Phoenix Sports v Ashford United. Kent Invicta League. 4th of February 2012.

Phoenix Sports    3             Ashford United     0

 

From Ashford United’s Milton Keynes Correspondent

It was a real surprise that this game was on, today. With night temperatures 3 or 4 degrees below freezing all week, and with the entire Kent League Premier Division fixtures wiped out, this afternoon, it seemed that Saturday morning’s 10am inspection at Mayplace Road East, in Bexleyheath, would be a mere formality. It was a shock to the system, therefore, when it was announced on the AUFC Forum that the match was ON. So I had to (for once) abandon breakfast, and think fast in terms of what I could, and should, grab, prior to rushing off to catch the 11.05am train out of Milton Keynes Central, to London Euston.

In those “Golden Five Minutes”, what are a man’s priorities ?  I soon decided that the thermal underwear and woolly hat were top of the list, followed by Your Correspondent’s notebook and pencil – and then it was time to fly out the door.

I was horrified to find that the railway station was absolutely heaving with people, with queues for the bank of ticket machines – but I managed to get to the train with seconds to spare, and so embarked on the journey of just over two hours to Barnehurst, via London Bridge. There were quite a few Arsenal fans accompanying me on my trip to The Smoke – which suggested that there were still some who have not given up on Arsѐne Wenger’s tippy-tappy warriors – but my thoughts were focused on the Kent Invicta League, and Ashford United’s meeting with Phoenix Sports, who began the day in 4^th place, still with a realistic chance of catching Bly Spartans and Bridon Ropes at the top of the league. Ashford had been playing well, leading up to this game, thanks mainly to a mid-season influx of experience and quality, in the form of the likes of Mo Takaloo, Roy Guiver and Jimmy Dryden – but a poor start to the season has meant that there was no margin for error left now, with the team lying 13 points behind leaders Bly, at the start of play, with just the two games in hand.

Mo Takaloo was actually missing today. Along with Club Captain Ollie Finch, he was continuing to serve a suspension. This provided the opportunity for Ben Jordan to skipper the side this afternoon. The best news, however, was that, due to the postponement of Hythe Town’s game at Walton & Hersham, Jimmy Dryden was able to make one more appearance for Ashford, having been called back to his parent club earlier in the week.

The other significant piece of team news was that former Ashford Town captain Matt Bower was back, after a long absence with injury. He took his place in a back three of himself, Jordan and Lee Coburn, in front of ‘keeper Billy Rice, with Sam Conlon on the right and Richard Quigley on the left acting as wing-backs. Roy Guiver started the game in central midfield, alongside Liam Whiting. Dan Scorer was on the left wing – or wherever he was required to take a dead-ball kick – and Jimmy Dryden was up front with Peter Williams.

Completing the roll-call, Stephen McKentishfootball was present with his reporter’s hat on, with both Tony Betteridge and Ernie Warren braving the bitter cold alongside the other Ashford United supporters.

Denise Richmond was also in attendance. Denise is Chairperson of the Kent League, and one of the architects of the new Kent Invicta League. I am not a mind reader, but I imagine that she would have seen this fixture as being just about the best advert for Step 6 football in Kent that she could have. This was an event that was well attended – with the crowd of 141 owing much to the usual good attendance from Ashford – and which was staged in a nice facility. Set in the heart of suburban, semi-detached Sarf London, the Phoenix Sports Ground has a decent bar and a snack bar situated at one end of a post & railed pitch which is level, if slightly sloping. Whilst there is no stand or terracing for spectators, a good view on the half-way line was available from the slightly raised bank behind the dug-outs. The pitch itself looked to be in remarkably good shape, and played very firm and bouncy.

In spite of the very cold temperature, the day was at least sunny and bright, certainly in the first half, and the ground had a nice openness about it. The afternoon began to be spoilt for us, however, at precisely 2.10pm, when the home side took the lead. Centre-forward Alfie Harris – who, ironically, is the image of Gary Lockyer in stature and style – sent in a low, diagonal shot, from about 20 yards out, which found the corner of the Ashford net, past a diving Billy Rice. It was a well-struck shot, but I am forming the impression that Billy Rice doesn’t save a great deal, and that anything heading for the corner of his net is likely to beat him.

