Curzon Ashton, from the town of Ashton under Lyne in Greater Manchester, were formed in 1963 after the merger of two clubs, Curzon Road F.C. and Ashton Amateurs F.C., who played in local football. They first took the name of Curzon Amateurs before their present title.
The club played in local football and the Manchester League in their formative years before
'The Blues' joined the second division of the Cheshire League in 1979, winning promotion in their first season.
In 1980 they became the first North West team to reach the semi finals of the FA Vase. In 1984 Curzon Ashton became founder members of North West Counties League where they were placed in the top division. After league reconstruction they found themselves in the Northern Premier League in 1987.
In the late 1990’s the games administrators somehow placed the club in the Northern Counties East League, which led to huge problems on and off the pitch. They thankfully moved back west in 1998. In 2000 promotion was won back to the first division of the NWCL.
Tameside Stadium, a new ground for the club to replace National Park was opened in 2005. Promotion to the Northern Premier League was achieved in 2007, the same season that the FA Vase semi final was once again reached, before going down to Truro City. In 2009 they reached the Second Round of the FA Cup after beating Exeter City, before going down to Kidderminster Harriers.
Tuesday 20th July 2010
I was in the Greater Manchester area for three days visiting as many clubs as possible. I had earlier been to Rochdale and Oldham and had arrived by bus in Ashton under Lyne. With my A to Z at my side I marched on towards the ground in Katharine Street.
I was a bit perturbed to see no floodlights where they should have been. I was about to head down a lane when I saw a man packing up his burger van. He confirmed I was in the right place but five years too late. I had gone to where the old ground stood, but was now replaced by modern housing!
I was soon back on track, but I’d walked a long way for nothing. I was helped towards the ground by road signs and before long was looking at a sparkling new facility across a huge park including the Richmond Park Athletics Stadium which is home to East Cheshire Harriers & Tameside AC. Work was going on all around the site and everything looked spic and span.
Fortunately a gate was open to the ground as it was surrounded by very high walls. Some older gents were sat chatting in the Main Stand and I asked permission to take photos. Before long the groundsman was along for a chat.
The Main Stand was a large structure full of seats with plentiful facilities underneath. Opposite was a large covered terracing. The rest of the ground consisted of open terracing with crush barriers. It was most impressive and had some character, which is sometimes missing in new grounds.
I left and went past a large enclosed floodlit pitch with a modern artificial surface which can be used for training or private hire to bring in invaluable finances. I was on my way on a long walk through the residential street up the hill to Hurst Cross, home of Ashton United.
Curzon Ashton 1 Scarborough Athletic 0 (Saturday 27th September 2014) FA Cup Second Qualifying Round (att: 236)
Boro had progressed in the FA Cup and drawn a decent looking away game. This replaced a trip to Clitheroe in the league. Early season cup games are a peril to any fan trying to plan in advance.
Following a half time slurp we took up our places once more to see Boro put in a brilliant performance, but sadly one lacking a goal. The general consensus was that no-one could remember such a fine display from the Seadogs.
Jimmy Beadle and Ryan Blott both had efforts somehow saved. Several corners bore pressure, but the excellence of Burton and a fair slice of luck kept Nash ahead. It was just not to be Scarborough’s day.
Keeper White even went up for the last few corners. In stoppage time substitute Jordan Thewliss was shown a straight red for an off the ball incident, much to the fury of boss Rudy Funk. At full time the teams took a well deserved ovation. It had been a superb advert for non league football.
We walked back into town down the hill and had a quick pint in the woeful Prince of Orange with a locally based Seadog before jumping on the train to Stalybridge.
There was time to order a pint from the excellent station Buffet Bar before our Leeds bound train arrived. It was absolutely packed with shoppers and far too many Manchester United fans living in Yorkshire.
With a couple of hours to kill, Guy did the honours and opened my eyes to some excellent new bars selling real ale. We visited Tapped and The Griffin on Boar Lane, heading on to the Brewery Tap where the Leeds Brewery ales were top notch. We then headed under the railway arches to The Hop. Again the ale was excellent but it also had good live music. Leeds was really a city on the up regarding pubs. We finished off in the Scarbrough Taps.
I left Guy. I could have easily stayed on, but my trains were booked. To round off a great day out I bumped into my Scarborough based mates who follow Middlesbrough and were returning from Charlton Athletic. We had some tales to tell!
The club played in local football and the Manchester League in their formative years before
'The Blues' joined the second division of the Cheshire League in 1979, winning promotion in their first season.
In 1980 they became the first North West team to reach the semi finals of the FA Vase. In 1984 Curzon Ashton became founder members of North West Counties League where they were placed in the top division. After league reconstruction they found themselves in the Northern Premier League in 1987.
