LIVERSEDGE were knocked out of the FA Vase at the second time of asking as Ashton Athletic again enjoyed a good first half on their way to a 4-2 win.

The Lancashire club had been 2-0 up at the break in the original meeting last Saturday before it was curtailed by the stormy weather after 70 minutes.

Ashton had moved 3-0 up before the referee abandoned the tie – but they were three goals up at the interval last night as they eased through in the rearranged game.

A hat-trick for Daniel Smith saw the home side through after he had opened the scoring in the 26th minute. Sedge were holding on but were hit by two late first-half strikes.

Dan Regan doubled Ashton's lead three minutes before the break and Smith grabbed his second on the stroke of half-time.

Tom Brook pulled a goal back with 15 minutes remaining but any hopes of a comeback were ended as Smith completed his treble, before Joe Walton made the score-line respectable with a penultimate-minute strike.

Ashton's reward is a second-round home tie against Northern League outfit Morpeth Town.