Stamford home.

A deserved win against a fit and athletic Stamford side who looked better than a bottom four side,a very spirited performance by the visitors and i hope they survive the relegation scrap.

My man of the match Chris Lait was once again the catalyst for the hard earned win with another skilful and dynamic run capped off with a high quality finish.

Chris seems to have picked up the torch from Ben Billingham in that he is able to create moments of magic out of absolutely nothing and his direct approach and quick feet make him our most potent threat,i really enjoy watching Chris play and he could still go far in the game if he can keep his performance level up because his work rate for the team is prodigious.

Excellent performances again by Kristen Green and Dan Scarr with Hull and Junior also playing their part.

Leon was a little below his usual excellence tonight but Sean had a decent game and Tonks really got amongst them when he came on.

Justin ran his nuts off tonight and was the pick of the front two in my opinion.

A word for young Gould as well,his area management and speed off his line is a real bonus,he is a very decisive keeper and although lacking a bit in height he makes up for it with great positioning and anticipation.

The bench looked a tad thin tonight,i couldn't understand why Ben couldn't have been on there tonight seeing as "The Stourbridge Messi" had been recalled from Stourport.

I felt tonight was "must win" and it was a professional job well done and we now need another of these performances at Mickleover on Saturday.

We can't really afford anymore silly results between now and the season end and in fairness tonight bodes well.

Onwards and upwards.

Well done to the lads for holding firm against the Stamford attack in the second half,one person who deserves a lot of credit this season for keeping a settled team is Richard Drewett,his magic hands and wise words must of helped the players this season in preparing for matches.

With our first half supremacy only giving us one goal, Stamford clearly realised they still had a chance and came out in the second period, showing all three subs., in a far more lively and adventurous fashion.

Consequently, I think most of us were nervous that, with the ball not running our way, it would only take one slip or mistake and we would lose two valuable points. It therefore came as a huge relief when Ashley netted very late on following a fumble by their 46 year-old goalie.

I thought each of our back four was worthy of MOTM but gave my vote to Dan, captain for the night and for the future.

Apart from the as ever hard-working and dangerous Chris (and what a goal !), our midfield didn't have the best of games and we missed Matt. George had a quiet game and Sean is still struggling to find his best form. With Tom on the bench, I can only think that it was a tactical move by Gary to rotate them.

Up front, Karl again showed his experience to good effect, although he missed some chances, and again Justin worked his socks off.

All-in-all, a good performance and a well-deserved win.

An excellent win against a team that certainly don't deserve their lowly league position.  And although we started the 2nd half 1-0 up, as the time went on and the more chances we missed I was certainly beginning to worry about us conceding a goal late on.  Luckily we managed to hold out and eventually got a second one to help relieve the pressure on everyone.

We now have to wait and see how the other results go during this week, but so far so good and hopefully we will continue with the same quality of play and results for the remainder of the season

P.S: If anyone is interested the game Ashton v Salford is live tonight on Non League Live, at [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

Man of the match voting was as follows;

CHRIS LAIT 21

Dan Scarr 9

Sean Geddes
Junior Smikle } 2
Joe Hull

Matt Gould
Kristian Green } 1
George Bowerman
Justin Richards

The wine was won by IAN BINNER.

Thanks to all who took part.

A good result and performance, and an enjoyable game to watch with Stamford putting in a spirited effort. We were certainly made to work for it in what was a really fast paced encounter throughout.

Lait was superb, and I can't understand why he was substituted. Brilliantly worked goal and he also put in a defensive shift when required as well which is something Bowerman did little of.

All of the back four played well, particularly Dan Scarr I thought, and they deserved a clean sheet. Broadhurst did nothing wrong but was fairly quiet, and I thought Geddes had a good game and put in a really good shift, covering a lot of the pitch at times, and he seems really comfortable on the ball.

Hawley missed a few good chances to put the game to bed earlier which he should really have taken (or at least done better with the chances he had). Richards put in a top notch shift - having criticized his work rate back in February, he has really upped his work rate which is fantastic to see. Twice that I saw he absolutely raced back to cover a defensive position after an attacking move broke down where we had a defender committed forward, which is brilliant to see.

Vincent continues to impress whenever he comes on and must be pushing for a start soon.

Finally - what a good crowd. I know it is mostly because we are playing well but I think Mondays are benefiting us as well in terms of attendances.