TT No.32: Andy Gallon - Sun 7th September 2008; Runcorn Linnets v Padiham; FA Vase First Round Qualifying; Res: 4-3 (AET); Att: 191; Admission: £5.50; Programme: £1.20 (24pp); FGIF Match Rating: *****

Wincham Park came as a bit of a shock. I'd visited the ground, opened by Witton Albion in 1989, several times - though not in recent seasons. The place was never more than a cheap design and build option on a dreary out-of-town industrial estate but at least its setting was spacious and tidy. Not any more. Witton, probably short of cash after tumbling down the pyramid, appear to have sold off much of the spare land they used originally for parking. As a result, the ground has become hemmed in by such nuisance neighbours as a scrap dealer, a bus operator, a haulage contractor and a timber merchant. Not pleasant. The fabric of the ground's exterior, never likely to age well, is also looking rather frayed round the edges. Frankly, it's grubby and grotty. No wonder there is talk of Witton moving again. Speculation abounds over a location nearer the town, from whence they came.   Not, I imagine, that Runcorn Linnets mind the state of their lodgings. This is their third season sharing with Witton having been set up by bereft supporters on April 28 2006 following the collapse of Runcorn FC Halton. The original club, effectively the old Runcorn with a different name, finally gave up the battle for survival at the revamped rugby league ground in Widnes after earlier selling their Canal Street home to a housing developer. Tiny crowds swallowed up by a big stadium in an alien town on the wrong side of the Mersey meant the books could not be made to balance. And so decades of history was ended at the stroke of an accountant's pen. Thankfully, fans are a bloodyminded species and the Linnets faithful refused to let the name Runcorn be erased from the football map. So, here they are at Wincham Park - for now, at least. The R2R (Return to Runcorn) campaign is well under way, almost £60,000 has been banked towards the cost of a new ground and a site has been earmarked back home. It's all a far cry from the comparatively recent days when 'The Corn' played in the top tier of non-league football but they are making progress in the North West Counties League and, as Aldershot Town proved so emphatically, dreams really can come true.     Happily, Wincham Park is a lot more appealing inside than out. In the vanguard of new stadia, it's very much a product of its time. Never mind the quality, feel the width. Most of what's notable is in the main stand, which runs the full length of the eastern side of the site. Here can be found the offices, social club and dressing rooms. The stand has a red-brick base and a cantilevered roof in khaki corrugated metal sheeting. There are five rows of red plastic tip-up seats at each end of the stand, with segregated areas in the centre for the use of home and away directors, and season ticket holders. A press box sits on the halfway line though, oddly, the players' tunnel is off centre. You can tell the stand is an inexpensive structure because the roof scarcely extends far enough to shelter the front row of seats. Not that it matters today because, mark this, it has stopped raining. People were pointing in wonder at a large golden object in the sky. The dugouts, double glazed on UPVC frames, are sturdy affairs straddling the halfway line. Provided, no doubt, by a sponsor.     The north-east corner is occupied by Witton's club shop and museum, and the north-west and south-east corners by toilets and snack bars. These are of the same design as the turnstile blocks - red brick with wooden trimmings painted red. There is cover on each of the other three sides. This is provided by identical cantilevered stands, about 40 yards long and again fashioned from khaki corrugated metal sheeting. They are of the type whose rear wall is anchored outside the ground perimeter - in this case a concrete panel fence. The terracing is very shallow - you always feel too low down at this ground - and is lined with red metal crush barriers. A metal fence, painted red and as stocky as a pit bull, surrounds the pitch which, considering all the rain and the fact Witton played on it the day before, is in magnificent condition. The floodlights are low corner masts, with 11 lamps on each.   