Avro manager Alex Frost admitted he was both delighted and disappointed with his side’s performance on Saturday after an emphatic 6-2 victory over Ashton Athletic which moved them up to fifth in the NWCFL Premier Division table.

Goals from Michael Afuye, Jake Cottrell and Liam Ellis gave the home side a commanding lead going into the interval.

However, although Ellis went on to complete his hat trick after the break, the visitors refused to throw in the towel and were rewarded with two consolation goals.

Frost said: “I am very pleased with the attacking performance and the three points.

“We picked a very attack-minded side, something we’ve not done a lot this season, so scoring six goals is never going to reflect badly on our afternoon’s work.

“However, we are all disappointed that we’ve let in two at the other end.

“We have to be more ruthless in situations like these - goal difference may well prove crucial come the end of the season, and I felt like we switched off on a couple of occasions because we thought that the game was won.

“We have built our success this season on being difficult to break down, and I think we let our standards slip in that last half hour.”

The first-half scoreline could have been even more emphatic for Frost’s men, with Ellis denied by a post and three excellent saves from Ashton keeper Joe Smith.

However, he was powerless to prevent Afuye firing his side in front after exchanging passes with debutant Jordan Southworth, who also had a hand in two of the other goals.

Cottrell curled in a second before the quarter-hour mark, with Ellis heading home the third on the stroke of half time.

The former Radcliffe striker completed his hat-trick in the second half with a cool finish and a far-post header to take his tally for the season to nine goals, either side of Kane Wallwork getting on the scoresheet when he converted an Afuye cross.

“Liam feels that he should have scored more today, but the main thing is he kept going, stayed confident and got his rewards,” said Frost.

“I was very pleased with Jordan as well. He has only had one training session with us, but looked very comfortable out there and he will get better and better as he gets used to our style of play.”

Next up for the Ro’s is a trip to Squires Gate tomorrow night, and Frost is confident his side will have learned from Saturday’s experience.

“We know that it is going to be a tough game up there; the playing surface is tricky and they have scored plenty of goals there so they obviously know how to use it to their advantage.

“We need to be totally focused on keeping our goal intact from that first whistle if we are going to get anything from the game.”

Avro’s home league fixtures which were postponed because of their involvement in the Manchester and Macron Cup competitions now have new dates, with Kendal Town visiting the Vestacare on Wednesday, December 7, and Bury AFC heading to OL8 on Wednesday, January 11.