Stockton Town made it three wins in a row with a superb second half showing at Warrington Rylands.
Goals from Michael Sweet and Glen Butterworth added to a debut opener from Josh Scott to secure all three points in Cheshire.
Michael Dunwell named a handful of changes from the side that progressed in the Durham Challenge Cup on Wednesday, notably seeing Shane Henry keep his place in midfield following a man of the match display.
Ben Hough had the first big chance of the game for the hosts. Impressive ball control created space at a tight angle and his shot was very well saved by the foot of Nathan Harker.
Clive Smith similarly showed fantastic footwork to evade a number of tackles, and as he looked towards goal, his shot from inside the box was met by a superb sliding block by Lewis King.
King then went close at the other end just before the break, aiming a cross towards the back post which bounced mere inches wide of the target.
Half-time: Warrington Rylands 0-0 Stockton Town
The Anchors looked very strong after the restart, and went close to an opener in the 57th minute when Michael Sweet fizzed a header just wide of the target.
But only three minutes into his Stockton Town debut, Josh Scott gave Stockton the lead. A corner bounced around the six yard box, before being headed back across for Scott to loop a header over the goalkeeper and into the top corner.
Scott then turned provider, dropping deep and receiving the ball in midfield, then threading a perfect through ball into the path of Michael Sweet who steadied himself and finished coolly to double the Anchors’ advantage.
The lead was further extended in the 84th minute when Josh Scott held the ball up on the edge of the box, laying it off to Glen Butterworth who had a look at goal and fired a rocket straight into the top corner.
The hosts found a goal two minutes from the end when Dylan Dwyer sneaked a shot through the gloves of Nathan Harker, but Stockton held on firm throughout the six minutes of additional time to secure a huge three points on the road.
Full-time: Warrington Rylands 1-3 Stockton Town
Stockton, now sitting 12th in the table, turn their attention to Tuesday evening, as a rescheduled trip to Bamber Bridge awaits.
Warrington Rylands: Pilling, Smith, Lonsdale, Regan, Neild, Hopper, Da Costa (Adekoya 56’), Hough (Nicholls 64’), Massanka (Dwyer 72’), Hardcastle (Baillie 64’), Kiwomya (Daniels 58’)
Unused Subs: N/A
Stockton Town: Harker, King, Baggs, Henry (Scott 60’), Nicholson, Coulthard, Thompson (Leech 73’), Painter, Sweet (Fowler 78’), Butterworth, Gallacher (Roberts 79’)
Unused Subs: Purewal
Goals: Scott, 63 min, 0-1; Sweet, 76 min, 0-2; Butterworth, 84 min, 0-3; Dwyer, 88 min, 1-3.
Attendance: 487
Words: Jordan Clarke
Photo: Harry Cook
