A LATE flurry couldn’t make up for a slow start as Warrington Town were beaten 3-2 at Quorn.
The home side hit the woodwork twice in the first two minutes and then scored two goals in as many minutes to lead 2-0 after 12 minutes.
It looked like game over when they made it three shortly after the hour mark, but the Yellows mounted a comeback in the final quarter and might have rescued a point had Scott Butler’s disallowed goal stood.
Terell Pennant was a constant menace for the home side and it was he who hit the post and crossbar in the early exchanges. Finlay Tunstall got the better of Josh Doherty on the right to find Pennant, who cut in and hit the near post with a left-foot shout.
A minute later, he hit a looping shot that hit the crossbar, before he was then denied one-on-one by Mateusz Hewelt when released through on goal.
Pennant got in behind on the left on seven minutes and his ball across for Billy Kee was somehow scrambled away by the Yellows.
It was almost inevitable that Pennant would score, and he only had to wait until the 11th minute, pouncing on a mistake by Doherty to then lash past Hewelt.
And virtually from the kick-off, Quorn attacked again, Tunstall getting at and past Doherty to put it right across goal for Luke Shaw to tap-in.
The injury-hit Yellows, who handed a debut in central midfield to teenager Harris McIntosh, were shellshocked and spent the rest of the half trying to stabilise the afternoon.
It took until the 34th minute for any chance of note, Ben Elliott’s header looping wide from a Butler cross.
Doherty was withdrawn at half-time for Rio Hawkins as the Yellows chased the game, but struggled to carve out any opportunities despite having much of the ball.
Quorn then created another flurry of chances, Ryan Beswick having a free-kick parried away by Hewelt and then the excellent Jesse Friend crashed a shot against the underside of the bar.
They did get their third on 65 minutes, Shaw intercepting a ball in the centre circle and he set Pennant away to put it on a plate for Tunstall.
That very much looked like game, set and match, but the Yellows managed to give themselves hope in the final quarter.
A minute after shooting over, Jack Goodwin found his spot to score his seventh goal of the season on 73 minutes.
Substitute Reuben Denton latched on to an Elliott flick on and fired wide, before perhaps the key moment came on 80 when Butler crashed home a shot through bodies from a corner, only for the offside flag to go up, possibly for a touch off Denton at the back post.
The Yellows kept knocking and did get a second goal, albeit in the 90th minute, Reece Daly converting a penalty after a Friend handball.
Daly had the only chance for the equaliser in injury time, Hawkins creating the opening on the right, and his pull back was fired first time over the bar as Quorn extended their unbeaten run in the league to six.
Quorn: Laban, Tunstall, Source, Edwards (Meikle), Frizelle, Cook, Pennant, Friend, Kee (Berridge), Beswick, Shaw (Gascoigne). Unused subs: Marshall, Cisse.
Warrington Town: Hewelt, Butler, Doherty (Hawkins), McIntosh, Gumbs, Earl, Edwards (Denton), Bjork, Elliott, Daly, Goodwin. Unused subs: McHugh, Roper.
