Warrington Town 4 Clitheroe 2

NATHAN Burke scored twice as Warrington Town defeated Clitheroe in a game where all six goals were scored in the first half.

After four successive 1-0s - two wins and two defeats - it was goals galore at Cantilever Park in the first 45 minutes, as Town came from a goal down to move up to 10th in the table.

James McCarten’s header with the last touch of the first half restored Town’s two goal advantage, and they saw out a goalless second half in the first of three consecutive home games.

Town handed a start to Stephen Tames and he was a threat throughout. It was Burke who had the first half chance on 10 minutes, just unable to get on the end of Scott Metcalfe’s header across goal from David Mannix’s floated delivery.

Clitheroe though had a threat of their own up front, and they got a goal for their endeavours on 13 minutes, David Lynch finding the back of the net from outside the box.

But the home side hit back almost straight away, Mannix causing problems with a free kick from the left which James McCarten headed off a defender and the ball looped up in the air for Burke to head home for his first.

Burke curled a left-footed shot just over the bar before Town hit the front, Tames running on to Metcalfe’s flick around the corner and finishing well past Peter Collinge.

It triggered the start of a period where Town looked like finishing off their opponents, as Metcalfe went close, and the third goal came on 36 minutes.

The tireless Burke chased down a long ball, showed great strength to get in front of a defender and then hit a right foot drive across the goalkeeper and in to the corner.

Tames twice got away down the right hand side only for his pull backs to be wasted, the second by Metcalfe, who will have been disappointed to steer his shot well wide.

Clitheroe wouldn’t go away though, a moment of trickery from Lynch almost created a goal and from the resulting corner the visitors got back in to the game.

Town initially cleared the delivery, only to see Seydou Bamba put in a lovely cross that Sefton Gonzales powered home with his head off the underside of the bar.

That seemed to have given Clitheroe the perfect tonic ahead of the half time team talk, but Town had other ideas, and restored their two goal lead with the last kick of the half.

Louis Corrigan whipped in a fine inswinging corner and McCarten was there at the back post to head home.

The second half was always going to struggle to match the 45 minutes that preceded it, and despite a triple substitute, Clitheroe couldn’t mount any sustained pressure.

Wharton perhaps had the best chance, dragging his shot wide after both Burke and Warren Beattie had worked excellently down the right to carve out the opening.

The win lifts Warrington up to 10th in the league table, seven points off the play-off places.

Warrington: Warrington: Wills, Field, Corrigan, Mannix, McCarten, Hardwick, Beattie, Burke, Wharton, Tames, Metcalfe (Gahgan). Subs not used: Turner, Kinsella, Booth, Astbury.