Incredible fightback sees AFC Bell beat Steeple Ashton 6-5

4:15pm Thursday 21st August 2008

IT might have only been a pre-season friendly, but Steeple Ashton Rangers and AFC Bell battled out an 11-goal thriller last night that saw last term's Third Division winners, the Bell fight back and overturn a 5-0 deficit to claim an incredible 6-5 victory over Steeple Ashton, who won the Division Four title in their first season and who on this showing will do well again in this campaign.

Steeple Ashton led 5-0 at the break, thanks to goals from Marc Sheppard, Ryan Hartley, Mike Ritson (penalty) and Phil Lewis (2).

Rangers then made wholesale changes at the break which seemed to unsettle Nathan Holloway's side who maintained their advantage until the 60th minute when they conceded the first of six goals, substitute Jon Jennings scoring shortly after coming off the bench.

From that moment on the game swung in favour of the Bell and it was their player-manager Craig Townsend who instigated the great comeback.

Townsend scored to reduce the arrears with his first goal of the game he then added a further four goals that saw him tie the scores at 5-5 before he hit the winner for Bell as he took his tally for the match to five.

Both teams played their part in a classic which might have seen a different scoreline had Ashton not tinkered with their team.

Theatre, Art & Cinema