Colne went down to a 3-0 defeat against National League North side Curzon Ashton at Holt House on Tuesday night. The Reds conceded twice in a tentative first half performance but improved after the interval and were unlucky not to get on the scoresheet themselves.
Curzon started strongly and Colne keeper Hakan Burton was soon in action turning a goal-bound shot around the post with a good diving save after five minutes. Five minutes later however Curzon took the lead when Benito Lowe crossed from the bye line and George Wareing found the net with a diving header from close range.
Curzon continued to attack but Colne defended well and cleared a succession of corners and came into the game more as the half wore on. But after 34 minutes, Curzon doubled their lead when Ryan Hall scored with a simple shot into the bottom corner of the net.
Colne looked for a reply before half time and tested the Curzon keeper with a good shot that he pushed round the post. And in a subsequent attack, Owen Watkinson fired a 25 yard shot just wide of goal having made himself room.
In the second half, Danny Thorpe replaced Burton in goal and was soon in action to claim a 50-50 ball from an attacking opposition forward. As play switched to the other end, the Curzon keeper got down well to make a save on his line to prevent Colne from scoring.
But on the hour, Curzon went further ahead when Josh Hancock outpaced the Reds defence with a run through the middle and found the net with a low shot past the helpless Thorpe in goal.
Colne raised their game and made a series of promising end-to-end breaks prompted by an impressive trialist and Tom McCann. Lucas Weaver saw his shot saved on the line after a good run on the left wing after 65 minutes. And Aaron Turner shot just wide after a strong run into the visitors’ penalty area after 78 minutes.
With ten minutes left, Luke Stowe saw his shot on the turn cleared off the line before Weaver followed up to fire the loose ball inches over the bar. The Reds finished the game in a confident mood and will have benefitted from the experience of playing against higher league opposition.
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