Wizard Potter conjures up a memorable ‘trick’
BARNOLDSWICK TOWN ......................... 1 RUNCORN LINNETS ................................. 4 REDDIE POTTER came off the bench to plunder a second half hat-trick as Michael Ellison’s pacesetting men made it 42 points from the last 45 available in victory at Barnoldswick Town on Saturday afternoon.
Barnoldswick away is a fixture that everyone looks forward to, albeit it uncomfortably. The wonderful Lancashire surroundings, the warm welcome from the hosts and the excellent catering are to be balanced off against what is always a very difficult game on the pitch.
Antony Hickey was restored to the starting line-up, in place of Adam Jones, in the only change to the team that had beaten 1874 Northwich in midweek.
Linnets started brightly but actually fell behind to a well-taken goal on eight minutes.
Boss Ellison will be disappointed that a couple of chances to clear the danger were not taken, but Emmanuel Ogunrinde still did very well to turn on the edge of the 18-yard box and drill a low shot past Matt Holmes and into the bottom corner of the net.
The period that followed was not the best for Linnets, with passing going astray all over the pitch and the home side holding firm in defence.
It took a moment of real quality on the half-hour mark to get the visitors back into the game.
Paul Shanley had come infield to collect a loose ball, and he slid an inch-perfect pass into the run of Hickey, who took a touch before slamming the equaliser past Jordan Gidley in the Barlick goal.
From that moment on, Linnets would dominate.
Shanley almost scored a goal of his own just before half-time when his looping volley was clawed out for an unproductive corner by goalkeeper Gidley.
Runcorn really cemented their dominance after the half-time break but, frustratingly, without taking advantage of good positions.
When an opening was worked, it seemed that a touch too many or the wrong choice of pass was being made.
With 25 minutes remaining, Ellison brought on Potter in place of Mark Houghton, and the effect could not have been more devastating.
Only three minutes after entering the
F● play, ‘The Wizard’ had put Linnets into the lead. Kris Holt showed great determination to come through two strong tackles with the ball still at his feet, and his exquisite pass from the centre circle found the run of Hickey, who squared for Potter to finish from six yards out.
There was a bit of a fright for Linnets’ defence with 15 minutes to go. Having been largely untroubled since conceding in the eighth minute, Barlick almost forced a corner over the goalline. It took a brave block by Aaron Morris followed by a goalline clearance from Louis Corrigan to maintain the lead.
With 10 minutes remaining, Runcorn scored the killer third and it was another tremendous team goal.
Holt again came successfully through a midfield battle and fed the ball wide to Corrigan. The left-back looked up and, spotting the run of Potter, played a perfect 40-yard pass over the top that found Potter one-on-one with Gidley.
Despite the angle narrowing, Potter guided the ball past Gidley and effec- tively secured maximum points for the travelling Linnets.
While that signaled the end of the match as a contest, it certainly did not signal the end of the action.
There was still time for a Barlick’s Andy Hill to receive his marching orders, the referee showing him a second yellow card for a very poor tackle on Runcorn defender Danny O’Brien.
Linnets then won a free-kick 25 yards from goal to score their fourth with virtually the final kick of the game. It was a bit of a surprise to see neither Corrigan nor O’Brien, the club’s usual set-piece experts, interested in having a go themselves. Instead it was Potter, who lined the ball up.
The Wizard’s record from dead ball situations is not the best for a player of his immense talents, but he pulled off a certain goal of the season contender with this one. Curling the ball high over the wall and dipping right into the very top corner of the net, Gidley had no chance whatsoever of preventing Potter from securing a 25-minute hat-trick in truly spectacular fashion.
All four of Runcorn’s goals had been of the finest quality. ●