Match Report: Ashington (A)

Seasiders suffer late heartbreak on the road

The Seasiders flew out of the blocks at Woodhorn Lane and were denied a lead in the first minute when a cross found Ben Farrar, whose side foot volley crashed off the crossbar. Bridlington continued to suffocate Ashington with high intensity, creating a flurry of half-chances in the first seven minutes that kept the home defense under constant pressure.

The breakthrough finally came in the seventeenth minute when Tom Allan capitalised on that early momentum, rising highest at the back post to nod home a corner. Bridlington almost doubled their advantage in the eighteenth minute when they pounced on a defensive error, but the Ashington keeper pulled off a vital double save to keep his side in the game.

Ahmed Salam then took center stage, testing the keeper with a thirty-nineth minute free kick which was a comfortable save for the goalkeeper before producing a brilliant solo run off of a long ball over the top in the 43rd minute, cutting inside his man only to see his low curling effort clip the post and go out.

Despite being fully on top and deserving a larger lead, Bridlington went into the break 1-0 up. The second half saw Ashington level the scores, but Tom Allan looked to have sealed the win in the eighty second minute with his second header of the night from a corner-flag free kick.

However, the game ended in high drama. In the ninety third minute, Coulson saw yellow for a professional foul to stop an Ashington break. Then, in the ninety seventh minute—well past the five minutes of signaled added time and after a massive clearance out of the ground—Ashington forced a scramble in the box and poked home an equaliser to finish the match at 2-2.