Runcorn Linnets 0 Clitheroe 0

Clitheroe consigned recent memories of odd formations and head tennis tactics to history, and put on a display of swift passing and pressing to remind the travelling fans how they had been near the top of the league before Christmas. That this took place in the back yard of play off hopefuls Runcorn Linnets with a formidable home record and a partisan crowd behind them, was all the more impressive.

Lining up with a traditional back four, all of a sudden players slotted into gear even with a depleted squad through injury and with Lee Pugh playing in an unfamiliar centre back role and Ben McKenna as a right back. Jamie Edwards returned to the side on the flanks with Alex Turner back in the centre after injury and the Clitheroe side looked more balanced.

Chances were in short supply for both sides on the pacy surface, and a fresh breeze encouraged play on the deck. On 7 minutes, Richie Baker forced the home keeper to make a full length save, whilst on 13 minutes, Runcorn scampered down the right and the low, driven cross just eluded an outstretched home leg.

However, after these early exchanges, Clitheroe began to dominate possession with their neat passing game and the home side were reduced to pot shots from distance. On 25 minutes Clitheroe went close twice as the rejuvenated Sefton Gonzales first challenged for a header from a McKenna cross, leaving the keeper flapping, before he almost immediately curled a left foot shot narrowly wide of the post from the right hand side of the box.

Danny Wilkins received a short corner on 33 minutes, before advancing on goal and firing in a low cross which eluded all Clitheroe efforts. On 37 minutes, Runcorn had a player tumble dramatically in the penalty area, but the referee concluded he had engineered the contact. Still the Blues did not let up and with Bailey Sloane playing his best game in a blue shirt overlapping down the wing, and Gonzales in marauding form, Clitheroe were very much in the box seat by half time.

The second half continued broadly in the same vein with probably more home possession, but again few clear cut chances. On 64 minutes, a Max Cane drive was sliced away in a panic by a home defender, before minutes later Gonzales and Cane combined to free McKenna who volleyed over the bar.

On 69 minutes, the Runcorn number 9 arched his back to volley a ball on the turn over his shoulder and fired across goal, before almost immediately Cane did the same at the other end but saw his shot settle in the home keeper’s midriff. There was still time for another dramatic Runcorn shout for a penalty, but the referee ignored the appeals.

This prompted another bout of Clitheroe pressure, with Gonzales laying the ball to Wilkins, whose shot demanded a full length save, before the excellent Jamie Edwards flashed a shot across goal. Billy Priestley then had to leave the pitch limping after he went into a crunching tackle with the diminutive Runcorn forward, but there was still a sense that a goal could come.

Runcorn had a dangerous cross on 86 minutes which was hurriedly cleared, before Cane in injury time held off two defenders in the box before seeing his shot saved. In the end, a draw was probably a fair result, but Clitheroe showed they have the heart and the class to go toe to toe with anyone in this league.

Team : Chris Thompson, Ben McKenna, Bailey Sloane, Richard Baker, Lee Pugh, Billy Priestley (Jack Burrows), Alex Turner (Joel Byrom), Danny Wilkins, Sefton Gonzales (c), Max Cane, Jamie Edwards (Gabriel Humphries). Subs - Jack Burrows, Joel Byrom, Gabriel Humphries. Not used - George Bristol, Cameron Lancaster.