Maine Road 0 Runcorn Linnets 2

Maine Road's Brantingham Road ground seems to have its own climate. Very few games are ever postponed there in wet weather and on a day when many other matches in the league yet again fell foul of waterlogged pitches, their hard work again produced a dry and well-presented playing surface that didn't even deteriorate as the game wore on.

However, one element of the weather that could not be tamed was the wind! Huge and constant gusts of wind had a big impact on the game for both sides and both did well to keep the ball down for the most part and play it where it should be played - on the deck.

The only change to the Linnets’ starting 11 came with Mark Houghton coming in for Mike Simpson, Linnets faithful both surprised and relieved to see Mike White wearing his familiar No 5 shirt after the serious-looking ankle injury he had sustained a week earlier.

The game couldn't have started any better for the Linnets. With one minute on the clock, Michael Ellison played the ball into Freddie Potter’s feet on the edge of the 18-yard box and Potter in turn flicked it towards the onrushing Kyle Hamid who thundered a first-time shot right into the top corner.

Maine Road’s tall ‘keeper dived at full stretch but got nowhere near it; ¬a great goal and a perfect start to what was always going to be a tricky encounter.

It was nearly 0-2 moments later when the ‘keeper fumbled Houghton’s shot from an angle into his own goal, the ball dropping just past his left post.

Freddie Potter was next to get in one-on-one with the ‘keeper, who was this time quickly off his line to smother the chance well.

The game started to settle down and Maine Road worked their way into the contest, looking to play football on the ground and making the Linnets work hard to keep them at bay.

Anthony Hickey got into the same position as Potter had earlier and managed to get a shot away, but again the pressure from the imposing ‘keeper paid off and all Hickey could do was rush his shot over the bar.

While possession was pretty even, the Linnets were certainly creating all the chances. When Kurt Sherlock advanced with the ball and unleashed a shot from outside the box, it looked destined for the back of the net until a defender got in a great block to deflect it inches over the bar.

From the resulting corner, Matty Atherton rose above all around him to power a header goalwards, the ball crashing down off the crossbar before being scrambled wide for another corner.

Hickey again got in with just the ‘keeper to beat but was forced wide and tried to go for goal when a square ball to the unmarked Potter would surely have doubled Linnets’ advantage.

There were also claims that Hickey was fouled by the ‘keeper in this move, if so credit to him for battling to stay on his feet.

It wasn't all one-way traffic and River Humphreys had to be alert to run back towards his own goal and clear a long ball at full stretch from the toe of a Maine Road attacker, who would of had the goal at his mercy.

Road closed out the half the stronger and got their first meaningful attempt at goal away just before half-time, Dean Porter doing well to get down quickly and hold on to the ball.

The Linnets went in with a one-goal advantage, but all felt that, with the chances created, they would have been good value for a two or three-goal lead.

It was a worry because Maine Road had showed that they were a more than capable side and the game looked far from over, especially with the Linnets defending against the wind in the second half.

This started scrappily for both sides, but when Kieron Brislen advanced upfield to set Hickey on a run at goal, the industrious attacker managed to hold off the attentions of two Maine Road defenders to dink a glorious, undefendable ball across goal towards Freddie Potter. The Wizard nodded in Linnets’ second from a yard out at the back post for another well-worked team goal.

The doubled advantage settled any lingering nerves in the Linnets camp, but the heads of the very young Maine Road side never dropped and they pushed hard to get back into the game.

In the last half hour, they started to create some great chances, all of which came down their left.

The first of these came when a ball was played into an unmarked attacker who fired straight at Porter from eight yards out, the ‘keeper again doing well to hold on to the shot.

This was soon followed by a superb double save, the first from a free-kick that Porter didn’t see until late, and when Humphries half-volleyed the rebound back towards his own goal from six yards away, Porter did brilliantly to push the ball round the post for a corner.

Potter saw two chances come and go in quick succession, the first from a long free-kick that the big forward "kneed" over the bar from close range, before a header from Matty Atherton’s cross was well saved by Roads ‘keeper.

Porter, in the Linnets goal, made another good save from close range, with the rebound effort being flashed across the six-yard box with no attackers anticipating the opportunity of an open goal.

Jason Carey replaced Potter with 20 minutes to go and almost got straight on to the scoresheet after combining well with Brislen, his cross shot being cleared off the line.

Maine Road came agonisingly close to a goal with five minutes to go, their lively left winger breaking clear and cutting inside before smashing a shot against the inside of the far post - the ball rolling along the line into the safety of Porter’s arms.

They must have known then that this was not to be their day.

A long ball forward set Maine Road in again and the attacker beat the advancing Porter to the ball, nudging it past him, but Mike White was able to usher it safely wide of the right post.

Kevin Leadbetter came on late for Houghton, who was showing the signs of a few weeks on the sidelines, before the last chance of the game came for Linnets.

Sherlock’s high and looping free-kick was sent goalwards by both Hamid and Carey but was somehow scrambled clear from the goal line.

The referee brought proceedings to a close and a difficult hurdle had been well negotiated by the Linnets, the clean sheet an added bonus for the league’s meanest defence.

Maine Road were certainly a tricky side and they will win more games than they lose, perhaps a lack of a few older heads being their only downfall.

This was the perfect tonic for the Linnets in the build-up to a huge game next Saturday (ko 3pm) at The Millbank Linnets Stadium against Colne, most people’s favourites for the league title this season.

It’s sure to be an enthralling, tense encounter and one not to be missed!

Maine Road: Lewis Fielding, Joel Senior, Joshua Tinker, Jonathan Mason (capt), Louis Edwards, Calum Broady, Martin Hill, Rory Breslin, Matthew Morgan, Connor Hughes, Jack Langford. Subs: Jamie Roe, Matthew Wilson, Michael Burke, Jordan Rutter, Robert Wallis.

Runcorn Linnets: Dean Porter, Kieron Brislen, Matthew Atherton, River Humphreys, Michael White, Michael Ellison (capt), Mark Houghton (Kevin Leadbetter), Kurt Sherlock, Freddie Potter (Jason Carey), Kyle Hamid, Antony Hickey. Subs (not used): Kyle Armstrong, Jamie Weeder, Taylor Kennerley.