Warrington Rylands 5 Newcastle Town 2

They saw off a spirited fightback from their visitors, who at one time reduced Blues' three-goal lead to just one, to make it 20 goals in three games at Gorsey Lane.

An early own goal and Kane Drummond's assured finish put Blues 2-0 up inside 15 minutes, with substitute Akeel Francis tapping in a third less than a minute into the second half.

However, the visitors fought back as Will Wright and Tommy van der Laan brought them right back into the game.

Nerves were settled by Callum Dolan's header before Sam Egerton's injury time header rounded off the scoring.

The result means Blues keep up the pressure on Northern Premier League West Division leaders Marine - they trail the Merseysiders by two points having played two games more.

Listen to post-match reaction from Rylands boss Dave McNabb below

Check out sports reporter Matt Turner's verdict on the game below

AS their season hits its halfway point, Warrington Rylands can be very happy with where they are.

This game was perhaps their past few weeks in a microcosm – not always completely convincing defensively but with enough firepower to overwhelm their opposition.

In the early stages as they swarmed all over Newcastle Town, another bonanza of goals looked likely.

Two up inside 14 minutes, they had the platform to dispatch their out-of-form opposition in a similar fashion to Prescot Cables and Ramsbottom United in their past two home games.

They did so eventually, but it is fair to say they made hard work of it.

Credit has to go to the visitors for scrapping for a foothold and building their way back into the game, but Blues’ intensity dropped off.

That was evident at stages towards the end of the first half but moreso midway through the second half as they almost allowed a three-goal lead to slip away.

Newcastle did not create a great deal but Rylands made it too easy for them to build towards their goal, as manager Dave McNabb exclaimed frequently from the touchline.

Eventually, though, they wrestled control back and fittingly, it was a goal from Callum Dolan that made that possible.

While Charlie Doyle was as industrious as ever in midfield and Declan Walker’s delivery from right wing-back was near flawless, the frontman was the best player on the field.

He may have tried to be too clever at times but his pace and movement pulled the visiting defence all over Gorsey Lane while he had the ball under his spell with some bewitching trickery.

He and Kane Drummond combined to cause havoc in the early stages before the latter went off injured – Dolan set up goals for both him and his replacement Akeel Francis before scoring himself.

It is now 20 goals in three home games and in this kind of form, they will be confident of outscoring anybody.

However, they will be conscious of wanting to keep the back door closed as the sharp end of the season approaches.

All pictures by John Hopkins