Town march on in league cup

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WARRINGTON Town progressed to the second round of the Doodson Sports Cup with a hard earned 2-1 victory at a wet and windy Prescot Cables last night.
It was Warrington’s third visit to Prescot this season as they went looking for a hat trick of wins against a club which had just announced they were returning to amateur status due to financial pressures.
There was little to choose between the sides in the opening exchanges as the slippery conditions played a big part in how the game was played.
The first chance fell to Prescot’s John Crouch whose shot was tipped wide by Chris Oldfield. The pitch, already soft and slippery was made even worse by driving heavy rain that frequented the evening. Cables appeared to cope with it better than Warrington in the opening period but weak shooting and misplaced headers saw Oldfield remain
untroubled. Freddie Potter shot wide when well placed but as Town broke away possession was lost with unnecessary intricate play in midfield. On twenty nine minutes Cables broke down the right and sent in a perfect cross to Liam Pearson who rose unchallenged to head into the corner of the net. It was a bit of a wake up call for Town
who started to get more into the game where it mattered, in attack. Within six minutes they were level.
Jamie Henders chased a lost ball that appeared to be heading for a goal kick but held up in the corner. By far the quickest player to react he curled a shot in past the advancing Stephen Longrigg in the Cables goal to find an in-rushing Chris Thompson who gladly accepted the tap in for Town’s equaliser. It was Town’s first real chance of the game.
Prescot’s Tony Davies picked up an unnecessary booking for a foul committed after the offside whistle had been blown. From the free kick Town re-gathered possession and Mike Brown crossed from the left to see Thompson head agonisingly wide of the far post.
The last chance of the half fell to Town when a rebound fell kindly for Jamie Henders but his shot was comfortably saved by Longrigg.
The second half proved far more eventful than the first with Henders the first to threaten showing good control but his low drive was pushed wide by Longrigg.
A long range speculator from Cables Phil Cooney appeared to be tipped over by Oldfield but as a goal kick was awarded it must have grazed the top of the bar instead.
Town attacked immediately and Longrigg was mightily relieved to see Sam Finley’s shot drift past the post as he was completely stranded out of position.
What proved to be the winner came on fifty nine minutes. A perfectly weighted pass from Liam Shipton left the defence flat footed and Thompson shot just before Longrigg could gather to beat him and find the net.
Cables introduced Ronnie Morgan as they sought to restore parity but were continually frustrated by Town’s tenacity to the point where Tony Sayer picked up a booking for a foul on Jamie Henders. However it was from a Cables free kick that Oldfield was forced to punch clear under pressure.
Town attempted to counter but it broke down and back came Cables with substitute Steven Tames shooting across goal but beyond the far post.
Henders had worked hard up front but his shooting boots were missing as his near post effort was tipped wide by Longrigg. Anthony Hickey entered play and almost scored when charging down a Longrigg clearance only to see it run wide.
Town then had a goal disallowed when a ball went a glancing header from Thompson was ruled it out denying him a hat-trick. Some great inter passing saw Henders again shoot wide before Shipton picked up Town’s only caution of the night.
The weather kept both sides on their toes but Town comfortably held out and on their second half performance deserved the win.
After the match Warrington decided to donate their share of the gate money back to Prescot to help their non-league neighbours during their difficult financial times.
Warrington now face a trip to Newcastle Town in the second round next Tuesday evening, subject to Newcastle not drawing in the FA Trophy on Saturday.

Pictures show Chris Thompson (top) opening the scoring and substitute Anthony Hickey racing through on goal.

For more pictures CLICK HERE

Town: Oldfield, Duffy, Corrigan, Humphreys, Hardwick, Jackson, Shipton, Finley, Henders, Thompson, Brown. Subs Gahgan, Hamid, Wade, Hickey, Cook


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Experienced journalist for more than 40 years. Managing Director of magazine publishing group with three in-house titles and on-line daily newspaper for Warrington. Experienced writer, photographer, PR consultant and media expert having written for local, regional and national newspapers. Specialties: PR, media, social networking, photographer, networking, advertising, sales, media crisis management. Chair of Warrington Healthwatch Director Warrington Chamber of Commerce Patron Tim Parry Johnathan Ball Foundation for Peace. Trustee Warrington Disability Partnership. Former Chairman of Warrington Town FC.

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