The club has this afternoon received some extremely sad and upsetting news, relating to one of our most loyal fans.

Len Fagan passed away earlier this week, aged 84.

He was a regular at home matches and also travelled away when possible.

He had been at our game at Pontefract on Saturday but had admitted to friend and fellow fan, Bob Pinnington, to not feeling well.

Len had been a stalwart Linnets follower since Canal Street days.

Always enthusiastic about the merits of non-league football, Len was instantly recognisible with his flat cap and distinctive voice.

He miss be sadly missed.

RIP Len.

Pontefract Collieries FC put one past us in the 2nd minute with a goal from Vaughan Redford. In the 58th minute the Linnets substituted Harry Cannon-Noren for Ryan Gibson. CORRECTION: Harry Cannon-Noren was substituted for Ryan Gibson at Half time. In the 60th minute the Linnets substituted Nick Ryan for Tom Owens. CORRECTION: Nick Ryan was substituted for Tom Owens at Half time. In the 67th minute Pontefract Collieries FC substituted Gavin Rothery for Fabian Bailey. Vaughan Redford received a Yellow Card for Pontefract Collieries FC in the 74th minute. In the 80th minute the Linnets substituted Kyle Hamid for Kurt Sherlock. In the 81st minute Pontefract Collieries FC substituted Michael Dunn for Jameel Ible. Ryan Wade received a Yellow Card for The Linnets in the 88th minute. In the 2nd minute of added time of the second half Pontefract Collieries FC substituted Joe Lumsden for Layton Swaine.

Match Report

The Northern Premier League Board of Directors have kick-started this season's fundraising efforts for the league's charity partners.

Cardiac Risk in the Young (CRY) and The Daniel Wilkinson Foundation were chosen as the NPL's official charity partner, in memory of former Shaw Lane player Wilkinson, who collapsed on the pitch while playing in a cup match against Brighouse Town.

Donations of £250 have been made to each organisation by the NPL Board of Directors following a recent Management Committee meeting.

Board member, Neville Wigglesworth, said: "Clubs are already buying into the screening process for their players at various centres throughout the north of England and hopefully the League's generosity will stimulate the clubs to do their bit in fundraising during the course of the current season.

"Money raised goes some way to ensuring that the chance of further such tragedies are reduced, while also preserving the memory of former NPL player Daniel Wilkinson.

"We look forward to hearing of clubs' various efforts at fundraising throughout the season."

Runcorn Linnets will be pledging donations received from spectators in return for matchday team sheets, splitting the proceeds between the two good causes

All 62 clubs throughout the league have been supplied with posters and leaflets to display in their respective social clubs in order to raise awareness of undiagnosed heart conditions that can cause sudden cardiac death.

Every week in the UK, at least 12 young people die of undiagnosed heart conditions. CRY also provides bereavement support for families and fast-trick expert pathology investigations.

Most of the monies raised for CRY go towards funding the numerous screening sessions put on by the charity throughout the country.

Donations from any fundraising activities carried out can be made quickly and easily via the CRY website and clubs are requested to then advise the league of the contributions they have made to help monitor the ongoing success of the partnership.

In the 11th minute both sides have started evenly, not much to report. In the 18th minute Ossett United substituted Ben Hampson for Elliott Harrison. James Knowles received a Yellow Card for Ossett United in the 25th minute. In the 57th minute the Linnets substituted Louis Corrigan for Peter Wylie. Ossett United went ahead in the 59th minute with a goal from Aaron Haswell. In the 64th minute the Linnets substituted Jimmy Moore for Joshua Dobie. In the 69th minute Jamie Rainford pulled level from a brilliant finish that was unstoppable from inside the area. Kurt Sherlock gave the Linnets the advantage in the 77th minute with a coolly taken goal following a rebound from the edge of the 6 yard box. In the 79th minute Ossett United substituted Luke Porritt for Nick Guest. In the 82nd minute the Linnets substituted Jamie Rainford for Harry Cannon-Noren. Ossett United equalised in the 90th minute with a goal from Alex O'Keefe.

Match Report

Runcorn Linnets are geared up for our first ever home tie in the  Buildbase FA Trophy this afternoon, when Marine come to the Millbank Linnets Stadium.

Since formation in 2006, we have competed in the FA Vase but on  last season reaching Step 4 of the National League System, became eligible to compete in the Trophy.

Manager Michael Ellison agrees that non-league's premier knockout competition provides a perfect backdrop to the first competitive meeting of the clubs.

He adds: "It's always a big game when Marine come to town. The fact that it's a derby and we've got a few lads who've played there, as I have myself, just adds that extra spice to the game."

This is a competition in which the our predecessors Runcorn AFC, had a proud tradition - reaching a hat-trick of Wembley finals in the 1980s and '90s while playing in three '70s semi-finals.

But Runcorn Linnets were to be disappointed on our long-awaited entry into the FA Trophy in 2018-19.

We bowed out at the first time of asking, losing 4-2 at Atherton Collieries in the extra preliminary round, which is where we again start the Road to Wembley.

The winners of today's tie will be away to fellow BetVictor NPL North West Division club, Trafford on Saturday, October 12th.

Although this is our first "official" meeting with the Mariners, we have played three pre-season friendlies against them.

All were at  The MLS - the first  in 2012 resulting in a 3-0 Linnets win.

This was followed  by a 2-2 draw in 2016, the most recent contest  bringing a 1-0 win for the team from Crosby.

Kick off is at 3pm.