Warrington Rylands 1 Stockton Town 3, match report

A 3-1 loss to Stockton Town at Gorsey Lane on Saturday afternoon means they are still without a league win at home this season, with all four goals coming in the second half of the contest.

Joshua Scott had opened the scoring for the visitors just after the hour mark only three minutes after coming off the bench, with further goals from Michael Sweet and Glen Butterworth putting the result beyond doubt.

Dylan Dwyer did at least pull a goal back for Blues, but the destination of the three points had already been made clear.

Their fifth defeat in seven league home fixtures leaves them at the foot of the table on seven points from their 11 games, four adrift of safety.

Matt Regan in action against Stockton (Image: Mark Percy)

Opener ‘knocked the stuffing’ out of Rylands

Manager Neil Reynolds, who is still waiting for his first league victory since taking charge, was happy with what he saw from his side before half time and felt they had taken the sting out of a positive start to the second half for the visitors.

However, he admits conceding the first goal exposed confidence issues within the squad – and he says correcting them will be a main priority.

“Congratulations to Stockton – they had a gameplan in the second half that worked,” he said.

“I was delighted with our first-half performance – we had two good chances, but it wasn’t to be and we came in at 0-0.

“We tried to instil a bit of belief and tweak a couple of things, but Stockton came out with their tails up.

“We looked like we’d weathered it and got back on the front foot, but we conceded a poor goal off a set piece.

“I feel for the boys because it just knocked the stuffing out of them. A lot has gone against them this season and the wind was taken from their sails.

“Before we realised we were 1-0 down, we were 2-0 down and then it goes to 3-0.

“What I will say is that it's not easy being where we are, but we’ve got to start realising that 1-0 isn’t the end of the world, neither is 2-0.

“There is a bit of belief work to do and a bit of confidence work to do, but what I’ll never question is their desire to play for the football club.”

Watch Reynolds' full post-match reaction here

Triple header of away fixtures

Rylands will have an immediate chance to bounce back from their latest setback as they return to action on Tuesday night.

They visit Leek Town for a midweek fixture – the first of three away games within a week for Reynolds’ side.

They visit league leaders Macclesfield next Saturday before a trip to Matlock Town a week on Tuesday.

Rylands boss Neil Reynolds delivers instructions to his players (Image: Mark Percy)