by John Hopkins
WARRINGTON Rylands secured an impressive 3-1 victory over Gainsborough Trinity at Gorsey Lane, claiming all three points in an entertaining encounter against a side that arrived sitting comfortably in fourth place in the NPL Premier Division, having won all five of their previous fixtures.
Rylands, meanwhile, were just outside the play-off positions and knew that a positive result would provide a significant boost to their league campaign.
The visitors produced the first meaningful effort of the afternoon, forcing Luke Pilling into an excellent save as he raced across his goal to deny Connor Brown. Rylands responded quickly, with David Robson called into action at the opposite end to make a fine diving stop.
A minute later, Ben Hardcastle played an inviting pass through the Gainsborough defence, which was intercepted by Harrison Wood. Wood’s effort looked promising, but Robson was again equal to the task.
The breakthrough eventually came from a Rylands corner. Robson’s athletic save only succeeded in conceding the set piece, and Calum Costello made no mistake, tapping home Charlie Munroe’s perfectly delivered cross to put the hosts ahead.
As Trinity searched for an equaliser, there was controversy when supporters appealed for handball as Pilling came out of his penalty area. Their protests quickly turned to celebrations when the ball was struck into an unguarded net, only for the linesman’s flag to rule the goal out for offside.
Ben Hardcastle
The Blues’ sustained pressure soon paid dividends as they added two further goals.
Dean Furman released Wood through the defence, but his effort narrowly cleared the crossbar. Munroe then doubled Rylands’ advantage with a powerful strike from distance, which slipped off the goalkeeper’s gloves and into the net.
Wood soon got his reward for a lively performance, beating Robson with a well-placed effort into the bottom corner to make it 3-0.
The result briefly lifted Rylands above Gainsborough in the league standings, but the visitors responded with some impressive attacking football. A momentary lapse in concentration from the home defence allowed captain Lewis Butroid to pull a goal back, restoring some hope for Trinity.
The second half saw Robson become the standout performer for the Holy Blues. The goalkeeper produced a succession of outstanding saves, repeatedly denying the hosts and preventing the scoreline from becoming even more uncomfortable for the visitors.
Gamble found himself involved in several contentious challenges before being replaced by the returning Matt Regan. Jawad Jebrin also entered the action in place of Costello and immediately began causing problems for the Gainsborough defence.
Jebrin appeared to have a strong claim for a penalty after going down inside the box, but the referee instead awarded a free kick against him, much to the frustration of the home supporters.
Both sides continued to create opportunities in an entertaining second half, but neither could find another goal, leaving Rylands to celebrate a deserved 3-1 victory.
Reflecting on the performance, manager Neil Reynolds described the contest as: “A fantastic end-to-end attacking game of football, with credit to both sides.”
He acknowledged that Gainsborough had caused problems during the opening stages, explaining:
“They caused us a few problems in the first fifteen minutes, so we made a tactical change which nullified their advantage.”
Reynolds was particularly pleased with his side’s response, adding: “After that, our counter-attacking and our play were as good as anything, and then three great goals to boot.”
However, he recognised that there were still lessons to be learned after conceding:
“Unfortunately, we gave them an opportunity to get back into the game, just like we did against Ashton last week, but we will learn from that.”
He also had special praise for the opposing goalkeeper’s second-half performance:
“Second half – wow, to their keeper. Some of the saves he pulled off …!”
Rylands can now turn their attention to Tuesday evening’s fixture, when they will be looking to settle the score with Guiseley following their FA Trophy defeat last month.
Charlie Munroe
