Following a 2-1 away victory over Rushall Olympic on Saturday, second placed Curzon Ashton welcomed league leaders Scunthorpe United to the Tameside Stadium on Tuesday for a top of the table clash.
Visitors Scunthorpe started the game brightly, going close to scoring after just three minutes through Callum Roberts’ inswinging free kick, which evaded everyone and flicked off the woodwork.
Hosts Curzon then hit the woodwork themselves just before the half-hour mark when Luke Griffiths’ free kick was glanced onto the crossbar by defender Devon Matthews.
After a strong first half performance, The Nash were dealt a killer blow early in the second when Will Evans poked the ball home from a corner to put The Iron in front against the run of play.
Curzon then had a great opportunity to level the scoring when Jordan Richards clipped the ball towards Stefan Mols at the back post, but the Spaniard spurned the opportunity, dragging his half volley well wide of the post.
Richards was involved again moments later, flashing the ball across the face of the goal- there to meet it was Jimmy Spencer, but much like Mols, he could only direct his effort wide of the target.
Despite the defeat, Curzon Ashton manager Craig Mahon was very pleased with what he saw:
“It’s a tough pill to swallow because of how well we played, I thought we deserved at least a point,” Mahon told the Reporter.
“Yes we’ve lost but there are so many positives to take, we’ve shown what little old Curzon can do against some of the big sides in the division.
“It just shows how far we’ve come over the past few years that teams are changing the way they play against us, they’re wary of us now- I see that as a huge compliment.”
Following the loss, Curzon now sit 4th in the National League North table, with a tough away trip to King’s Lynn Town to come this weekend.
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