AS the masses descended on Gorsey Lane, the consensus among neutrals would have been “more of the same, please.”
Following October’s riotous six-goal thriller and with the sides locked together in the table, it was all set up for another classic ding-dong.
It may not have hit the heights of that game in terms of entertainment as the wet and windy conditions made things tough, but at least this time there was a definitive winner.
Not many called it at half time, but it is Warrington Town who skipped back across the river with the bragging rights and three precious points.
When it comes to this level of football, they have been the established order in this town for a long time and though the neighbours have been getting increasingly noisy, they have silenced them for now by fighting back to win on their home ground.
In terms of support and reputation, they remain clear. Now they can add the on-field edge to that and much of the credit for doing so has to go to manager Mark Beesley.
He certainly has his critics among the Town fanbase and in the first half an hour, those detractors would have been sharpening their knives.
The decision to switch to a three-man defence which included Matty McDonald playing out of position in the backline was a head-scratcher even before a ball was kicked. After the opening quarter, it seemed barely fathomable.
At times, it felt like Rylands had an extra man on the pitch such was their domination and when the game hit the half-hour mark, the sides should have been separated by more than Ajay Leitch-Smith’s early goal.
The hosts carried the greater incision, cutting the Town defence open with regularity and on the rare occasions Town did have the ball, they hunted in packs to win it back quickly.
Their own three-man defence of Ben Hockenhull, Sam Egerton and in particular Scott Duxbury were comfortably dealing with the threat of Jordan Buckley and Josh Amis, who were playing together for the first time since last season’s play-off final but were struggling to make an impact.
Things needed to change from a Town perspective and that need was recognised, with Beesley reverting back to his usual formation.
While still having square pegs in round holes – having been tormented in defence, McDonald moved out onto the right wing while Buckley moved wider of Amis – they got themselves a bit of a foothold and had some presentable opportunities, particularly for Jay Harris who shot wide having gone through on goal.
Still, though, Rylands were carrying a big threat with Kelly N’Mai in particular causing havoc with his quick feet.
Come the second half, substitutions were expected but more heads were scratched when the likes of Isaac Buckley-Ricketts, Luke Duffy and Stefan Mols remained on the sidelines.
Having stuck to his guns, Beesley needed his players to vindicate him and they certainly did as Town and Buckley came to life.
Understandably given a three-month injury lay-off, the frontman is slowly rebuilding his fitness but in the 20 minutes that followed half time, he showed glimpses of his razor-sharp best.
The run and finish he conjured to equalise was vintage Buckley, a demonstration of the pace, power and composure that marks him out.
Then came the happy knack of finding space in a crowded area to nod home the winner, with referee Luis Griffiths ignoring Rylands’ pleas that goalkeeper Luke Pilling was impeded in the process.
With Sean Williams prominent and Bohan Dixon moved higher up the field, a midfield that had been overrun in the first half were suddenly the dominant force and would play a large part in Town ultimately seeing things out.
Would there be a Rylands response? In terms of territory and possession, certainly but when it came to actually testing Tony Thompson in the Town goal, they were found wanting.
Perhaps that is understandable for a side that has had more than 50 per cent of it’s goals this season taken away by Kane Drummond and Callum Dolan’s departures. Having been lively in the first half, Leitch-Smith and N’Mai’s impact waned while substitute Harry Pratt’s influence was at best negligible.
It is clear where Blues’ priorities must now lie off the field, but Town’s game management was impressive and if anything, they looked the more likely to add to their lead.
And so it is the yellow flag that flies the highest in Warrington for now.
Rylands’ rise has been incredible and they will no doubt continue to snap at the heels of their neighbours, but Town have showed that they are still top dogs.
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