Hallmark Security North West Counties League,
Premier Division
at the Brian Addison Stadium
Squires Gate (0) 0
Runcorn Linnets (2) 5
Stuart Wellstead 5, Paul Shanley 41
Michael Simpson 48, Mark Houghton 61
Adam Jones 73
Admission £6. Programme £2. Attendance 160
Thanks to RLFC Matchday Sec. Tracy Measor for the team details
Today's pixelated picture gallery: click HERE
Nick Webb, Jordan O’Mahoney, Jacob Higham, Alex Colquhoun, Paul Carroll, Dan Penswick, Gary Pett, Michael Hall (C), Mark Buchan, Jack Williams, Nick Greenall
Subs - Jake Darnell, Darren Moxon, Dean Ing, Mark Thornber, Corey Moorhead
Runcorn Linnets:
Matt Holmes, Matt Atherton, Tom Hardwick, Jimmy Moore, Danny O'Brien, Michael Simpson, Callum Lucy, Kyle Hamid (C), Mark Houghton, Paul Shanley, Stuart Wellstead.
Subs - Adam Jones, Freddie Potter, Kieran Nolan, Aaron Morris, Terry Smith (GK)
'FT - Squires Gate 0 v Runcorn Linnets 5. Slightly flattering result if the truth be told... but it didn't flatter RLFC in the slightest!'
I'm sure that even the most staunchly dyed in the wool Squires Gate devotee would have to agree with that truncated overview too.
With all due respect to the hosts, today's game was a complete mismatch.
'Twas indeed a one sided affair for almost the entire ninety minutes and I'm convinced that the decision to disallow one of the Linnets goal, was on a par with the linesman making an arrangement to get the side who were on a hiding to nothing a sympathy shag behind the stand after the final whistle, because they had nowt else to come this afternoon... so to speak.
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| That's either a very small man or a huuuuge dog |
So I consented to her request, without sulking like a big baby, or even offering any kind of token resistance whatsoever (possibly) and took to scanning through the logistics of a seaside trip, on that there interweb, until the wee small hours the following night, aghast and almost mortally wounded at the prospect of all of the more local fixtures and FA Cup action that I would be missing.
Runcorn's friendly hospitality has always been a given and their travelling fans were great fun to share an afternoon with today too, once I had dropped my family off in the famous seaside town called Blackpool. that's noted for fresh air and fun... and Mr. and Mrs. Ramsbottom went there with young Albert, their son. A fine little lad were young Albert, all dressed in his best, quite a swell, he'd a stick with an 'orse's 'ead 'andle, the finest that Woolworth's could sell... and arranged to liaise with them "after half five, somewhere near the Pleasure Beach entrance".
When people talk about the (cliched) hotbeds of the beautiful game, such as Hackney Marshes, Liverpool's boot-room, Mansfield Town's world famous U18 Academy and just about the whole of the North East of England; nobody ever seems to mention this little piece of football heaven which I ascended towards today, a nirvana (just past the 'Shovels' public house, that straddles either side of Common Edge Road, to the south of Blackpool, just off the main A5320 road. At the junction where Progress Way meets Squires Gate Lane, in an area of Squires Gate that I am reliably informed is called Marton Fold.
I have added the names of the four teams who ply their trade within a matter of yards of each other, adjacent to local rugby and cricket clubs, to their respective grounds onto the aerial photograph above.
Spirit of Youth FC play in a fully enclosed ground, with a fenced off pitch, changing facilities and dug outs, slightly to the north of their, across a dozen different sized pitches for use by all age groups, stands the home of AFC Blackpool, which is where Blackpool Mechanics used to play and on the opposite side of Common Edge Road just down School Lane, Blackpool Wren Rovers enclosure runs parallel to today's destination; the Brian Addison Stadium, which is where Squires Gate FC play.
The Spirit of Youth facility was locked, as was that of AFC Blackpool, but I did manage to get a few pictures of the latter, for posterity. Which attracted a few suspicious looks, until I explained that I was just casing the joint in preparation for a robbery after the hours of darkness fell.
