Beesley hails 10-man Yellows after South Shields fightback

Warrington Town manager Mark Beesley was pleased with how his squad fought their way to a point in dramatic circumstances against South Shields on Saturday.

It was a nightmare start for the Yellows, as an early long ball from the visitors caused issues for Town, resulting in an Andy White red card for pulling back John Lufudu within seconds of kick-off.

“We’ve broken some records since I took over and we just broke another one today, getting a man sent off after six seconds,” Beesley admitted.

“It was poor from our point of view, I don’t think we switched on from the kick-off. I think [the red card] is a tad harsh.”

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The visitors made their man advantage count and quickly established a two-goal lead, but the Yellows showed real resilience to battle their way back and secure a well-deserved point for their efforts.

After going two goals behind, Isaac Buckey-Ricketts managed to pull a goal back after robbing Gary Liddle of possession and coolly firing past Shields goalkeeper Myles Boney before half-time.

Then in the second half, Sean Williams’ corner was headed home by Mitch Duggan, who came under high praise from his manager post-match.

“He’s good in the air, he probably should score more. I’m on to him all the time about that,” Beesley said.

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“Mitch Duggan’s been here for a long time. People need to appreciate how good he is – he’s an excellent player for us, he’s someone who gives everything for the club.”

The Yellows’ response to Saturday’s early adversity was impressive, and they even had a chance to steal all three points deep into second half stoppage time, only for returning captain Josh Amis to be thwarted by the legs of Boney.

“These are a good team and they are full-time footballers so they work on everything everyday and they are right up towards the top of the league.

“The shape from six seconds on was magnificent, you can see stuff we’ve worked on and the shape is there – we made it hard for them. On another day, we score in the 95th minute to win.”

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