Curzon cruise for Latics

COLLISION COURSE . . . Adam Rooney charges down a Curzon Ashton clearance at the Tameside Stadium last night.

Curzon Ashton 0, Athletic 2

ATHLETIC put out a strong squad for a friendly that only sporadically burst into life.

And Latics won comfortably, thanks to a first-half strike from Sidney Schmeltz and an own goal from unlucky Connor Hampson shortly before the interval.

After a sluggish start, the inspiration for the opening goal came from the unlikely source of James Tarkowski.

The centre-back overlapped down the left wing and, racing forward from inside his own half, cut inside from the left flank to neatly tee-up Schmeltz to rifle into the roof of the net after 12 minutes.

The Evo-Stik League One North side, who had former Athletic midfielder and current centre of excellence coach Chris Rowney pulling the strings in midfield, gave as good as they got in most areas of the pitch without threatening too often in the first 45 minutes.

And in their second pre-season friendly, Lee Johnson’s men only really motored as an attacking force in the build-up to the break.

There was little action in the second half as a raft of substitutions from both teams stifled the flow of the game.

Promising performers for Athletic on the night were Connor Brown, Smith and Dayton, while scorer Schmeltz scooped the official man-of-the-match award for the visitors to the well-appointed Tameside Stadium.

The Dutch winger’s busy style and tricky footwork bodes well for the coming season, provided his energy can be channelled effectively.