Braces from Ben Harmison and Craig Spooner meant that West Allotment Celtic fell to their third straight defeat after falling short 4-2 against Ashington.
Despite the horrific weather conditions, the 301 in attendance at the dwmedia Stadium were treated to an entertaining Northern League game full of action.
Mikel Thompson opened the scoring for West Allotment after 15 minutes however, Ashington skipper Ben Harmison equalised less than a minute later. On 26 minutes, the Colliers had the lead as Craig Spooner found the back of the net.
After 41 minutes, Ashington had a two-goal cushion as Harmison scored his second of the game. Matty Hayton netted a minute later to pull Allotment back into the game.
Two minutes after the restart, the hosts once again went two goals ahead. Craig Spooner scored his second of the game with a sensational finish from outside the area. With 10 minutes to go, second half substitute Sam Bryan was dismissed for two bookable offences.
In the wet and windy conditions, West Allotment started the brighter as Rui Martins dragged a shot wide from outside the box with 5 minutes played.
On 15 minutes, Allotment were awarded a free kick inside Ashington's half. Liam Beeston swung the ball into the box and it bounced straight into the path of Mikel Thompson who tucked the ball away for his 7th goal of the season.
The reply from the hosts was instant. Captain, Ben Harmison, was left unmarked at the back post on 16 minutes and he headed the ball past Monaghan to put his side back on level-terms.
After 26 minutes, the Colliers went ahead. A beautiful pass from the right back Liam Doyle found Craig Spooner and the latter placed the ball into the bottom corner with a perfect finish.
Ashington added a third on 41 minutes due to some poor defending from Allotment. The ball was whipped into the box from a free kick and Allotment were unable to clear the danger. Harmsion was left with a very simple finish for 3-1.
The goals in the first half were not finished there either. Matty Hayton pulled a goal back for the green and white hoops seconds after Ashington had grabbed their third. Hayton received the ball in a couple of yards of space, drove towards goal, and slid the ball past Dryden into the bottom corner from outside the box.
The second half got off to a terrible start for Allotment as they once again conceded a goal however, this strike from Craig Spooner was unstoppable. A sweet connection from distance and the ball rocketed into the top corner as Ashington led 4-2.
On 52 minutes, Allotment came close to finding another goal. A shot from a tight angle from Jake Forster was saved by Dryden and out for a corner. The resulting corner found Errington but his header was scrambled off the line.
Things took a turn for the worst for visitors after 58 minutes. Leading scorer Callum Larmouth pulled up with what appeared to be a hamstring injury and was replaced by Sam Bryan.
Ashington looked the most-likely to score again and it was some fine saves from Monaghan that kept the score at 4-2. Monaghan frustrated Dean Briggs as he kept at least three of his shots out.
With 10 minutes to go, second half replacement Sam Bryan was shown the red card after two fouls since coming into the game. This led to a comfortable finish for the hosts as they breezed to victory. Allotment have now suffered three straight defeats with the last win coming against Redcar Athletic on January 15th.
Allotment: Monaghan, Baltazar, Martins (Pearson 60'), Forster, Scott (c), Leech, Errington, Hayton, Larmouth (Bryan 60', S/O 80'), Beeston
Goals: Thompson (15'), Hayton (42')
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