Saturday 7th December 2019, Macron Cup third round

West 1 (Cottee 15)
Runcorn Town 4 (Forbes 34, Gill 61, James 79, Ward 90+2)
Att: 142

West bowed out of the Macron Cup after a testing afternoon against Runcorn Town.

A spate of injuries meant that West effectively had no substitutes to call upon, and after Ash Woods was forced off injured they played the final half an hour with ten men. Up to that point West had battled gamely but Town took full advantage after Woods’ withdrawal to seal their progression to the quarter finals.

Things began ominously for the home side as a Town forward capitalised on a defensive mix-up inside the first minute but saw his effort cannon off the post. The opening period was played almost exclusively in the West half but James Cottee grabbed something of a shock opener after a quarter of an hour when he turned in Matty Argent-Barnes’ cross.

David Forbes equalised 19 minutes later, emphatically converting a cross from the right wing to ensure the sides were level at the break despite a flurry of chances at both ends in the dying embers of the half.

West’s resistance was broken seconds after Woods was forced off, with Reo Gill collecting a through ball and finishing past Andrew Jones. Marcus James made the game safe with 11 minutes remaining when he headed in a corner, and though Jones produced an exceptional save to deny a Town volley in the closing minutes, Town did claim a fourth in stoppage time when Liam Ward finished a counter attack.

West: A. Jones, C. Jones, Tinker, Moloney, Middleton, Eckersley, A. Woods, Boland, Cottee, Hall, Argent-Barnes.