A goal on the stroke of half time by Joe Rathbone set Avro on their way to a resounding FA Trophy success, against a Warrington Rylands side who ended the game with ten men after captain James Neild was sent off in injury time.
Manager Alex Frost made four changes from the side which had been denied all three points by a late Kidsgrove equaliser the previous weekend. James Dwyer made his first start in over a month at the heart of the defence, whilst Max McCarthy and Joe Rathbone also returned to the starting eleven, and new signing Bebeto Gomes made his debut.
The home side edged the first half, but it looked destined to finish goalless until seconds before the break, when Joe Rathbone connected well with a Matty Crothers cross from the right, and the ball took a deflection off a visiting defender before trickling over the line.
That proved to be the decisive moment of the tie, as Avro dominated proceedings after the restart. Kyle Hawley doubled the lead six minutes into the second half, shrugging off the attentions of two defenders before finding the bottom corner, and he then turned provider, setting up substitute Liam Ellis who finished coolly to make it 3-0.
Ben Wharton replaced Hawley for the last eleven minutes, and as the game entered added time he made an instant impact on his debut, chipping Rylands keeper Luke Pilling from 25 yards out to complete the scoring. Neild’s late dismissal rounded off a miserable evening for the visitors, whilst the Ro are now one of only three NPL Division One West sides left in the competition.
