Match report | Warrington Town 1-0 Whitby Town

WARRINGTON Town’s unbreached start to the season continued with another win, as they saw off Whitby Town 1-0.

In a game as uninspiring as the relentless rain at Cantilever Park, Matthew Regan’s header on the stroke of half time proved to be the difference, as the Yellows made it four wins out of four in the Northern Premier League.

With virtually everyone else in FA Cup action on the day, the win puts the Yellows five points clear at the top.

Whitby manager Chris Hardy had resigned in the days leading up to the game, and so the Seasiders were in the caretaker charge of Lee Bullock and Nathan Haslam and they nearly got off to a dream start within three minutes.

Liam Cooke found space on the right hand side and his low cross evaded a couple of bodies in the box and fell to James Martin on the far side, who had time to set himself and shoot from five yards out, only to be denied by Charlie Albinson’s superb save, as he started the path towards a fifth successive clean sheet.

It was fairly obviously from the kick-off that the conditions would impact on the game, but it was the visitors who adjusted to it best early doors, and they created a couple of half openings that came to nothing.

In-form Bohan Dixon had the Yellows’ brightest moments, twice weaving in and out of a couple of defenders, only to be denied just as he was about to pull the trigger in the box on both occasions.

A golden opportunity fell to Marcus Giles on 23 minutes, after Regan’s hesitation saw him dispossessed by Jacob Hazel, with the striker squaring for Giles to shoot from the centre of the goal, only for him to screw his shot wide with just Albinson to beat.

The Yellows best spell came right at the end of the first half, when they forced a succession of corners, and it was from the third of those that they scored the decisive goal. Scott Brown’s inswinging corner from the left was met by an unmarked Regan, who found the back of the net.

GOAL! 45 | Simple as that. Brown corner and Regan is unmarked and he nods in to the back of the net. 1-0 pic.twitter.com/67cj5UUG38

— Warrington Town FC (@theyellows) October 3, 2020

Whitby continued to have the better of the openings in the second half, in and around spells of Warrington retaining possession, with Hazel denied one-on-one by Albinson, parrying away a left-foot shot shortly after the hour mark.

As time ran out, the Seasiders pushed on and when Albinson’s punch on Adam Gell’s cross didn’t go where he intended, Mark Roberts was back on the line to clear the resulting shot, and then Albinson was out quick to put off Jonathon Burn as he slid in for a chance moments later.

The Yellows held on, and will enjoy a first match day without a game this Tuesday night, before the trip to Mickleover FC next Saturday.

Warrington Town: Albinson, Baillie, Rose, Brown (Grogan), Roberts, Regan, Mackreth (Duffy), Munro, Amis, Dixon, Dunn (Duggan). Unused subs: Gooden, Taylor.

Whitby Town: Bland, Ible, Sukar, Gell, Rowe, Burn, Cooke (Healey), Hawkins, Hazel, Giles (Fewster), Martin (Ritson). Unused subs: Cobain, Dixon.