By Garry Clarke Pictures John Hopkins
WARRINGTON Rylands’ manager Michael Clegg celebrated signing a two-year contract by guiding his charges to a 4th consecutive victory maintaining his unbeaten record at Gorsey Lane.
The games decisive moment arrived three minutes before half-time. Making one of their rare forays into home territory, Stalybridge were caught on the break, Mo Touray led the charge before slipping the ball to Matty Sargent, the Salford City loanee slotted the ball past Celtic goalkeeper Joe O’Shaughnessy from the edge of the area.
Rylands had started their last home game of the season by forcing a series of corners which their visitors managed to scramble away before the game became a scrappy midfield battle for supremacy.
Clear-cut chances were at a premium, for Rylands Touray headed wide from a Jordan Mustoe cross and Sargent sent a shot from distance high and wide, while at the other end Rylands goalkeeper Luke Pilling saved comfortably from Dan Burns and Domaine Rouse.
In the closing minutes of the first half O’Shaughnessy pulled off two good saves to deny Osebi Abadaki, while Rylands also struck a post from a corner.
Celtic, fighting a battle against relegation, pushed forward more in the second half. Mustoe ended a dangerous run into the Rylands penalty are by Curtis Morrison with a perfectly timed tackle and Pilling rose above a bunch of players to punch a Theo Bailey-Jones free kick clear.
Rylands regained control of the game as it entered its final quarter with centre-back James Neild splitting Celtic open with a surging long-distance run from deep inside his own half into the opposite penalty area, and was only stopped by a last-ditch tackle by Ciaran Summers.
Rylands hit the woodwork again in the 70th minute when Joe Adams’ shot deflected off a defender to wrong-foot O’Shaughnessy, the Celtic custodian recovered quickly to keep out Sargent’s shot from the rebound.
In 5 minutes of stoppage time Rylands went close to adding to their tally on several occasions Sargent having a shot blocked, Jack Hindle lobbing inches wide, O’Shaughnessy saving a long-range Scott Duxbury shot and in the last minute Touray forced the Warringtonian shot stopper into a great save.
WARRINGTON RYLANDS: Pilling Neild Mustoe Duxbury Egerton (Mantack) Furman Adams Sargent Oppong (Amaral) Touray Abadaki (Hindle); Subs not used: Hives Wright
STALYBRIDGE CELTIC: O’Shaughnessy Summers Zaknoune (Ali) Barlow Burns Miller Bailey-Jones Rouse Correia Dagnall (Pedro) Morrison (Benns); Subs not used Padden Kershaw
Referee Curtis Wood Attendance 565