In the late 1990’s the games administrators somehow placed the club in the Northern Counties East League, which led to huge problems on and off the pitch. They thankfully moved back west in 1998. In 2000 promotion was won back to the first division of the NWCL.
Tameside Stadium, a new ground for the club to replace National Park was opened in 2005. Promotion to the Northern Premier League was achieved in 2007, the same season that the FA Vase semi final was once again reached, before going down to Truro City. In 2009 they reached the Second Round of the FA Cup after beating Exeter City, before going down to Kidderminster Harriers.
Promotion was denied at the end of the 2011-12 season when The Blues went down in the play offs to Witton Albion after failing at the same stage in the two previous seasons to Newcastle Blue Star and then Colwyn Bay.
However, they weren't to be denied in 2013-14 as The Blues were crowned champions and won promotion to the Premier Division under the management of John Flanagan. Nash's fantastic run continued as the side finished in a play-off spot in 2014-15.
Local rivals Ashton United were dispatched in the semi-final before a goal from Simon Woodford won the final against Ilkeston Town, as the club won promotion to the renamed National League North.
Flanagan's side consolidated their position with two mid table finishes in the second tier of non-league football.
In season 2017-18 Curzon Ashton FC will be playing in the National League North.
My visits
However, they weren't to be denied in 2013-14 as The Blues were crowned champions and won promotion to the Premier Division under the management of John Flanagan. Nash's fantastic run continued as the side finished in a play-off spot in 2014-15.
Local rivals Ashton United were dispatched in the semi-final before a goal from Simon Woodford won the final against Ilkeston Town, as the club won promotion to the renamed National League North.
Flanagan's side consolidated their position with two mid table finishes in the second tier of non-league football.
In season 2017-18 Curzon Ashton FC will be playing in the National League North.
My visits
Tuesday 20th July 2010
I was in the Greater Manchester area for three days visiting as many clubs as possible. I had earlier been to Rochdale and Oldham and had arrived by bus in Ashton under Lyne. With my A to Z at my side I marched on towards the ground in Katharine Street.
I was a bit perturbed to see no floodlights where they should have been. I was about to head down a lane when I saw a man packing up his burger van. He confirmed I was in the right place but five years too late. I had gone to where the old ground stood, but was now replaced by modern housing!
I was soon back on track, but I’d walked a long way for nothing. I was helped towards the ground by road signs and before long was looking at a sparkling new facility across a huge park including the Richmond Park Athletics Stadium which is home to East Cheshire Harriers & Tameside AC. Work was going on all around the site and everything looked spic and span.
Fortunately a gate was open to the ground as it was surrounded by very high walls. Some older gents were sat chatting in the Main Stand and I asked permission to take photos. Before long the groundsman was along for a chat.
The Main Stand was a large structure full of seats with plentiful facilities underneath. Opposite was a large covered terracing. The rest of the ground consisted of open terracing with crush barriers. It was most impressive and had some character, which is sometimes missing in new grounds.
I left and went past a large enclosed floodlit pitch with a modern artificial surface which can be used for training or private hire to bring in invaluable finances. I was on my way on a long walk through the residential street up the hill to Hurst Cross, home of Ashton United.
Curzon Ashton 1 Scarborough Athletic 0 (Saturday 27th September 2014) FA Cup Second Qualifying Round (att: 236)
Boro had progressed in the FA Cup and drawn a decent looking away game. This replaced a trip to Clitheroe in the league. Early season cup games are a peril to any fan trying to plan in advance.
Fortunately
I was off for a long weekend and the previous day marked the end of cricket’s
County Championship. This in itself led to planning headaches in which games
would have any meaning and last four days.
After much deliberation I chose the relegation battle at Old Trafford between Lancashire and Middlesex over Yorkshire v Somerset as The Tykes had sealed the title a couple of weeks earlier. My pal Tony Foster had already booked a room close to the ground as he staying on for the Saturday to see West Ham play against Manchester United.
After a real nail biting days cricket and a bloody good session around Manchester I bode farewell and headed into the city. I took breakfast in Wetherspoons in The Printworks after their branch near the stadium had attempted to charge us a quid just to enter. They weren’t getting it purely on principal. I was glad to escape as the tourist village of stalls and fast food set up while the staff arrived.
To kill an hour I went around the National Football Museum to walk off the grub before jumping aboard a train at Victoria station, which was undergoing an extensive redevelopment. The ride was just over ten minutes to Ashton-Under-Lyne, where I waited for the service in the other direction carrying Guy Watson.
We’d been told by our local pal Frazer Armitage not to expect anything astounding in town, but The Engine Room and Ash Tree were fine. Frazer’s two lads played for Curzon Ashton but he’d already arranged to go to Hull City v Manchester City, so he missed out on our day.
