report & pictures John Hopkins
WARRINGTON Rylands made the long trip to Northumberland and came home with a 1-3 win against struggling Blyth Spartans.
After totally dominating the first half, the Blues were just one goal ahead at halftime. The Spartans came out for the second half with more vigour and, within eight minutes, had secured a penalty.
Nicky Deverdics stepped up to beat Luke Pilling from the spot and bring the scores level.
The home team took heart from this and began showing ‘belief’; whenever Rylands had the ball they were chased down and forced to make quick decisions. Blyth were impressive for 20 minutes not indicative of their position at the bottom of the table, but when Matt Regan jumped up to head home a Warrington corner, the fight seemed to fade away from them.
Alex Kiwomya opens the scoring
Ben Hardcastle secured all three points with a third goal. Matthew Bancroft in the Blyth goal had thwarted so many Rylands efforts in the first half, so Hardcastle waited until the keeper had committed himself then dribbled the ball around him to tap it into an open net.
Sadly the victory cheers for Warrington Rylands were dampened by the sound of the ‘death knell’ for Blyth Spartans in the Northern Premier League, who will now drop down a league for next season.
Rylands, back in 7th position, have a week to prepare before they host Worksop Town next Saturday at The Hive Arena in Gorsey Lane.
Ben Hardcastle celebrates the third goal