The people who were checking me out joked that there was 'nothing worth nicking here' and had obviously worked out that I was one of those sad anorak football obsessives who has 'nowt better to do on Saturday afternoon's while they're en route to one of the nearby venues, than gaze on in awe and wonderment at decrepit old football grounds, that are in severe need of some TLC.
The School Lane car park was full, because both the Wrens and the Gate were at home today.
I watched the opening half a hour of Rovers 2-1 defeat against Slyne with Hest FC (a Lancaster based side, who I must confess I had never even heard of previously) in a Lancashire Shield Second Round game, before heading on to the main event.
I never saw any of the goals from that game, nor the home side's missed penalty, but I reckon it's only polite to wish 'Slyne' all the best in the latter stages of the tournament, nevertheless.
Out there, deep in the bowels of that nit-picking netherworld called ground-hopper land, I know of people who would happily tick this off as a proper visit to the Wrens 'Bruce Park', in spite of the 'quickie' nature of my visit... and have even heard told about a few unscrupulous souls who would happily bump their numbers up by counting grounds they've been to when no actual game was taking place... and even list venues that are no longer used for football that they've visited long since the host club have moved on.
Your hobby... your rules n' all that I guess.
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| For the record, the visitors captain put this free kick straight over the Wren Rovers crossbar |
But, I personally have more moral fibre than that... and would never stoop to such depths merely to falsely inflate any list total and/or indulge in such number crunching skulduggery.
And besides, I don't need to cheat, because I have already been here to see Rovers play at home against Lytham Town in the past anyway.
I missed a trip to the Tower Circus to see Mooky the Clown with the family to make that particular visit.... seriously, the lengths I go to and genuine sacrifices that I readily make, just to take in a game of association sometimes worry even me.
I missed a trip to the Tower Circus to see Mooky the Clown with the family to make that particular visit.... seriously, the lengths I go to and genuine sacrifices that I readily make, just to take in a game of association sometimes worry even me.
Having parted with my £6 plus £2 for a copy of the Gate Review, a decent tome that lived up to it's good reputation; it was apparent that perhaps two thirds of those already inside the ground were sporting the colours of today's visitors.
Though I hadn't checked out these teams respective league positions prior to setting off this morning, it was fairly obvious, even before Stuart Wellstead opened the scoring in the fifth minute, that the team in royal blue were probably struggling in the NWCFL table (it transpired that they finished the afternoon in bottom place, with three points from eight games and a goal difference of minus 19). While the away team, resplendent in very bright yellow and green kits, were surely amongst the front runners in this division... and indeed they are, currently perched in second place, four points behind the league leaders Runcorn Town, who they play on Boxing Day, away from home and on Easter Bank Holiday Monday at their own Millbank Linnets Stadium.
Tempted!? Well, you bloody well ought to be!
Tempted!? Well, you bloody well ought to be!
The visitors went straight for their hosts throats from the off.
Inside the first minute Tom Hardwick rattled the woodwork with a towering header from the first (of many) corner(s). Webb had his palms warmed at full stretch as Matt Atherton unleashed a ferocious shot from eighteen yards, after Squires Gate had only half cleared yet another flag kick, but the home side finally buckled when they struggled to clear the Linnets fourth corner and Wellstead hooked the ball past Webb from an angle.
Runcorn nicked possession back straight from the restart and were slightly unlucky that Paul Shanley's left wing cross flew straight across the face of goal and went behind just wide of the right hand post.
Squires Gate did make a couple of almost half-hearted runs into Runcorn territory, but their body language was already suggesting that they knew they were on a hiding to nothing today... and it was only a matter of time until the floodgates were going to break open.
But it wasn't until the twenty third minute that the visitors struck again, when Shanley broke past two defenders on the left, before pulling the ball back to Atherton, was also cut it back, away from the 'Gate' goal towards Kyle Hamid, whose shot from the edge of the area finished in the roof of the net via Webb's outstretched right hand.
The Runcorn players celebrated, while their opponents trudged back towards their respective positions to restart a game that was already getting away from them, but the linesman raised his flag and beckoned the referee across... and mysteriously the goal was ruled out for offside.
