VIDEO: Warrington Town extend lead at the top

WARRINGTON Town stretched their lead at the top of the league to 12 points with a 1-0 win over Scarborough Athletic.

While nearest rivals Northwich were being thumped 5-0 at Farsley, a free-kick by James McCarten was enough to earn Town a crucial three points in blustery conditions at Cantilever Park.

For long periods of a shot starved encounter, it looked like a goalless draw was about as much as would be on offer, until the dependable centre-half curled a dead ball low past a motionless goalkeeper 14 minutes from time.

It was an eighth successive win for Shaun Reid’s side, and their 10th in the last 11 games, and results elsewhere means Northwich can not afford any slip ups in their five games in hand if they are to overtake Town at the top of the table.

The swirling wind put paid to any decent football in the first half, and neither side had a shot on goal until the 43rd minute, when Paul Robson’s shot from the edge of the box was well saved by Karl Wills at full stretch.

Before that, only a couple of balls in to the box by Phil Dean had caused any sort of panic for Scarborough, as they contained Town’s prolific strike duo Ben Deegan and Ciaran Kilheeney.

Scarborough will probably have been the happier side at the interval, though the wind that Warrington had played with in the first half did die down a little after the break.

A Nathan Peat free-kick could have resulted in the opening goal, Dean Lisles putting wide at the far post, while from the other side Robson’s ball in flashed across the face of goal but evaded any of his team-mates.

The introduction of Warren Beattie in the heart of midfield steadied the ship for Town, and as news filtered through of Northwich’s slip up, the crowd were anxious to see Town take advantage.

Joe Holt, who started in the centre of midfield following the departure of Nathan Burke to Bala Town in the week, moved out wide with the arrival of Beattie and he almost linked up with Kilheeney to create an opening.

It was Holt’s presence down the left hand side that then enabled Deegan to win the decisive free-kick 20 yards out. McCarten stepped up and curled it around the wall and in to the bottom corner.

From then on in, it was just about protecting the advantage for the hosts, and they did that with relative ease in the end. The only worrying moment came when Tom Corner flicked on Peat’s deep free kick, but it was comfortably held by Wills.

Warrington are next in action at second bottom Harrogate Railway Athletic next Saturday (3pm).

Warrington Town: Wills, Turner (Brown), Metcalfe, Ventre, McCarten, O’Donnell, Gahgan, Holt, Kilheeney, Deegan, Dean (Beattie). Unused subs: Robinson, McQuade, Rudge.

Northwich Victoria: Draper, McNamee, Merris, Peat, Lisles, Killock, Robson, Bloor (Davidson), Blott, Corner (Lee), Forrester. Unused subs: Lamplough, Holden, Weaver.