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The Pitmen blew
a great chance to keep the pressure on the top two courtesy a
frustrating afternoon's football at a chilly Keys Park
The
afternoon's visitors Ashton started play in seventeenth place,
struggling for form after a bright start to the season. With the hosts
returning to winning ways in midweek against Matlock Town, manager Rob
Smith named an unchanged side, looking to further extend their proud
unbeaten league run at home to thirteen months
Ashton keeper
Terry Smith was called into action early on in proceedings, as he had to
field a Chris Clements free kick on five minutes as the midfielder
looked to continue his superb scoring form this season
A minute
later, he was dealing with a Cheyenne Dunkley effort from the edge of
the box, as a Clements corner dropped into the path of the young
defender to allow him to fire straight at Smith
Ashton were
offering little going forward, relying on counter-attacks to force the
ball forward. Kyle Haynes denied Matty O'Neill on twelve minutes,
blocking the former Burnley man's shot with a brave challenge
Smith was
very much the busier of the two keepers in the opening quarter, as he
was on hand to save from Elliott Durrell as the little playmaker rattled
in a volley from range on sixteen minutes
Ashton's best
period of the game going forward followed, as they enjoyed much the
better of the chances during the next twenty minutes. Ian Bennett's
tremendous run should have brought a save out of Dan Crane, but his shot
skewed horribly wide of goal
O'Neill was
also wasteful with a twenty yard shot midway through the half, firing
wide through a crowd of players after Crane had pawed a corner into his
path
Ashton's
Danny Caldecott was guilty of wasting an opportunity from almost the
same position midway through the half, as he also missed the target with
a shot from the edge of the area
The Pitmen
responded with Campion sending over a corner kick that Dunkley headed
high over the crossbar from ten yards out
Both sides
were looking solid and strong at the back, with clear cut chances at a
premium for both sides. Pedro Monteiro and Dunkley were continuing their
good recent form in central defence, with Monteiro enjoying one of his
best games since joining the Pitmen in the summer
Marvin
Robinson had had a quiet game up to this point for the hosts, with only
a solitary effort to his name in the first half on the half hour mark.
Clements set the big man on his way, but his wayward shot failed to test
Smith as he advanced on the six yard box
Ashton forced
a number of set pieces as the half started to come to a close, with
three successive corner kicks setting off the alarm bells at the back
for the Pitmen. However, Monteiro again dealt with the danger with
authoritative defending
Durrell could
have sent the Pitmen in ahead at the break, timing his run to perfection
to chase down Clements' through ball. His well-hit shot was saved by
Smith, who positioned himself well o deal with the shot
Half time saw
the Pitmen make a tactical change, as the powerful, experienced Gary Hay
was introduced up front in place of Chris Shaw. This move saw Darren
Campion move to left back, with Hay playing up top with Robinson
Just six
minutes after the restart, the visitors were reduced to ten men as Kevin
Sanasy was sent off for his part in a clash with Monteiro. The
Portuguese defender was also booked for his part in the melee
With Ashton
down to ten men, they set out to frustrate the Pitmen with as many men
behind the ball as possible. Chris Amadi was left to forage up front on
his own as United looked for a crucial point to move away from the drop
zone
Clements
fired the ball just wide of goal four minutes later, not getting behind
his shot properly as he lined up a trademark long range effort
Hay's
introduction saw him quickly into he action, heading Clements' corner
kick narrowly wide of goal as he found space in the six yard box
The same
player was guilty of heading wide again just a minute later, missing the
target after he had got on the end of Durrell's cross from the right
hand side
The Pitmen
introduced more firepower with a quarter of the game remaining, as Mark
Danks came on in place of Haynes. This gave the Pitmen a large number of
striking options, with Durrell, Hay, Robinson, Clements and now Danks
all pushing the Ashton defence to it's limits
Jay Denny
made a rare foray forward on seventy minutes, looping a Danks cross
inches wide of goal with a well-placed header
Two minutes
later, Durrell's driven ball across goal was almost turned into the net
by Robinson, but the ball was inches too far in front of the striker as
he homed in on goal
A minute
later, Danks went closest to breaking the deadlock, as he came in form
the wing with a charging run. His curling shot beat Smith, but came back
off the foot of the post and into play
Amadi's
thankless task of running the line on his own saw him force a good
chance for himself, as he held off Monteiro's challenge before firing
straight at Crane
Danks again
threatened with a low shot fourteen minutes from time, striking the ball
behind when well placed. This was closely followed by a shot from the
quiet Jamey Osbourne, whose twenty yard shot was watched wide by Smith
The final
minutes saw almost desperate defending from Ashton, as the Pitmen
attempted to press home their numerical advantage. Durrell's cross from
the right was headed with by Denny on eighty one minutes, followed by a
similar effort from Chris Clements
A
succession of corners and free kicks added to tension in the ground, as
the resolute Ashton defence continued to frustrate the Pitmen. In the
final minute, Campion struck a goalbound shot that was tipped over by
Smith
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