Ashton United produced a magnificent performance on Saturday to claim their first double of the season overcoming a spirited and improving Buxton side. Manager Danny Johnson named the same team that defeated North Ferriby by the same score a week earlier and introduced new signing Rod Thornley from the bench for the final 20 minutes.
‘I thought we were excellent throughout’ said the manager. ‘We dominated the majority of the first half, played some of the best football we have produced this season and should have killed the game off during the excellent 30 minute spell we had. We always expected Buxton to come at us in the second half but we defended exceptionally and showed plenty of spirit and determination. Buxton under John Reed (manager) are always difficult to beat, so to take 6 points from them this season is a tremendous return.’
‘The atmosphere around the changing room is fantastic at the minute and that isn’t just because we have won a couple of games. The lads are realising that we have a great squad of players and a real chance of a top eight finish this season. We have all sorts of characters and the main difference from this time last season is the fact that we have a belief we can match and beat anyone in this league. We are going into games knowing that if we do our bit and do it well then the opposition will have to be at their best to overcome us. We have quality in all departments and the mental strength that is required to win difficult games is becoming more apparent.’
‘The players and management are really enjoying their football, not just the games but also the training sessions. We work exceptionally hard and this week we will be putting the lads through their paces and looking at how we can retain possession of the football better when the opposition put us under a spell of pressure. We have fit players at the club but we tend to just hack and slash at things rather than concentrating and putting the ball into good areas of the pitch.’
‘Very seldom do I single out individuals for praise but when a player is performing consistently well they need to know about it. Terry Smith has already earned us around 10/12 points so far this season and has produced some world class saves. Not only is he a great shot stopper he is also a young lad willing to learn and improve his all-round game. We have spoken about the importance of him coming for crosses and easing the pressure on his defence along with trying to help improve his kicking both from his hands and on the floor. Terry always takes the information we give him on board and at the age of 21 he is only going to get better and could quite easily make a decent living out of the game. He has been magnificent for us and deserves more credit than he gets. I know the lads think the world of him and the best bit is I am convinced there is still lot more to come from him.’
‘We don’t have a league game for 10 days now and I will be using the Unibond Cup game against Leigh Genesis at Hurst Cross next Saturday to get a few of the lads who haven’t figured lately much needed minutes under their belts. That doesn’t mean for one minute we will be taking Leigh lightly or that were not interested in progressing in the competition. I have a decent sized squad now full of real quality, it’s a long hard season and they will all play their part. The likes of Gareth Richards, Robbie Talbot, Astley Mullholland, Ben Smith, new signing Rod Thornley and fit again Danny Caldecott will all get a run out. I am quite happy that a team containing those players is more than capable of getting a positive result and seeing us through to the next round of the competition.’
Manager Danny Johnson was delighted with his latest piece of transfer business as he sealed a deal to bring Manchester United and England masseur Rod Thornley to Hurst Cross. Rod has signed from Witton Albion where last season he formed a lethal partnership with the leagues leading scorer Adam Warlow.
The manager explained ‘Rod is a proven goal scorer at this level of football and not only does he score goals he will create lots of openings and opportunities for others. I have known him for a long time and he is one of the nicest lads you will ever wish to meet. He will be great around the changing room and I know he will get us a few goals. Yes, it is well documented that he works for the biggest football club in the world and he is mates with some of the biggest names in world football but he is here to play and enjoy his football. This new challenge will give Rod some fresh impetus and it will be a great move for both him and Ashton United Football Club. He will bring a new dimension to the squad and help Ashton United stay at the right end of the table’.
‘Discussing finances with players can some times be really difficult but when I sat Rod down in the changing room at Radcliffe Borough on Thursday night he said ‘just get me the forms, I just want to play football’. I am sure every manager in the country would die for that type of attitude with their players. But too be honest I have a group of players at this football club who could earn lots more elsewhere but appreciate that Danny Jones and I try to create a nice environment to play football in. Before we had discussed money Rod had trained with the lads and had already made his mind up that he wanted to join us, that will do for me and I am sure everyone at the club will join me in wishing Rod every success at Hurst Cross.’
Having secured the signature of Thornley the manager was keen to stress that he would like the remaining four centre forwards to stay at the club and help maintain the clubs excellent progress. However, the manager did reveal that an unnamed club from higher up the non league pyramid had placed the required 7 days notice on Ben Deegan recently and they are now free to speak with the player. Danny reveals ‘It is true that a club from the Conference North can now speak to Deegs. I have done everything in my power but eventually it will be up to Deegs once he receives the call. He has done magnificently for us this season and personally I think he should stay with us and see the job through’.
