Avro manager Alex Frost admitted that he was ‘delighted’ with young defender Angus Taylor’s first team debut as his side reached the third round of the Macron Cup with a 3-2 victory at a wintry Vestacare Stadium against Abbey Hey, writes Liam Bambridge.

Taylor was handed the opportunity to occupy the left back berth in place of the suspended Kane Wallwork, and Frost was impressed with his response to the challenge.

“We know that Angus has ability from watching him play for the youth team,” he said. “The first team is obviously a massive step up and we felt that this game was ideal to see whether he could handle it.

“I thought that overall it was a really good performance from him; of course there are things that he can improve and he will get better with experience, but to come into a local derby and put in that kind of display was hugely encouraging for us going forward.’

It was a night when Michael Afuye again showcased his talent in the first half, beating the offside trap to fire the home side in front after 17 minutes before earning the penalty from which Louis Potts doubled the lead six minutes before the break.

The visitors found themselves 3-0 down when Kyle Harrop ghosted in unmarked to head home a Jake Cottrill free kick with 20 minutes remaining, and the tie seemed over as a contest.

However, prolific striker Jordan Lazenbury reduced the arrears before Avro found themselves reduced to 10 men when Jack Morrow suffered a facial injury with all three substitutes already on the pitch.

There followed a frantic last few minutes in which Abbey Hey threw caution to the window, but Daryll Grant’s close range finish came too late to enable them to press for the equaliser which would have earned them a chance to progress via a penalty shoot out.

The win means that Avro will now face either Ilkley Town or Bacup Borough in another home tie scheduled for after the end of the league season, which concludes tomorrow with the visit of Winsford United.

“It’s a bit of a weird one, to be honest’, admitted Frost. “The league started early because they were worried about more COVID disruption in the winter, but now we have a situation where the cup competitions are not going to finish until over a month after the league.

“However, it does mean that we can give lads like Angus a chance to show us what they can do at this level.”

Meanwhile, Frost has moved quickly to dispel concerns among fans that some key players’ future may lie elsewhere. Potts, Josh Ollerenshaw and captain Jake Cottrill have all been announced as new signings by other clubs in the pyramid prior to transfer deadline day last week, but the former Ashton United defender has confirmed that these are temporary departures.

“The Northern Premier League season does not finish for another month, so the clubs have signed our players on dual registration forms to tide them over until then,” said Frost. “Obviously it’s great that some of our lads are considered good enough to make a contribution at a higher level, but they all remain very much a part of our long term plans.”