Sickly Stalybridge can count themselves a shade fortunate to have escaped Hurst Cross with a point which has done nothing to banish their early season blues.

The Celts had scented the chance to open their victory account at the third time of asking when Marcus Hallows fired them into a 41st minute lead from a penalty conceded by Ashton keeper Danny Trueman.

But Jamie Miller pegged them back with a 62nd minute headed equaliser and Bridge then had to endure a couple of anxious moments as newly promoted Ashton threatened to get the better of what, in truth, was a pretty average Tameside derby.

Stalybridge shaded the early sparring, but it was Ashton who posed the first serious threat after 12 largely uneventful minutes.

Darren Royle's mishit shot from well outside the box fell to the lurking Jason Dormer, who took one touch to control the ball before spinning to send it flashing past the post.

Fierce drive

Bridge responded with Dave Ridings cleverly releasing Jerome Fitzgerald down the left, but this time Royle came to Ashton's rescue by racing across to block the flying wingback's fierce angled shot.

The opening half hour had mysteriously lacked any of the passion normally associated with a derby encounter, but a surging break by Celtic's Wharton briefly broke the tedium and culminated in the visitors winning a free-kick from which Gary Parkinson drilled a shot into the Ashton wall.

A powerful run by Ashton's Phil Baylis gave Stalybridge a spot of bother and, with defender Kenny Mayers struggling to get to grips with the former Trafford wingback, it was left to goalkeeper Craig Dootson to get Celtic off the hook by advancing from his line to thwart Baylis with his feet.

A dull encounter was desperately in need of a lift and it duly arrived in the 38th minute when Bridge were awarded a penalty.

Parkinson's super 40-yard angled pass split the Ashton defence and it was all keeper Trueman could do to poleaxe Fitzgerald as he homed in on goal.

Spot kick success

Hallows made no mistake when he took the spot-kick crashing it confidently into the top right-hand corner.

Stalybridge emerged for the second half with substitute Terry Bowker on for Fitzgerald, but for the first 15 minutes, the pattern remained the same, with neither side showing much in the way of creativity or cohesion.

Ashton were within a whisker of getting back on terms on the hour when, with Miller appealing in vain that Celt's skipper Chris Timons had been climbing all over him, Lee Connor ghosted in behind the pair of them to lift a shot inches over.

Gareth Morris then warmed Dootson's hands with a stinging 25 yarder before ploughing forward again to set up Ashton's equaliser.

His long, angled cross to the far post appeared to catch the Bridge defence unawares, but not so Miller, who sneaked in on the blind side to steer home a header from point blank range.

In fairness to the Robins it was no more than they deserved and they very nearly took an immediate lead when Phil Denney sent a header flashing across goal with Connor just unable to apply the finishing touch.