Ashton United v North Ferriby United

... well after all the "early morning kerfuffle" I had the choice of two (OK Chorley v Curzon was a third - and I had offers of lifts too - thanks Joe - seven goals - bugger !!!) - I decided to eschew Droylsden in the end (save my "voucher" for the real Stalybridge re-arranged match I guess) as Ashton United is just that touch easier transport-wise - and I get a beer or two at Stalybridge Buffet Bar at both ends of a 408 bus !).

The cold weather certainly kicked in today - maybe something to do with the hair cut as well ! The pitch looked not unlike Mossley on a Tuesday night i.e. playable but "good to soft". Ashton went into the game on the back of a poor run, and I'm afraid it showed at times - confidence is certainly lacking a bit, and after NFU took the lead - yes Gary Bradshaw - it seemed to drop another notch. Here's the pix from today:

Ashton United 0 NorthFerriby United 1

It might have been a heavy pitch - but the Robins seemed (to me) to be playing the game far too long - at times it was "hoofball" as Darlo at Belper would say. I look back (wistfully) to 1970 - to the Great Harwood v Stafford Rangers game - on a mud heap down the slope - 6-1 to Rangers at half-time using "hoofball" tactics - finished up 7-5 as Great Harwood employed similar tactics in the second half. But I digress ... there's always room to play it short, play it through the midfield, and in my humble opinion that's where it went wrong today. This, combined with some "eccentric" refereeing at times (OK inconsistent/poor) led to the eventual result.

They shouldn't worry though - there's some good players up at Hurst Cross - they just seem to be lacking in confidence - just not wanting to take that little bit of extra time on the ball. Had that free kick gone in just after they went one down ... it might just have been the catalyst - but that's football godammit !! I know both fans and officials have great faith in Danny Johnson (Ashton Boss) - he'll turn it round I'm sure. To put it into pictures (OK one) ...



Another real disappointment was the crowd - with only Droylsden as an option in the vicinity, 136 was poor - especially when I saw FC United fans, Kendal fans and even a Witton Albion scarfed fan in the bar - I've no idea what the crowd was at the Butchers Arms but is it any wonder that teams struggle financially ?? I used to blame Sky - but that's only midweek - these days it's those damned Albanian/Italian satellite cards that are doing the damage - but then again with pubs closing at a rate of 25 per week, they've got an fair excuse as well - just narks me that when a club's game is called "off", many of their fans don't think to go to another game "just up the road" - it works both ways you know ...
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