There's no substitute for strength in depth ... and oh, Marcus Cusani - what a finish!
- dbettley
- 1 day ago
- 5 min read
Runcorn Linnets 3 Newcastle Town 1
Report by Dave Bettley
Substitutions sparked a remarkable turnaround as Runcorn scored three in 12 minutes at the end of the game to deny Newcastle a first away win of the season.
Despite dominating possession, Linnets had struggled to carve out chances against visitors, who had set out their stall to frustrate.
But the Staffordshire side saw their ambitions go up a notch when Tim Grice gave them an unlikely lead midway through the second half.
Having toiled and then hit trouble, Runcorn found the answer to the puzzle on their replacements' bench. It provided all three scorers in a dramatic finale.
Eden Gumbs, after 82 minutes and Lewis Crane (90+4) started and completed the recovery but Marcus Cusani took centre stage in between.
Cusani's general contribution turned around Runcorn's display and his blistering strike put them in front with 92 minutes on the clock.
Markell Foulds, the other home substitute, had combined with Lewis Doyle to find Cusani, who from 22 yards out put full force behind his right-foot shot.
Again, the ball took a ricochet off a Newcastle player before curling away beyond the reach of 'keeper Joe Slinn and inside the right post.
It was an eye for a spectacular goal that Linnets fans had seen from Cusani in opposition colours and the player had long been waiting to show in the Yellow and Green.
Nine long years since the Wiganer first pulled on the shirt and four months into his second spell, the real Marcus Cusani has come to the fore.
Having got himself on the scoreboard for the first time in the midweek Cheshire Senior Cup victory at Winsford, he really put his name up in lights on Saturday.
Brad Cooke, who first managed Cusani at Atherton Collieries, said: "That goal is just him to a tee. If you had a highlight reel, it would be a sell out for Christmas on DVD!.
"That's what he can do and I got a little bit emotional there at the end of the game with him because I've known him a long time and I know how much it means to him.
"He's probably had a few years since he's left me not really enjoying his football, in and out and a bit player. He's come back a different player to the one that I knew and that's hard to see. You don't like to see that because I class him as a friend.
"He's had a really tough time since he's come in but he's not been fit. There's people who have asked questions of him and I've said 'Stick with him'.
"A few weeks ago, I left him out of the squad and we had a really honest chat. I said we need more.
"Ultimately, it's all down to players. What a reaction, what type of character that shows to come back and do that. I'm so happy for him."
While Cusani rightly took the plaudits, the manager also highlighted the part played by Runcorn's 'Mr Versatile' Eden Gumbs in the fightback.
Gumbs came on in central midfield, then found himself on the left of a reshuffled three-man defence as Linnets went for broke - before grabbing the equaliser in the 82nd minute.
His 15-yard left-foot half volley from Doyle's corner involved a huge slice of luck. It took a big deflection off a defender's legs, looping up and over goalkeeper Joe Slinn.
But it also typified Runcorn's inbuilt determination to keep trying, even when things aren't going their way.
Newcastle too never gave up. After falling behind so late, they went on to attack in a bid to salvage a point but were caught on a length-of-the-field break.
Scott Bakkor, having run hard all afternoon but without any service, ventured 50 yards from inside his own half.
While Cusani, who had released him, made a supporting run on the left, Bakkor threaded the ball through to the right for Lewis Crane to drive it home - another great display of composure from the 18-year-old striker.
Compared to the last 15 minutes, the rest of the game paled into insignificance.
Runcorn were dominating but without any control.
The visitors came closest to a lead before they went ahead.
A rare slip-up just before the interval by Adam Rooney allowed Grice in behind but Bayleigh Passant responded on his 24th birthday with a fine blocking save.
Grice got his reward in the 63rd minute, however.
Sloppy work from Runcorn - giving away possession in their own third - resulted in a quick exchange of short Newcastle passes, which opened the way to goal again.
Grice, part of Leek Town's 2023-24 NPL title success, made no mistake this time. He clipped a shot past Passant and into the far left corner.
Runcorn promptly felt they should have had a penalty when Slinn came flying out to meet a deep Matty Rain free-kick but instead poleaxed Rooney.
The centre half needed treatment and probably hadn't recovered his senses when he was withdrawn to facilitate Linnets' formation change.
Even the most ardent Linnets supporter will have felt for Newcastle after everything they had put into the game. They looked shattered at the end in every respect.
But it's onwards and upwards for Runcorn.
Having climbed one place to sixth and with at least two games in hand on all teams above them, they'll be keen to exploit the four home games in their next five fixtures - one of them against leaders Lower Breck.
Runcorn Linnets: Bayleigh Passant, Peter Wylie, Matty Rain, Jacques Welsh (Markell Foulds, 56 mins), Adam Rooney (Lewis Crane, 67 mins), Harvey Washington, Oskar Rosenblatt, Lewis Doyle, Scott Bakkor, Dec McLoughlin (Eden Gumbs, 57 mins), Naim Arsan (Marcus Cusani, 68 mins).
Attendance: 491.
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