Runcorn Linnets give Billy Paynter a winning start

Linnets showed it's not how you start but how you finish when ending the eight-game unbeaten run of their Staffordshire hosts to give new manager Billy Paynter victory in his first match in charge, writes David 'Bill' Davies.

In a Pitching In Northern Premier League clash which both teams knew was pivotal to their chances of making the West Division promotion play-offs, Runcorn had come close to beginning the April Fool's Day clash with 10 men after travel problems had thrown plans and routines into disarray.

But a 72nd-minute Lewis Doyle cracker ensured the visitors ended a very testing week on a high after a 20-minute kick-off delay.

A poor home defeat to Clitheroe seven days earlier had left Runcorn in the play-off places by a single point from resurgent Witton Albion, having been ever-present in the top five since early September.

In-form Kidsgrove needed a win to keep alive their own hopes of a play-off berth.

Intrigue was added to the afternoon's events by Linnets being led into battle by erstwhile first team coach Paynter, appointed as boss following the sudden departure of Dave Wild in midweek.

Chaos and confusion, in keeping with the date, not only resulted in the late start but a sizable proportion of the away support missing the first half, arriving early in the second.

A serious incident on the M6 had turned the 35-mile journey into a three-hour odyssey and with Linnets players gradually arriving, there wasn't time for many of the 10 present by 3pm to have anything like the normal warm-up.

A request was made to extend an initial 15-minute kick-off delay to 30 minutes, but Kidsgrove manager Scott Dundas was said by Paynter to have declined.

Runcorn captain James Short in turn wasn't keen to take to the field until Sean O'Mahony, the last of the designated starters to show, had at least been allowed time to get his boots on.

Kick-off ensued at 3.20pm, with eleven Runcorn players on the pitch, but an empty subs' bench only began to fill up once the game was under way.

It was remarkable, therefore, that to a man, the Linnets ran through metaphorical brick walls for 90 minutes and secured a battling 1-0 victory.

Jamal Crawford and Matty Birchall, from either wing, set about causing problems for the Kidsgrove defence, but it was the home side who produced the first goal attempt, which dipped over the bar from 20 yards, in the sixth minute.

A minute later, Crawford did well to keep the ball in play at the right touchline, and curled a cross through the area. It cleared home 'keeper Ryan Brown, but also the far end of the bar.

By the tenth minute, Runcorn had a full complement of 16 players in the ground, and Ryan Brooke almost marked the moment with an opening goal.

Josh Thorpe and Lewis Bergin dwelt a second too long on the ball in the area, enabling Brooke to snatch it and turn but rattle the right post with his shot.

Linnets maintained a spell of attacking possession, and Sam Heathcote headed wide under pressure, from James Short's free-kick from near the halfway line, although much to the chagrin of the Grove defence, a corner was awarded.

Kidsgrove responded with a spell of consistent possession, and a throw-in followed by a corner led to a Callum Leigh shot from distance which curled well wide, after 24 minutes.

A pattern emerged, with Grove seeing more of the ball, but disciplined Linnets defending across the pitch prevented home possession from producing any real chances.

Billy Paynter later revealed that the game plan, if the toss was won, was to play up the considerable Novus Stadium slope in the first half, and to frustrate the hosts' attempts to make the most of 45 minutes with gravity in their favour.

It was working.

Lewis Bergin was cautioned for an elbow to the back of visitor Cameron Rooney's head, as he jumped for the ball near halfway.

Linnets had less possession than their opponents throughout the first half, but when they attacked, they were causing more consternation in the opposition's area.

Ryan Brooke looked as though he would require just the briefest and narrowest of opportunities to put his side ahead, and it was taking a minimum of two defenders at a time to subdue Matty Birchall's forays into the Grove area.

In the 30th minute, Lewis Doyle fastened onto a Birchall assist from the left corner of the area, and his shot dipped a foot over the bar.

Down the slope, Will Saxon did well to control a clearance from Ryan Brown, and he found Kieran Knapper on the right, for a shot which hit the bar.

After 38 minutes, another Birchall advance into the area produced a shot which the home 'keeper did well to parry.

An Ally Brown cross was met by Birchall, and when it dropped to Rooney, Ryan Brown did well again to block his shot.

A greater share of possession by Runcorn developed from the start of the second half, encouraged by the favour of the slope and the arrival of a coachload of fans, who were soon in full voice.

