Kieran Weledji’s two late headers guide Scarborough Athletic to FA Cup win at Warrington Rylands
Scarborough Athletic moved comfortably through to the next round of the FA Cup with a 2-0 win at Warrington Rylands, courtesy of two late Kieran Weledji headers, in a game of few chances on a slick surface, following a torrential pre-match downpour.
The hosts had ex-FC United boss Neil Reynolds in charge after his appointment two days earlier, while Boro skipper Will Thornton came on from the bench after missing 10 games due to a foot injury, writes Steve Adamson.
The first half was evenly contested, with both sides passing the ball around, but defences were on top. Bailey Gooda was outstanding for Boro, winning some towering headers and crunching tackles, while Alex Wiles, Dom Tear, Kieran Glynn and Alex Purver all battled tirelessly.
Two early attacks for Rylands saw Gooda block a shot from Ben Hardcastle, then Glynn deflected a Ben Hough strike clear.
The first shot on target was from Boro on 26 minutes, Glynn passed to Tear, who turned a defender and teed up Alex Brown, whose fierce shot was tipped round the post by Luke Pilling.
On the half-hour a superb Boro move began when Glynn dinked a pass into the path of Weledji, who squared to Harry Green, and the winger curled his shot inches over the bar.
A mazy dribble from Green was halted by a superb sliding tackle from Jake Daniels, and a ball across the area from Weledji was stabbed wide by Frank Mulhern. Rylands enjoyed plenty of possession, with Dylan Dwyer, Hardcastle, Hough and Daniels all impressing with runs forward, but the Boro defence stood firm and it remained 0-0 at the interval.
Rylands had the first chances of the second half, Clive Smith heading a yard wide when Hardcastle floated over a free-kick, and a snap-shot from Daniels produced a terrific reflex save from Boro keeper Ryan Whitley.
Boro began to take control, dominating possession and creating openings. A jinking Glynn run was ended by a strong Matt Regan tackle, and Tear flicked-on towards Wiles, who raced into the area, but Pilling got down to smother the ball at his feet.
Boss Jono Greening introduced fresh legs from the bench, and Cam Wilson made an instant impact, dashing past a defender and sending over a cross that was headed out from under the bar by James Neild.
Mackenzie Maltby played a pass down the right to Tear, who did brilliantly to cross into the goalmouth, but Boro just failed to apply a finish at the back post. Rare Rylands attacks saw Gooda block a Hardcastle shot, and Sam Burns and James Baillie both fired weakly at Whitley.
A Wilson cross from the left was powerfully headed inside the left-hand post by Weledji to open the scoring on 73 minutes, then a Lewis Maloney corner was plucked off the head of Gooda by Pilling. Boro’s win was sealed by another Weledji header, as he converted Maloney’s right-wing corner five minutes from time.
RYLANDS - Pilling, Smith, Dwyer (Baillie 65), Regan, Neild(c), Furman, Hardcastle, Curran-Nicholls, Massanka (Morris 76), Hough, Daniels (Burns 57)
BORO - Whitley, Weledji, Brown (Colville 63), Maltby, Gooda (c), Purver, Green (Wilson 68), Glynn, Mulhern (Bennett 81), Wiles (Maloney 68), Tear (Thornton 81)
REFEREE - Martyn Mitchell
BORO GOALS - Kieran Weledji 73, 85
GOAL ATTEMPTS - RYLANDS 6 (2 on target) BORO 5 (3 on target)
CORNERS - RYLANDS 1 BORO 7
OFFSIDES - RYLANDS 1 BORO 1
YELLOW CARDS - RYLANDS- Dean Furman BORO- Alex Purver
‘SCARBOROUGH NEWS’ BORO MAN OF MATCH - Bailey Gooda
ATTENDANCE - 339 (150 away)