Belper started positively and a long, high ball by Burrows in the 4th minute caused confusion at the back for Ashington. Debutant Karl Demidh brought the ball down before feeding Kev Bastos but he dragged his shot just wide.

The hosts' first look at goal came on 12 minutes when a long goal kick by Karl Dryden found top scorer Connor Thomson. A great tackle by Sidik Atcha prevented the shot and from the resulting corner Dryden fed Benjamin Sampson but his shot was well over the bar.

Declan Dunn did well to win possession and create a shooting opportunity for himself after 20 minutes but it was a comfortable save for Dryden then almost immediately at the other end Belper struggled to clear a corner and when the ball fell to Sampson he shot over again when he really should have broken the deadlock.

In the 24th minute Demidh found Bastos again, he cut inside nicely before unleashing a shot from 20 yards which Dryden did well to tip wide of his left post.

Four minutes later Ashington displayed some great football as Thomson found Darren Lough, he laid the ball off for Craig Spooner but again the hosts shooting was slightly off target.

This wasn't to remain the case however, and how so. On 32 minutes, Kneeshaw picked the ball up 25 yards from goal and released an unstoppable shot past Dan Moore in to the corner of the net. A wonderful goal to make the Ashington number 11 joint top scorer for the season.

Within five minutes the hosts were pushing for a second, Daniel Maguire and Spooner both having shots blocked before Thomson shot over as the screw started to be turned.

Belper ended the half strongly with good work by Bastos, he found Litchfield just outside the box who was tripped. Burrows couldn't make anything out of the free kick and the Nailers went in to the half time break a goal behind.

On the hour mark Mason Warren floated in a free kick which saw Atcha connect with a flick header just wide of the post.

The 63rd minute saw good work between Bastos and Goodson, the latter laying the ball off for Demidh but his shot was over the bar.

In the 66th minute Moore produced a fine fingertip save from Kneeshaw to keep the game within reach for the visitors, sub Cameron Gascoigne having provided a fine throughball. Moore would pull off another good save a few minutes later from Thomson.

On 77 minutes Warren's cross found Litchfield, he and Demidh both had shots blocked as Ashington threw everything at protecting their lead.

This was followed by a double substitution, Cadman and Walker replacing Goodson and Demidh as Lee Attenborough looked for fresh legs, as well as moving Danny South up front to try and get on the end of Walker's long throw-ins.

A final sub two minutes from time saw David Gbehe replace Declan Dunn but despite four minutes of injury time Belper were unable to create anything further and the final action saw another great Moore save from Kneeshaw just before the final whistle.

A tough result to take following a long journey but the manager was quick to praise his players and the supporters for making such a long journey during the week.

Ashington AFC: Dryden, Spooner, Williams, Ross, Jakab, Lough, Sampson (Gascoigne 45), Van-Zandliet, Thomson (Dart 89), Maguire (Ormston 63), Kneeshaw.
Unused sub: Coombe

Belper Town: Moore, Burrows, Warren, Atcha, South, Watt (C), Litchfield, Dunn (Gbehe 87), Demidh (Cadman 77), Goodson (Walker 77), Bastos.
Unused subs: Gregory, Austin

Referee: Givi Todua

Attendance: 345