Battling thirds are defeated

Wrexham II 8 Runcorn III 1 AN away trip to the runaway league leaders was always going to be a tough match for Runcorn’s third-team

Wrexham’s seconds have won all their games this season, but Runcorn had some optimism as they were only beaten 2-0 in the home fixture.

The difference, though, was soon emphasised and Wrexham’s skill and pace soon gave them a 2-0 lead in this game.

The second quarter saw Runcorn play some decent hockey and create goalscoring chances.

Captain Graham Skelland squandered a great opportunity to pull one goal back.

And then seconds before the half-time break, the home side scored a very fortunate third goal which effectively killed off the game.

The second period became mainly one-way traffic, although Runcorn still competed and caused some concern.

When the score reached 7-0, the visitors could have given up, but a sharp ball into the danger area saw Robert Mault slot home

This was particularly praiseworthy as Wrexham had conceded only seven goals over the whole season

The final score was a fair reflection of the difference between the teams, but Runcorn’s attitude bodes well for future difficult clashes.

Along with Mault, Dylan Hughes and Dan White were the pick of the Runcorn players.