Interview | Ashton Athletic striker Chris Bandell

Ashton Athletic striker Chris Bandell believes the club can now kick start their season after wrapping up two wins over a perfect bank holiday weekend.

Photo by Pete Barton

Bank holiday success

Athletic moved off the bottom of the North West Counties Premier Division table, with successive victories over Congleton Town and Lower Breck lifting them out of the relegation places into 17th position.

The club had started on a poor run of form, losing their opening five games, including a 9-1 hammering at Charnock Richard.

“We’ve had a very tough start to the season, nobody wants to start like that.  Hopefully Saturday will now be the turning point for us.

“It was a massive win against a side who were top of the league, and the lads took the momentum into the Monday game.  What a difference a weekend makes!,” he said.

Win against the odds

The 26-year-old - now in his fourth season at the club - admits nobody gave his side a prayer leading into Saturday’s match.

By all accounts, it should have been a home banker for Congleton, who went into the game as league leaders, but Bandell and his teammates had other ideas.

Despite Joe Nicholson’s red card on 41 minutes, they came away with a priceless win.

Bandell’s goal on the stroke of half time silenced the home fans, with Tom Pope equalising midway through the second half. Josh Nicholson shocked the home side with a winner seven minutes later.

There’s no denying it was a much-needed win for a team that went into the game having shipped 21 goals in five games.

“Everyone was a bit down.  It’s hard turning up to games and getting beat every week. After Saturday’s game, it felt like a cup final victory because we’ve been waiting for a result for a long time. To do it against the top of the league side with 10 men, it’s a massive boost. No one would have backed us before the game. The league table doesn’t lie. We went into the game bottom of the table with no points and a bad goal difference. The manager told us there’s no pressure going into the game because no one expects you to win. We went out and worked hard together. We finally got the result we needed” he said.

Bandell happy with own performance

Bandell has scored three times this season, netting twice against Vauxhall Motors in a nine goal thriller that saw his side lose 5-4 in an extraordinary game at Brocstedes Park.

The ex-Warrington Town man admits it was a tough loss to take, having fought back to lead 4-3 at half time.

His campaign has been hampered by a hamstring injury picked up in preseason, and he missed the first three games as a result.

A slight knock picked up in the victory at Congleton led to him being rested for Monday’s game as a precaution.

“I didn’t feel the injury in the game, the adrenaline took over. I woke up on Sunday and was sore. I will train on Thursday and hopefully be back in the squad on Saturday. Thankfully, it’s not a big setback.

“I can’t complain with three goals in three games, but the main thing for me is to stay fit and injury free. My journey in football includes a lot of bad luck with injuries. At Barnton, I had a long time out with a groin injury. I’ve torn my ankle ligaments, which stays with you forever. Even now I’m still strapping my ankle up before I play.  The hamstring tear in preseason was probably the most painful I’ve had,” he said.

Injury concerns easing

A long injury list hasn’t helped Athletic’s fortunes in recent weeks, with several first teamers out.

As focus turns to this Saturday’s game with Macclesfield, the returns of experienced players Bandell, Declan Gallagher, Sam Houghton and Calum Wilson in recent weeks leaves the side looking much stronger.

Bandell says Saturday’s game gives the team a further chance to prove their doubters wrong, in front of an expected bumper crowd.

“It’s a massive game, and we need to keep the momentum going. They will bring a big crowd but we seem to thrive under the pressure. The main thing is to take the last two games into Saturday and turn the season around. We need to show what we can do now,” he said.