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ACTION REPLAY 29 LUXEM. PROSPECTS
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PICTURES BY IAN MOORE // @OLDBLUEFOX // @FYLDEFOX
ACTION REPLAY
SQUIRES GATE 2-1 ASHTON ATHLETIC
Report by James Ashton
Cliffe repaid Evans' faith inside the first minute, firing Gate in front for the perfect start. James Boyd threaded a lovely pass in behind for Cliffe who set himself and fired clinically into the far bottom corner.
It should have been 2-0 just six minutes later, with an excellent passing move from Gate ending with MekkaouiAbouzaid placing agonisingly wide from inside the area.
Gate continued to threaten, with a dangerous ball fired across goal by Cliffe going without the vital touch. Nathan Bartram was needed at the other end to make a vital block, before a flying stop by in-form goalkeeper Nathan Pennington kept out a well struck effort from the edge of the box. Gate got their deserved second goal on 56 minutes. Pett showed brilliant quickthinking to play a quick throw in behind the Ashton defence for Cliffe, who raced onto the ball and finished clinically past the goalkeeper. It was almost 3-0 just a minute later, with a free kick from Riley headed back across goal by Josh Westwood but Pett couldn't find the target with his header at the back post. Against the run of play though, the visitors got a goal back on 65 minutes through Sam Houghton. A corner was only half cleared by Gate, with Houghton reacting first to fire a low drive into the bottom corner from outside the area via a deflection.
Cliffe missed a chance to seal his hat trick, poking wide after a defence-splitting pass in behind from Hughes.
