WARRINGTON Town’s dreams of an FA Cup run this season are over.
Former Yellows midfielder Stefan Mols struck a second-half winner for Curzon Ashton as they edged a topsy-turvy second qualifying round tie to record their second victory at Cantilever Park inside three weeks having won 4-1 in the National League North on Bank Holiday Monday.
Two goals in five first-half minutes had turned the tie around for Mark Beesley’s side, with Dylan Mottley-Henry’s poacher’s finish and Bohan Dixon’s impressive long-ranger cancelling out an early opener from Isaac Sinclair.
However, Will Hayhurst’s penalty brought the tie level just shy of the break before Mols headed home the winning goal shortly after coming off the bench to stretch Town’s winless run in all competitions to six matches.
Both sides finished with 10 men as Mottley-Henry and Hayhurst were both shown straight red cards for an off-the-ball incident.
> Read what Town boss Mark Beesley had to say about the game here
Read Matt Turner's verdict below
WHEN things aren’t going your way, things like this tend to happen.
In terms of performance, Warrington Town certainly did a lot more right than they did against Banbury the previous week but once again, they have nothing to show for it.
And things like this will put the mentality within the dressing room that is often spoken about as being key to their promotion last season under the sternest of examinations.
Losing when the performance has been poor is almost easier to take, but coming out on the wrong end of the result when the very least their display deserved was a replay will really stick in the craw.
As it was, though, Curzon Ashton were able to ride away with their second victory at Cantilever Park in the space of three weeks to rob Town of the financial reward and prestige an FA Cup run can bring in a season when it would have been at its most welcome.
If anything, the minute or so of play that led to Stefan Mols – who else? – scoring Curzon’s winner sums the current situation up nicely.
Seconds earlier, Town had hit the crossbar for the second time in a second half they generally controlled before the visitors found it all too easy to go up the other end and cross for the ex-Yellows midfielder to nod home.
Before then, they had recovered from another poor start to put themselves in a winning position as Mark Beesley’s switch to a 4-4-2 started to take effect.
Dylan Mottley-Henry and Isaac Buckley-Ricketts started to cause issues up front and after the former had tapped home the leveller, Bohan Dixon’s superb long-ranger put them ahead.
Would they have seen things through had they held the lead until half time? Quite possibly, but Will Hayhurst’s penalty robbed them of that chance.
Ultimately, though, they had enough chances to regain the lead before Mols struck, after which the life was punched out of them.
With Mottley-Henry’s loan spell now as good as over following his sending-off for violent conduct, things are not getting any easier both in terms of player availability and fixtures.
Warrington Town: Atherton, White, Hannigan, Woods (Bennett), Williams, Dixon, Mottley-Henry, Buckley-Ricketts, Duggan, Grivosti, Clarke. Subs not used: Walker, Gill, Smalley, Goudie
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