Saturday July 8th - Pre-Season Friendly - West 0 Warrington Rylands 1

A humid and drizzly afternoon greeted our first home friendly of the 2023/24 pre-season, a tight affair against NPL Premier Division side Warrington Rylands settled by a single, late goal.

Before the game West again warmed up in yellow The Big Step t-shirts, further raising awareness of the campaign to Kick Gambling Ads Out Of Football.

West kicked off with a familiar look, a trio of trialists complementing an otherwise experienced line-up. Rylands starting XI was much more experimental, with ten trialists making their first appearance in a Blues shirt.

Both sides had spells of possession in an otherwise uneventful first half. West had arguably the better moments in forcing the Rylands keeper into action on a couple of occasions and Foulds seeing a scrambled effort hooked off the line. Though the half ended with a another West attempt at goal, Rylands were on top overall as the sides went in level.

The second half was frequently punctuated with substitutions on both sides, most notably the introduction of former Scotland international George Boyd for Rylands.

The game was played at a competitive intensity throughout, though goalmouth action after half time was even scarcer than before. That was until a lapse of concentration in the West defence allowed SIDIBEH space in the box and the new signing finished clinically beyond the exposed Jones in the West goal, his left-foot strike nestling in the opposite bottom corner.

The last opportunity of the game was certainly West's best, with McKnight's side-foot effort destined for goal before the palm of the Rylands keeper kept his sheet clean and ensured his team opened their pre-season campaign with a win.

At full-time our attentions turned to Tom Westall, who had left the field after a heavy challenge and was in obvious discomfort. We soon learned he had suffered a serious chest injury. All our thoughts are with Tom as he makes his recovery. 

Listen to Chris Rowley's post-match thoughts here.

West line-up: Andrew Jones, Callum Graham, Ben Hampson, Markell Foulds, Tom Westall, Liam Delaney, Billy Matthews, Jack Ryan + trialists

Subs used: Darren McKnight, Callum Jones, Zeke Eme, Max Lewens, Connor Hancock, Joel Swift + trialists

Goals: Sidibeh 77.

Attendance: 215.

Picture by Si Cook. Click here for full match gallery

West's pre-season itinerary continues at Ewen Fields, home of Hyde United, against Rochdale Elite Development Squad on Monday July 10th, 8pm kickoff.