Stockton Town made it three wins in a row with victory over Ashington.
Michael Fowler’s goal inside ten minutes and Tom Portas late strike wrapped up the triumph.
The Anchors welcomed Dan McWilliams back to the Starting XI. Josh Baggs moved to right-back to replace the injured Lewis King.
Michael Sweet also started ahead of Mikey Roberts.
Stockton made a fast start and led within seven minutes when a ball forward from Kev Hayes was lofted over Ashington goalkeeper Karl Dryden by Fowler.
Just before the quarter hour Stockton had the ball the net again but Michael Sweet’s effort was ruled out for a foul on Dryden.
A decent chance for Ashington came on 20 minutes when Nathan Harker was sharp with his feet to deny Connor Thomson from close range.
Stockton again had it in the net just past the half hour but Fowler was adjudged to be offside.
Minutes later neat work between Baggs and Sweet resulted in the former just striking wide.
A good move from Ashington ended in Craig Spooner blazing over the bar for one of their better chances of the half.
Fowler came close to doubling the lead but his effort was well saved by the feet of Dryden.
Half Time: Stockton Town 1-0 Ashington
In the second half, Ashington pushed for an equaliser but were limited to few opportunities. Will Constantin had a shot blocked by the Stockton, then Cameron Gascoigne tested Harker with a sighter.
Stockton looked to pull away and they had two good chances with less than a quarter hour remaining. Sweet was denied by a good save from Dryden then Mikey Roberts had the follow up blocked on the line.
The Anchors felt as though they should have had a penalty when Hayes was tripped up near to the box, however the referee ruled it as freekick which ended up comfortably held by Dryden.
Stockton were home and hosed when substitute Portas received the ball from Baggs and rifled it into the roof of the net. It was a rare goal for the midfielder and one that wrapped up another important three points.
FT: Stockton Town 2-0 Ashington
The Anchors now face three-straight away games, the first of which is a long trip to Grimsby Borough next Saturday.
Stockton Town:Â Harker, Baggs, McWilliams, Henry, Nicholson, Coulthard, Hayes, Butterworth (Painter 71′), Fowler, Thompson (Portas 58′), Sweet (Roberts 71′)
Unused Subs:Â Beddow, D.Mulligan
Ashington:Â Dryden, Spooner, Constantin, Ormston, Williams, Jakab (Gascoigne 46′), Sampson, Ross, Thomson, Kneeshaw, Van-Zandvliet (Maguire 79′)
Unused Subs:Â Dart, Coombe
Goals:Â 1-0, 7 min, Fowler; 2-0, 81 min, Portas.
Attendance:Â 629
Words:Â James Cartwright
Photo:Â Harry Cook
