Curzon Ashton secured a narrow 1-0 victory in a tightly contested opening day match. Playing at home, Curzon Ashton initially created several promising opportunities but were unable to convert in the opening stages. Early chances included Tony Weston, who shrugged off a defender before narrowly missing the target, and Alex Curren, whose low shot was expertly saved by visiting goalkeeper James Wright. Dylan Youmbi also came close to giving the visitors the lead when Siya Ligendza forced a fine save from Aiden Dowling at close range.

The first half ended with further drama as Curren struck the crossbar with a long-range effort during injury time, followed shortly by a similar effort from Curzon Ashton captain Danny Whitehead, which also hit the woodwork.

The decisive moment arrived in the 64th minute when Harvey Roberts found space after a well-timed through ball split the opposing defense, allowing him a one-on-one chance with the goalkeeper, which he calmly converted. Seven minutes later, Curzon Ashton doubled their lead, although the goal resulted from an initial blocked shot by defender John Lufudu, with Dylan Cogill firing home the rebound from close range after a right-wing cross by Kendall.

The Dolly Blues were handed a chance to halve the deficit after John Lufudu was penalized for a foul on Sanogo, awarding a penalty to the visitors. However, Curzon Ashton’s goalkeeper Tommy Taylor made a crucial save to deny Nico Evangelinos from the spot. The significance of the save was underlined immediately after when Kurt Willoughby and James Hardy combined to assist Danny Turner, who scored with a right-foot finish to make it 2-1 on his debut.

Looking ahead, Curzon Ashton will travel to face Stockton in their next fixture, while the Dolly Blues are set to host Warrington Rylands.