by John Hopkins
WARRINGTON Rylands succumbed to a first-half goal when Whitby Town ended the Blue’s run of eight games unbeaten in all competitions.
The defeat was the first home defeat this season and their first weekend defeat.
Whitby came to the Quickline Logistics Arena with a hunger to beat the ‘top of the league’ and immediately caused all kinds of problems as the home side attempted to settle into the game without their midfield captain, Dean Furman, who suffered a hamstring injury at Broadhurst Park last week.
When Guy Hall had to be replaced, it was necessary for ‘Reno’ to change the shape of his players. As they started to get back into the game, a back pass from Clive Smith to Luke Pilling resulted in a poor clearance, which landed at the feet of Harley Dawson; Dawson spotted that Pilling was off his goal line and lobbed a superb ball into the top corner.
After the break, Warrington appeared to be a different side; they pushed and pushed for the equaliser but Whitby’s keeper/captain, Shane Bland, and the woodwork were enough for them to hold on to the lead. As Rylands were pressing, they became susceptible to The Seasiders’ quick clearances and breakaway runs but the defence soon backtracked to prevent any further score.
Unfortunately, the referee saw several fouls that warranted yellow cards; the midfield brothers of Lewis and Ben Hardcastle were both on the receiving end of these penalties but sadly, deep into injury time, Ben saw red after another card
Manager Neil Reynolds was proud of his squad even after the loss: “If I said at the start of the season, we would lose our first home game in the league on 15th November, that we would be top of the league, that we would have lost just two games from 18, everyone would be ecstatic.”
“People are now looking at us at the top, waiting for us to slip up.”
“Whitby are a hungry side and, quite rightly, are celebrating their success today.”
Warrington Rylands now have a two-week break from competitive football with their next matches away at Stockton Town on 29th November and a trip to Hednesford Town the following week.
