by John Hopkins
It was a successful afternoon for Warrington Rylands as they secured a 2–0 win over Leek Town at the F. Ball Community Stadium on Saturday.
A goal in each half was enough to seal the victory on the 3G pitch. Jake Burton opened the scoring when he met a cross from Clive Smith, heading the ball into the net after it deflected off the shoulder of a Leek defender.
Rylands took control of the match early on and looked determined to put the previous week’s home defeat to Cleethorpes behind them. They dominated the first half and created several chances, although it took until the 39th minute for the breakthrough to arrive.
At the other end, goalkeeper Luke Pilling had little to do, as the Rylands defence kept the hosts largely quiet.
Leek re-grouped for the second half but were still unable to find a way past Warrington’s defence.
Alex Kiwomya made an immediate impact after coming off the bench to replace the hard-working Burton. Just 11 minutes after entering the game, he doubled the lead. A header from Patrick Gamble in his own half sent Kiwomya through on goal, and his pace proved too much for the Leek defence. With only goalkeeper Dino Visser to beat, he calmly finished to secure the win for the visitors.
Returning to the ground where he recorded his first victory as Rylands manager, Neil Reynolds said the team was enjoying a real “feel-good factor” and praised his players.
“We’re a tight-knit group with a really small squad, but we’re absolutely loving the season,” he said.
Captain Dean Furman also highlighted the impact of the travelling supporters, saying the team feeds off the energy and noise they bring.
Rylands now turn their attention to a mouth-watering home fixture against in-form FC United.
