Warrington Town 5 Clitheroe 0

A CHRIS Gahgan hat-trick marked Shaun Reid’s return to the Warrington Town dugout in a convincing 5-0 victory over Clitheroe.

It was a fifth win in six games for the hosts, a run which started in the game when Reid was last on the sidelines, a 2-1 win at Trafford when he was taken ill late on.

He will have been delighted with the way his side dismantled the visitors, who had handed a first defeat to league leaders Northwick in midweek.

As well as Reid, impressive central midfielder Danny Ventre also made a welcome return, having sat out the last three through suspension.

Warrington couldn’t have got off to a better start for their manager, Gahgan had already been denied by the goalkeeper before Ciaran Kilheeney opened the scoring on four minutes.

Clitheroe took 15 minutes to get going, much to the frustration of manager Simon Garner and former Premier League winning defender Colin Hendry, at Cantilever Park to watch son Callum for the visitors.

They twice threatened Karl Wills’ goal, the big goalkeeper forced to make a strong save from James Walker, before a goal was chalked off for a harsh looking offside call by the assistant referee on the near side.

That was about as close as the visitors came to making any inroads in the match, and Town doubled their advantage before the break.

Nathan Burke carried the ball through midfield and the centre of defence, his shot saved by the ‘keeper and Gahgan was there to pounce on the rebound.

The game threatened to go by with a whimper for the first 15 minutes of the second half, but Town came to life in the final third as Clitheroe fell apart.

Gahgan made it 3-0 on 67 minutes, bringing the ball down, standing up his man and firing a left-footed shot high and past the keeper.

Ben Wharton and Ben Deegan were then given a chance up front off the bench, in place of the tireless Kilheeney and Steven Gillespie, and it was Deegan who created the platform for the fourth goal.

He spun his man on the edge of the box and his shot was blocked by a defender’s arm, prompting the referee to point to the spot.

Up stepped Gahgan, and he secured the match ball with a well-taken penalty.

In the closing minutes, Deegan got his first goal in Warrington colours, holding off two defenders and then finishing confidently off the inside of the post.

The spirit in Town’s squad was perhaps best summed up by substitute striker Wharton’s reaction at missing two late chances with the score at 5-0, and forward line partner Deegan chasing back to make an important tackle on a counter attack.

Warrington are next in action on Tuesday night, when they travel to face Ossett Albion (7.45pm kick-off).

Warrington Town: Wills, Brown, McQuade, Ventre, McCarten, O’Donnell, Gahgan, Burke, Kilheeney (Wharton), Gillespie (Deegan), Metcalfe (Rudge). Unused subs: Robinson, Lester.

Clitheroe: Guthrie, Brady, Cattermole, Barski, Anderson (Jordan), Dent, Bakkor, Mayers, Steenson (Nwachukwu), Walker (Hession). Unused sub: Garner.