TOWN CLOSE GAP THROUGH DOLAN HATTRICK

Will Dolan's first hat-trick for the club helped Runcorn Town to a 4-1 win at Ellesmere Port, with the result closing the gap at the top of the West Cheshire League to nine points after West Kirby were held 1-1 by Vauxhall Motors Reserves.

In dreadful conditions both sides played out a forgettable first half, with Town seizing the initiative after the break by taking an early lead. Dolan advanced from just inside the Port half and played a one-two with Simon Burton before finding the corner of the net. Within five minutes it was 2-0 after the home keeper missed his kick on a backpass with Ian Robinson scoring into an empty net from just yards out.

Port threatened to make a game of it when they pulled one back with 15 minutes to go with Nathan Mapletoft forcing his way through the defence before slotting past Dave Parkinson. However Dolan netted twice more to seal his hat-trick in the 78th and 90th minutes.

Both were pretty identical with Dolan running from midfield and playing one-two's with Kyle Hamid, who came on as a 70th minute sub after a month out due to an injury picked up at Marine.

Meanwhile in the top of the table clash in Division Three at Pavilions, Town Reserves succumbed to leaders Bronze Social although it was a case of many defensive errors rather than Bronze dominance. Bronze went 3-0 up and despite pulling back to within one goal in the second half through two goals from Reece Conlan, a late fourth for Bronze gave them all three points.

Some consolation was Mossley Hill's suprise 3-2 defeat at Focus, although Town now face an uphill battle to achieve promotion to Division Two after the loss.

Click here for match report

Posted at 19:09 on Saturday 15th March 2008 - Viewed 245 times