Ashton United (A) – Match Preview

Cup progression is on the line as we go up against a very familiar opponent

There’s a huge bit of deja vu tomorrow for your Steelmen, as for the third Saturday in a row we are facing a team called the Robins, but also, more pressingly, for the second time in a row, we are away to Ashton United.

You may or may not have also noticed that there was no match preview last week for the league version of this game. Truthfully, it would have made this one so much shorter, so I decided on this one covering the cup and league runs for both of us.

The Robins have gotten to this stage of the FA Trophy by beating Warrington Town, though they had to fight for that one via a penalty shootout victory.

A last-minute equaliser from Warrington Town took the match to penalties, but five perfect spot-kicks meant Ashton did prevail, and they are now facing us tomorrow.

We had a somewhat simpler task, as a late Owen Burns header was enough to get us past Guisborough Town, with the Priorymen struggling to break down our defence in that match.

Their league form hasn’t been too great either, and they currently sit 5 points off the drop, with Nathan Haslam having also just left the club to take on a role at Matlock Town.

Our league form, though, has been much more different, with our win against Ashton last Saturday being aided by a Guiseley win against Cleethorpes that has meant our gap at the top is 4 points.

Those teams in 2nd and 3rd do have games in hand on us though, with Guiseley having 6 points still available that could (along with a goal swing) send them above us.

Brad’s goal against Ashton on Saturday was his 5th in three matches, with that early strike joining his looped shot against Ilkeston and his hat-trick against Avro, and after a length of time out with injuries, it is really nice to see him be this prolific.

Adam Boyes, though, is still adding to his tally, with our striker sitting on 13 goals now, the joint-highest of any NPL side.

The only other one with that tally is Hanley’s Lewis Porter, though four of his 13 have come from the penalty spot, whilst all 13 of Bosh’s have come from open play.

As for our opponents, their history dates back to the end of the 19th century, when they were founded as Hurst FC, with their earliest known match coming against Hurst Red Star on the 16th of March, 1879

In 1885 they won the first edition of the Manchester Senior Cup, beating a side called Newton Heath in the final.

Newton Heath do go by a different name today (which you probably already know), with the side becoming Manchester United.

Their final few seasons as Hurst FC saw them sign Dixie Dean before World War II, with the record-breaking striker only making a couple of appearances for the Robins before retiring.

On the 1st of February 1947, Hurst FC would change their name to Ashton United, and after decades of lower league football that saw them lose ballots and shuffle about the regional divisions, they would eventually reach the Conference North, heavily in part due to the demise of Telford United.

Their first season there saw them be relegated back to the Northern Premier League, though they would eventually return to what had now become the National League North, having beaten Farsley Celtic and Grantham Town in the play-offs.

However, another instant relegation would send them back to Step 3, which is where they would remain, with a 5th-placed finish in the 2024/25 season being their recent highlight, though that ended with a defeat to Worksop Town in the play-offs.

As for this season though, things haven’t been great for Ashton United, and they currently sit two points off the drop zone, with the only barrier between them and the bottom 4 being Quorn, an Emley side with a goal difference of -11, and a Stockton side who just conceded 3 to that Emley side last Saturday.

The Robin’s last league win was back on the 18th of August, when they beat Whitby 2-0, and since then they’ve had 5 draws and 5 defeats, including points dropped to Quorn, Leek, Ilkeston, Emley, and recently back-to-back losses against Avro and us.

Looking ahead, things don’t look to be getting easier either, with the Robins hosting the two Warrington teams in a matter of days, before a trip to Workington is followed by the hosting of Bury.

At the very least, though, they have games in hand against Hyde, Lancaster and Alfreton, with every point crucial at this…or any stage of the season.

But right now, the sole focus is the FA Trophy. League position doesn’t matter; it is just what happens on the pitch, and so with that, we hope to see you at theirs tomorrow.

Up the Steelmen!