Warrington Rylands stun Whitby Town in FA Cup

That was the request of Warrington Rylands boss Dave McNabb after watching his side pull off yet another FA Cup shock.

There were setbacks aplenty to overcome, including missing a penalty and conceding an injury-time equaliser as their clash with Whitby Town – a team ranked two divisions higher than them – went the distance.

However, McNabb’s men held their nerve to win the penalty shoot-out 4-3 and add another chapter to their amazing cup journey.

Scenes of celebration after Rylands' victory. Picture by Mark Percy

With Clitheroe and 1874 Northwich already dispatched before the latest scalp, they will now fly the flag for Warrington in Friday’s second qualifying round draw.

“We haven’t had the luck of the draw so far – the best team in our league from last year, one of the favourites for the league above and a strong club from two leagues above,” McNabb said.

“I can’t put into words how proud I am of the players. They have achieved history for the club.”

If there were any after-effects of the lengthy road trip to the Yorkshire Coast, Rylands did not show it as they flew out of the traps.

They were given the chance to crown that start when they were awarded a penalty as Ste Milne was chopped down.

The striker – scorer of four goals in Blues’ previous two cup ties – picked himself up but saw his penalty saved by Whitby keeper Shane Bland. The rebound was bundled in, but ruled out for offside.

Nevertheless, they pressed on undeterred.

“We started the game brilliantly and in the first half, I thought we were exceptional,” McNabb said.

“As well as the missed penalty, we had two or three really good chances.

“We could have been three or four-nil up.”

When facing opposition from a higher league, taking chances is always key and having not made the most of their purple patch, there would have been fears of burnout.

Those thoughts were scotched just three minutes after the restart as Andy Scarisbrick put the visitors ahead.

Now, it was a case of holding on.

“They could have gone into their shells and felt sorry for themselves for not going in at half time in front, but the mental resolve we showed in the second half was phenomenal,” the manager said.

“We came out in the second half in the same fashion and got the all-important goal.

“For the last half an hour, Whitby really put it on us for the last half an hour and showed their power and quality.”

With the defence holding firm and goalkeeper Graeme McCall pulling off some superb saves when called upon, the odds got more in their favour as time went on.

If anything, they looked like adding to their lead until injury time when their bubble was seemingly burst by a James Martin equaliser for the hosts.

Blues were within touching distance of victory, but now the lottery of a penalty shoot-out awaited.

“When the goal went in, it looked like we had given up for a fraction of a second,” McNabb said.

“The leadership within the group from the likes of Gary Kenny, Warren Gerrard and Sam Sheen shone through.

“All of a sudden, they started to believe straight away.

“To concede in the 93rd minute was absolutely heartbreaking but looking back at it now, the pleasing thing and something that will stand us in really good stead for the season is how the players reacted.

“It’s easy to go into your shell but they stood strong and we had eight or nine players wanting to take penalties in the shoot-out.”

Both sides missed their opening penalties – Sheen for Rylands and Bradley Fewster for Whitby – but it was the home side who were next to blink as McCall saved Liam Cooke’s kick.

Rylands were now in control and it was left to Scarisbrick to convert the winning penalty.