Clark pleased with team’s dominance

And he admitted he was surprised that the visitors didn’t retreat into a defensive shell when down to 10 men and drawing at 1-1.

Clark told the Guardian: “I think we’ve bossed the game.”

“Apart from 10 minutes after they got the goal, which of course makes you jittery, I think we dominated.”

“I said at half-time that as soon as they got one back, they’d go 4-4-1 and just sit in and break on us.”

“But he (Ashton boss Danny Johnson) didn’t do it, he stayed with three at the back and he’s made a mistake.”

“It’s nice for our fans to come and see a top seven clash and see us put five in, on a day when the top three lost.”

The manager gave a debut to new loan signing Jake Scott in the centre of midfield. A first year professional at Barnsley, Scott came on late in the game and instantly picked up a booking for lunging into a tackle.

But he settled into the match and was as involved as anyone in the latter stages.

Clark lauded the youngster’s attributes, saying: “He loves that (combatitive play), he gets tight, he’s a good tackler and he has great energy.”

“He’ll play at a good tempo for us.”