The scrap yard is to the north of the ground, the timber merchant to the east (filling in the space between Wincham Park and the Weaver Navigation) and the haulage contractor and bus operator to the south. There is a whiff of diesel in the air. The only parking left for Joe Punter is on heaps of fine aggregate at the south end. A training pitch, used by the players for those choreographed pre-match warm-ups, lies behind the west stand. Then there are various derelict buildings (perhaps some eccentric collector is hoarding them) amid scrubland before, beyond the minor road into Northwich, you reach Ashton's and Neumann's Flashes. This is a regenerated area of subsided land on former rock salt mines. The depressions have filled with water to form a local beauty spot (of sorts). Beggars can't be choosers, I guess. Salt has been extracted from the beds beneath Northwich since before the Romans pitched up here. Northwich translates as 'northern salt town' and Witton comes from 'Wych Tune' - which is where the salt workers lived.   So much for the history, what about this FA Vase tie? An unexpected cracker, despite Padiham being in the division below Runcorn in the North West Counties League. It was preceded by a minute's silence. Why, no-one seemed to know. Neither the tannoy nor the programme offered any explanation. "I can only think it's for the death of football," remarked one wag, probably referring to the week's events at Manchester City. The visitors, reduced to nine men by two dismissals during the second half of extra-time, were denied a replay only by the coat of paint on the south end goal's crossbar. This was struck from 20 yards by substitute Peter Corvino's stunning left-foot volley - virtually the last kick of an absorbing contest. Runcorn really should have put the outcome beyond any reasonable doubt. They had enough chances but their inability to concentrate at the back, or clear their lines, meant Padiham were always a menace on the counter.   Let me try to summarise the highlights of an eventful afternoon without boring the pants off you. Ben Wharton (16) gave Padiham the lead with a shot into the turf which bounced over two defenders on the line after keeper Robbie Holcroft had blocked a Chris Ridehalgh effort. A colossal scramble in the visitors' six-yard box ended with Michael Morrison (24) forcing in the equaliser before Jay Edwards (33) picked up a loose ball 18 yards out to sidefoot home for 2-1. Two minutes later, it was 2-2. Holcroft failed to pick the flight of an Anthony McCluskey free-kick and when it came back off the far post Kristian Bowden headed home.   Michael Morrison (49) - one of two lads with that surname in the Runcorn team - slid in the fifth goal having  escaped the notice of the offside police. The hosts, well on top, were shaken with 13 minutes to go when Wharton capitalised on defensive dithering to shoot hard and low to Holcroft's right. Padiham keeper Gavin King ensured extra-time with two astonishing saves in the last eight minutes. Runcorn substitute Dave Thompson (92) turned superbly in the box but saw his 16-yard piledriver crash back into play off the crossbar. Team-mate Lee Morris (103), also on as a sub, then made space to squeeze a shot between King's left hand and an upright. Michael Morrison (109) saw a header bounce off the top of the crossbar and Padiham then had Paul Scott (111) sent off for a professional foul on the energetic Runcorn striker. An ill-considered lunge from Tom Bradley saw the visiting full-back shown a second yellow card a minute later but depleted Padiham finished the stronger. A defender got his back in the way of a goalbound Ridehalgh (115) effort and Corvino then went agonisingly close to providing an amazing finale. But the intervention of the crossbar means it is Runcorn who host Bacup Borough in the next round. To the delight, I'll bet, of Linnets manager Steve Wilkes, who joined from Padiham in January.    The wind of change looks set to gust through Runcorn Linnets and Wincham Park. The friendly old chap selling programmes - he used to do the same job when I was an occasional Canal Street attender in the 1980s for football and rugby league - accepted it all with a smile and a shrug. Having followed Runcorn since 1939, he's seen everything. But he was excited about the prospect of going home. Being someone's guest - however welcome - is never satisfactory long term and the best end game for Runcorn is a return to their own midden. As for Witton, well, maybe they will bid farewell to Wincham Park, too. I'm sure they have good reasons for doing so - and I imagine one of them might be that having hated local rivals Northwich Victoria as close neighbours once again has become simply too much to bear.

contributed on 08/09/08