THE Linnets wound up a largely prom-ising pre-season with a Victory Park win over a Lancastrian outfit a division below them in the UniBond League.
Runcorn, who have won three and lost only one of their five warm-up games, were highly impressive before the break but were in danger of letting their hosts back into the contest.
The Linnets edged home, however, with goals at either end of the first half.
Adam Roscoe lobbed Steve Carragher's side in front and Tommy Taylor doubled the lead on the rebound.
Chorley pulled one back in the 64th minute through Bowden.
But their boss Shaun Teale, a former Aston Villa star, was evidently impressed with Runcorn's sharpness and fitness.
Carragher said: 'It might have been more than 2-0 at half-time and we couldn't have asked any more of the lads.
'It was a good test for us because they had a few experienced players out.
'The second half proved a bit Jekyll and Hyde but Chorley changed things around at half-time.
'Speaking to Shaun Teale after the match, he'd given them a bit of a
roasting at half-time.
'Overall, we also had a bit of a go at our players because of our second-half performance.
'It is a measure of how far we have come when you've won 2-1 and you're still not happy with it and, to be fair, the players were the same.
'We had set the standard in the first half and you've got to play up to that level all the time.'
