nursing an injured elbow and Richie Mottram unavailable for family reasons.
By half-time, Runcorn had recorded zero efforts on target while Prescot managed a pair, neither of which caused Holmes any stress.
The second half continued in the same vein as the first, but Prescot started to look threatening with their possession.
Holmes was called into action in the 49th minute when a low cross from the right was scuffed goalwards from eight yards out. It was a chance with which Prescot should have done better.
For the next 20 minutes, Runcorn just couldn’t get hold of the ball. Wave after wave of Cables pressure was building.
And in the 68th minute, the pressure told – from the Linnets’ biggest foe of the season so far, a corner kick.
The initial danger was partially dealt with, but the ball dropped kindly for Kev Edgar to slam home from just outside the six-yard box to give the visitors a thoroughly deserved lead.
Ellison brought on Zac Aley, Ryan Wade and Jamie Rainford in a bid to rescue the game. But the Linnets just couldn’t muster anything that could be considered a threat to the Cables’ lead.
Passes were going astray and long aimless balls going straight out of play or to the goalkeeper.
The referee signalled a final four minutes of injury time for Linnets to try to salvage something – even if that something was just to be a single shot on target.
In the 95th minute, the unbelievable happened.
Linnets won a corner which Zac Aley took as an inswinging left footer.
But the corner didn’t beat the first man, that first man bring Cables goalscorer Edgar who headed the ball behind for another corner.
The irony was that a better corner would most probably have been scrambled clear and ended the game.
Aley stepped up again – and this time he found that one-in-a-million delivery that took the ‘keeper out of the game and curled gloriously into the far top corner,
Jamie Rainford being close by to ensure the goal was scored one way or another.
Ellison said himself after the game that this was a very poor performance, second best in every single department.
The importance of the Tuesday evening replay was ramped up several notches by the outcome of Monday’s draw, with the winner hosting FC United of Manchester in the final qualifying round later this month.
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