Warrington Town 0-2 Lancaster City: Dollies into third round of League Cup

Ryan Winder scored from the spot before captain Ricky Mercer’s third goal in two games sealed a 2-0 win over Warrington Town.

Having ended a run of three straight defeats at Coalville Town on Saturday, boss Phil Brown shuffled his pack for the cup tie against their Evo-Stik Premier Division rivals.

Adam Sumner, Leon Creech, Mamadou Djabi and Charlie Bailey all came into the side as the Dolly Blues set up a third round tie against Workington in the week commencing March 5.

“I’m pleased to progress to the next round,” Brown said.

“We made several changes to our previous line up to ensure everyone gets an opportunity.

“We have to keep everyone fit and fresh.

“It was a professional performance. We defended well when we needed to and showed real attacking intent when opportunities arose.

“It’s good to back Saturday’s result up with another win and it gives us momentum going into Saturday’s game against Rushall Olympic.”

The first half was a largely lacklustre affair with the Dollies making their move after the break.

The visitors won a penalty midway through the second when Charlie Bailey was hauled down by Jack Higgins.

Winder stepped up and making no mistake from 12 yards as the visitors got their noses in front.

Fleetwood loanee Djabi then came close to quickly doubling Lancaster’s advantage but saw his effort saved by the legs of Luke Pilling in the Warrington goal.

Brown’s side didn’t have to wait long for their second goal however.

After getting an unlikely double in the win at Coalville, central defender Mercer was on target again 15 minutes from time, heading home unmarked from Winder’s corner as City took a giant step towards round three.

Having used all three substitutes, Warrington were reduced to 10 men after an injury to Gilson Amaral.

It helped Lancaster’s cause in the closing stages with Hannu Tam going close to adding a third late on.