Ashfield succumbed to their first League defeat of the Season and will disappointed with the ways things went yesterday in losing to an injury time header from a corner kick. The Glasgow outfit were confident going into yesterday`s Match on the back of a good victory against Thorniewood United however Victoria Park has not been a particularly happy hunting ground for Ashfield over the years for some reason and last season`s victory emphasised that (4-3). Anyway, it was not raining yesterday as both teams started brightly and the visitors were breaking with pace however it was the final ball that was eluding the `field with Graeme Hearton and Ciaran Friel unable to convert early chances. The home side however were given a massive boost in the 7th minute when the Ashfield Keeper failed to control a backpass allowing the Newmains Centre to open the scoring. Newmains Utd 1 Ashfield 0. A real blow for the big Keeper however what this did was to galvanise the home side who were looking to build up confidence following last week`s visit to Lesmahagow. The game for some reason became a rather bad tempered affair and the Referee had been extremely lenient in his handling of some of his decisions. It took Ashfield until the 31st minute to draw level and it was worth waiting for. The visitors were awarded a free-kick 22 yards out, and Ashfield striker Keigan Parker delivered an inch perfect free-kick into the top corner of the net to the delight of the travelling support. Newmains Utd 1 Ashfield 1. The next period of the game saw some hefty challenges and unfortunately Hannaway in the Newmains side sustained a severe knee injury which procluded him from moving from the field. The game was held up for 30 minutes before the player was assisted off the park and onto a waiting Ambulance. Everyone at Ashfield would like to wish him a speedy recovery. The rest of the half was played out in a rather subdued manner.
HT:- Newmains Utd 1 Ashfield 1.
The second half was like an old fashioned Cup tie with both teams going hammer and tong at each other. Chances were shared around but were slightly more of a premium than the first half. Ashfield`s closest effort was a Ciaran Friel header with 10 minutes to go when his effort crashed off the inside of the post before being cleared to safety. Newmains themselves had a great opportunity following another mix-up at the back allowing the Newmains Centre to round the Ashfield keeper however his net bound effort was cleared off the line by Patrick Cullen. As the game entered the final few minutes, the home side were awarded a Penalty Kick with the Referee claiming that the Ashfield Keeper had bundled over the Newmains Centre when gathering the ball. Many would say justice was deserved when the Ashfield Keeper produced an excellent save down to his left to deny the home side. Just as both benches were looking at their watches, the home side got one last corner. The ball was whipped into the front post with the Newmains Captain jumping in between a number of Ashfield defenders to bullet a header into the roof of the net to the delight of the home support. Newmains Utd 2 Ashfield 1. The Referee barely had time to centre the ball before blowing for time up. As detailed earlier this was the `field`s first League defeat of the Season however taking the first 8 games played so far they can be extremely happy with their results and performances. Newmains are a completely different proposition having already won at Forth this season and apart from last Saturday, their results have dramatically improved however the `field will be disappointed and will `dust themselves down` for the visit of Vale of Leven to the Peugeot Ashfield Stadium next Saturday (22/9/18 - 2pm KO)
FT:- Newmains Utd 2 Ashfield 1
