'Around the Grounds' Edition 8: Runcorn Town
Mon 14th October 2024 | Runcorn Town | By Ben Wilkinson
After a short break, ‘Around the Grounds’ returns with a look at First Division South’s Runcorn Town and the Viridor Community Stadium that they call home. Runcorn Town were originally formed as CKD, being the works team for the 'D' section of the Castner Kellner plant situated next door. They then became Mond and then Mond Rangers before rebranding to Runcorn Town in 2005.
The Viridor Community Stadium, named as such thanks to a sponsorship deal with the recycling plant overshadowing the ground, is traditionally called Pavilions. The roots of this name are made fairly obvious as you approach the car park to be met by a sizable building. This was originally a cricket pavilion before becoming the ICI social club and latterly a pub before closing in the mid 2010s and has fallen into a state of disrepair since. The club's car park surrounds this building on three sides, with a short walk up the path to the turnstile block. Adult admission is £7 and a printed programme is available for £2. This programme was a double edition on my visit and was a very substantial 40+ page edition with plenty of content, expertly produced by Runcorn Town Secretary (and League Director!) Martin Fallon.
The ground is a three-sided affair, with the area behind the far goal off limits. Down one touchline is a seated stand with additional cover for those standing, while the tea hut and dressing rooms are on the other side with further standing cover. The ground has been unchanged for many years, with the club being somewhat restricted by a rolling one-year lease on the ground with recent tough times on the pitch not helping matters. However, the club hope to gain a 99-year lease when the sale of the land completes shortly and plans are in place for a new turnstile and clubhouse on currently undeveloped land. They also have aims of opening the 4th side up to spectators and build a stand along the full width of the pitch. The club have had a turbulent start to the season but hope to start to climb up the table with a new management team in the dugout.
I visited for the Edward Case Cup fixture against Barnton in early October. This was the third fixture between the two clubs in little over a week so the two were definitely no strangers to each other by this point. Barnton had won the previous two outings, on penalties in the Macron Cup last time out and a staggering 5-4 win in the league the weekend prior, and they got off to a great start here with just nine minutes on the clock when Tom Turkington rifled home to open the scoring. Runcorn equalised on 28 minutes when former Barnton man Macauley Clifton's free kick took a huge deflection off the wall and looped over everybody into the net. Parity lasted just seven minutes as it was Lee Turkington's turn to get on the scoresheet to put the visitors back in front, and Matthew Williams ensured safe passage into the next round with a goal midway through the second half to see the game end 1-3.
'Around the Grounds' Edition 8: Runcorn Town
Mon 14th October 2024 | Runcorn Town
By Ben Wilkinson
After a short break, ‘Around the Grounds’ returns with a look at First Division South’s Runcorn Town and the Viridor Community Stadium that they call home. Runcorn Town were originally formed as CKD, being the works team for the 'D' section of the Castner Kellner plant situated next door. They then became Mond and then Mond Rangers before rebranding to Runcorn Town in 2005.
The Viridor Community Stadium, named as such thanks to a sponsorship deal with the recycling plant overshadowing the ground, is traditionally called Pavilions. The roots of this name are made fairly obvious as you approach the car park to be met by a sizable building. This was originally a cricket pavilion before becoming the ICI social club and latterly a pub before closing in the mid 2010s and has fallen into a state of disrepair since. The club's car park surrounds this building on three sides, with a short walk up the path to the turnstile block. Adult admission is £7 and a printed programme is available for £2. This programme was a double edition on my visit and was a very substantial 40+ page edition with plenty of content, expertly produced by Runcorn Town Secretary (and League Director!) Martin Fallon.
The ground is a three-sided affair, with the area behind the far goal off limits. Down one touchline is a seated stand with additional cover for those standing, while the tea hut and dressing rooms are on the other side with further standing cover. The ground has been unchanged for many years, with the club being somewhat restricted by a rolling one-year lease on the ground with recent tough times on the pitch not helping matters. However, the club hope to gain a 99-year lease when the sale of the land completes shortly and plans are in place for a new turnstile and clubhouse on currently undeveloped land. They also have aims of opening the 4th side up to spectators and build a stand along the full width of the pitch. The club have had a turbulent start to the season but hope to start to climb up the table with a new management team in the dugout.
I visited for the Edward Case Cup fixture against Barnton in early October. This was the third fixture between the two clubs in little over a week so the two were definitely no strangers to each other by this point. Barnton had won the previous two outings, on penalties in the Macron Cup last time out and a staggering 5-4 win in the league the weekend prior, and they got off to a great start here with just nine minutes on the clock when Tom Turkington rifled home to open the scoring. Runcorn equalised on 28 minutes when former Barnton man Macauley Clifton's free kick took a huge deflection off the wall and looped over everybody into the net. Parity lasted just seven minutes as it was Lee Turkington's turn to get on the scoresheet to put the visitors back in front, and Matthew Williams ensured safe passage into the next round with a goal midway through the second half to see the game end 1-3.
