Ashford Tn (Middlesex) 1, Abingdon Tn 2

A bizarre goal from Darren Watts gave Jon Blencowe his fourth win from five Ryman League Division 3 games since taking over as caretaker player-manager and ended newcomers Ashford Town's unbeaten record.

Watts struck in the 40th minute with a free kick - from his own half!

Corin Paterson's run across the face of goal created confusion in the Ashford defence and everyone - including goalkeeper Burgess - missed the ball and it ended up in the back of the net.

The home side started confidently, and they went ahead after only three minutes with Abingdon having barely touched the ball.

A deep cross found Tony Nolan, who eluded his marker to head firmly past Jason McLaughlin.

Abingdon went close to equalising when the impressive Blencowe carved out an opening for Richard Twine, only for the youngster to see his effort strike the outside of a post.

But Abingdon were back on level terms in the 38th minute when Paterson timed his run to perfection to arrive on to a deft through ball from Blencowe before coolly slotting a left-foot shot beyond Burgess.

And two minutes later, Abingdon were in front thanks to Watts' freak goal.

With Martin Shepherd in fine form at the heart of defence, Abingdon held Ashford at bay in the second half with few alarms.

Paterson and Luke Beauchamp continued to create opportunities for Abingdon and Paterson, in particular, was proving a real handful with his pace and directness.

And Jason Thomas could have sewn it up for Abingdon in the 83rd minute, but his clever lob over Burgess in the home goal also cleared the crossbar by the narrowest of margins.