Just two minutes later, Alfie Harris again found the ball at his feet, this time inside the Ashford area, but he was only able to hit the ball straight at Rice.

Ashford, playing in their Norwich City-style away strip, given Phoenix’s colours of green shirts, black shorts and black sockies, took a while to get into the game, and the first sign of any quality came in the 18^th minute, when Sam Conlon did some good work on the left, forcing the first of a whole succession of Ashford corners in the match – but Dan Scorer’s cross came to nothing. A minute later, a good, diagonal ball from Dan Scorer found Sam Conlon on the right, but the Phoenix defence managed to block the ball behind, for a corner. This time, Scorer pulled something out of the bag that had obviously been devised on the training ground. He drove the ball low, to Richard Quigley, who was stationed well outside the penalty area – with two Ashford players letting the ball go by.  Quigley struck the ball well, and his low, left-footed drive seemed to be heading for the corner of the net, before the home side’s impressive goalie, Stuart Harvey, made a good diving save.

The visitors had several corners in a brief period of dominance, having finally hit their stride – but it was Phoenix Sports who came close to scoring in the 24^th minute. A throw-in, from the right, skidded off the top of an Ashford head, and found Sam Prett unmarked in the area – but he was unable to keep his hooked shot down, and his effort went over the bar.

Ashford’s attempts on goal in the first half were restricted to shots from long range. Lee Coburn let fly with a shot from some 30 yards, in the 31^st minute. Whilst this effort was always going wide, Peter Williams very nearly diverted the ball goalwards with an instinctive header. In the 34^th minute, shortly after Matt Bower had deflected an Alfie Harris shot, from close range, behind for a corner, Lee Coburn again hit a well-struck shot, from a similar distance to his previous effort, and this time it required another good save from Harvey.

Constructive passing movements from Ashford United were very rare, this afternoon, but, in the 37^th minute, Jimmy Dryden spread the ball wide to Sam Conlon, on the right, in a move that culminated in Dan Scorer hitting a left-footed shot wide of the far post. Still Ashford pressed forward, and the corners kept on coming – but the home defence stood firm, with the tall Stuart Harvey catching whatever crosses his defenders could not clear.

The sun disappeared at the start of the second half – which did nothing to ease the biting cold.

In the 48^th minute, a shot by Dan Scorer was well caught by Harvey, and Liam Whiting hit a shot over the bar in the 51^st minute – upon which Ashford Manager Paul Chambers immediately made a substitution, replacing Richard Quigley with Aaron Firth.

In the 55^th minute, there was the rare sight of Roy Guiver bursting into the opposition’s penalty area. Guiver tried to touch the ball over the tall ‘keeper, who palmed the ball out to Jimmy Dryden, who was in a central position, just inside the penalty area. This was Ashford’s best chance of the match to date, and there was no other man that the visiting fans would rather have seen the ball fall to than Jimmy – but he was unable to get over the ball, and sliced his shot high, and over the bar. Two minutes later, the visitors had an even better chance to equalise. Sam Conlon did some good work, moving through the Phoenix half, and found Roy Guiver in the penalty area, with a clear sight of goal. Roy virtually had a one-on-one with the ‘keeper, here, but he shot the ball straight at Stuart Harvey, who saved with his knee.

And that was the closest that Ashford came to scoring.

In the 66^th minute, Tom Scorer was sent on in place of Peter Williams – but it was a minute later that there was a potentially pivotal incident in the game, and one which completely went against Ashford. Liam Whiting made a superb tackle on Phoenix’s Danny Frost. It was hard, but fair, and he won the ball cleanly – but his momentum caused him to upend Frost, and that now appears, according to a ludicrous modern fad in football, to be a free-kick offence. Worse was to follow. Frost obviously took exception to being tackled, so retaliated with a right cross to Liam’s jaw. I actually thought that the Ashford No.7 did well to ride the punch – but the key point was that a punch was thrown, and everybody in the ground saw it, except, apparently, for the referee and his linesman on the far side. After discussing the issue between them, the result was that the ref booked Liam Whiting for his excellent tackle – and no action at all was taken against Frost. To say that the Ashford bench was incensed would be an understatement – and their mood wasn’t improved when the lino in front of them admitted that he had seen Frost throw the punch, but thought that he’d let his two colleagues sort out the incident themselves.

