BARNOLDSWICK Town’s historic FA Cup run ended on Saturday, as an exceptionally difficult trip to Curzon Ashton proved a bridge too far.

The second qualifying round is where National League North and South sides enter the competition, and Curzon currently sit second behind Scunthorpe United in the former.

That means they play their football three tiers higher than Barnoldswick, so it was little surprise that Town were beaten 6-0 there at the weekend.

An early own goal set the tone, though Gareth Hill came close to scoring a shock equaliser when he was inches away from getting a touch on a low cross that zipped across goal.

Instead Curzon doubled their lead after 15 minutes, then wasted further chances to go in front ahead of the interval.

The home side took complete control after the break, quickly scoring a third goal before adding a fourth on 64 minutes.

Two late goals put the gloss on Curzon’s victory, and they will go on to visit Southport in the third qualifying round.

As for Barnoldswick, they return to league action tomorrow, with an away game against Irlam.

It puts an end to Barnoldswick’s best-ever run in the competition, where they beat Brighouse Town, Northwich Victoria and Lancaster City, all after replays.