Never bet against the power of supporters!

Ashton United's proud officials aren't banking on ever seeing the £10,000 a big-mouthed Twitter user now owes them after losing a bet that they wouldn't be able to get their pitch cleared of snow in time to take on Nantwich Town in the EVO-STIK Northern Premier League's top flight.

But after seeing the club's loyal supporters answer the taunts of the anonymous Twitter user in the best way possible by getting Saturday's game on, the Robins say they couldn't be prouder of the response to an appeal for volunteers or happier after they were rewarded with a 3-1 victory to maintain their push for promotion.

It all started on Friday night when the call went out to supporters on social media after the club tweeted a picture of the pitch at Hurst Cross under a white blanket of snow.

Twitter user @Celebrityfame15 responded: "U got undersoil heating if not don’t waste your time ha If the game go ahead I will donate £10.000 grand. Saturday 31st January statement will be Sorry but today game has be called off due to unplayable conditions."

After nearly 40 Robins fans rallied to the cause, pictured, turning out from 8am on Saturday morning to start shifting a few tons of snow, Ken Philburn, the club’s digital media reporter, later tweeted: "Wonder if @Celebrityfame15 will stump up the ten grand they promised @AshtonUnitedFC if we got the game on, RT if you think they should."

Scores of Ashton fans and other Non-League supporters subsequently backed the call for the gambler to pay up but Ashton United's vice-chairman Steve Hobson isn't holding his breath and or planning to track down the online punter.

Hobson told the Manchester Evening News: "Whoever it is, if they want to turn up at the club they’ll be welcomed - whether they turn up with a cheque or not.

"They thought they were being clever, thinking there was no way we’d get it on. And if you’d looked at our pitch at 8 o’clock on Saturday morning you’d have thought the same.

"But they didn’t reckon with team Ashton! That’s what we are, the whole lot of us are one great big team. From the club’s point of view, it’s all a bit of fun. We’re not going to hold anyone to that. If someone wants to give us 10 grand then we’d bite their hand off.

"We’re a great little family club, everyone pulls in the same direction and it warms the cockles when, at 3 o’clock, we’ve got a team that absolutely ran their heart out for the supporters.

"That’s why they turned up in the morning - because they can see the players are putting their heart and soul into it. It was a fantastic effort. It’s really knitted everyone together.

"We were trying to get the game on anyway (before the tweet). About 10 of us were there clearing snow off the terraces on Friday. Then on Saturday, 42 people turned up over the period of morning.

"One guy came from Blackpool and some girl had seen on Twitter that we needed help and rocked up at 8 o’clock in the morning. She had no connection with the club at all but stayed till 1 o’clock."

He added: "Even the management team and our 81-year-old president [Ronnie Thomasson] was out there clearing snow. We had about eight people there at 8am and it just grew and grew as the morning went on."

Follow us: @evostikleague on Twitter | The NPL group on Facebook by clicking here: www.facebook.com/groups/TheNPL/