RUNCORN Linnets Ladies bowed out of the Cheshire County Cup 2-1 at the hands of Egerton Ladies.

Linnets were exceptional in the first half, finally burying in the 45th minute one of a dozen chances.

A delightful through ball from Marcia Jones-Sacharewicz was dispatched by Kim Roberts.

Egerton equalised in the 54th minute, the referee waving away Runcorn’s off-side claims, and the winner came from the penalty spot.

As Linnets pressed for an equaliser of their own, defender Tish Edwards was sent tumbling to the ground in an off-the-ball incident from a free kick in the Egerton box but Linnets’ appeals for a penalty were quickly dismissed.

The player-of-the-match honour went to Mary Rossiter-Gurrell but there were several contenders.

One of the positives of the past two weeks, which included another 2-1 loss to Everton Ladies in the league, has been the emergence of young Lucy Wieland, whose extended run in the team as seen her put in some fine performances.

Since beating Sandbach Ladies in the previous round of this competition, Linnets have performed much better in general and made progress with each game since but results would suggest otherwise.

The problem stems from not having a prolific goal scorer or goal scorers to convert the many chances created.

Runcorn Linnets Ladies: Pickering, Rossiter-Gurrell, Edwards, Finnegan, Evans, Wieland, Gillies, Kennedy, Carlson, Jones-Sacharewicz (Ashley 59) Roberts (Isherwood 68). Subs (not used): Hyland, Walton.