Train ticket (Manchester-Liverpool South Parkway) = £12-30
Train ticket (Liverpool South Parkway-Runcorn) = £4-40
Entry = £5
Programme = £1-50
Tea x2 = £2
Total = £25-20
For the second week in a row, I was heading to Merseyside, this time to see Runcorn Town. The trip represented something of a nostalgic visit down memory lane, passing places I’d been to in my student days – Spike Island and the remnants of Holly Park (which is now the plush new Liverpool South Parkway station). As with last week, I deliberately ‘broke’ the train journey, and saved £1-70 in the process!
Runcorn is about an 8 minute ride from Parkway, and the ground was c1 mile away so this was an easier one today. After wandering down to the Mersey and a brief meander into the centre, I headed off to the ground. As I walked I became very maudlin, pondering back on my student days and other things – today (a bright sunny day) was not a day for such miserable thinking, so I banished such negativity as I reached the ground. The ground was buried at the back of a sports ground which sat next to a chemical works (Ineos? Viridor?). The ground’s name – the Pavilions – obviously came from the impressive club-house/community centre which guarded the track down to the pitch. In fact, there was even an old pitch, together with a robust-looking stand and the obligatory metal railing. There is probably a story there, but I couldn’t find any reference to it in the programme or club history.
The game should be a straightforward win for Runcorn, as they sat in the play-off positions, whilst Squires Gate (of Blackpool) had only 4 points so far. The away side registered the first effort when Riley headed over after a quick counter-attack. After that, it was almost all the home side – named the ‘small team from Weston’ on one of the pitch-side signs. On 7 minutes, Marvin Molyneux made it 1-0 with a simple header. After further efforts from Paul Shanley (it looked like it scraped the post) and a volley from their number 6, Runcorn doubled their lead when Ablewhite fired in a rebound after a solid save from Fletcher. Squires Gate barely created a single meaningful chance, with Riley just about squeezing out a weak shot from the edge of the ‘D’ and their striker flicking a header just wide. Then a ruthless Runcorn made it 3 when Shanley confidently slid the ball past the beleaguered away keeper. Molyneux then found himself clean through after a defensive error, but could only force a save.
There were some bright spots for Squires Gate, who were beginning to ‘touch and play’, as they forged some good passing moves in midfield. Cook on the right wing cut inside, and curled a left-footer just over. Just as they were starting to get a foothold, Squires Gate conceded again, with Shanley rifling in a low shot on the near post.
The second half was far more evenly matched, even though the game as a whole was over. Runcorn’s Molyneux headed onto the post early on, before Cook hit a right-footed shot just wide. Paul Shanley was excellent for the home side, taking the ball with confidence, showing great strength and tenacity. The Blackpool side then had a glut of half-chances, with McKendrick’s ambitious lob just flying into the arms of the keeper. He had another shot which flew ‘just over’ (I say that a lot but in this case it really was a matter of inches). Sadly, they could not convert, and Runcorn’s ruthlessness was emphasised when their substitute (12) slid it to Stephen Milne who made no mistake with the finish. The away side continued to threaten with the odd free kick and half-chance – with Riley’s set-piece tipped over by the home keeper. The main event at that point was when the referee blew for full-time before 90 minutes was up!
So this was a bit of an anti-climax. The game was over by half-time, and though Squires Gate looked much better in the second period, they were ill-equipped to cope with a tough and efficient Runcorn team. I ambled back to the station – no rush this time – and managed to get the 18:03 from Parkway, arriving through the door at 20:10. The list of grounds is getting shorter…
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