Dunston progressed to the Second Qualifying Round of the Isuzu FA Trophy with a professional performance against newly-promoted Ashington AFC.

The three goals scored by Dunston all came inside the first half. Jordan Lamb bagged his first competitive goal for the club, and Sado Djalo added goals number two and three to get the job done.

With the sun beating down on the UTS Stadium, both Dunston and Ashington looked to respond after suffering defeats last weekend.

The first chance of the game came just after ten minutes when Wilson Kneeshaw found some space before forcing Dan Staples into an early save.

Dunston were next to come close to breaking the deadlock as Jack Elliott was played in behind by Sado Djalo however, Elliott’s effort was snuffed out by former Dunston ‘keeper, Karl Dryden, between the Ashington sticks.

As the half progressed, Dunston began to find their footing, and the 314 in attendance were treated to sublime opening goal on 23 minutes.

A pinpoint ball from Man of the Match JJ Chrisp found Jordan Lamb, and the New Zealand-born forward lashed the ball home into the near post, beating Dryden.

Four minutes later, Lamb almost became the provider. Some excellent footwork, and an excellent pass to match, found Djalo but, Djalo’s effort was smothered by Dryden.

Both ‘keepers were being kept busy as Dan Staples was called into action again. The ball fell to Summerly and he drilled a left-footed effort towards the top corner, only for Staples to claw the ball away.

The lead was doubled five minutes before the half-time interval. An effort from David Robinson ricocheted around the penalty area after hitting and Ashington player. The ball fell to Djalo, who slammed the ball home on the turn.

Moments before half-time, Dunston had a three-goal cushion after another really well-worked move.

Elliott broke away down the left and played a perfect ball over to Djalo, who essentially walked the ball into an empty net after Dryden had came rushing out.

With the home side well in control, the second half was a much slower affair. With the job almost done, Dunston limited The Colliers to not many chances.

The first shot on goal in the second half didn’t come until the 62nd minute. It was a long-range effort from Lough which was off target.

Jake Jensen and Jack Camarda had both been introduced to the game giving them some important minutes.

With just ten minutes to go, and progression to the next round in sight, Charlie Exley was shown a straight red card for the visitors. A late challenge on Chrisp resulted in Exley’s dismissal.

That appeared to be the final nail in the coffin for Ashington with Dunston seeing the game out with a clean sheet and advancing to the next round of the FA Trophy.

We will now travel to Northern Premier League West side, Nantwich Town in the next round, in two weeks.

Report by Callum Pattison

Photography by BeautyTime Photography