TOWN UP TO SECOND AFTER WIN

Runcorn Town moved up to second place in Vodkat League Division One after a 2-1 victory at Valerie Park against AFC Liverpool.

Town started the game in dominant mood with Emini Adegbenro in particular causing havoc on the right wing. The pressure was on with Town forcing seven corners in the first half alone, but the closest Town came was from the boot of Liverpool captain Karl Gornell who sliced a cross inches wide of his own goal.

Steve Corris went close for Liverpool with a fierce 30-yard shot that Karl Wills did brilliantly to keep out, with ex-Town forward Aarron Stafford also wasting a glorious chances when he got clear of Town's defence but opted to square the ball instead of shooting.

The opening goal came after 27 minutes with Mark McGrath grabbing his first goal for the first team. James McShane did well on the right and his pinpoint cross gave McGrath the simple task of heading past Jack Baker to score.

Stafford had a chance to equalise when he ran onto David Mather's though ball and bore down on goal but his shot flew inches wide of the right hand post. At the other end Ian Robinson was quick to react to a half clearance with a shot from 25-yards that Baker did well to turn behind.

The talking points of the game were sendings off of two Liverpool players a minute either side of the break. In the 44th minute Neil Jones was dismissed for a "professional" foul after tugging the shirt of McShane, with the referee ruling it denied the league's leading scorer a clear goalscoring opportunity.

Less than a minute into the second half Liverpool were down to nine with Phil Stafford’s rash challenge on Mark McGrath resulting in him being shown a second yellow card.

With a two man advantage, Town struggled to create any real goalscoring opportunities with the final ball letting them down on numerous occassions. The one time when a decent ball was put in from either flank saw Town go 2-0 up in the 70th minute of the match, with Ste Latham's ball from the right only half cleared with Jason Carey firing home.

Liverpool got rewarded for their positivity despite the numerical disadvantage after 83 James Thomas' dangerous free kick was only parried by Wills with ex-Runcorn Linnet Paddy O’Driscoll heading the ball into the empty net.

Posted at 00:04 on Saturday 12th February 2011 - Viewed 237 times