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Saturday 16th March - Runcorn FC Halton 2-0 Frickley Athletic

After dominating the first half but failing to score, the Blues were hit with a double sucker-punch almost immediately after half time as Runcorn FC Halton grabbed two goals in two minutes which ultimately won the game.

With Barnsley recalling Marc Shackleton, Phil Sharpe brought Jon Hood back in goal whilst Dan Sheriffe was relegated to the subs. bench with loanee from Chesterfield Mark Smith starting down the left.

The Blues went desperately close to taking the lead with just 9 minutes on the clock when Smith's left wing cross was met with a glancing header by Lee Pugh only for Runcorn 'keeper Tony McMillan to dive full length to his left to parry, with the ball just evading the onrushing Nick Richardson and being scrambled off the line. Two minutes later Lee Morris picked up the ball some 30 yards out on the left, turned inside a defender and fired in a low shot straight at McMillan from 25 yards. At the other end Ged Courtney turned and shot straight at Hood from 18 yards but the Blues were soon back on the attack as Richardson spotted McMillan off his line and tried his luck from 30 yards but McMillan backpedaled quickly enough to catch the ball on the line. A Gary Hatto corner on 22 minutes saw McMillan palm the ball off the head of Richardson as it seemed just a matter of time before the Blues made the vital breakthrough. Smith then seized on a poor defensive header to  shoot just over the bar from inside the box. As half time neared the home side looked to have weathered the Blues' storm and came close themselves as Carl Rendell managed to get half a yard on Phil Lindley but Lindley held strong and forced Rendell to drag his shot across goal.

Disaster struck for the Blues just 4 minutes after the interval when Matty McGinn sent over a deep cross from the left which Hood failed to come for and Hatto couldn't reach, leaving Rendell to head in at the back post. Two minutes later things got even worse as Runcorn worked the ball into the box from the right with the ball falling kindly for Mike Garrity to shoot past Hood from 16 yards. The Blues should have pulled a goal back five minutes later when Pugh sent over a good cross from the right which Smith met with a powerful header from 6 yards but his effort cleared the bar. Sharpe then made a double substitution, bringing on Sheriffe and Chris Fawcus in place of Duncan Richards and Hatto. Smith then saw his cross find Richardson in the box who turned and shot goalwards only for Peter Ellis to stick out a leg and deflect the ball wide of the post. The home side came close to extending their lead on 68 minutes when Hood deflected the ball wide with his legs following Lee Kissock's close range shot. Then from the corner Fawcus headed off the line. As the game neared full time Sheriffe made a fairly innocuous challenge with a Runcorn player near the corner flag and rather harshly received a straight red card for his trouble.

Frickley Athletic : Hood, Richards (Sheriffe 57), Hatto (Fawcus 57), Lindley, Benn, Pugh, Robinson, Krief, Morris, Richardson (Rimmington 79), Smith.

Attendance : 203

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