Whitby Town boss Nathan Haslam delighted by mental toughness in Warrington Town win

Haslam reverted back to the team and system that saw Whitby win 3-0 against Bamber Bridge the previous system, in a bid to play the conditions as wind, coupled with a soft pitch, made life difficult, writes Paul Connolly.

The Blues opened the scoring in the first half with a low, driven strike from Brad Fewster, before Warrington levelled in the second through Connor Woods. Thirty seconds after the restart from the equaliser, however, Aaron Haswell drilled the ball home from six yards to give Whitby all three points.

The victory means the Seasiders have now won each of their last three home games in all competitions.

And Haslam was pleased with not only the victory but the manner in which it came too.

"We had to play the conditions here," he said.

"You have to be mentally tough to play the conditions here. It was windy, it was a heavy pitch and we had to take the game to Warrington. I thought we did that.

"Over the course of the ninety minutes, I think we deserved the three points."

Whitby started the game positively, settling down into the contest well early doors, though it would be the visitors who had the first chance of the evening, Matt McDonald getting a low shot off from a tight angle, but into the arms of Shane Bland.

At the other end, the Seasiders were looking to affect the game.

Aaron Haswell got hold of the ball, found his way into the box and powered an effort goalwards, forcing Tony Thompson to push wide.

And Whitby could have led from the resulting corner. Priestley Griffiths' delivery bounced off Thomas Hannigan, with Joshua Seary reacted quickly to head off the line.

The hosts pushed hard in search of an opening goal, and thought they had it 25 minutes in, with Lewis Hawkins' first time thunderbolt from 25 yards striking the inside of the post, before bouncing away from danger.

Ten minutes later, the opener finally arrived for the dominant hosts. A neat one-two between with Haswell saw Griffiths come away with the ball, feeding Fewster inside the area, who drilled a low effort beyond a rooted Thompson.

Fewster was playing with confidence once again for Whitby, and soon saw an attempt for a second vitally blocked by a Warrington Town centre-half, while at the other end, sub Josh Amis' low effort was held by Bland.

On the countdown to the break, Whitby continued their search for a second. Haswell drove forward and flashed an effort just wide, while on the stroke of the break Fewster chipped an onrushing Thompson, only to see his effort bounce marginally the wrong side of the upright.

The visitors needed a reaction from a half in which Whitby should have led by at least three in, and started the second half in a more composed manner, though could again have gone further behind as Thompson made himself big to push Haswell's effort wide moments in.

A flurry of chances from the Yellows, however, showed why they were favourites going into the clash, following four straight wins.

Eddie Clarke fired wide from the edge of the area on fifty minutes, before James Harris fired a warning shot across the bows for the Blues, flashing an effort across Bland's goal.

Clarke again went close for Warrington, hitting the side netting with an effort from a tight angle.

There was a sense that a leveler was coming for the visitors, and it arrived a minute after Clarke's attempt. A ball towards the back post wasn't dealt with, and Connor Woods arrived to tap home.

An cliche as old as time in football is that you're at your most vulnerable when you've just scored, and it couldn't have rung any more true for the visitors, with the goal sparking Whitby back into life.

From the kick-off, the Seasiders got the ball into Hackett. Hannigan failed to deal with his ball in from deep, with the loose ball falling to Haswell, who reacted quickest to drill the home and restore Whitby's lead.

Warrington, with the wind advantage in the second half, pushed to level again as the game worse on. Seary hit a powerful strike towards goal, Bland held the effort well.

Whitby weren't done either, however. Fantastic work out wide from Harry Green saw him bring the ball in field, step into the area and pull back for Harrison Beeden, though he saw his attempt blocked.

While Warrington continued to send the ball direct, Whitby defended everything well. Isaac Buckley-Rickets hit the crossbar late on with a curling effort from the edge of the area, though it was as close as the visitors would come in the closing stage.

The win sees Whitby half the six-point gap to 16th-placed Marske United, and move another place away from the Pitching In Northern Premier League Premier Division drop zone.

Whitby host Lancaster City on Saturday at the Towbar Express Stadium at the Turnbull Ground, looking to increase their gap to the relegation positions.