Warrington Town 3-1 Bamber Bridge

Warrington Town eased past Bamber Bridge 3-1 on a glorious summer Bank Holiday at Cantilever Park.

Midfielder Ben Garrity scored two trademark headers either side of Matty Chadwick’s first home goal for the club as the Yellows registered their first home win of the season.

Scott Sephton made his first start in place of Steve Jennings, who suffered a leg injury in the draw at Gainsborough Trinity on Saturday and is still awaiting results of an x-ray.

It was a ball over the top by Sephton, which came after the Yellows had twice struggled to clear their lines, that set up the corner for the first goal. Jack Mackreth held the ball up for Chadwick to shoot, deflected wide, and from the set piece, Garrity headed in to the bottom corner off Alex Byrne’s delivery.

Sephton started off another lovely move two minutes later, releasing Chadwick down the left, his direct run taking him in to the box, his pass across the face of goal just too far for Josh Amis.

Having assisted four of the Yellows’ five goals this season, Byrne looked in the mood again and his chip in for Amis almost resulted in a second goal, the striker firing over the bar on the turn.

The second goal came on 41 minutes, a scuffed clearance by Lloyd Rigby falling to the feet of Chadwick 25 yards out, he took his time, got the ball on his left foot and expertly steered it in the keeper’s bottom right corner.

A minute later, Chadwick won a penalty, brought down after racing on to a fine slide rule pass by Byrne, only for Rigby to pull off an excellent double save to deny Mackreth’s spot kick and Mark Roberts on the rebound.

They did get it in the net in the last minute of the half, Garrity heading home at the back post from a deep Byrne free-kick, but the linesman’s flag went up for offside against Roberts, who had threatened to go for the ball in the goalmouth on its way through.

Byrne was terrorising the Brig defence, he clipped a ball over for Chadwick to run on, forcing a point blank save out of Rigby, and he made it seven assists out of eight goals for the Yellows this season, his corner headed home by Garrity for 3-0.

It looked like a comfortable afternoon’s work for the Yellows, though they will have been disappointed by the goal conceded to Kieran Charnock on 64 minutes.

Far from a nasty game, it descended in to almost farce in the final 10 minutes as both sides had a man sent off.

Callum Spooner received a straight red card for a foul on Byrne, before Barnes picked up a second yellow card – the second successive game he has been sent off on this ground, having been dismissed while a Nantwich Town player in last season’s play-off semi-final.

The Yellows are at home again on Saturday, when Mickleover Sports are the visitors to Cantilever Park.

Warrington: McMillan, Duggan, Barnes, Sephton, Roberts, McCarten, Byrne, Garrity, Amis (Gray), Chadwick (Raven), Mackreth (Dixon). Unused subs: Vassallo, Speare.

Bamber Bridge: Rigby, Spooner, Sumner, Doughty, Charnock, Booth, Waddecar, Forbes (Harries), Dudley, White, Marlow. Unused subs: Fafana, Maddox, Wilson, Roccia.