AFC Liverpool slipped to a defeat in Runcorn, as two first half goals for the home side cemented their place at the top of the North West Counties Premier Division.

In the early stages Runcorn made a statement of intent as they made a couple of incisive runs into the AFC Liverpool half. They had the first chance of the match on four minutes with a well-worked corner headed across goal, with the final header from Francis Smith going just wide.

This galvanised the Reds into action. Ryan Cox cut in from the left to find Carl Peers coming in from wide right, but his cross back across goal eluded everyone. Muktar Mahama made a mazy run into the Linnets 18 yard box and laid the ball off to Cox, but his shot was cleared.

Just as the Reds thought they were gaining a foothold in the match, Runcorn hit them with a sucker punch as Christopher Lomax made a run down the left, beat a defender, and played a ball infield to Mark Houghton, who slotted the ball past Ryan Jones on eleven minutes.

This marked the beginning of an excellent spell for the home side with several attempts on goal in quick succession. A long range shot was cleared by Jack Sinnott, and pacy runs down both flanks stretched the Reds’ full backs. Kevin Towey found space and fired a powerful shot at Jones, which the Reds keeper was just able to palm over the crossbar.

John Lawless was working tirelessly up front to get AFC Liverpool back into the match, and he seemed most likely to fashion a chance for the Reds. Following a lofted ball from debutant Mark Latham, Lawless cut back from the byline to let loose a cross-cum-shot which nearly fooled the Linnets keeper Richard Mottram, but one of his defenders managed to clear and the follow up shot went well wide.

Shortly afterwards, Runcorn made their lion’s share of the possession count as they doubled their lead from another well-taken corner. Michael White headed the ball back across goal and it looked to have crossed the line but the league’s top scorer, Kevin Towey, was there to bury the ball beyond Jones on the half hour mark.

Once again Paul Moores’ side had to try to find a way back into the match. Francis Barry had a couple of attempts intercepted by a resilient Linnets defence after good crosses from Lawless and Cox. Peers took a free kick into a dangerous area but Mottram was once again first to the ball.

On forty-three minutes, AFC had their best chance as Lawless broke through and was one-on-one with the Runcorn keeper, but he let loose the shot too close to Mottram. The ball was deflected wide, and although Lawless managed to retrieve the ball on the edge of the area, his shot went sailing over the bar.

Just as it looked like their pressure might pay dividends, the Reds suffered more disappointment in first half injury time, as Lawless was shown a straight red card for a challenge on Francis Smith, despite appearing to get a foot to the ball.

The ten-man Reds were forced into a tactical reshuffle during the break, and James King was introduced in place of Latham. The visitors were able to utilise more space down the flanks and this nearly allowed them back into the match as Mahama shot inches wide on fifty-three minutes. Barry followed suit a minute later with another long range strike going just wide.

Linnets were still able to exploit their extra man as they managed several attempts on goal, one of which forced an acrobatic save from Jones, but AFC Liverpool on the break were able to pose a threat with good work wide right from Nathan Valentine. James Robinson was also introduced in place of Ryan Cox and the fresh legs forced the Runcorn defenders to work hard, but without a partner up front, clear-cut chances were hard to come by.

This problem was compounded on seventy-five minutes as the referee showed Peers a straight red in the aftermath of a collision between Sinnott and a Linnets defender. With the second dismissal effectively ending the match as a contest, the focus for the Reds was damage limitation. In the later stages Runcorn seemed content to pass the ball around midfield, and when the Reds did gain possession, some cynical challenges from the home side disrupted the play, which led to yellow cards for Michael Ellison and Michael Duffy.

The Reds had one final chance as Robinson collected the ball inside the Linnets area, and with one fluid movement, turned and let loose a snap shot. The stationary Mottram was relieved to see the strike go high and wide of the left post, and his clean sheet was intact as the referee blew the full time whistle.

Runcorn Linnets 2 – 0 AFC Liverpool
Houghton 11’
Towey 31’

Runcorn Linnets: 1.Richard Mottram 2.Michael Duffy 3.Martin Crowder 4.Matt Cross © 5.Michael White 6.Michael Ellison 7.Francis Smith 8.Kyle Hamid (16.Cole Ashton 77’) 9.Kevin Towey (12.Adam Wade 86’) 10.Mark Houghton 11.Christopher Lomax
Unused Subs: 14 Allan Collins 15.Matthew Atherton 17.Levi Kennedy

AFC Liverpool: 1.Ryan Jones 2. Muktar Mahama 3.Ian Latham (17 James King 45’) 4.Jack Sinnott 5.Tomas Stewart 6.Carl Peers 7.Nathan Valentine 8.Liam Loughlin © 9.Francis Barry (16.Neville Picton 77’) 10.John Lawless 11.Ryan Cox (15.James Robinson 65’)
Unused Subs: 12 Declan Morgan 14 Ronnie Morgan