ASHVILLE defeated New Mills 2-1 in a highly competitive game which saw the Wallasey club leapfrog The Millers back up into fourth.

A frantic start saw both teams looking to gain the early leverage and after eight minutes it was the home side who had the ball in the back of the net first.

A corner wasn’t cleared sufficiently and a half volley from the edge of the area was parried out by Jamie Owen into the path of Chad Whyte who converted the rebound. The Millers forward was clearly offside however and penalised as such.

This clearly riled Ashville who went straight up the other end and scored a goal of their own, this one being legitimate. Lewis Moynes crossed for Lennox Allward who rose like a salmon to expertly guide his header beautifully into the top corner.

With 15 minutes gone it was nearly two for the visitors but Moynes’ effort was saved by the legs of Joey Oldham to keep the lead to a single goal.

That save would prove crucial 60 seconds late when New Mills equalised. A cross from the right found Whyte in a legal position unmarked at the back post where the striker duly headed past a diving Jamie Owen to restore parity.

A moment of controversy arose on the half hour when Ashville were denied a clear penalty. Allward broke the defensive line following a pass from Junior Siyakhowla-Fani and rounded the helpless Oldham in the New Mills goal. Allward attempted to place the ball into an empty net but a retreating defender got back in time and used his arm to block the shot but no penalty was given. 

It was Siyakhowla-Fani who would next come closest for Villa just three minutes later cutting in from the right and showing his talents curling a left footed effort just wide of the goal.

And it was Siyakhowla-Fani who would ultimately give Ashville the lead on 52 minutes with an early goal of the season contender. In a Bergkamp-esque moment the young winger trapped the ball into a pirouette, spinning away from a lunging defender before oozing class with a calm, placed finish into the bottom corner sending Oldham the wrong way.

The game almost fell into a bit of a lull shortly after as a torrential downpour made its unwelcome and uninvited appearance around the hour mark. Villa still attacked with intent whilst holding firm to the counter from a tough New Mills side.

The next real effort of note came when Tom Hewlett turned his man brilliantly on the edge of the box before curling a shot just over the upright, leaving Oldham stranded.

What happened next though left everyone in shock. The home side won a free kick on the left hand side which was delivered perfectly into the back post. An unmarked attacker ran freely onto the ball but was met by the equally sharp Owen. The shot bounced up off Owen, a brilliant save in the circumstances, and with entire goal at their mercy from a yard out another unmarked attacker inexplicably headed over the bar. A let off for Ashville.

A common trait for this Villa side this season is they respond well to setbacks and it wasn’t long before they had flown up the other end and narrowly missed taking a two goal lead. Junior was at the heart of things again, his pass giving Moynes a one-on-one opportunity that was dragged inches wide.

Two minutes later and those two were at it again, Siyakhowla-Fani once again teeing up Moynes who fired just wide.

New Mills weren’t going away that easily though, plenty of pressure on the Ashville back line but the visitors just weren’t buckling. Eventually a Millers midfielder had had enough and decided to just smash a long range first time effort into the clubhouse.

With less than five minutes remaining another golden chance came the way of Ashville, Tom Randall dispossessing Oldham and playing it to Moynes but the pass wasn’t the right option and the defence and Oldham had time to recover and prevent Moynes from scoring

The last few minutes saw New Mills banging on the door but to no avail and the final whistle eventually came to cap off another impressive away performance for Ashville who continue their 100% record on the road this season.

The result sees Ashville leapfrog New Mills back up into fourth place in NWCFL First Division South as their impressive season continues.

Ashville now have a weekend off from league action as they welcome Ebac Northern League side, Marske United, in the Isuzu FA Vase first round at Ray Parker Stadium on Saturday, October 19 in a 3pm kick off. 

This is followed up with an historic trip to Prenton Park to take on Tranmere Rovers just five days later in the Cheshire Senior Cup first round on Thursday October 24. Kick off for this huge Wirral derby is 7:45pm. Tickets are available online now with pay on the day also available.