Three minutes into the half, Ryan Brooke made a solo run on the area from Ally Brown's long pass, and his lobbed shot was thwarted by the 'keeper's fingertips, diverting it for a corner.

The first personnel change saw Ollie McFadyen replace Cameron Rooney, after 55 minutes.

A second came three minutes later, when Jamal Crawford gave way to Eden Gumbs.

There was a narrow escape for Linnets as O'Mahony was wrong-footed outside his own area, and Josh Thorpe broke through, only to shoot wide.

The Linnets vice-captain made amends moments later with a perfect tackle as Thorpe advanced again.

Gumbs delivered to Brooke whose flick inside the near post was kept out by Brown. But increasingly impressive work by Linnets in the Kidsgrove half appeared to have been in vain.

When the hosts attacked again on the break, Saxon was brought down.

He sprawled headlong inside the area, the referee pointing immediately to the penalty spot.

The assistant on the right jumped to the top of the Linnets' Christmas card list, when he advised the referee that the challenge had occurred before the 18-yard line.

Even so, Bergin's free-kick was heading inside the right post until Danny Taberner pulled off a great airborne save.

Kidsgrove made a double substitution, with Aaron Bott and Kieran Knapper being replaced by Jack Bromfield and Shaun Miller.

With 20 minutes remaining, Taberner was called to the rescue again, making a great block with his feet after pedestrian passing among the Runcorn defence had allowed another shot by Saxon.

Either side could have been ahead by now, and it appeared that a single goal might well determine the outcome. Two minutes later, it came to pass.

A patient string of eight Linnets passes, from the left wing to the right, and back again, ended with a high diagonal ball into the area by James Short.

It was headed away, but played back in by Ally Brown, with Brooke and McFadyen both fighting off close challenges, to attempt a turn and shot on goal. The ball ran to Matty Birchall, who held up three defenders in the area, to make a great pass into the path of Lewis Doyle.

From the edge of the area, Doyle applied a perfect blend of power and control to find a path through the crowd of bodies, and into the top right corner.

It was a goal worthy of securing three priceless points, as it ultimately did.

Linnets allowed Kidsgrove another spell of attacking possession, but the defence kept its shape and composure.

Matty Birchall, who had worried the Kidsgrove defence as much as anyone, was felled by a waist-high challenge as he picked up Tom Moore's flick into the Grove half. It earned Jepson a yellow card.

Short's free-kick from 25 yards was played short to Lewis Doyle, who teed up a low shot from the Linnets skipper that glanced off the outside of the right post.

After once again being grounded, this time by a studs-up foul, Birchall was saved from further punishment when withdrawn in favour of Kieran Nolan, with eight normal minutes remaining.

Kidsgrove then replaced Callum Leigh with Kingsley Adu-Gyamfi.

Linnets hadn't given up looking for the chance of a second goal, but they concentrated on keeping the ball, mostly in the Kidsgrove half.

When they conceded a goal-kick, Ryan Brooke was cautioned for being in no hurry to allow its execution.

Kidsgrove possession in added time was corralled in their own half, and Tom Moore received the last of the day's four yellow cards, for upending Saxon.

Linnets celebrations at the final whistle showed that a troubled week had ended on the most positive of notes.

Elsewhere, Macclesfield's 3-1 win over Trafford confirmed them as NPL West champions, while victories for Clitheroe and Witton Albion maintained the status quo in the three-horse race for the last two play-off places.

With four games each to play, Linnets remain in fifth place, behind Clitheroe on goal difference, and one point ahead of Albion. Two of the three will surely face Leek Town and Workington in the semis.

The forthcoming Easter weekend will feature crucial games for Linnets - at home to Prescot Cables on Saturday, and away to City of Liverpool on Monday.

Before that, Tuesday sees the visit to APEC Taxis Stadium of Vanarama National League side Altrincham, in a Cheshire Senior Cup semi-final.

Runcorn Linnets: Danny Taberner, Ally Brown, James Short, Tom Moore, Sean O'Mahony, Sam Heathcote, Matty Birchall (Kieran Nolan, 82 mins), Lewis Doyle, Ryan Brooke (Kieran Nolan, 45 mins), Cameron Rooney (Ollie McFadyen, 55 mins), Jamal Crawford (Eden Gumbs, 59 mins). Subs (not used): Isaac Turner, Josh Elverstone.

Attendance: 232.