Cromwell got away with a disjointed performance to win the three points on offer at the Mary Ann Meadows Stadium with 2 goals from Will Houghton and one from Charlie Walker.

Cromwell got off to their customary slow starts and struggled to get their passing game going, Dan Higham and Billy Paynter started well but the ball just wouldn't stick and too often Cromwell resorted to long balls over the top. Harrison Bailey and Joe Williams were having to deal with a lot more than they expected and coped admirably well with a long ball barrage. Only Daisy Herriot was getting stuck in upfront and a couple of crunching tackles from her got some counter attacks going

A fiery half time team talk revved up the team but still they couldn't get their passing to stick, too often moves broke down to a poor first touch or misplace pass. Cromwell looked like they were finally beginning to click when a move down the right touchline put Charlie Walker away who crossed to Zach Tully for a tap in at the far post. VAR however revealed that Tully was offside, a problem that plagued Cromwell all game.

The pressure was beginning to build though and soon Cromwell got the lead and after another surging Walker run Will Houghton produced a sublime finish curling a left foot shot into the far post. Expectation was now that Cromwell would pull away and finish the game comfortably but Runcorn were able to bring the scores level. Bailey was harshly adjudged to have fouled the Runcorn midfielder despite what looked to be a foul against him. Despite his diplomatic protests the decision stood and a deflected show deceived Matt Mullen in the Cromwell goal spoiling the team's effort to keep a clean sheet for the first time this season.

Cromwell came back and some lovely one touch passing between Tully, Paynter and Will Whitehead gave Houghton an opportunity to retake the lead but his shot was surprisingly tame. Another Houghton shot was parried by the Runcorn keeper but he was powerless to prevent Houghton when Walker's through ball set him free.

Cromwell now took control and great passing from the team allowed Whitehead to present Walker with an easy chance to make it 3-1 and kill the game. A win for Cromwell but not one of their best performances and one that coach Tully will be wanting to fix in training ready to play Knowsley in front of what's expected to be another bumper home crowd.