Match Report: Curzon Ashton 3-1 Redcar Athletic

We had to experience a league defeat at some point, and that point turned out to be yesterday

Wins against Cleethorpes, Warrington Town, Ashton United, and Lancaster preceded Curzon Ashton’s fixture yesterday, and that run of wins should have warned of what was to come.

Off the bat, Curzon started strongest and took the lead within the first five minutes, as the ball bounced off several players in our 6-yard box before being bundled into the back of the net.

Curzon would then nearly get a second moments later as a great touch from a long ball would allow them to have another chance, but that shot was put wide.

The match would remain in Curzon’s favour, and they would get a second goal in the 10th minute as a brilliant cross was played across the box and headed into the far post.

They weren’t done at two, either, as they would be halted by Josh Mazfari several times on their hunt for another goal.

We would get chances of our own though, with the first coming in the 17th minute as a ball from Louis Johnson into the box was knocked back by Owen Burns, but there were no Steelmen on hand to take the next touch, and the hosts could deal with the ball.

Play would slowly shift towards the middle of the pitch, but after some saves from Mazfari and the Curzon keeper, the hosts would eventually get the next bit of luck.

A 36th-minute penalty was awarded to the hosts after Danni Lay was judged to have brought down an attacker, with the referee almost immediately pointing to the spot.

Mazfari would dive the right way, but the effort was drilled low and hard, and it would creep past our keeper’s hand and go into the bottom corner.

Our last chance of the half would see Bosh put a strike in the box over the bar, and the interval would follow soon after.

Not a great half for us, by any stretch.

The second half would start with a substitution, as Danni Lay was brought off for Curtis Round, and the half would also start with Steelmen chances.

Bosh would be fed through the middle, though his shot would be held by the keeper, before a Curzon counter would force Mazfari into making a stellar stop to keep the score the same.

Up until the hour mark, things would be incredibly uneventful, as whilst the hosts looked to be a shell of their first half performance, they were also doing the right things defensively to stop us from getting shots on goal.

A ball over the top just after the 60th minute would land at the feet of Louis Johnson, though his strike would be put narrowly wide, and less than ten minutes after we would have another attempt as a lobbed shot would bounce off the crossbar and back into play.y

Two more changes would see Andrei and Brad come on, and we would get one back moments later as a whipped corner would be headed into the far corner by Danny Rowe.

Brad would then play a long ball forward just after our first goal, with his pass finding Louis, though his ball into the box would be cleared away from danger.

We would then have another stellar chance, as a ball was played across the face of goal that narrowly missed Andrei, and it meant the hosts retained their lead as we then entered the final ten minutes.

Things would get more entertaining in the final moments though, as we would produce a great chance for a second as shielding from Andrei allowed him to play a pass to Brad, who would knock a ball over the top that would again find Louis Johnson, though he would be met by an onrushing keeper who was able to sweep the ball away.

A save from Mazfari would be followed by added time, where the only bit of action to note was a defensive clearance from oscar following a rapid counter from the hosts, and the full time would then follow.

A midweek defeat, and our first league one since we lost to Matlock 2-0

But if you want a silver lining… look what happened after that. 40+ league games undefeated!

It’s Ilkeston on Saturday next, and it’s another away trip too. See you there

Line-ups:

Redcar Athletic: Mazfari, Guru, Banks, Hawkins, Rowe, Lay (C) [Round, 46′], Smith, Burns [Fewster, 71′], Boyes [Ardelean, 71′], Fletcher, Johnson

Curzon Ashton: Dowling, Sobowale, Hayhurst, Poscha, Amado, Nolan, Stobbs, Whitehead (C) [Wilson, 87′], Curran, Lawal [Roberts, 75′], Holmes [Spencer, 65′]