Match report by Sol Finnon
Curzon Ashton were defeated 1-0 by Brackley Town at The Tameside Stadium on a chilly Saturday afternoon, as a 62nd minute close-range header from Brackley Town goalscorer, Matt Lowe, was enough to render the Nash beaten. The boys in blue were unable to equalise despite having a number of quality opportunities, and the majority of possession.
Luke Griffiths got The Nash underway in a half of football that saw both sides have opportunities to score. Brackley Town generated a ‘half-chance’ in the opening minutes of the game, before Shane Byrne had a great attempt from around 25 yards that hit the crossbar from a volley. Alarm bells were ringing after this opportunity, which contributed to Curzon then proceeding to play some sensational football in the 11th minute as a good bit of play led to Captain, Jimmy Spencer, backheeling the ball into the direction of Stefan Mols, who played a pass into Isaac Buckley-Ricketts who nearly converted as the ball was agonisingly cleared out.
More opportunities arrived, a Will Hayhurst free kick in the 17th minute would have found the back of the net if not for a save from Brackley keeper, Jonny Maxted, who made a number of important saves throughout the afternoon. Perhaps the biggest chance landed in the 22nd minute when a Hayhurst strike of sorts, found the guise of Stefan Mols, who had a shot from close-range denied by the keeper; Maxted. Curzon commanded the majority of the first half, controlling the possession and creating chances, however a resilient and controlled Backley Town display meant the sides were even at the break.
The opening stages of the second half had The Nash playing a high level of football. Isaac Sinclair saw a clean and well-hit strike from around 25 yards look to be entering into the top corner when the shot was saved by the Brackley goalkeeper. A good move from the opposition in the 62nd minute led to Brackley Town forward, Morgan Roberts, receiving the ball on the left-hand side of the box, playing a pass across into the middle of the box, where Matt Lowe was waiting, the forward was then able to head the ball in from close-range.
1-0 down against the run of play, The Nash nearly conceded again, Morgan Roberts had a shot that fortunately drifted slightly wide. The rest of the second half consisted of Curzon chasing an equaliser but finding one hard to come by. The biggest chance was in the 85th minute when Adam Barton saw a header cleared off the line after a corner had been swung into the box.
Curzon were unable to create further clear-cut chances and were ultimately beaten on an afternoon in which The Nash were simply frustrated. There were appeals for a Curzon penalty in the 92nd minute after an alleged handball, however the referee waved play on before then blowing the whistle after 4 minutes of added time had been played. Curzon’s frustrations were compounded by the fact Brackley Town leapfrogged them into 4th in the table, whilst they fell into 6th
After a disappointing defeat, we now focus our attention towards our next game, an away fixture against Darlington in a 3PM KO on the 25th of January. Curzon look to bounce back, aided by the fact The Nash have 2 games in hand over most of the sides in the top 7 (Kings Lynn town – we have 3 games in hand, Brackley Town – we have 1 game in hand).
