Pacy Ashington AFC cruise past Carlton Town to record third win in four games

The Colliers made it three wins and a draw from their last four matches after dominating this encounter.

Connor Thomson and Dan Maguire were on target for Ian Skinner’s side early on, then substitute Oli Thompson and Thomson again added strikes after the break.

The Wansbeck outfit had assurance in defence, energy in abundance in midfield, and pace upfront, and they exerted their authority with two quickfire goals.

In the fourth minute, Jordan Summerly hit a shot straight at keeper Felix Annan but seconds later, Maguire’s pass released Thomson and he burst forward before firing into the net.

Ashington doubled their lead when the unmarked Maguire side-footed home.

Midway through the half, another great move cut Carlton open as Spooner jinked inside and worked a swift one-two with Thomson before clipping his effort narrowly wide.

Ashington faced an unwanted challenge during the first period when they were hit by a spate of injuries.

Just past the quarter hour mark, they lost defender Darren Lough, who was replaced by Cam Gascoigne, then within the space of a couple of minutes Summerly and Gascoigne were also forced off.

It meant that with at least 55 minutes remaining, Ashington had used all three substitutes.

In first-half stoppage time, Wilson Kneeshaw and Thomson could have added a third for the Colliers.

Substitute Matty Dopson raided down the left and found Kneeshaw on the edge of the area, the forward made space for himself but lashed his shot over the bar. Then Thomson found himself in the clear but was denied by Annan.

Pace came to the fore at the beginning of the second half as within the opening 10 minutes, a dominant Ashington cruised into a 4-0 lead.

In the 49th minute, Karl Ross found Thompson on the right, he ghosted past a defender then swept the ball inside the far post.

The fourth came after a run by Kneeshaw which started in his own half. He laid the ball into the path of Thomson, who made no mistake.

The visitors were reduced to 10 men in the 79th minute when Alex Hardwick was red carded after an off-the-ball incident.