Weekend football round-up: Robins back on track

Ashton United got back to winning ways on Saturday with a 2-0 win at Ilkeston Town, which moved them to within a point of the NPL Premier play-off spots. 

The Robins dominated the first half but were unable to break the deadlock, with Enock Lusiama’s volley forcing a smart save from Alfie Roberts early on before Al Byrne rattled the post soon after. 

But Steve Cunningham’s side found the breakthrough 10 minutes into the second period, with Darius Osei cutting in from the left and curling beautifully into the far-right corner. 

A well worked move then ended with Lusiama tapping in Byrne’s cross at the back post to ensure his side would bring all three points back to Ashton. 

“It means I get to keep my job for another week, so yeah, I’m really happy,” joked a relieved Cunningham following the win. 

“It’s been a tough week, I’m not gonna lie. I felt it this week, in terms of the stress of the job. 

“Not through pressure from the chairmen or the club, but I’ve got standards myself, and we’ve fallen below them. I'm the captain of the ship, so I feel it more than anybody, and the last two/three weeks have been poor. 

“I thought they [the players] were outstanding today. All I asked was for them to put in a performance that shows a bit of self-pride, and how much you want to play for me and the football club, and you’ve seen that in abundance today.” 

Elsewhere, Droylsden made it through to the third round of the FA Vase after seeing off Northwich Victoria at the Butcher’s Arms. 

The Bloods found themselves trailing by two early on but a quickfire double from Nellson Van on the stroke of half time saw the sides go in level. 

Dave Pace’s side then started the second half with the same intensity as they finished the first, with Van completing his hat-trick 10 minutes after the break before Cody Artwell added a fourth just two minutes later to seal his side’s place in the next round. 

Droylsden's reward is a home tie against fellow NWCFL First Division North side Fulwood Amateurs.

In the NPL West, Mossley extended their unbeaten run to four matches with a hard-fought victory away at Newcastle Town. 

A single goal was enough to see the Lilywhites through in Staffordshire, as yet antoher solid defensive display saw them pick up their eighth clean sheet of the season. 

After a goalless first-half, Mason Fawns brought the game to life just past the hour with a moment of brilliance, beating two men before firing past Joe Slinn to score his 50th Mossley goal. 

Isaac Graham came close to doubling Alex Craddock’s side’s lead five minutes later, but saw his effort cleared off the line. 

From there, the visitors managed to see the game out and move up to 10th in the table. 

After the full-time whistle, Craddock described the win as ‘Enormous’. 

“This is a really tough place to come, and they’re in form at home. 

“What we’ve done today is massive for us. These are the games that you need to win, against the teams around you - they’re the sort of games that will define you. 

“We showed heart, desire and quality – that's a huge win.” 

In the same division, Stalybridge Celtic suffered a narrow defeat at league leaders Lower Breck. 

Celtic got off to a dream start in Anfield, drawing first blood on 17 minutes thanks to a strike from Jordan Butterworth, but the lead would only last for a matter of minutes. 

The hosts were awarded a penalty soon after when Charlie Monks was penalised for a foul on Lewis Buckley, who converted from 12 yards to level the scoring. 

A bullet header from Frazer Cookson then completed the turnaround on the half-hour mark, and Jon Macken’s side were unable to find a route back into the contest. 

“We lost the game in the first half,” said a disappointed Macken following the defeat.  

“There were decisions from us, and from the officials which were really disappointing. 

“Second half especially, I thought we played really well, we had the momentum but just couldn’t get that second goal.” 

In the NWCFL Premier, Glossop North End topped off a tumultuous week by recording their fourth straight victory, a 2-1 win at Stockport Town. 

The Hillmen were led by first team coach Colin Morrison, following the shock departure of newly appointed boss Ashley Connor, who left his post after just six days in charge due to ‘unexpected circumstances’. 

The visitors got off to a perfect start in Stockport, with Dylan Switters smashing in off the post with just 11 minutes on the clock, to give his side a deserved half-time lead. 

GNE then doubled their advantage deep into the second half through Jacques Etia, who converted after a stunning solo run to put his side in control. 

Oliver Kvaternik’s late strike made for a nervy final two minutes, but the away side managed to hold on and move up to 15th in the table. 

Meanwhile, 10-man Hyde United were agonisingly close to earning a remarkable point at Workington after playing the final 30 minutes with an outfielder in goal, but instead fell to a narrow 3-2 defeat. 

Two headers either side of half time saw the Tigers trail by two, before their misery was compounded when goalkeeper Yusuf Mersin was shown a straight red card after a mistimed challenge 30 yards from goal. 

With no goalkeeper named on the bench, returning right back Harry Ditchfield was forced to deputise between the sticks. 

Despite the setback, Hyde managed to halve the deficit when Lewis Rawsthorn poked home 15 minutes later, only for the hosts to regain their two-goal advantage soon after. 

Martin Coyne’s side were not finished there though, with Rawsthorn thundering home a second on the volley to make for an exciting end to proceedings. 

The forward then had a golden opportunity to provide a grandstand finish, but could only direct his header over from point-blank range. 

“The [refereeing] decisions didn’t help, there was a lot of inconsistency - I’m gobsmacked with that element of it,” said a frustrated Coyne following the defeat. 

“But ultimately, we’ve got to look at what we can control, and what we did today wasn't good enough.  

“We cannot give goals away like that. I think that’s why it hurts a lot more, because we know it’s not like us, but we can’t give those kinds of chances away, it was too easy.” 

Finally, in the National League North, 10-man Curzon Ashton were unable to do what neighbours Ashton United did two months prior and defeat Scarborough Athletic on home soil. 

After being eliminated from the FA Cup by the Robins in September, The Seadogs’ visit to the town proved to be much more fruitful this time around. 

The Nash got the afternoon off to a nightmare start as Tuesday’s hero Adam Barton became the villain.  

Just before the half hour mark the midfielder was shown a red card for the denial of a goalscoring opportunity after hauling down Rio Allan on the edge of the area as the forward was bearing down on goal. 

Despite the numerical disadvantage, the home side managed to hold firm until the break, and even had a chance of their own, with Ben Darby’s long-range effort deflecting off the post. 

But with 22 minutes to play, the visitors found the breakthough, with Allan sweeping Alex Brown’s cross into the roof of the Curzon net before Kieran Weledji fired in a second four minutes later. 

Darby’s stoppage time strike temporarily restored hope, but it would only ultimately turn out to be a consolation. 

“In all honesty, disappointment, from start to finish,” said Nash boss Mark Bradshaw when asked on his feelings at full time. 

“I won’t try and paper over the cracks and say that was unlucky. 

“In the end, we maybe could’ve nicked something, but we didn’t deserve anything today.”