New Mills 0 Warrington Town 3

A WONDER goal by Gerard Kinsella capped off a fifth successive win on the road for Warrington Town at New Mills.

The former Everton academy starlet picked up the ball from inside his own half, carried it past three or four defenders and then unleashed a shot in to the far top corner.

That added to goals either side of half time from captain David Mannix and striker Stephen Tames to complete a 3-0 win and move Town within six points of the play-off places in Northern Premier League Division 1 North.

Tames was handed a place from the start, but it was his strike partner Ben Wharton who had the game’s first chance, springing the offside trap and firing a shot to the goalkeeper’s right that was parried wide.

The hosts had a handful of new names in their line-up and playing up the hill, they had their first chances after quarter of an hour, both shots being comfortably saved by Karl Wills.

Town took the lead on 34 minutes when Scott Metcalfe collected a loose ball out wide from a corner, took it inside a man and got a shot away which was blocked. The ball fell at the feet of Mannix on the edge of the box, and he drilled it through a ruck of bodies and in to the bottom corner.

Although Town seemed to be in control, the hosts threatened on the counter attack, and Wills was grateful for defender Craig Robinson’s block late in the first half after a dangerous cross to the back post.

It took six second half minutes to make the points safe, as Tames showed good pace to get behind the New Mills defence on the right hand side, and he finished clinically for only his second goal for the club since arriving from Hyde before Christmas.

Tames put in one of his best performances in a Town shirt and he got on the end of a Mannix through ball to set up another chance that was well cleared and then his back heel set up Metcalfe for a well-struck 25-yard piledriver that whistled just past the far post.

Kinsella entered proceedings on the hour mark as a replacement for Warren Beattie, and had his goal within 13 minutes, in spite of the boggy pitch conditions, which had seen the game postponed on Monday night.

Town could have, and probably should have, had more. Hardworking midfielder Nathan Burke cracked the post with a low drive from the edge of the box and then Metcalfe fired over from a good position after good work from Kinsella.

New Mills almost contributed to the scoring themselves, at the wrong end, when an over zealous back pass almost beat the ‘keeper from all of 30 yards.

A smart one two by Mannix and Burke created space for a Town break, and Metcalfe raced away down the right only to see his shot smothered by keeper Aaron Ashley, who was mainly responsible for keeping the score to three.

Top scorer Metcalfe didn’t get the goal he craved, and was denied in stoppage time again by Ashley, this time from a left-foot volley from Louis Corrigan’s front post cross.

New Mills: Ashley, Vincent, Moss, Parsons, Barrett, Chalmers, Roberts-Nurse, Chalmers (Tuanzebe), Kinsella (Hopper), Forde, Hampson (Windsor). Unused subs: Grimshaw, Owolasi.

Warrington: Wills, Field, Hardwick, Mannix, McCarten, Robinson (Corrigan), Beattie (Kinsella), Burke, Wharton (Gahgan), Tames, Metcalfe. Unused subs: Booth, Turner.