Match report by Leon Higgins
Curzon Ashton left the north east with a point at Blackwell Meadows, after a tough 0-0 draw with promotion chasing Darlington. The quality of both sides showed with both goalkeepers earning man of the match for their respective clubs .
A game of many chances started in the opening 6 minutes with Stefan Mols cross turning into a shot which caught Peter Jameson off guard, looping just over the bar. Darlington then grew into the game starting with Scott Barrow whose cross found the head of Cedric Main but was unable to convert.
The Quakers then came close again 5 minutes later as Caden Kelly’s effort deflected wide. Darlington once again had another big chance in the 18th minute when Jarrett Rivers was found inside the area and his low shot into the bottom left corner but was cleared by Jordan Richards.
Darlington keeper, Peter Jameson, was called into action 11 minutes later when an excellent Luke Griffiths free kick found the head of the the leaping Isaac Sinclair, only for the flag to be raised. The Nash kept pushing and had their own shot cleared off the line in the 34th minute when Devon Mathews was denied by Darlington’s number 6, Elliot Forbes.
The Quakers went closest just before half time when Ben Hedley curled the ball into the box from the left with Cedric Main getting a touch on the ball, but Curzon keeper Bobby Jones pushed it around the post.
HALF TIME 0-0
Curzon came out of the traps firing for the 2nd half when 3 minutes in some great work from Isaac Sinclair found captain Jimmy Spencer in the area but just rolled his effort wide, once again showing the threat the Nash possessed.
49 minutes in, the game’s changing point occurred when Kallum Griffiths saw red for The Quakers after a second yellow, for a foul on Sinclair right on the edge of the box.
Despite the threat the Nash had produced for set pieces they were unable to capitalise when Luke Griffiths under the wall free kick forced Jameson into a save. Despite being down to 10 men Darlo kept going for it and a 54th minute, long range shot from Kaden Kelly forced Bobby Jones down to stop it and keep hold of it on a very bobbly service.
2 minutes later The Nash wondered how they hadn’t scored with 2 outstanding saves from Peter Jameson showing his man of the match credentials.
First Devon Matthews got a flick-on, into the corner forcing a brilliant save from Jameson. Then Jameson best save of the lot came when Matthews close range shot was somehow kept out. Darlington thought they had then taken the lead when Jack Maskell was played in by Main but forced his effort miles over the bar showing how the challenging conditions on the rugby pitch produced many a bobble.
After making changes the Nash came close again in the 82nd minute when the ball came out for William Hayhurst whose strike went over the bar.
Curzon were inches wide from getting a winner when Luis Lacey was found at the edge of the box but his volley went just wide. The game saw another controversial moment when Darlington called for a Red for Jimmy Spencer after a collision with Scott Barrow which also saw keeper Jameson booked for dissent. Into 5 minutes of added time and the Nash kept pushing but couldn’t find a winner, leaving the North East with a hard fought point.
FULLTIME 0-0
After the hard fought and entertaining point, the Nash continue on the road, this time travelling to the South West to take on Oxford City. Following other results on Saturday the point sees the Nash 6th with 46 points but with also 2/3 games in hand on the teams around them while hosts Darlington sit in 7th, a point above Chorley in the race for the final play off place.
Next:
Tuesday, 28th January
The MGroup Stadium, Oxford, OX3 0NQ
Tickets – Buy now
