Trafford crashed out of the FA Trophy at the Home Estates Shawe View Stadium on Saturday. Runcorn looked lively from the start and were unlucky with a wasted effort in the 3rd minute. A deep cross from the right evaded the home defence and Ryan Gibson blazed over when it looked easier to score. That sounded the alarm bells for the hosts, and it seemed to have woken them up when 2 minutes later they had an excellent chance of their own. A corner from the right was swung over, but Sam Baird couldn’t keep his header down and it flew inches over the bar.
That proved to be the high point for Trafford in the first half as the visitors gradually turned the screw. They took the lead on 11 minutes and never looked back. Kurt Sherlock finished off a slick move, firing into the bottom corner from a crowded 6-yard box. Runcorn were comfortable in midfield whilst the home team looked unusually lethargic and devoid of ideas. The visitors were sharp down the right flank and both Sherlock and Jamie Rainford fired in dangerous crosses. It was another ball from the right that proved to be Trafford’s undoing. A ball was fired low across the box and seemed to evade all of the advancing forwards, but Sam Baird inexplicably turned the ball past his own ‘keeper when he could have let the ball run away from danger.
To the home team’s credit, they didn’t let their heads drop and had a good chance to get on the scoresheet before the interval. Neat play down the left saw Joel Amado feed Curtis Miller, who curled a shot over the bar from the edge of the area.
Runcorn increased the pressure after the teams came out for the second half. Neat interplay between Thomas Owens and Jamie Rainford saw the ball payed to the impressive Gibson who could only drag his shot wide. Trafford responded and almost pulled one back. Miller found himself in space and his shot from the edge of the box was tipped past the post by the Linnets ‘keeper.
A triple substitution on 60 minutes tried to change Trafford’s play with Tom Baker striving to add inspiration and pace. However, any hope of a Trafford comeback was cruelly quashed2 minutes later. Matt Cooper had just tipped a great Gibson shot over the bar when he was in the middle of the action again. Gibson drove down the left, shrugging off the challenge of Jake Kenny and pulled the ball back to Rainford. He swivelled, getting the ball under control and buried it into the bottom corner, giving Cooper no chance.
Trafford were still knocking on the door and Laurence Taylor threaded a great pass to Lewis Salmon who was thwarted as Runcorn stopper Mottram dived at his feet to smother the ball.
The Runcorn defence remained resolute and it was the visitors who almost put the icing on the cake in the dying minutes with a breakaway chance. With Trafford pushing high to get a consolation, Gibson broke from midfield and outsprinted the home defence. He was denied a goal as he flashed his shot across Cooper and wide of the far post.Linnets saw out the added time to progress to the next round in style.
Trafford get back to league action next Saturday with an away trip to the North East, at Dunston UTS. The next league game at Shawe View is against Ossett United on Saturday November 9th with a 3pm kick off. Written by Lee Knights.