Manager Craig Parry was delighted with his team’s work ethic as they battled to see out the crucial win.
“I think in the second-half we didn’t really come out of the blocks, we switched off for their goal, and then they had a good spell, then we got a goal which I thought was completely against the run of play," he said.
“But I think the most important thing was looking at the last five minutes, we had 11 men in our 18-yard box, throwing bodies on the line, clearing it off the line and helping their teammates.
“I’ve said it before, what a group we have at the club, to come through those circumstances was magnificent, really, and I’ll definitely cherish it for a long time.”
Hutchinson had the first chance of the game when he crossed for Liam Hughes but he couldn’t keep his shot down.
Jordan Burrow then had a golden opportunity to open the scoring, meeting another Hutchinson cross with a powerful header, but Ashton keeper Connor Eastham pulled off a superb save to deny him.
Ashton’s first real threat came from a set-piece, with Jason Gilchrist bending a free-kick just wide of the target.
Worksop eventually broke the deadlock shortly before the half-hour mark. Hutchinson continued to torment the Ashton defence, whipping in a precise cross that found Hughes, who rifled the ball into the roof of the net to make it 1-0.
The pressure paid off around the 60th minute when a cross from the right found Gilchrist unmarked at the back post. He made no mistake with the header, drawing Ashton level at 1-1.
Worksop, however, had the final say. A corner delivery caused chaos in the Ashton box, with Hughes almost finding the net before the ball was recycled and sent back in. Burrow was quickest to react, rising highest to nod home the decisive goal and seal a 2-1 win for the Tigers.
Worksop Town will now face Stockton Town in the playoff final on Monday, May 5th, once again at the Windsor Foodservice Stadium, with promotion on the line.