On The Brink Of Relegation - Double Loss Has Town Staring At The Drop

Spennymoor vs Warrington Town on Tuesday

Warrington Town sit on the brink of relegation back to the Northern Premier League in a season to forget. Last Saturday’s defeat to Darlington backed up by a dismal defeat to Spennymoor has left Town in a position in which they will be relegated tomorrow if they lose to Curzon Ashton or if Radcliffe are able to beat Scunthorpe. 

Darlington was another game that just summed up our season. The visitors struck first with a thunderous effort that beat Dan Atherton, followed up by a scrappy clearance attempt being struck home to give the hosts a two goal lead. Lee Williams was able to halve the deficit as he got on the end of a Devarn Green cross and headed the ball into the back of the net. Going into the second half, Darlington continued to push for a third goal and did so. A corner was crossed onto the edge of the Town box and Makinson was shrugged away from his man, allowing him to swipe the ball into the back of the net. Town would find the back of the net again though, as Devarn Green curled a lovely effort into the top corner. His first in Yellow. It wasn’t to be though as Darlington claimed all three points and left Warrington a step closer to relegation. Despite the result, there were a few decent performances within the Town squad; with Joe Rodwell-Grant, Lee Williams, Devarn Green and Matt Makinson having largely successful games. 

A midweek trip to Spennymoor followed which felt like a real chance for Town to grab a decent result, with the hosts having an eye on their FA Trophy semi-final against National League side Rochdale. The hosts ,however, struck early as a shot deflected off of Aaron James left Danny Atherton flat footed as the ball went into the back of the net. Things wouldn’t get any better as Spennymoor would find a second through a tap in from a seemingly offside Moor's forward. Town would go into the second half two goals down but were able to muster up some chances with Joe Rodwell-Grant and Josh Amis having a fair few opportunities. It was never to be though as Town fell to a 23rd defeat of the season and left on the verge of relegation. Sam Gill was able to feature though, with the 19 year old coming off the bench and impressing Carden, so much so that he is expected to feature a lot more for the final five fixtures.

Overall, it’s nothing we haven’t seen before this season. Everyone knows we’re going down and I think everyone just wants this season to end and to just look forward to being back in the NPL. As for the Curzon Ashton game tomorrow, I expect defeat as The Nash are on a play-off push and Town have nothing but pride to play for. Isaac Buckley-Ricketts will likely feature for the hosts having joined Curzon from Town at the start of the season following his incredible year that saw him be part of the NLN Team of the Season, as well as Town’s top scorer and player of the season. Stefan Mols will also feature, with the former Town man having a strong season for Curzon that will likely justify a summer move to a more notable club at Step 2. I can’t see us replicating the 3-0 win in Tameside last season, but it would be good to see Carden use some of the younger players and start playing a squad that could likely feature for us next season.