Following on from our victory over Radcliffe, we now set up a vital “6 pointer” away at Ashton United. There have been a few changes over the last few weeks at Ashton following the departure of manager Jody Banim. He was quickly replaced by the Atherton Collieries manager, Michael Clegg who quickly bought in two players from Atherton, in Michael Brewster and Ben Hardcastle. The Hardcastle transfer broke the record figure paid for a player but is quoted as an undisclosed fee.
Ashton currently lie 19th with 14 points, two more than Rangers in 21st place. Therefore, a Rangers win will take us above Ashton. Both teams have no midweek fixtures so have time to prepare, giving the new Ashton manager time to put forward his new plans for the team. They started well under his control with a narrow 3-2 defeat away at Basford, so we need to put on another Radcliffe performance to secure the points.
Their home record is like our away record as we have both won one and drawn 2. At home Ashton have beaten Gainsborough 3-1 and drawn with Atherton 2-2 and Matlock 1-1. Their 4 defeats have come against Nantwich 0-4, Radcliffe 0-3, Stalybridge 0-2 and Whitby 0-1. Note if Ashton fail to score at home they lose. Let’s hope for a clean sheet but note that their only win was against the current bottom club.
Ashton came into non-league hierarchy in 1992 with promotion from the North West Counties to the Northern Premier League 1, gaining promotion to the Northern Premier League in 2002. 2004 saw promotion to Conference North, but that lasted only for one season, and became the clubs first ever relegation in their history. Last season saw their second season in Conference North, but they returned to the Northern Premier league with another relegation. They were tipped for a quick return but find themselves, like us, deep in a relegation battle.
In recent years Hurst Cross has not been a happy hunting ground for us, with defeats, 0-4 in 2013/14, 1-2 in 2016/17 and 0-1 in 2017/18. However, our first three visits saw us gain points, 2-1 in 2004/05, 5-1 in 2011/12 and a 0-0 draw 2012/13. Let’s us hope we can reverse the current trend.
Those travelling by car you need sat nav of OL6 8DY to find Hurst Cross, Surrey Street, Ashton Under Lyne. Please note that there is limited street parking around the ground. Railway travellers can enjoy a tram ride from Manchester Piccadilly, but you will have a good 30-minute walk from the terminus at Ashton.
Book your tickets online to recieve a discount click here for tickets!
Results on December 14th this century
2002 Crawley A 4-2 Southern League
2004 Stalybridge H 3-2 Conference North
2013 Barwell A 0-2 Northern Premier League
