Midweek football round-up: Nash held in six goal thriller

Curzon Ashton were involved in a topsy turvy six-goal thriller on Tuesday night, which saw hosts Darlington come from behind twice to ensure the points were shared in the North East. 

The sides went in level at half time after Jack Stobbs’ free kick cancelled out Cedric Main’s early opener, but Alex Curran put Mark Bradshaw’s side back in front just two minutes after the interval. 

Charlie Lennon levelled soon after, and when Tony Weston volleyed in 13 minutes from time it looked as though Curzon had done enough, only for Will McGowan to restore parity once again moments later. 

“Both teams probably felt they should have won it, but in the end, I think it was a fair result,” said Bradshaw following the draw. 

“I couldn’t be prouder of the players.  

“We had the disappointment of losing Posh [Marcus Poscha] and Stokesy [Chris Stokes], but it just shows the character of the group when people come in and make a difference. 

“We started a little bit slow which is always a disappointment, but the reaction after that, the quality we showed, and the fighting spirit was outstanding.” 

Elsewhere, despite a valiant effort, Glossop North End exited the Manchester Premier Cup after a 5-3 defeat at NPL West side Wythenshawe Town.

The Hillmen had taken a 3-1 lead into half-time, but four second half goals from the hosts saw them through. 

Ethan Sutcliffe got the visitors off to a dream start, firing in after just six minutes before James Purfield nodded in a second 15 minutes later. 

Hosts Wythy Town then hit back just past the half hour mark, but an instant response saw GNE regain their two-goal cushion through Adem Oureghi. 

But as the cliche goes, it was certainly a game of two halves, as Wilshaw’s side were left stunned by four second half strikes, followed by a red card for Sutcliffe which compounded their misery. 

“Obviously disappointed, you have to be when you go out of any competition,” said Wilshaw when asked on his feelings at full time. 

“But in terms of the way we played, we’ve just gone toe-to-toe with someone in the league above, so that’s pleasing. 

“We started off great, every time we went forward we were clinical, but you can’t expect to get anything out of a game when you concede four in one half."