THERE was another victory for Winsford Saxons on Saturday, but it came at a cost.

Callum Herbert inspired the Saxons to a 3-0 win over Runcorn Sports at Knights Grange as he assisted all three goals, with Barry Jones, Jaymie Roberts and Greg Lumsden on the scoresheet.

However, Gary Lee Jamieson’s side lost James Crowther to a serious injury as he suffered a broken wrist after landing awkwardly following a tackle.

All three goals came within the first 10 minutes of the second half after a tactical tweak, with Jamieson admitting his side showed their visitors “too much respect” before the break.

“It was a tale of two halves,” he said.

“We showed them too much respect in the first half and allowed them to dominate possession without really breaking us down.

“We tweaked how we wanted to play and attacked the game in the second half.”

Herbert’s influence on the game was evident almost immediately after the interval as he played a big hand in the opening goal, flicking on a corner for Jones to head Saxons into the lead.

Shortly afterwards, Herbert broke the offside trap and put the ball on a plate for Roberts to tap in and double the advantage.

The third goal came from a near carbon-copy run from Herbert to breach the Runcorn defence again.

This time, he laid on for Lumsden to mark his first appearance in five weeks with a goal after returning from a broken foot.

Jamieson said: “Our first two games of a new season – one a 5-0 away from home and following it up with a clinical 3-0 win against a very good Runcorn side – definitely puts is in a great place heading to Duddon United next weekend.”