Season ticket a bar-gain

Crossbar Challenge winner Ashley Kershaw with Latics’ Robbie Simpson

HITTING the bar at half-time comes naturally to Athletic fans who fancy a quick pint.

Hitting the crossbar has been a much less regular occurrence. No one had managed it since 2006 . . . until Ashley Kershaw stepped up to the plate.

He aced the crossbar challenge at half-time of Latics’s 1-0 loss to Leyton Orient, to the delight of the home contingent.

Injury
The 19-year-old from Shaw earned a free season ticket for the next campaign and said: “I was meant to be playing football for the Star Inn in a re-arranged Rochdale Sunday League game, but I have been carrying an injury so thought I would go to Latics instead.

“My mate, Andrew Hoy, had already signed up for the crossbar challenge but managed to get my name on the list when he found out I would be attending the match.

“I went before him and didn’t give any thought to my technique, probably because I was wearing pumps! I took three short steps and just hit it, without any real expectations.

“Luckily it curled on to the crossbar — what a great feeling that moment was.”
The full version of this story can be seen in our print and eChron editions