Weekend football round-up: Curzon topple table toppers to top table

Curzon Ashton reached the summit of the National League North with a comprehensive 3-0 win at leaders Chorley on Saturday.

All the goals came in a devastating 20-minute spell in the second half, which also included a red card for former Nash centre-half Scott Wilson. 

Stefan Mols opened the scoring on 50 minutes when he pounced on a deep Jimmy Spencer free kick before rounding the stricken Chorley goalkeeper, Matt Urwin. 

The Spanish playmaker was again involved moments later, when Wilson’s wild challenge left referee Dean Watson no option but to send off the defender. 

Curzon kicked into gear with the man advantage, with Spencer alert to a misplaced pass in the Chorley defence. The captain evaded Urwin’s desperate dive and rolled into an empty net from a tight angle to double the lead. 

Isaac Sinclair rounded off the scoring on 71 minutes, driving home from inside the box to replace the home side at the top of the National League North table with games in hand. 

“I’m really happy with the win, it’s a tough place to come,” said Curzon player-manager Craig Mahon. “The first half was a bit sloppy, but these lads always give a reaction when I ask of them, and the second half we really dug deep and showed our quality. 

“Hopefully, we can now kick on, not just rely on this game, and that we do go better. Can we keep this momentum going? Can we keep our standards high? Let’s enjoy this and see where it takes us.” 

In the Northern Premier League (NPL), Ashton United moved back into the play-off spots with a frenetic 4-3 win against Basford United at Hurst Cross. 

The Robins took the lead right on half-time when Basford ‘keeper Saul Deeney pushed a Darius Osei shot into the path of James Hardy, who tapped in his 5th goal of the season. 

However, the visitors from Nottingham came out the strong in the second half, with goals from Kane Richards and McKeal Abdullah putting them ahead.  

Player-coach Sean Newton equalised for Ashton on 77 minutes, before Abdullah restored Basford’s lead five minutes later. 

Enter Tom Denton. The 6’8” veteran striker teed up fellow sub Trevon Bryan to make it 3-3 before scoring the winner himself deep into injury time. 

“That was some game, wasn’t it?” said Ashton boss Steve Cunningham. “Both sets of fans got their money’s worth today. 

“If we’d have lost that game today, it would’ve been a sickener for me, as that first half was one of the most comfortable performances I’ve seen from us. I thought we were absolutely excellent, and we deserved a goal. 

“Second half, we were poor in terms of ball retention. We kept giving the ball away so cheaply and let them come back into the game, but that’s got to be the best win of the season for me.” 

Hyde United are one point and two places further back after beating basement side Blyth Spartans 1-0 on their travels. 

Jack Redshaw kept up his superb form, notching his 13th goal of the campaign to give the Tigers their fourth win on the road. 

“At times it was too easy,” said Hyde manager Nick Spooner, whose side are now six games unbeaten in all competitions. “That’s not being rude to them, but they were down to ten men for a lot of the game and they’re on a bad run. 

“We got nervous in the last ten minutes and they could’ve equalised, but we’ve had Fearns [Matt Fearnley] and Connor [Heath] with one-v-ones and they’ve not taken their chances. But these are the games we would’ve drawn or lost last year.” 

One blot on the landscape is a hamstring injury to midfielder Ben Kershaw, who was on crutches after the match and will be assessed this week. 

It was a fantastic day for our sides in the NPL West, too. 

Stalybridge Celtic swashbuckling approach paid dividends with a 3-0 win at Bower Fold against Witton Albion. 

Jack Irlam and Lewis Rawsthorn put Jon Macken’s side 2-0 up at the break, with Max Leonard putting the game to bed just before the hour mark. 

The result kept Bridge in 5th, one place above Tameside rivals Mossley, whose own momentum continues to build after a solid 2-0 win at Bootle means they have only lost once in ten league matches. 

Obua Mugalula and Bailey Marsden struck within moments of each other in the first half, the former punishing a slip in the Bootle defence, with the latter converting a header from a well-worked corner routine. 

“We’ve picked up three points despite only playing well for 35 minutes,” said Lilywhites boss David Fish.  

“We went in 2-up at half-time, and you’d expect us then to enjoy the football, move it around, play to our strengths on a pitch you can play on, but we looked a bit nervy.  

“It was a bit of a drab affair in the second half, I don’t remember either keeper really making a save, but three points is a massive positive and we’re building momentum.” 

It was more of a mixed bag in the North West Counties League (NWCFL), though, with Glossop North End slipping to a 2-1 home defeat against play-off chasers Padiham. 

Lewis Reilly hit his 15th goal of the campaign in the 2nd minute, but the Hillmen were already behind when Keaton Mulvey saw red midway through the second period. 

New Mills made it five consecutive NWCFL South defeats, going down 3-0 at Ashville. 

George Kattah again stole the show at the Butchers Arms, though, the 20-year-old striker netting his 13th goal in 11 games to give Droylsden a slender 1-0 win against AFC Blackpool in the NWCFL North. 

Midweek fixtures (all Tuesday 7:45pm kick-offs unless stated): 
Belper Town v Glossop North End (Derbyshire Senior Cup, 3rd Round) 
Hyde United v Abbey Hey (Manchester Premier Cup, Quarter Final)