Weekend football round-up: Kattah keeps Droylsden in title race

It was a difficult day for our local non-League football sides, with only Droylsden coming away with three points.

The Bloods maintained their title challenge in the North West Counties (NWCFL) First Division North with a hard-fought 2-1 win at Euxton Villa. 

Dave Pace’s side rode their luck at times and almost fell behind after a wayward backpass let Dan Singleton in, who fluffed his lines and hit the post with an open goal at his mercy. 

The Lancastrians took the lead on 16 minutes with a solo goal from Kai Shorrock, who outpaced the Droylsden defence on the break before slotting the ball past debutee goalkeeper Ellis Allen. 

Droylsden equalised eight minutes later, the prolific George Kattah scoring his 14th goal in as many games in a Bloods shirt. 

Euxton clattered the post just past the half-hour mark, but it was Droylsden who made the breakthrough after the break, when Elvis Amoakwa nodded home a corner at the far post on 62 minutes. 

The Droylsden defence were largely untroubled until deep into stoppage time when sub Joshua Osifo came close to equalising after a through ball from Jacob Hancock. 

It means the Bloods remain in 3rd place behind Atherton LR and leaders Nelson. 

The title race in the National League North (NLN) is wide open after Curzon Ashton’s stalemate at Darlington. 

The home side played most of the second half with ten men after Kallum Griffiths picked up two yellow cards and had goalkeeper Peter Jameson to thank for a string of superb saves to keep the Nash at bay. 

Devon Matthews was the unluckiest player on the pitch, the Curzon defender having one shot cleared off the line in the first half, before Jameson’s performed two lots of heroics from him in the space of 60 seconds. 

The Quakers share their pitch with the town’s rugby team, and the rutted surface hampered their own efforts to take the lead, most notably when Jack Maskell spooned over the bar from close range. 

Luis Lacey and Will Hayhurst both came close for Curzon in the late knockings, and although the game ended in a 0-0 draw, player-manager Craig Mahon was pleased with the performance: “The only thing we would’ve wanted to do was to test them more, but if that’s the only thing we’ve got to worry about, then I’m happy. 

“I thought that we played well, I thought that we stuck to our game plan. Their man getting sent off gave us a bit of a lift, and although we want to win every game home and away, if you can’t win games, don’t lose them. 

“There are definitely a lot more positives than negatives.” 

The result leaves Curzon in 6th place in the NLN table, six points behind leaders Chester, but with at least two games in hand on all the teams above them. 

Across town, Ashton United’s grip on a Northern Premier League (NPL) play-off place loosened after going down to a late defeat at Prescot Cables. 

In a game of few chances on a bobbly pitch, the team from Merseyside walked away with all three points thanks to an 88th minute winner from James Foley. 

This came moments after Ashton’s Callum Rowe picked up a second yellow card for a tactical foul to stop a Prescot break. 

“[The pitch] isn’t conducive to good football,” said Robins boss Steve Cunningham. “Prescot probably won the ugly side of the game, so from that aspect I don’t really have any arguments. 

“From the first ten minutes it was ‘we volley it one way, then they volley it the other’. There was no pattern of play, there was no football played whatsoever, so I think it was always going to take one lapse in concentration or mistake, and that’s how it panned out.” 

At Ewen Fields, history repeated itself for Hyde United against Morpeth Town, with Daniel Barlow once again scoring an injury time equaliser to deny a Tigers win, as he did in the reverse fixture back in September. 

A depleted Hyde were missing talismanic captain Jack Redshaw but still made most of the running throughout. 

Matt Fearnley and Ewan Bange both came close to opening the scoring for Nick Spooner’s side, before stand-in skipper Joel Amado capitalised on indecision from a corner on 25 minutes to make it 1-0. 

Jack Foalle, so often a thorn in Hyde’s side, had a shot cleared off the line just after the break by Shakeel Jones-Griffiths, but the Tigers roared back with efforts from Drew Baker, Amado and the lively Brad Holmes. 

The visitors pressed forward in injury time, with a speculative effort from Barlow deflecting past a stranded Callum Hiddleston for a cruel equaliser in the 93rd minute. 

There was still time for Jordan Scanlon to have his goal-bound shot spectacularly cleared off the line by Morpeth ‘keeper Dan Langley to keep the scores level and take Hyde to a seven-game winless streak in the league. 

“It’s rinse and repeat,” said Tigers manager Nick Spooner. “It was a good performance. We started really bright and should’ve scored early on; there were lots of ball into the box and lots of chances missed, and then the disappointment in injury time. They’ve taken four points off us this season. 

“We’ve not played since New Year’s Day, and I think that showed in the last 10-15 minutes when they got a bit on top of us. 

“We’re not a bad team; we just don’t put other teams to bed. As a management team we look at it and go ‘what is wrong?’. We’re not ruthless enough.  

“If I played in our back four, I’d be annoyed, because if we don’t score two or three goals, we lose games.” 

The Tigers are now ten points off the play-off places. 

It was a similar story for Stalybridge Celtic in the NPL West, who twice took the lead only for home side Avro to peg them back in injury time. 

Max Leonard opened the scoring, volleying home after Jack Tinning teed him up on 18 minutes. 

The Ro equalised on 26 minutes, when Liam Ellis made up for missing an earlier header to notch his 10th goal of the campaign. 

However, Bridge made an instant reply, with Leonard once again scorching a volley past a helpless Grant Shenton after a well-worked one-two with Lewis Rawsthorn. 

Avro came out swinging in the second half, with AJ Warburton, Jack Morrow and Chiekh Thiam all coming close, but Stalybridge’s lead looked more secure when Kane Hickman saw red on the hour. 

Tinning was perhaps fortunate not to pick up a second yellow after a late challenge on Ellis, and although Rawsthorn almost made the game safe when he hit the bar on 75 minutes, Avro’s building pressure told as Deane Smalley draw them level in the 92nd minute. 

The draw leaves Stalybridge in 7th, just one point outside the play-offs. 

Mossley are one place further back after a late, late show of their own in a 1-1 draw at Witton Albion. 

Sonny Reeves tucked away the last kick of the game to keep the Lilywhites in contention following a diving header in the first half from Albs fullback Ollie Hitchcock. 

It took until midway through the second period for Mossley to spring into life, Obua Mugalula squeezing between two Witton defenders before shanking his shot over the bar. 

Eric Yahaya took the ball around Louie Fallon in the home goal on 71 minutes but missed the unguarded net from an acute angle. 

Within a minute, sub Reeves forced Fallon into evasive action, with fellow replacement Reece Webb-Foster also coming close.  

Max Harrop smashed a shot off the woodwork for the hosts, but it was Reeves who had the last word, blasting into the top corner from inside the box to rescue a deserved point. 

In the NWCFL Premier, Glossop North End went down 2-1 at Irlam, while New Mills played out a goalless draw at Wolverhampton Sporting Community in the NWCFL South.