This is the sort of injustice that football fans dwell upon, especially when they’re desperate for a break to go their way – and those on the Ashford bench were certainly never able to let it drop – but the truth is that United were never able to get behind, or around or through the Phoenix defence. I didn’t think that Phoenix looked anything out of the ordinary, to be honest, but they did the simple things well, and Ashford never really bothered Harvey in their goal. That is in spite of the fact that Ashford actually had the better of the second half, and looked impressive when either of the Scorer brothers was on the ball. In the 73^rd minute, for example, young Tom showed great skill and footwork on the left flank – but his efforts resulted in nothing better than yet another corner.

Whilst Phoenix looked fairly workmanlike for most of the game, it was a moment of great individual skill that led to the home side’s second goal, in the 80^th minute. Adam Cuthbert picked the ball up on the left side of the field, and took it infield, before drilling the ball into the bottom corner of the net. The fact that Ashford United is the team that every other team in the Kent Invicta League most wants to beat was reflected in the celebrations of the Phoenix Sports bench, which spilt out onto the playing area.

Three minutes later, Phoenix completed Ashford’s humiliation when Alfie Harris scored the home side’s third goal, and his second. The strong No.9 collected a through-ball, well inside the Ashford box, and with his back to goal. He looked every inch the accomplished centre-forward when he turned and hammered the ball past Billy Rice – but there was just a suspicion that the Ashford bench thought that his task had been made too easy, by some slack Ashford defending.

By this time, Roy Guiver had been operating in the front line, with Jimmy Dryden either playing in the hole behind the two front men, or trying to create something from midfield – but the game was all over, bar the shouting. Aaron Firth had a chipped attempt that went over the bar, from just outside the area, and Lee Coburn attempted yet another long-range shot – but the visitors never found the net, and the game finished 3-0.

There was much swearing and muttering from the Ashford bench at the final whistle – mostly aimed at the performance of the three officials – but I am sure that they must have been disappointed that the team had failed to really bother the Phoenix defence. Having said that, Ashford’s performance was nowhere near as bad as the 3-0 score-line seems to suggest – but this defeat must surely have finally put paid to any chance that they had of gaining promotion from the Kent Invicta League this season.

ARCHIVE: Witney Town v Ashford Town. Doc Martens League Division 1 East. 2000-1 season.

Witney Town     1       Ashford Town         3

from your Milton Keynes correspondent

I hate to bore you all with this again, but that statistic is building up - 32 games without a draw this season at the start of this match, which is quite an exceptional stat. And so’s this one : only one clean sheet in 32 games; although I should add that the lads have only failed to score in seven of them. And whilst I have the attention of all you anoraks, here’s a question,

Q. : What does Witney Town FC have in common with Real Madrid, Manchester United and Doncaster Belles ?

A. : They’ve NEVER beaten Ashford Town at home. (Mind you, the other three probably would if we ever played them !).

So what could we expect from the trip to Witney ?  Not a bad side, Witney - 11th in the table (two places above us), but, curiously, the worst-supported side in the division, with an average home crowd of just over a hundred (which is basically just Mums and Dads ! ). Thanks go to Tonbridge Angels’ excellent web-site for that gem of information, by the way.

Cracking performances away to Premier Division sides Grays, Crawley and Weymouth this season had shown that Ashford were perfectly capable of getting a result here, but it had all started to get a bit sloppy of late - a run of four consecutive defeats, including three against teams in the bottom five of our division !  If it were merely a question of motivation, then today’s match was going to be a test - out of all cup competitions, and just the 21 league matches to complete, with a final position somewhere in mid-table virtually guaranteed. Would the boys realise that next year’s push for promotion - and surely that can’t be too outrageous to hope for - starts NOW ?!

I went to the corresponding fixture a couple of years ago - the first time I’d seen the team play for some time. When we were 0-2 up with 20 minutes to play, I tried to cast my mind back to the last time that I had actually seen Ashford win (must’ve been some time before Walsall beat us 1-3 in the FA Cup at Essella Park in the seventies !).  I went up to three old boys in green & white scarves, who were obviously regulars, and said : “Do you realise that, if we hang on here, it’ll be the first time I’ve seen Ashford win for 25 years ?!”. The little one in the middle (who turned out to be Pat Earl !) said : “Well, it takes us a long time sometimes !!”. We held on to win 0-2 ! 

