The Stripes went to white hot Runcorn Linnets and put in a dominant second half shift – possession wise – only to lose out by 2 unanswered goals. As 2026 approaches at pace, the conundrum is to convert concerted pressure into something tangible.
The latest Friday night meeting between these old acquaintances was preceded by a lovely round of applause tribute to Macclesfield player Ethan McLeod who tragically passed away in the week.
There was also an insane firework display outside of the ground which ensured the paying punters literally got extra bang for their buck. It went down great guns. Only in non league, eh.
The football started very cagily with chances kept to a minimum. Midway through the half, Kielen Adams and Linnets centre half Adam Rooney came together innocuously. Ex Colls defender, Rooney stayed on the deck and the game was held up for 15 minutes or so as both medical teams applied treatment. To the relief of everybody in attendance, Adam walked off the pitch and went straight to hospital for tests. Best wishes to the lad and hopefully he will back on the field very soon.
Things were a touch discombobulated upon the restart but the hosts regrouped quickest and struck gold in slightly controversial circumstances. Sam Sheridan went into a 50/50 in the middle of park and stayed down. Despite shouts to kick the ball out, play continued and the excellent Joe Ferguson teed up James Steele who did the rest. Sam’s race was unfortunately run.
Colls attempted an immediate retort as Adams showed strength before forcing a top save from Bayleigh Passant and his resultant header from the corner was cleared off the line.
Football wise, Michael Clegg’s team were excellent after the break. They really took it to the title protagonists. There was a real shout for a penalty after a pull on Mark Isong’s jersey. The ref’s lack of reaction was very perplexing although the Linnets twitter feed did note the incident. Rodney Ajayi was a constant threat with some silky skills but there was a disappointing lack of any visiting finishing product as Passant saved anything which came his way with ease. You have to credit the solid home defence also.
The hosts put the game to bed with minutes remaining. As Colls continued to look at getting forward a ball was played into the centre circle without a sky blue clad operator in sight. Within seconds, Sean Miller had scored at the far post. Clinical.
Pound for pound, there is nothing between the teams but Brad Cooke’s team have now completed the league double with an aggregate score of 4 to zip. Michael Clegg’s frustrations were there for all to see post match.
Colls return to action on Boxing Day. Wythenshawe Town visit the Dreams2Reality Stadium for a juicy looking encounter. 3pm ko.
