WIRE STRIKE EARLY DOUBLE TO SINK PLUCKY DABBERS

WARRINGTON Town recorded a third win over Nantwich Town this calendar year to move up to third in the BetVictor Northern Premier Division.

In a repeat of last season’s play-off semi-final, the Yellows completed a league double this campaign over the Dabbers, winning 3-1.

A frantic opening 10 minutes saw the hosts open up a two-goal lead, before Sean Cooke’s well-taken goal gave the Dabbers hope.

But Bohan Dixon swept home before the hour mark to restore Warrington’s advantage and help them to a third successive league win.

Nantwich boss Dave Cooke admitted the slow start cost his side. He said: “You can’t give a team like Warrington a two-goal head start and then end up trying to play catch up. We know they’re a good side. They’re well organised and when we went two down we started to play and got ourselves back in the game.

“Paul Carden is too good for this league as a manager. His troops regrouped at half-time, they got the goal and then it was a mountain to climb.

“Any team coming to Warrington is going to have a game on their hands, so I’m not too disappointed.”

There were less than four minutes on the clock when Yellows skipper Mark Roberts scrambled home at the back post from Steve Jennings’ corner for the veteran centre half’s fourth goal of the season.

Leading scorer Ben Garrity made it two on nine minutes, nodding home from Jack Mackreth’s wicked delivery from the right that keeper Greg Hall lost in the piercing sun.

Nantwich responded instantly, with former Yellows wide-man Joe Mwasile setting up Cooke for a clinical finish.

The visitors looked more of a threat for the rest of the first half. Mwasile forced a save out of Tony McMillan, who was also forced to scramble across to his left to keep out Cooke’s cheeky free-kick attempt at the near post.

Warrington got the critical third goal on 56 minutes. Some lovely tight play in the box saw Mackreth feed Tony Gray to find Garrity, who rolled the ball for Dixon to fire past Hall.

That left Nantwich with too much to do. The closest they came to getting back into it was when McMillan got across to again deny Cooke from a free-kick.

Yellows manager Carden said: “We started great and showed what we were about.”