Priestley Griffiths wonder-goal earns Whitby Town a 1-0 win at Ashton United

Priestley Griffiths’ 35-yard strike in the 12th minute separated the two sides at Hurst Cross, lifting the Seasiders off the foot of the table for only the second time this season, writes Paul Connolly.

And Haslam, who’s lost only one of his four games since taking sole charge of the club, was pleased with how his side went about their business, although admitted Whitby did make a fist of it late on.

“It was a clean sheet and three points on the road. I’m really happy,” Haslam said.

“We made things hard for ourselves late on by not putting the game out of sight again, which is a bit of a concern for us. However, we’ve stood firm and been resolute to their direct game and seen it out for a 1-0 win.”

After an opening ten minutes in which both sides looked to get a measure of each other, it was Whitby who found themselves pushing to break the deadlock, doing so in spectacular fashion.

Harry Coates’ poor clearance on the edge of his own box fell to Griffiths 35 yards from goal. The Whitby midfielder spotted Greg Hartley off his line, weighting a shot towards his goal perfectly. Hartley got a touch but couldn’t prevent the strike from hitting the net, with Blues boss Haslam pulling out the biggest of superlatives to describe it.

“It’s a world class finish,” he added.

“It was great technique. The keeper has nearly tipped it over but it’s found its way into the net.

“It’s one everyone wants to see on camera and it’s worthy of winning any game of football.”

Whitby continued to press after going ahead, with a midfield engine of Griffiths and Lewis Hawkins controlling the game. Michael Spellman went close, seeing an effort held by Hartley.

The hosts weren’t without attempts either in the first half though, Coates almost making up for the goal by clipping the outside of the post with a header from Sam Sheridan’s corner.

Jake Day then had a golden opportunity to make it two for Whitby, finding himself free in the area from Soni Fergus’ cross from deep, though Hartley was equal to his first-time effort from close range.

As ever Day was making a nuisance of himself in the attacking third, and had another chance to double Whitby’s lead two minutes after the restart, though could only fire wide.

It was Aaron Haswell who would go closest to adding to Whitby’s tally, two minutes after being introduced from the bench, driving a low effort onto the post.

And with that, the game opened up somewhat. Dan Rowe blocked Callum Saunders effort, before the striker struck the upright himself a minute later.

With this swing in momentum, Shane Bland was alert, pulling off two great saves with his legs just minutes apart - the first from Michael Brewster, and the second from Michael Phenix.

The travelling Seasiders weren’t giving up on a second, with Hartley called into action at the other end a minute later, keeping Day’s effort out with his foot.

Somewhat similar to Whitby’s previous outing at Radcliffe, it started to become a case of trying to be resolute at the back to keep their hosts at bay. Bland again did his bit on 72 minutes, palming another Saunders effort away before Fergus could clear.

Despite more of the possession in the late stages, Ashton struggled to find any quality in the final third, with Whitby defending well when required.

And Whitby could have sealed it again just ninety seconds from time, with Brad Fewster firing a powerful effort into the side netting from a well-worked Harry Green through ball.

The win sees Whitby jump up to 20th in the Pitching In Northern Premier League, two points from 18th-placed Nantwich Town.