Sandbach 1-1 Ashville Match Report

Points are shared at Hind Heath Road as Sandbach United snatch a late equaliser.

Callum Chapman equalised for Bach in the 89th minute against Ashville, settling for a point at home.

Written by Daniel Needham.

Following Tuesday nights win against Alsager Town, Sandbach were hoping to pick up another three points against 16th placed Ashville. Although the Merseyside team had yet to win away from home this season, they beat Sandbach 4-0 in their home fixture earlier this year.

Manager, Declan Swan said before the match, “Ashville are a team oddly sat low down in the league which simply does not do them justice at all. They have yet to win away from home. But we all know in non-league you can simply throw the form book out of the window at times.”

In typical fashion, Jordan Stafford was the captain for the fixture, playing alongside Liam Fitzpatrick, who scored an unforgettable winning goal versus Alsager Town on Tuesday.

Sandbach started the game dominantly, with constant pressure and opportunities on goal. However, they were unable to get an early lead.

In the 18th minute, Ashville took the lead. Ben Greenop got up well for a whipped in free kick and headed it home for the visitors to put them 1-0 up.

Sandbach immediately attempted to equalise, with set piece chances from Harry Cain and Tom Morris which were both narrowly off target.

In the 38th minute, Tom Morris was shown a straight red card from the referee. Morris’ two-foot challenge on Joshua Maldon saw Bach go down to ten men in the first half.

The red card gave Ashville motivation, as they looked more dangerous in possession before half time, and almost extended their lead with multiple chances on goal.

The hosts began the second half positively, with Harry Cain and Kieran Alley posing a threat to the Ashville defence on the wing.

Throughout the entirety of the second half, Sandbach were on top. They had chance after chance but couldn’t quite seem to get an equaliser. It seemed like the fact that Sandbach only had 10 men on the pitch made any difference.

However, in the 89th minute, Callum Chapman scored Bach’s long-awaited goal. Hatton ran into the box with the ball excellently before releasing the ball to Chapman.

Chapmans low driven shot directed into the bottom right corner, hitting the post, and rolling over the line to snatch Sandbach a point.

Despite having a few opportunities in additional time, Sandbach settled for a point as the referee blew the full-time whistle.

Sandbach showed great attitude to get back into the game after Tom Morris’ red card and stayed solid at the back to prevent conceding a goal. The hosts deserved at least a point from the game, with their display of determination and their dictatorship of the game during the second half.

Sandbach now face Eccleshall away from home next Saturday as the Ramblers look to get back to winning ways.