JODY Banim admits his Warrington Rylands side “weren’t at the races” as their six-match unbeaten run came to an end on Tuesday evening.

Two goals either side of half-time saw them lose 2-1 at Lancaster City for their first defeat in almost a month.

Kyle Brownhill gave the Dolly Blues the lead just before the break before Patrick Allington doubled their advantage barely a minute after the restart.

Rylands quickly struck back through Kelly N'Mai's first goal for the club since joining on loan from Salford City, but Blues could not force a leveller.

“We weren’t at the races and it wasn’t a great performance,” Banim said.

“They were sharper to the ball than us, they worked a lot harder than us and won their individual battles all over the pitch.

“On nights like this when you come up against a hard-working side, you just need to be a bit more pragmatic but we weren’t.

“We started to win some of those battles in the second half and it was hurting them.

“We looked a threat when we did that but we’ve conceded two really, really poor goals.

“It’s not a good night but overall for the past six games, we’ve been good.

“This performance has kind of come out of nowhere and we need to make sure it’s just a one-off.

“We need to regroup and prepare for a really tough game against Matlock at home.”

Rylands: Torrance, Neild, Hunt, Egerton, Mustoe, McCourt, Dolan, Furman, Pratt, Irwin (Payne), N’Mai. Subs not used: Hayde, Morris, Langley

Listen to the post-match thoughts of Jody Banim below

Read Garry Clarke's full match report below

WARRINGTON Rylands’ six-game unbeaten run came to a disappointing end amidst a lacklustre performance at the Giant Axe against struggling Lancaster City.

After a scrappy opening, the game’s opening chance fell to Sam Egerton in the 11th minute but his stabbed shot from a corner was blocked on the line by Lancaster goalkeeper Sam Waller.

A couple of minutes later, a James Neild free kick found Callum Dolan unmarked in the penalty area but the league’s top scorer flicked the ball over the bar.

Lancaster, looking for their first home win of the season, started to come more into the game with Nic Evangelinos drawing a fine save from Rylands goalkeeper Joel Torrance with a low drive from the edge of the area.

Waller missed an in-swinging corner and was relieved to see a teammate clear off the line in the 26th minute and 10 minutes later, he was rescued by Calen Gallagher-Allison, who nicked the ball off Dolan’s toe with a perfectly-timed sliding tackle as the Rylands man rounded the keeper.

The home side roared back with Neild having to clear an Evangelinos header off the line before Kyle Brownhill gave Lancaster the lead a minute before half time.

He reacted quickest to tuck home a loose ball after Torrance could only parry Brad Carroll’s initial attempt from close range.

The visitors fell further behind in the first minute of the second half when Brad Hubbold’s deep, in-swinging free kick found Patrick Allington unmarked at the far post ans he bulleted his header from a tight angle in between Torrance and the post.

Rylands hit back three minutes later when Kelly N’Mai opened his goal-scoring account for the club.

Taking advantage of some hesitation in the Lancaster defence, he won the race to a long ball which had evaded Waller to fire it in to the net.

Warrington Guardian: Kelly N'Mai pulls a goal back for Rylands. Picture by Mark PercyKelly N'Mai pulls a goal back for Rylands. Picture by Mark Percy (Image: Mark Percy)

Rylands became more frantic in their search for an equalizer. Waller made a good save from a Dolan free kick while Dolan also fired a shot over the bar, but Rylands resorted to playing high balls into the Lancaster area which were dealt with by a strong hardworking side.

As the game neared its end and Rylands committing more men forward, Lancaster were hitting on the break and looked the more likely to score.

Torrance pulled off a good save to deny Lawson while both Sam Bailey and Evangelinos fired shots just wide as a night to forget for Warrington Rylands came to an end.