Ashland Rovers 0 Hucknall Town 4

By Derek Harlow

Hucknall team:
Adam Jablonski, Ethan Greenidge, Ollie Brown, David Leak (Captain), Jordan Phillips, Kajally Danso, Jamie Crawford, Michael Banister, Adam Nelson, Jack Smith, Joe Ashurst.

Subs:
Lenford Jenkins, Tom Hubbard, Cayne Maxwell, Sam Sims

Hucknall's first ever visit to Kingsway Park was a successful one in a hard fought encounter against a spirited Ashland team.
Manager Andy Graves was forced into changes with Matt Brian being away on family matters Adam Nelson started up front with Jack Smith. Joe Ashurst played in a more central role and Kajally Danso slotted into midfield in place of Sam Sims who took a knock early on in the Clipstone midweek game.

The windy conditions made life difficult for both teams but Hucknall settled into their usual passing game with Crawford and Greenidge linking up well on the right hand side and Jack Smith working down the left.
Hucknall bossed possession but once again struggled to get their shots on target despite several crosses. Rovers were content to break quickly when given an opportunity.

Jamie Crawford opened the scoring in the 18th minute slotting after a low cross had evaded the home defence. Hucknall kept knocking on the door but Jablonski had to be alert in the Hucknall goal to see off threats from Ashland’s breaks.
This pattern continued into the second half until Ollie Brown gave Hucknall breathing space with a second goal smashing the ball home after a cross which Nelson just failed to connect with.

Nelson Then scored a third, heading home from close range before Joe Ashurst completed the scoring with a close range finish at the far post. There was still time for Ashurst to have his penalty saved by the home keeper who had a good game despite the scoreline.
The substitutions for Town all in the second half were Maxwell for Crawford, Jenkins for Nelson and Hubbard for Banister.