DESPITE making hard work of it, Ashton beat bottom side Oldershaw 17-15 on Saturday to edge closer to midtable safety in the South Lancs/Cheshire Two.

Ashton pushed hard in the early stages and soon had a scrum on the opponents' five-metre line.

Scrum half Mike Mills took the ball from the base of that scrum through an obliging defence for Ashton's first try.

Ashton's backline has been improving in technique throughout the season and centres Chris Watts and Steve Appleby came close to scoring as they piled on the first half pressure.

After the break Steve Appleby found the try line to put Ashton 10-0 ahead.
Thereafter the rhythm in the hosts' backline faltered with dropped and misplaced passes. This allowed Oldershaw back into the game.

Racking up two breakaway tries and a penalty, Oldershaw forced themselves into the lead.

However the home side found the resolve to mount a series of attacks on the Oldershaw line, one of which was capped by the winning try from winger Mike Waddington.