SOUTH SHIELDS 1 WARRINGTON TOWN 2
Former AFC Fylde forward Bohan Dixon was given too much time to send a teasing cross into the area from the right-hand side.
Josh Amis was alert in the area and managed to divert the cross beyond Liam Connell from eight yards.
Things went from bad to worse for Graham Fenton and Lee Picton’s side when Jack Dunn doubled the Yellows’ advantage with a stunning solo effort.
The former Liverpool youngster burst past two weak challenges before rifling an angled drive into the top corner of Connell’s net.
The goal seemed the shake the Mariners into life and they came close to halving the deficit 10 minutes before half-time as Robert Briggs sent a longrange effort narrowly past the near post.
It was a temporary reprieve for the visitors as Nathan Lowe crashed a stinging low drive beyond Mcmillan and inside his near post.
Craig Baxter and Lee Mason came close to restoring parity in the closing stages of the half, but the visitors held on and took a slender lead into the interval.
Many of the 1,996 inside Mariners Park would have been expecting a blockbuster start to the second half from the hosts.
But instead, the Mariners continued to utilise the patient, passing style of play that has brought them so much success of the past three years.
That forced their visitors to drop deeper and deeper into their own half, in an attempt so absorb the pressure they were facing.
But for all of their possession, South Shields were left frustrated, with only half-chances falling their way.
Jon Shaw headed into the arms of Yellows keeper Mcmillan after he rose to meet a free-kick from Robert Briggs and Luke Daly brought a simple stop out of the visitors number one. Time wore on, desperation grew. Ben Harmison was introduced into the action, but the Mariners wasted numerous chances to get decent service to their powerful frontman.
Finally, a real chance arrived – albeit with an element of fortune.
Harmison’s physicality caused problems for the visitors and a loose ball ran to David Foley.
The forward struck at goal from the edge of the area, but his shot took a touch off a defender and looped just past the near post.
Injury time arrived and the hosts upped their efforts.
Blair Adams sent a vicious effort just beyond the far post and then saw a cross-shot clip the crossbar.
There was a late flurry of activity inside an increasingly packed penalty area as David Foley, Gavin Cogdon and Jon Shaw all saw shots blocked by some desperate defending from the hosts.
The final whistle arrived and the visitors celebrated a point in front of a noisy band of travelling support.
They had been made to work for it in a frantic closing spell but the Mariners had paid for a lacklustre opening half that rounded off a challenging week for the club. South Shields: Connell, Brown (Turnbull), Adams, Shaw, Morse, Briggs, Baxter, Lowe (Harmison), Mason (Cogdon), Daly, Foley Subs: Lough, Mouanda Warrington Town: Mcmillan, Duggan, Whittle, Beeley, Roberts, Raven, Dixon (Evans), Garrity, Gray (Benjamin), Amis, Dunn (Hughes) Subs: Mccarthy, Vassallo