GREAT Harwood Town continued their resurgent form with a narrow NWCL Division Two victory over Ashton Town at Edgegreen St.

Town have now won four of their last five games - including Wednesday's 2-1 friendly triumph over Bury - and boss John Hughes was delighted with what he saw.

"The main difference in recent weeks has been our raised commitment levels and a willingness to battle," he said.

"If we manage to climb to mid-table or above the season will have taken a real turn for the better and may also give us some impetus for the next campaign."

Forced into fielding a weakened side the visitors spent much of the first period adapting to systems and getting to know each other's game.

After the break Town upped the tempo and started to cause Ashton problems.

Super sub Matt Derbyshire leapt off the bench to cause unrest in the hosts' defence and John Eastham was a constant threat.

On 70 minutes the Robins frontman netted the decisive goal - Eastham breezed past two Ashton defenders to fire in off the post.

At the other end keeper Bobby Harris was commanding in goal and came out on top when faced with a one-on-one to ensure a victory that Great Harwood fully deserved.

ASHTON TOWN 0 GREAT HARWOOD TOWN 1