Ashton United Football Club is a football club in Ashton-under-Lyne, Greater Manchester, England. They are currently members of and play at Hurst Cross. Established as Hurst in 1878, the club folded in 1892 before being reformed in 1909 and renamed Ashton United in 1947.
History
The club was founded in 1878 as Hurst Football Club and the earliest known match report dates back to a game against Hurst Red Star on 16 March 1879. and it was they who advanced to the third round after Hurst refused to play the replay. In 1885 they won the first edition of the Manchester Senior Cup, beating Newton Heath (now Manchester United) 3–0 in the final. The club joined the Ashton & District League in 1891, but after finishing ninth in the league in the 1891–92 season, it was reported in June 1892 that they had folded.
Hurst Football Club was reformed in April 1909, when there was a meeting of former members and players and it was decided to form a committee to revive the club to play at the Hurst Cross ground. The reformed club were admitted to the Manchester League as it was expanded from 16 to 18 clubs. In their first season in the league, they finished level on points at the top of the table with Salford United, resulting in a play-off for the championship, which Salford won 2–1. but switched to the Cheshire County League in 1923. changing their name to Ashton United on 1 February 1947. They subsequently rejoined the Lancashire Combination in 1948 and were placed in Division One. which they won in 1961–62 to earn promotion back to Division One.
In 1964 Ashton United switched to the Midland Counties League, where they played for two seasons before moving back to Division Two of the Lancashire Combination in 1966.
With the creation of the Conference North in 2004, a 14th-place finish in 2003–04 saw Ashton United play-off against Hyde United and Bradford Park Avenue for the right to play in the new league. Following a 2–1 win over Hyde, they lost 2–1 to Bradford Park Avenue in the final. However, after the demise of Telford United, an extra place became available in the new structure and Ashton took their place in the Conference North. The following season saw them finish second-from-bottom, resulting in relegation back to the Northern Premier League's Premier Division.
In 2010–11 Ashton United won the Northern Premier League Challenge Cup, beating Northwich Victoria 1–0 in the final. After finishing fifth in 2013–14 the club qualified for the promotion play-offs; however, after beating F.C. United of Manchester 2–1 after extra time, they lost the final to AFC Fylde on penalties after a 1–1 draw. The 2014–15 season saw a third-place finish, again qualifying for the promotion play-offs, in which they lost on penalties to local rivals Curzon Ashton after a 1–1 draw. A third consecutive play-off campaign followed a fourth-place finish in 2015–16, but saw the club lose 3–1 to Salford City in the semi-finals. In 2017–18 they were Premier Division runners-up; in the play-offs they defeated Farsley Celtic 2–0 in the semi-finals, before beating Grantham Town in the final to earn promotion back to the renamed National League North; they were relegated back to the Northern Premier League at the end of the following season after finishing third-from-bottom.
Ashton United finished fifth in the Premier Division in 2024–25, going on to lose 2–1 to Worksop Town in the play-off semi-finals.
Ground
thumb|Hurst Cross entrance
The club initially played at Holebottom on Smallshaw, before moving to Rosehill and then to nearby Hurst Cross for their first fixture played on 27 September 1884, making the ground one of the oldest football venues in the world.
- Worst defeat: 11–1 vs Wellington Town, Cheshire County League, 1946–47
- Record attendance: Over 9,000 vs Blackburn Rovers, Lancashire Senior Cup, 1885
- Record transfer fee received: £15,000 from Rotherham United for Karl Marginson, 1993