‘Most people will read that and say that I am bound to say that as no manager wants to lose one of their best assets but this is Ben’s first season at this level of football and if he was to stay with us, get 25 goals he would have more than one offer on the table. He is only 20 years of age and has plenty to learn and improve on and with the likes of Robbie Talbot & Rod Thornley around he can only get better. We also have Callum Flanaghan and Gaz Richards who can’t be taken lightly either. Callum has made a great impression in his short time with the club and we all know what Gaz Richards is about. If we can keep all five of them I see no reason why we won’t score a few goals between now and the end of the season.’
‘Make no bones about it, if Deegs decides to move on he will be missed and replacing what he brings to the team will be very difficult but that’s part and parcel of my job and I love a challenge. I signed Ben from Flixton back in January when no Conference North teams had even heard of him never mind give him an opportunity, but I saw something that I liked and I think he has improved during his time with us. If he does leave I firmly believe we have enough fire power in Gareth Richards, Robbie Talbot, Callum Flanagan and new signing Rod Thornley and although what he brings to us will be missed the other lads bring different qualities.’
‘We have some tough games coming up and it is vitally important we remain focused and get through December relatively unscathed which will give us a platform to build on in January. Any team in this league is capable of going on a long unbeaten run and if we can do that at some stage in the near future we will give ourselves a real opportunity to make the play off’s. The signing of Rod is fantastic for us but we also have Danny Caldecott back in full training and he has declared himself available for the game at Buxton tomorrow. Craig Robinson is still a few weeks away and I would imagine it will be January before we see him back playing again. Touch wood Matty O’Neill has now fully recovered from his hamstring injury and all those people that have seen him play in the last couple of games will agree that he has continued with the fine form he was showing prior to his injury problems.’
Ashton United manager Danny Johnson was slightly disappointed his team didn’t take all three points in yesterday’s game against Cammell Laird at Hurst Cross. The visitors took an early lead and it wasn’t until the third minute of time added on for injuries and time wasting that the boys from Hurst Cross managed to put yet another valuable point on the board.
The gaffer explains ‘I was disappointed in our performance yesterday, especially coming off the back of our excellent victory against Hednesford on Monday evening. It was a great opportunity for us to put another 3 points on the board but unfortunately 5 or 6 lads didn’t perform and when that happens you will find it difficult to win games in this league. Still we showed enough courage and determination to get something from the game and although it looks like day light robbery I felt it was nothing less than we deserved’.
‘Cammell Laird took an early lead and I felt they were prepared to sit on that and try to hit us on the counter. I’m not knocking that by the way, that’s football and it’s up to my lads to up the ante when that happens. I thought we were the better side for long periods and although we had lots of activity in their half we failed to really test them in their last third. They did a great job on Iain Howard and stopped him from providing us with the quality of service he produces from wide areas. We started to knock too many long balls in the second half which at times I don’t mind if they are the right type of long balls and they get their defenders turning. However, too many of them were met by the heads of the Cammell Laird defenders and relieved the pressure off their back four. Once again my back three of Ian Kearney, Stephen Rose and Mike Flynn were magnificent and although I am a 4-4-2 type of manager I am beginning to like that formation as it gives us an extra man in midfield and therefore gives the likes of Ian Bennett and Ben Smith a license to get forward more often. Once Craig Robinson, Alex Frost and Danny Caldecott are fit again it will give me plenty of food for thought’.
‘The majority of our supporters will look at yesterday’s game as a point gained and yes the fact that we only managed to equalise late in the game would suggest the same. However, I think it’s two points dropped and the reason being is that if we want to maintain our position at the top end of the table we need to be collecting three points from our home games, especially against teams who are below us in the table. Cammell Laird made us work hard for the point but we need to overcome the mental state of mind and adopt the same approach whether we are playing Hednesford (top of the league) or Witton Albion (bottom of the league). Mental toughness is what wins you games and titles, you can have all the skill and technique in the world but if you don’t have the right frame of mind and attitude you will come unstuck and I would suggest that is the reason we didn’t claim maximum points yesterday’.
‘We now travel to Guiseley on Tuesday evening knowing that we are facing the potential champions of this league. I firmly believe the title will go to either them or Eastwood Town. We will have to be at our very best and maintain the level of work rate that we have produced so far this season if we are to get anything from the game. Steve Kittrick (Guiseley manager) has been to Hurst Cross a couple of times this season, most recently when we beat Hednesford last Monday evening. He knows all about us and will be hopeful the homework he has done will be enough to get his team the result they need. We go there with no pressure on us and nothing to lose, it will be down to them to win the game and anything we get will be a much welcomed bonus’.
‘We now need to find a level of consistency that matches our endeavour and work rate. The lads have a belief that they are good enough both individually and collectively. Robbie Talbot who has been around the top levels of non league football for some years said to me last week that he felt once we get our key players back from injury we are good enough to get into the play offs and compete with all the top teams in this division. That belief is echoed by the whole squad we have at the club and if we can get through the next six weeks relatively unscathed we will give it a right go in the new year’.
