A first half double saw Moors glide past National League North strugglers Warrington Town and collect three more crucial points at The Brewery Field
Fin Shrimpton opened the scoring in the sixth minute thanks to a deflection in the middle of the box, before Aidan Rutledge prodded home from close range to double the lead after some ping pong football in the area.
Moors put pressure on the Warrington defence within the opening minute as Will Harris broke free down the right-hand side, where he crossed a low ball into the area that keeper Dan Atherton had to gobble up.
Just 6 minutes were on the clock when Shrimpton put his side in front. The loan man was played into acres of space by Corey McKeown 25 yards from goal, where he drilled an effort goalward. The strike took a heavy deflection in the area, giving Atherton no chance as the ball ricocheted into the back of the net.
Joe Rodwell-Grant got himself in behind the Moors defence in the 11th minute but saw his close-range effort deflected wide for a corner as the visitors looked to respond.
Moors almost doubled their advantage on the 24th minute as McKeown squared a ball in toward Rob Ramshaw on the edge of the six-yard box, having driven down the left and into the area. The midfield ace leathered a first-time strike goalward, only for it to be brilliantly blocked by a Warrington man.
Graeme Lee’s men did find their second of the evening just a minute later, courtesy of Rutledge. The Gateshead loanee managed to prod home among a crowd of players in the box after Matty Dolan’s effort from distance bobbled around in front of goal.
Signs of frustration started to creep into Paul Carden’s side, as Murphy Bennett wastefully smashed efforts well over the bar from similar positions on two separate occasions in just under five minutes.
Moors continued to pressure the visitors, as McKeown forced Atherton into an impressive save down to his left. The goalkeeper did well to paw the curled strike away from danger at his post.
Emergency loan signing, Rohan Luthra was called into his first real action of the evening on the 37th minute as he claimed Rodwell-Grant’s free header low down to his left.
Moors saw a golden opportunity pass them by with just six minutes of the first half left to play, as McKeown bamboozled two defenders on the right-hand side to jink his way out of trouble. The number 28 got into space before whipping an inch perfect cross to the back post, which was met by the head of Rutledge. However, his header somehow struck the root of the post and was cleared away from danger, much to the relief of Atherton, who had no chance of saving it had it been on target.
Lee’s men went into the break with a comfortable two-goal cushion, giving Moors a bit of breathing space over their opponents.
Warrington, however, came out for the second half all guns blazing, and Luthra was forced into multiple saves in the opening 10 minutes of the half.
The first came as the Derby County loanee had to get across goal to parry a curled effort from the left-hand side wide of the upright, before he was called into action again less than a minute later, having to use his feet to divert a low effort off the line.
Substitute, Josh Amis tried his luck on goal with a half-volleyed attempt inside of the area, however, his effort was poor in the end, as Luthra was able to scoop the ball to safety.
Luthra was again called into action just after the hour mark, this time to deny Rodwell-Grant’s strike on goal. The loanee did well to get down low to claim.
A mix-up at the back saw Moors almost find a third goal through Junior Mondal, as the winger got onto a loose ball, rounded the keeper and struck a low effort goalward. It beat the keeper but was not quite strong enough to cross the line as a Warrington man managed to clear.
Resident goal scorer Glen Taylor saw his back post header well saved by Atherton on the 79th minute, as the Warrington shot stopper got across his goalmouth to palm the header wide of the mark.
Luthra was again made to show his worth in the dying embers of the affair, as he did well to get down and push another effort wide of the upright.
Moors’ first half goals were enough to secure all three points at the end of the night. Graeme Lee’s men now face the colossal task of the FA Trophy semi-final away to National League side Rochdale, in their bid to book a ticket to Wembley.
Full Time: Moors 2 Warrington Town 0
Moors: Luthra, Dyson, Ledger, Pollock, Staunton, Dolan (Beals 90+6), Shrimpton, Harris (Mondal 59), Ramshaw (Simpson 86), McKeown (Myers 82), Rutledge (Taylor 74).
Warrington Town: Atherton, Douglas, Makinson, James, Bennett (Amis 46), Doro (Southern 46), O’Neill (Gill 65), McDonald, Dixon, Williams, Rodwell-Grant.
Subs not used: Noone, Roper.
Booked: Amis (77).
Referee: Thomas Wilson
Attendance: 1,054
Written by Noah Betts