Shanley was onside when he started his run and Atherton was onside when he received the cut back, while Hamid was outside the area, which was crowded by defending players, when he let fly with his shot, so your guess is as good as mine... match officials get far more right than they ever get wrong and in the final analysis, this incident had no bearing on where the three points were heading today. But... in this instance, to put it very politely, the Linnets were 'swizzled' out of a perfectly legitimate and very well taken goal.
Shortly afterwards, Runcorn had another goal disallowed, when Danny O'Brien picked out Hardwick at the back stick with a left wing corner, that the visitors imposing big number three forced over the line by shoulder charging Webb into the back of the net as he gathered the ball.
To be fair, that was the easiest decision that the referee would have to make all afternoon.
Finally and not before time, Shanley claimed the goal his efforts had thoroughly deserved just before half time, when the referee either missed a foul on him in the build up, or played the advantage and Michael Simpson cushioned a header into the path of the Linnets number ten, who cracked the ball past Webb to double the visitors advantage.
However the two goal cushion only told half of the story and if there was any justice in the world, the game could and probably should, have been over as a contest by now.
HT: Gate 0 v Linnets 2
Straight from the restart, Shanley almost scored again, but Webb recovered after the live-wire striker had initially taken the ball around him and managed to make a save, of sorts, at the second attempt.
But three minutes into the second half, Hamid weaved past two challenges and rolled the ball into the path of Simpson, who'd timed his run through the home defence to perfection and drilled home Linnets third goal.
The visitors were rampant by now and had five decent chances to nail the coffin lid shut on Squires Gate's afternoon, before Mark Houghton ran straight at the home side's player manager Danny Penswick, who backed off waiting for the right moment to challenge, but in doing so gave Houghton the smallest of gaps to thread the ball through, which he did with some aplomb, as his strike nestled just inside the left hand post and just outside the full stretch reach of the exasperated Webb.
Having been subjected to a torrid afternoon, Webb had a bit of a head loss, when he collected a back pass from Nick Greenall with his hands, in response to a call for him to 'pick it up!'
Err... it was actually somebody wearing Runcorn Linnets favours who shouted out in jest and I'm not going to name him because Webb is a bloody big lad, but the Blues now had a free kick from seven yards out to defend against.
Luckily for Webb, Hamid couldn't keep his shot on target from Shanley's sideways knock.
Luckily for Webb, Hamid couldn't keep his shot on target from Shanley's sideways knock.
But a fifth goal for the visitors wasn't long in coming, when Hamid found his route to goal blocked by a brick outhouse sized defender who Squires Gate had sent on, so he turned back, took a few strides back towards his own half and rolled the ball to Atherton who delivered a great cross to Adam Jones who was advancing towards the goal near the back stick, and finished the home side off once and for all, with a well taken strike.
At the other end, the diminutive box to box player Jack Williams, who in fairness had shone for his team in defeat today, was denied a late consolation goal by Matt Holmes, who I haven't mentioned yet, because, being the Runcorn keeper, he'd had a very quiet afternoon thus far.
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| Matt Holmes I'm just clarifying that he was here |
Runcorn still had fifteen minutes left, in which to rack up to rack up a proper thrashing, but despite creating several more gilt edged chances, Squires Gate were (eventually) by now indulging in an all hands to the pumps damage limitation exercise.
Freddie Porter hit the woodwork and was denied twice by Webb, including one save in particular that was a 'worldly' that proved to be the last action of the game.
FT: Squires Gate 0 v Runcorn Linnets 5
In truth, it could've been a whole lot worse for Squires Gate, who now have to pick themselves up and go again on Tuesday night when Padiham are the visitors to the Brian Addison Stadium.
Linnets next game is away against 1874 Northwich next Saturday, who are sixteenth in the table, but have only played four league games as of yet this season.
I met a good few proper non-league characters, connected to both sides this afternoon.
Good luck to all of you for the remainder of your respective seasons at opposite ends of the table.
Right, let's see what kind of carnage is in store for us on the Golden Mile tonight.
Don't wait up!
Don't wait up!
