Recap

Tom Murphy reports from the MTA…

Marine battled hard but were unable to defeat playoff rivals, Warrington Rylands at the MTA. 

Adama Sidibeh put the away side ahead after 18 minutes before Manasse Mampala who returned to the starting eleven, equalised late on in the half. 

With lots at stake, both teams started strong at a fast intensity. However, a Hutchinson save at full stretch to deny Pedro, was the only real chance in the first 15 minutes.

After an even start, the away side took the lead on the 18th minute thanks to  Sidibeh. The forward tapped the ball into the net after Hutchinson clawed the ball off the line beforehand. 

Marine then equalised after the 36th minute when Mampala found the bottom left corner of the Rylands net. The forward wriggled into the penalty area before placing a lovely shot past the keeper. 

Despite lots of chances during the remainder of the half for both teams, the score remained level heading into the break. 

The second half started much slower than the first, with neither side able to create any momentum in the early stages. 

Whilst being a cagey and rather dull second period, both teams continued to press for a late winner. 

Owen Robinson wasted a great chance for the Mariners on the 74th minute. His powerful shot after being left in acres of space on the edge of the area was fired straight at Luke Pilling, who comfortably collected. 

Hutchinson was called into action on several occasions throughout the encounter and did superbly to deny the Rylands’ attackers from taking the lead. The 21 year old has settled nicely into Neil Young’s side since his arrival at the start of December.

Marine battled to the final whistle but unfortunately they were unable to find that all important second goal. 

Neil Young’s side remain in fourth place in the league before they travel to Basford on Saturday. 

Marine: 1 Luke Hutchinson, 2 Joseph Ferguson, 3 Nathan Woodthorpe, 4 Jalil Saadi (Liam Nolan 71’), 5 Chris Doyle, 6 Josh Wardle, 7 Finlay Sinclair-Smith, 8 Louis White, 9 Manasse Mampala (Connor Evans 80’) , 10 Sol Solomon (Jordan Lussey 86’) , 11 Owen Robinson
Unused Subs: 12 Harvey Gregson, 17 Jonathon Spittle 

Warrington Rylands: 1 Luke Pilling, 2 Clive Smith, 3 Javid Swaby-Neavin, 4 James Butler, 5 Matthew Regan, 6 Dean Furman, 7 Ben Hardcastle, 8 James Neild, 9 Djavan Pedro, 10 Momodou Touray, 11 Adama Sidibeh
Unused Subs: 12 Ben Hough, 14 Joe Adams, 15 Chinedu Uche, 16 James Baillie, 17 Toby Hurst

Tuesday 26th December 2023, 3pm
Northern Premier League – Premier Division
The Marine Travel Arena

Attendance – 1529

Marine Man Of The Match: Luke Hutchinson