The question on the lips of the majority of home supporters prior to kick-off was which Mossley side would turn up for the match. Would it be the one that registered the thoroughly deserved win at Clitheroe on the opening day of the season or the side that was, for the most part, a distant second best in the midweek defeat to Radcliffe?

To the delight of the majority in Seel Park it proved to be the former.

If Mossley had any nerves going into this match following the reversal against Radcliffe four days earlier, they were undoubtedly banished with the opening goal of the game in the eighth minute; Dave Hanlon slotting the ball between Warrington keeper Ritchie Mottram and his near post to notch up his first goal in a Lilywhites shirt.

The home sides position in the game improved one hundred percent when Michael Fish added a bit of breathing space to the scoreline sixteen minutes later. On this occasion Hanlon was the provider, his cross finding the head of Fish who in turn put the ball beyond Mottram from close range.

To be perfectly honest these were the only two incidents of any note in the first half hour of the game. The final fifteen minutes of the opening period though saw Mossley step up a couple of gears and fashion enough chances to have won the match a couple of times over.

the first half blew. Once again it came through another close range header from Fish, the Lilywhites leading scorer beating team mate Lee Blackshaw in the race to get on the end of Danny Dignan's excellent right wing cross.

After what I suspect was a half-time team talk containing words that would never get printed here, Warrington emerged from the changing room l looking a completely different side from the one that had entered it shell shocked. Straight from the restart they put their hosts on the back foot and a goal six minutes in from substitute Billy Webb only galvanised their efforts even more as the Lilywhites struggled to rediscover their first-half form.

Rediscover it they did though and from the hour mark onwards they slowly began to reassert their control on the game, nullifying whatever threat Warrington still posed and turning their own goal scoring opportunities from a trickle into a steady stream once more.

Any wind left in Warrington's sails was finally knocked out of them in the 77th minute. As with the third goal Dignan was again the provider but the beneficiary of his inch perfect cross this time was Danny Egan. The former Macclesfield player, a second half substitute for the injured Fish, diverting the ball home in the six yard box with an outstretched leg.

Mossley had chances to make the victory an even more convincing one in the closing stages of the game. However the final 4 – 1 score line more than adequately conveys the superiority of the Lilywhites over their guests on the day and it's a result that, at this admittedly very early stage of the season, moves them into third place in the Unibond First Division North.
Despite threatening to run rampant though Mossley only managed to add one more goal to their tally before the whistle signalling an end to the first half blew. Once again it came through another close range header from Fish, the Lilywhites leading scorer beating team mate Lee Blackshaw in the race to get on the end of Danny Dignan's excellent right wing cross.

After what I suspect was a half-time team talk containing words that would never get printed here, Warrington emerged from the changing room l looking a completely different side from the one that had entered it shell shocked. Straight from the restart they put their hosts on the back foot and a goal six minutes in from substitute Billy Webb only galvanised their efforts even more as the Lilywhites struggled to rediscover their first-half form.

Rediscover it they did though and from the hour mark onwards they slowly began to reassert their control on the game, nullifying whatever threat Warrington still posed and turning their own goal scoring opportunities from a trickle into a steady stream once more.

Any wind left in Warrington's sails was finally knocked out of them in the 77th minute. As with the third goal Dignan was again the provider but the beneficiary of his inch perfect cross this time was Danny Egan. The former Macclesfield player, a second half substitute for the injured Fish, diverting the ball home in the six yard box with an outstretched leg.

Mossley had chances to make the victory an even more convincing one in the closing stages of the game. However the final 4 – 1 score line more than adequately conveys the superiority of the Lilywhites over their guests on the day and it's a result that, at this admittedly very early stage of the season, moves them into third place in the Unibond First Division North.

report by SJNR

pic by Smiffy


pic by Smiffy


pic by Smiffy

pic by Smiffy

pic by Smiffy

pic by Smiffy

pic by Smiffy