A tram ride dropped us up the hill past the enormous Ikea at Ashton West. From there it was a few minutes down to the ground where a funfair was set up alongside.
Admission was £8, with a programme a further couple of quid. The rain kept coming and going as it would throughout the afternoon, which added an extra slickness to the bowling green like pitch.
Pre match drinks were taken in a secondary bar under the stand as the main room had been hired for a wedding reception after the game. It was cozy but the locals were friendly. The burger was not bad at all.
The vocal Seadogs assembled themselves on the far side under the roof. It was as well that up to 180 visiting fans had made the journey or the gate would have been extremely sparse.
Boro started well against a Nash side sitting pretty at the top of the Premier Division before play. Then Jason White in the Boro net came to the fore with a succession of brilliant saves. The home side played neat passing football just a little better than Boro attempted for a long spell. It paid off when Samuel Walker scored with a fine low curling effort from twenty five yards on thirty eight minutes.
Boro
fought back with Gary Bradshaw being denied a leveller with a header as home
custodian Hakan Burton pulled off what would be the first of several great
stops.After much deliberation I chose the relegation battle at Old Trafford between Lancashire and Middlesex over Yorkshire v Somerset as The Tykes had sealed the title a couple of weeks earlier. My pal Tony Foster had already booked a room close to the ground as he staying on for the Saturday to see West Ham play against Manchester United.
After a real nail biting days cricket and a bloody good session around Manchester I bode farewell and headed into the city. I took breakfast in Wetherspoons in The Printworks after their branch near the stadium had attempted to charge us a quid just to enter. They weren’t getting it purely on principal. I was glad to escape as the tourist village of stalls and fast food set up while the staff arrived.
To kill an hour I went around the National Football Museum to walk off the grub before jumping aboard a train at Victoria station, which was undergoing an extensive redevelopment. The ride was just over ten minutes to Ashton-Under-Lyne, where I waited for the service in the other direction carrying Guy Watson.
We’d been told by our local pal Frazer Armitage not to expect anything astounding in town, but The Engine Room and Ash Tree were fine. Frazer’s two lads played for Curzon Ashton but he’d already arranged to go to Hull City v Manchester City, so he missed out on our day.
A tram ride dropped us up the hill past the enormous Ikea at Ashton West. From there it was a few minutes down to the ground where a funfair was set up alongside.
Admission was £8, with a programme a further couple of quid. The rain kept coming and going as it would throughout the afternoon, which added an extra slickness to the bowling green like pitch.
Pre match drinks were taken in a secondary bar under the stand as the main room had been hired for a wedding reception after the game. It was cozy but the locals were friendly. The burger was not bad at all.
The vocal Seadogs assembled themselves on the far side under the roof. It was as well that up to 180 visiting fans had made the journey or the gate would have been extremely sparse.
Boro started well against a Nash side sitting pretty at the top of the Premier Division before play. Then Jason White in the Boro net came to the fore with a succession of brilliant saves. The home side played neat passing football just a little better than Boro attempted for a long spell. It paid off when Samuel Walker scored with a fine low curling effort from twenty five yards on thirty eight minutes.
Following a half time slurp we took up our places once more to see Boro put in a brilliant performance, but sadly one lacking a goal. The general consensus was that no-one could remember such a fine display from the Seadogs.
Jimmy Beadle and Ryan Blott both had efforts somehow saved. Several corners bore pressure, but the excellence of Burton and a fair slice of luck kept Nash ahead. It was just not to be Scarborough’s day.
Keeper White even went up for the last few corners. In stoppage time substitute Jordan Thewliss was shown a straight red for an off the ball incident, much to the fury of boss Rudy Funk. At full time the teams took a well deserved ovation. It had been a superb advert for non league football.
We walked back into town down the hill and had a quick pint in the woeful Prince of Orange with a locally based Seadog before jumping on the train to Stalybridge.
There was time to order a pint from the excellent station Buffet Bar before our Leeds bound train arrived. It was absolutely packed with shoppers and far too many Manchester United fans living in Yorkshire.
With a couple of hours to kill, Guy did the honours and opened my eyes to some excellent new bars selling real ale. We visited Tapped and The Griffin on Boar Lane, heading on to the Brewery Tap where the Leeds Brewery ales were top notch. We then headed under the railway arches to The Hop. Again the ale was excellent but it also had good live music. Leeds was really a city on the up regarding pubs. We finished off in the Scarbrough Taps.
I left Guy. I could have easily stayed on, but my trains were booked. To round off a great day out I bumped into my Scarborough based mates who follow Middlesbrough and were returning from Charlton Athletic. We had some tales to tell!
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