CAPTAIN Ciaran Kilheeney scored a brace as Warrington Town made it seven games unbeaten with a 3-0 win at Ossett Albion.
The striker led from the front alongside Ben Deegan, making his first start for the Yellows, as Shaun Reid’s side inflicted a first home defeat of the season on their opponents.
At the other end, goalkeeper Karl Wills was once again in fine form as he recorded a third successive clean sheet in what was Town’s sixth win of their unbeaten run.
Kilheeney had twice been in behind the back four inside the opening quarter of an hour before James McCarten’s dipping free kick was clawed away by Albion goalkeeper Brett Souter.
Wills made his first save on 22 minutes, getting a hand to Danny South’s header and then ensuring the ball didn’t spill out in to a glut of bodies in the box.
Town opened the scoring a minute later, Albion were slow to clear and while falling Kilheeney guided a left foot around the ‘keeper and in to the back of the net off the inside of the post.
It could have got worse for the hosts on the half hour mark when Kilheeney was hauled back on the edge of the box by Dominic Riordan, though the referee ruled that another defender would have covered him and he got away with just a yellow card.
Scott Metcalfe curled the resulting free kick over the bar, but Town didn’t have to wait much longer for their second goal.
The powerful Deegan cut inside the left-back and picked out Kilheeney on the edge of the box, and he picked his spot and found it with a curling right foot shot for 2-0.
Metcalfe could have made the points safe before the break, brilliantly controlling Chris Gahgan’s raking ball from midfield, cutting inside and forcing a good stop from Souter, who was seeing plenty of action at his feet.
Albion showed renewed vigour at the start of the second half, having offered little in the first 45 minutes, and midfielder Connor Brunt found some space in the box only to be denied by Wills’ outstretched leg.
The third goal came on 74 minutes. Souter got a foot to Kilheeney’s shot and then denied Nathan Burke, only for the ball to fall to Metcalfe who screwed it in to the back of the net.
Warrington will be hoping for a similar outcome when they return to Ossett on Saturday in the FA Trophy, this time against Albion’s neighbours Ossett Town (3pm).
Ossett Albion: Souter, Nicholson (Thompson), Hardaker, Hendrie, Riordan, South, Brunt, Jones (Callery), Bower (Garrick), Birch, Matthews. Unused subs: Bordman, Dawson.
Warrington Town: Wills, Brown, McQuade, Ventre, McCarten, O’Donnell, Gahgan (Lester), Burke (Turner), Kilheeney, Deegan (Wharton), Metcalfe. Unused subs: Robinson, Gillespie.
