Emirates FA Cup 3rd Qualifying Round - Ashton Athletic 0 Chorley 1
Sat 30th September 2017 | FA Challenge Cup | By Ian Templeman
A memorable day in the history of Ashton Athletic ended in disappointment, after an 83rd minute goal from Nick Haughton secured a 1-0 win for Chorley in the Emirates FA Cup Third Qualifying Round tie at Brocstedes Park.
A record crowd of 602 turned up to watch a game that was also streamed live on the BBC Sport website, and everyone who watched either live or online was rewarded with a cracking cup tie.
The Yellows more than matched their opponents from the Vanarama National League North over the course of the 90 minutes.
But in the end it was a terrific piece of individual skill that separated the teams, with Haughton striking the only goal of the game with a cracking 25 yarder to book the Magpies' place in the next round.
It was a tough blow to take for the Yellows, who turned a display that belied the fact that 76 league places separate the two sides.
The lively front pairing of Joel Brownhill and Dale Korie-Butler were a constant threat to the Chorley backline, and although Chorley had the better of the territory and possession, a solid Athletic back line and confident goalkeeping by Martin Pearson kept them largely at bay.
The Yellows did have their fair share of chances in the first half, most notably a terrific Charlie Munro free kick which was tipped over by Chorley keeper Matt Urwin, and from the resulting corner full back Bram Johnstone fired in a cracking 30 yarder that only just missed the target.
As torrential rain made the pitch heavier, in the second half chances were fewer and as the game entered the last ten minutes it seemed destined to be ending goalless.
But then Nick Haughton stepped in to break the Yellow hearts, smashing a 25 yard shot into the far corner of the net when the ball was cut back into his path after a move down the left flank.
It was a devastating blow for Athletic who will look back ruefully on some missed chances, but joint-manager Jay Foulds said afterwards that everyone at the club can be proud of the team's performance.
"I thought we deserved a draw, but sometimes you have just got to hold your hands up when a piece of quality wins a game and that's what it was and there's not much you can do about it.
"We knew if we performed as we could do and frustrated them we had a chance, and credit to the lads, the game plan was played out to every instruction, and we did it for 90 minutes. They worked their socks off and we couldn't be any more proud of the performance they put in.
"We're frustrated and we're gutted, and I'm disappointed for the lads because I think the minimum we deserved was a replay. Speaking to the Chorley assistant manager and some of their committee after the game, they said we deserved a draw.
"It's nice when hear comments like that but when you don't get anything out of it, it doesn't really mean anything.
"Every defeat hurts, and after a defeat my wife says on a Saturday night that I am not the best company. But I'm not like that now because it was a massive ask and we didn't really expect to win, but we knew we would do ourselves justice.
"We lost 5-0 to Halifax last year in the FA Cup, and a lot of the lads from that game are still here. The last thing we said to them was that last year we didn't do ourselves justice, and we needed to put that result to bed, and I think we did that today.
"We took a National League North team to within eight minutes of a replay, and I don't think they created much more than we created.
"Our keeper Martin Pearson made a couple of half decent saves and so did their keeper, but a bit of class has been the difference between the two sides.
"But it's been a good day for the club and Dougie and me are made up for the club's committee, after all the work that has gone on behind the scenes in preparation, everything from the girls preparing food to getting extra stewards in from Chorley.
"Everybody has pulled together, it's been a successful day for the club and hopefully Ashton Athletic have got a bit of recognition.
"I believe all the comments on the BBC coverage were positive and hoepfully we can get a few people back that came down today and we can push on, and maybe look to have a run in the Vase.
"Well done to 1874 Northwich too, a great result for them and (the 2-2 draw with Ossett Town) is an opportunity for them to keep flying the flag for the league.
"Let's hope they do the business on Tuesday night".
Emirates FA Cup 3rd Qualifying Round - Ashton Athletic 0 Chorley 1
Sat 30th September 2017 | FA Challenge Cup
By Ian Templeman
A memorable day in the history of Ashton Athletic ended in disappointment, after an 83rd minute goal from Nick Haughton secured a 1-0 win for Chorley in the Emirates FA Cup Third Qualifying Round tie at Brocstedes Park.
A record crowd of 602 turned up to watch a game that was also streamed live on the BBC Sport website, and everyone who watched either live or online was rewarded with a cracking cup tie.
The Yellows more than matched their opponents from the Vanarama National League North over the course of the 90 minutes.
But in the end it was a terrific piece of individual skill that separated the teams, with Haughton striking the only goal of the game with a cracking 25 yarder to book the Magpies' place in the next round.
It was a tough blow to take for the Yellows, who turned a display that belied the fact that 76 league places separate the two sides.
The lively front pairing of Joel Brownhill and Dale Korie-Butler were a constant threat to the Chorley backline, and although Chorley had the better of the territory and possession, a solid Athletic back line and confident goalkeeping by Martin Pearson kept them largely at bay.
The Yellows did have their fair share of chances in the first half, most notably a terrific Charlie Munro free kick which was tipped over by Chorley keeper Matt Urwin, and from the resulting corner full back Bram Johnstone fired in a cracking 30 yarder that only just missed the target.
As torrential rain made the pitch heavier, in the second half chances were fewer and as the game entered the last ten minutes it seemed destined to be ending goalless.
But then Nick Haughton stepped in to break the Yellow hearts, smashing a 25 yard shot into the far corner of the net when the ball was cut back into his path after a move down the left flank.
It was a devastating blow for Athletic who will look back ruefully on some missed chances, but joint-manager Jay Foulds said afterwards that everyone at the club can be proud of the team's performance.
"I thought we deserved a draw, but sometimes you have just got to hold your hands up when a piece of quality wins a game and that's what it was and there's not much you can do about it.
"We knew if we performed as we could do and frustrated them we had a chance, and credit to the lads, the game plan was played out to every instruction, and we did it for 90 minutes. They worked their socks off and we couldn't be any more proud of the performance they put in.
"We're frustrated and we're gutted, and I'm disappointed for the lads because I think the minimum we deserved was a replay. Speaking to the Chorley assistant manager and some of their committee after the game, they said we deserved a draw.
"It's nice when hear comments like that but when you don't get anything out of it, it doesn't really mean anything.
"Every defeat hurts, and after a defeat my wife says on a Saturday night that I am not the best company. But I'm not like that now because it was a massive ask and we didn't really expect to win, but we knew we would do ourselves justice.
"We lost 5-0 to Halifax last year in the FA Cup, and a lot of the lads from that game are still here. The last thing we said to them was that last year we didn't do ourselves justice, and we needed to put that result to bed, and I think we did that today.
"We took a National League North team to within eight minutes of a replay, and I don't think they created much more than we created.
"Our keeper Martin Pearson made a couple of half decent saves and so did their keeper, but a bit of class has been the difference between the two sides.
"But it's been a good day for the club and Dougie and me are made up for the club's committee, after all the work that has gone on behind the scenes in preparation, everything from the girls preparing food to getting extra stewards in from Chorley.
"Everybody has pulled together, it's been a successful day for the club and hopefully Ashton Athletic have got a bit of recognition.
"I believe all the comments on the BBC coverage were positive and hoepfully we can get a few people back that came down today and we can push on, and maybe look to have a run in the Vase.
"Well done to 1874 Northwich too, a great result for them and (the 2-2 draw with Ossett Town) is an opportunity for them to keep flying the flag for the league.
"Let's hope they do the business on Tuesday night".
