FOR the second time in a little over a month, Warrington Town got the better of Northern Premier League title favourites South Shields on Saturday afternoon.
Having been beaten in the FA Trophy last month, the Tynesiders left Cantilever Park empty-handed once again as Mark Beesley’s side came from behind to end a three-match losing run and move back into the Northern Premier League Premier Division play-off spots.
Matty McDonald gave Town a decisive lead midway through the second half, prodding home Bohan Dixon’s ball across the box before Sean Williams scored a late free kick to seal the points.
Dixon was also in the thick of it for the equalising goal before the break – he was felled by Shields keeper Myles Boney for a penalty that was dispatched by Stefan Mols.
Darius Osei had put the visitors ahead early and Kevin Phillips' men also pulled a consolation goal back with the game's final kick as Gary Liddle forced home a goalmouth scramble, but Yellows’ victory was richly deserved.
"We were excellent today – that’s up there with one of the best performances I’ve seen from a Warrington team," manager Beesley said.
"It had a bit of everything – a bit of quality, grit, determination, togetherness and teamwork – against a top team. Let’s not kid ourselves, anyone finishing above them wins the title.
"It’s a poor goal to concede to go behind but we had four or five good opportunities before we got the penalty so it was just a case of keeping going.
"We showed bits of play we’ve been working on in terms of forward runs from midfielders – that really came out today."
Read Matt Turner's verdict on the game below
THEY have done it again.
For the third straight meeting between these two perennial foes – and the second time in the space of a month – Warrington Town have proved to be South Shields’ Kryptonite once again.
While the Mariners could perhaps point to the fact they fielded a weakened side for their last visit to Cantilever Park in the FA Trophy, manager Kevin Phillips can have no such excuses this time.
Although they may well have been disrupted by a very early injury to defender Tom Broadbent, his side were thoroughly outplayed by a Town side that raised their game to foil them once again.
Just what is it about facing the Tynesiders that brings the best out of this group? Only they will know, but the fayre they served up thrilled another bumper crowd.
From the very first minute when Eddie Clarke forced the first of several superb saves from visiting custodian Myles Boney, Yellows were at it.
Shields were never allowed to settle by a relentless Town press, led from the front by the irrepressible Connor Woods.
Once again, he proved too hot to handle despite giving away plenty physically to his opponents – his loan spell is drawing to a close so if this display was to be his parting gift, it was quite a goodbye.
At the other end, Mackenzie Chapman – the goalkeeper secured on loan from Bolton Wanderers to cover for the farcical suspension handed to Tony Thompson – went largely untroubled save for a critical save from Dylan Mottley-Henry late in the first half with the score at 1-1.
Until that point, picking Darius Osei’s against-the-run-of-play opener out of his net was pretty much all he had to do having been superbly protected by the once-again-imperious Tom Hannigan and Evan Gumbs.
The leading light in what was their finest display of the season to date, however, was Bohan Dixon.
He can often be a divisive figure among supporters but this was the powerful midfielder at his near-unstoppable best.
His fingerprints were all over all three of Town’s goals – he was brought down by Boney for the penalty coolly converted by Stefan Mols for the equaliser before putting the ball on a plate for Matty McDonald to slam home a critical second goal.
To put the cherry on the icing, he even won the late free kick that was duly dispatched by Sean Williams following a typically rumbustious run through the heart of midfield.
Having lost three in a row before this, Town have stopped the slide in some style.
This kind of result and performance could be the type to give a side considerable momentum and as Christmas approaches, everyone at Cantilever Park will be hoping that proved to be the case.
Town: Chapman, Seary, White, Hannigan, Gumbs, Harris, Mols (Duffy), McDonald (Williams), Woods, Dixon, Clarke (Walker). Subs not used: Buckley-Ricketts, Hall
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