Town and Celtic end up even

Runcorn Town 2 Stalybridge Celtic 2 RUNCORN TOWN shared the spoils with EvoStik League Northern Premier Division side Stalybridge Celtic on a glorious day at Pavilions, with Celtic coming from two goals behind to draw 2-2.

Chris Herbert’s team went ahead after just five minutes through Joe Holt.

Craig Cairns broke free in the area and squared the ball to Holt on the edge of penalty area with the midfielder rifling the ball into the top corner of the Celtic net.

The lead was doubled through Cairns’s seventh goal of the pre-season campaign on 23 minutes, and it was a similar move with Josh Maguire setting up the marksman who kept his composure with an assured finish into the corner.

Stalybridge reduced the defecit four minutes later through a beauty of an own goal from Maguire, whose diving header from Charlie Ennis’s free-kick could have won goal of the season had it been at the right end of the pitch!

And the teams went in level at the break with Stalybridge getting on terms from the penalty spot after the referee harshly adjudged Andy Metcalf to have brought down Aaron Burns in the box, with Ennis equalising from 12-yards.

The second half saw little goalmouth action for either team, with both managers presumably happy with their sides’ performance over the 90 minutes.

Runcorn were set to play host to Denbigh Town at Pavilions last night ahead of their final pre-season match this Saturday afternoon when they go to Huws Gray Alliance outfit Airbus UK Broughton FC.

The match at The Hollingsworth Group Stadium has a 2.30pm kick-off.

Town open their 2017-18 campaign a week on Saturday – August 5 – when they entertain AFC Darwen in the extra preliminary round of The Emirates FA Cup.

The game at Pavilions kicks-off at 3pm.