Ashton edge victory over local rivals Dukinfield

ADM First Division: Ashton 10-7 Dukinfield

In the very early stages of Saturday’s league game against local rivals Dukinfield, some loose play by Ashton gifted their opposition a converted try. They had done the hard work in turning over line our possession in their own 22 but two clearance kicks which failed to find touch simply returned to ball to their visitors, and from the second of these they romped in to register their seven points.

To their credit the home side took the game forward from then on and much of the play up to the interval was spent in the away team’s half. Hard running with the ball pressurised the defence and after a solid quarter of an hour battering the Dukinfield line, prop forward George McCallum barged over for a try in the left hand corner.

Ashton continued to push forward and after two powerful set scrums which drove the opposing pack backwards wing forward Jack Williams, who caught the eye throughout the game, took the ball to the right before releasing it to wingman Billy Travis who went over in the corner to put his team 10-7 in front as the interval approached.

In many ways the second half mirrored the first, with Ashton enjoying the bulk of the possession and the territorial advantage. Dukinfield were confined to the odd breakaway, but although they looked unlikely to add to their early advantage, they stuck resolutely to their defensive duties, and the home side were denied any real sight of the line. There did seem times from the touchline that Ashton put boot to the ball when keeping it in hand might have served them better, but overall this was a good tussle with little quarter given by either side.

This win cements the Gambrel Bank side in their position in the top half of the league, and given no real changes to personnel they will look forward to next week’s short trip to Littleborough.

By Ian Crickett