Chorley 4, Curzon Ashton 0: Rampant Magpies run riot against the Nash

The Magpies started the game quickly and were rewarded for their early efforts, albeit fortuitously – Jordan Richards headng the ball into the back of his own net with six-minutes on the clock following a dangerous Adam Blakeman cross which caught keeper Josh Ollerenshaw in two minds..

To their credit, Chorley continued to be relentless in their press and that proved to be the undoing of The Nash - Johnson nipping in to win the ball in the final-third before a burst of pace towards goal, to then find Marco Rus who took his chance confidently, slotting the ball perfectly into the bottom corner.

The first-half came to a close with little to note after Chorley’s second goal but game came sprang back to life quickly after the break, Miles Storey providing the most danger for Craig Mahon’s side down the left. But it was to be the Magpies who would extend their lead to three. Carlton Ubaezuonu excellently won a penalty from Marcus Poscha’s lazy challenge, then stepped up to take the spot-kick but Ollerenshaw saved it, only to see the rebound smashed home by Justin Johnson for his tenth goal of the season.

Chorley then went on to add a fourth before full-time, Ubaezuonu’s clever headed flick finding substitute David Moyo who made directly for goal before teeing up substitute Jack Hazlehurst who finished coolly past Ollerenshaw from close range.

Chorley: Urwin, Moore, Smith, Ellis (Moyo, 77'), Blakeman, Nolan, Rus (Wilson, 75'), Calveley, Whitehouse, Ubaezuonu, Johnson (Hazlehurst, 67'). Unused subs. Shenton, Drench.

A delighted Andy Preece commented : ‘It wasn’t a vintage performance but it showed a different side of us. Sometimes you have to dig in and find a way to win and we showed that quality. In the end we fully deserved it.’