Avro were handed their first defeat in 7 league games at the hands of Nantwich Town this afternoon, with a second half strike from Adam Moseley the difference in a game where chances were limited for both sides.
The Ro were without numerous first team players due to injury and suspension which saw a changed line up for Avro. These absences included Kyle Hawley, Jake Cottrell, Kane Wallwork and David Fitzpatrick with others also missing. This saw Geffry Ebhote covering at right back and Grant Shenton captaining the side.
Early on, Runcorn were lucky to escape a booking after a late challenge on Jack Morrow by Jorge Dwyer. It was only a talking to by the referee to the Runcorn number four.
Avro were forced into an early change as AJ Warburton was forced off through injury, with Sheriff Njie coming on to replace the in-form Avro man.
The first effort on goal from Runcorn came at the half hour mark, as a fierce strike from Reece Daly sailed over the goal and out for an Avro goal kick.
Geffry Ebhote picked up the first booking of the afternoon, for what appeared to be the exact same challenge as that on Jack Morrow earlier in the game with no booking shown for the hosts. A frustrating decision from the match official with a lack of consistency shown throughout.
There was a couple of late chances for Avro as Geffry Ebhote worked his way into the box. The first attempt was well wide, and he just couldn’t get a touch on the second attempt. Avro headed into the break level but had the better opportunities in the game.
In the second half, Runcorn started the game the strongest and found themselves ahead in the 55th minute. A ball put into the box was met at the back post by Adam Moseley and he made no mistake in firing the hosts ahead.
Just 10 minutes later, Avro responded well and almost found themselves level. A positive run forward by Brandon Barker was put into the box, this posed a great opportunity for Avro, but Kane Hickman saw his attempt well over.
Avro made two changes as they looked to introduce fresh legs on the wings to trouble the Runcorn defence. These changes saw Harry Salt introduced for his league debut, and Dillon Edmundson also coming on, replacing Malakai McKenzie and Brandon Barker.
In the dying minutes of the game, with four minutes of additional time added on, Avro continued to press the Runcorn defence and looked to work a chance on goal. There were huge appeals for a handball on the edge of the box as the ball appeared to strike the hand of a Runcorn defender, but the referee dismissed these appeals and waved play to carry on. From this play, the ball fell to Liam Ellis, but his strike was just wide of goal.
Avro were unable to find a breakthrough and left the APEC Taxis Stadium empty handed in a 1-0 defeat.The Ro are back in action next Saturday, 19th April, when they host Stafford Rangers at The Vestacare as we enter the final three fixtures of the season. Tickets are available online for this fixture with payment on the turnstiles via cash or card accepted on the gate.
