Lowson sees red as Morpeth lose at Warrington

The keeper was dismissed in the 43rd minute following a hugely contentious moment when he came out of his box to clear but striker Josh Amis got there first. Despite missing the man, Amis was off balance and fell to the floor with the assistant referee flagging for an infringement.

The red card was brandished and the game changed as a result, after Morpeth had enjoyed a solid opening to the game.

Andrew Johnson went closest to scoring in the first half when his effort, after an inviting ball down the left from Wayne Phillips, flew across goal but hit the inside of the post before dropping fortuitously for the home defence to clear.

Following Lowson’s dismissal, Sean Williams saw an effort saved comfortably by emergency stopper Joe Walton before the half-time whistle brought a chance to rearrange.

It seemed to do the trick as the second half saw 10-man Morpeth pressing from the off. They would be rewarded for their efforts on 53 minutes, with Johnson netting his 18th goal of the campaign.

Bang in form after scoring against Hyde United and York City in previous games, Johnson rose highest and nodded in from close range to give the Highwaymen the advantage.

It lasted a matter of minutes though, as Warrington were awarded a spot-kick following a handball in the area. Williams slotted confidently into the roof of the net to restore parity.

The game then turned around on 67 minutes when Amis netted from close range following a low driven cross from the right.

Then, with seven minutes to go, he repeated the trick to net a similar strike and seal all three points for the hosts.

The defeat leaves Morpeth tenth in the Northern Premier table with 44 points from their 30 games played. This is still a remarkable achievement following their poor start to the season which saw them flirting with the relegation zone.

On Saturday they travel to take on bottom of the table Grantham Town before a return clash with fifth placed Warrington at Craik Park next Tuesday (March 8).