Friday, 27 December 2013

Ashton United 2-1 FC United Of Manchester

Thursday 26th December
Northern Premier League
Attendance: 1,008
Admission: £9 (Adults)/£6 (Concessions)

Boxing Day was upon us, the football derby day, and Ashton United welcomed FC United Of Manchester to Hurst Cross, in what was definitely an entertaining game. Ashton United, nicknamed The Robins were formed in 1878 and they ply their trade in the Northern Premier League, premier division. They play their home games at Hurst Cross in Ashton-Under-Lyne and managed a 10th place finish in the league last season. Hurst Cross is made of 4 main sections, one seated stand to the side of the pitch and opposite that was the large covered terrace which housed much of the visiting fans for the match. Behind one goal was a large open terrace stand and opposing that was a curved terrace where the refreshments were.

This match was a very attractive affair for us to do an ‘Away Chips’, short trip, new ground and a largely supported visiting team. The admission was £9 for adults which seemed very reasonable but it was £6 for concessions, so U16’s pay £6 which seems very expensive, especially in non-league where they should be trying to attract more younger fans to come along. There was a small amount of parking directly outside of the ground and not far from the ground there was many cars parked along a long road, just minutes away. With an average crowd there would be an adequate amount of parking but there was an extremely large attendance for the match. We picked up a programme from those selling them outside the ground and the ‘We are United’ programme is pretty good, giving a good insight about the visiting team and has a lot of content looking back at previous matches with pictures and also general football columns and for £2 it’s not bad value. The ground has a nice charm and it’s a very traditional looking ground which is great for taking pictures, and after a walk around the ground we headed into the club shop, which had loads of old programmes on sale and Ashton merchandise and the person running the shop was very friendly. There was a very good atmosphere building in the ground with many of the FC United fans watching the Manchester United game in the clubhouse prior to the match and the match winner was greeted with a very loud celebration heard from the other side of the stadium. Ashton United have had an average attendance of around 150 this season but this match attracted just over 1000 people and the FC United faithful in the terrace where vocal throughout the game.
 
The game was a very even affair with chances for both sides and it was FC United’s keeper Ed Wilczynski’s saves that denied Ashton opening the scoring. As the game was approaching half-time we decided to grab something to eat. The opener came from the visitors through Michael Norton. The queue was considerable in length and it took 40 minutes before parting with £3.10 for pie and chips. The steak pie we had was nice enough and the chips were great for £1.50, they were better than most that we’ve had this season but nonetheless 40 minutes is way too long to wait for pie and chips. Supposedly they usually have more food and drink outlets open but being a bank holiday they weren’t and considering the crowd size, it had a huge effect. The second half saw Ashton take more control of the game and they equalised through a Gary Gee penalty after Tom Davies was sent off for handling on the line. Ashton’s pressure paid off after they found a winner on 82 minutes as Dale Johnson poked home after the visitors failed to clear. It ended 2-1 and it was a very entertaining game. The Admission/Programme/Chips combo at Ashton United for adults cost £12.50 which for the overall match is very good.

Overall Ashton United was a good visit with an entertaining match. It’s been a while since we’ve had chips so that’s a plus. Hurst Cross is a great ground for a match and the atmosphere was brilliant adding to the game.
 
Price: 5pts
Programme: 8pts
Food: 6.5pts
Entertainment: 9pts
Parking: 3pts
Staff: 2.5pts
Facilities: 2pts

Total Score: 36pts


Match Pictures




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