Ashton United go into the new campaign with 2 wins against Euxton Villa and Runcorn Linnets and 4 defeats to Chadderton, Buxton, Chorley and Stalybridge Celtic in pre-season after a big summer revamp of the squad bringing in six new faces so far including the likes of Kurt Willoughby, Tommy Taylor and Justin Johnson from higher divisions.

Ending last season right in the middle of the pack, finishing 10th, Steve Cunningham will be hoping for a much improved campaign for the forthcoming season.

A Word From The Gaffer

Speaking after our final pre-season game Manager Steve Cunningham said, “We’ve had a big overhaul in the summer haven’t we, with a large part of the group going from last year.

We know what the team is going to look like, lads are now fighting to get in the team and the squad to compete.

It still looks a bit fragmented but I see it in training, I saw it large parts today, I saw it for large parts against Runcorn Linnets, I saw it against Euston, I certainly saw it against Buxton and Chorley, first half we popped Chorley off the park.

Lads are still trying to find fitness, sharpness and build partnerships. As long as everyone is patient you can see little bits now that look exciting for us.”

Cunningham added “I do think Lancaster is a real tough game, there’s no gimme. The first ten will be tough, we follow Lancaster up with a trip to Stockton on Tuesday then Bamber away on the Saturday.”

Opposition Watch

The Dolly Blues enjoyed a busy pre-season with eight fixtures under their belts, winning 5, drawing 2 and losing 1 giving them confidence ahead of the season where they made big strides in the previous.

Lancaster lost out on the playoffs on the final day in 2025/26 after a season of competing at the top but a late goal from Stockton away at Rylands pushed them into 6th place missing out on the playoffs by a point.

Much like the Robins Lancaster have welcomed a bunch of new faces to the Giant Axe with 7 new recruits looking to fight for a place in the side.

Last Time We Met

The Robins travelled to the Giant Axe back in January in an action packed encounter where the hosts came out victorious in a 3-2 win.

An early Dominic Lawson goal was cancelled out by Jason Gilchrist after 26 minutes before Nic Evangelinos put the hosts back ahead after the half hour mark but once again the former Robins number 9 levelled it up just before half time to make it 2-2 at the break.

Unfortunately for the Robins a contentious penalty decision gave the skipper Sam Bailey the opportunity to convert for 3-2 and that’s exactly what he did and despite continued pressure from the Robins at the opposite end, they couldn’t convert and the game went the way of the Dolly Blues.

Matchday

Tickets for the game are available via cash and card turnstiles or online, priced at £14 for Adults, £9 for concessions, £5 for 12-16-year-olds, and free for under 12's.

Please note, ID will need to be presented for any concessionary tickets if requested by a turnstile operator.

Turnstile 3 (on Surrey Street next to The Cross Bar) will be open from 12pm, for cash, card and pre-paid tickets.

The Cross Bar will be open from 12pm and access is from inside the ground only, there will be no access from the main entrance on Surrey Street.

We welcome both sets of fans into The Cross Bar for refreshments both prior to and after the match.

Alcohol not purchased from Ashton United is not permitted in the ground and stewards will be conducting bag searches on the turnstiles at their discretion.

At 2pm, the remaining turnstiles on Surrey Street and on Rowley Street will open as normal, as will the Robins Nest and the Robins Beer Hut inside Hurst Cross.

50/50 draw tickets will be on-sale both in The Cross Bar and on the ground, with match day programmes also available at the programme stand.

The AUFC Supporters club shop will open at 2:15pm, with memorabilia available to purchase from throughout the years.

If you cannot make it to the game, keep up on our Twitter feed @AshtonUnitedFC