Witney’s new ground, Marriotts Stadium, is situated in an industrial estate just beyond the western outskirts of the town. It’s handy to drive to - just off the A40, and with plenty of car parking space. It took us just 1¼ hours to drive from Milton Keynes. It’s a strange sort of a ground, dominated by a huge, almost square, stand, which is almost as deep as it is long. It’s an impressive building, though, and, with only about 250 seats stuck on the front of it, (and most of those never have a bum near them), it’s obviously intended to be a multi-function facility. As for the rest of the ground, there is a covered standing area on the other side of the pitch, and a stand at one end - unfortunately, the end from which the wind whistles in is open. This is the wind that was cooling the back of Craig Tucker’s neck in the first half. Apart from the wind, it was a fine, sunny day in Oxfordshire, (although my wife, of course, was freezing – sometimes, it’s like being married to Alan Green !), but the pitch looked a bit patchy even before the kick-off.

The team news was interesting - no Steve Marshall up front, and no Steve Robinson, so Tony Eeles captained the side in his absence. There was also a new name for me - Joe Cornwall in defence (sorry, Joe, if I’ve got your name wrong !). With both Jon Warden and Nicky Arundel leaving the Club in mid-week, to return to Kent League football, there was a starting place for the promising Dave Peachey, alongside Player-Coach Steve Lovell. The fact that Assistant Manager Peter “Ashford ‘til I die” McRobert was also named among the three substitutes probably betrayed the fact that Tommy Sampson was a bit light on personnel for this game - I’m sure that the inside story will be revealed in Tommy’s column on this web-site before long ! 

So it was a 4-4-2 formation for Ashford, with Paul Ribbens wide on the right and Kirk Watts wide on the left in midfield, playing in white shirts, green shorts and white socks. (I actually have a soft spot for this strip - it’s the combination that we invariably wore in the early seventies, when we had what was arguably our best ever side; the days when Peter Sillett was in charge and Alan Morton was banging in all those goals; when Scarborough robbed us 1-0 in the semi-final of the FA Trophy, with a very dodgy penalty !).

There was certainly plenty of time to reminisce in the first quarter of an hour of the match, as nothing of any note happened in this time - as the match reporters on the radio say : “I’ve written nothing in my note book !”  This was not due to any shortage of endeavour from the players - it’s just that everything was compressed into the middle third of the pitch. There was a strange, Sunday afternoon atmosphere about the game - blue skies, and with both benches making marginally more noise than the very sparse crowd.

Then, after 16 minutes, Jason Ash put the ball out for a corner to Witney. As the ball was swung across, the referee blew up for a free-kick - it was not immediately clear which team had been penalised. There was no reaction from the crowd - mainly because there was no crowd - and both sets of players seemed to be querying the decision. Dave Peachey was in the area, looking both bewildered and disappointed, and the referee seemed to be making his way towards the penalty spot - a penalty, maybe ?  I heard someone in the home crowd say “Oh, good”, so that confirmed it. The word filtering back to the touchline from the players was that the penalty was for pushing, against Dave Peachey.

There was no doubt about the spot-kick, though - Witney’s Keith Knight planted the ball firmly to Craig Tucker’s left, to become the home side’s top scorer this season, with nine goals. So 1-0 to the Blanketmen. (If you know your industrial history, you won’t need any explanation for this nickname !).

Ashford reacted to going behind by picking up the pace, and looked slightly the better side for most of the rest of the half, but still made little headway in terms of an equaliser. Steve Lovell looked strong, and won plenty of balls in the air, but seemed to miss his regular striking partner. A nod-down by Lovell, after 21 minutes, did, however, lead to Ashford’s only recognisable chance in the first period, with midfielder Adrian Webster picking the ball up and running at the Witney defence. The Australian transferred the ball onto his right foot, and shot low, but just wide.

The only other glimmer of hope for the visitors before half-time came after 43 minutes when Lovell controlled the ball on his chest, swivelled and shot, but the effort was a weak one, and, as the old-timers say, the goalie could have “thrown his cap on it”. Incidentally, although it’s old news now, I feel I should say something about Steve’s decision to stick with the job at Ashford, instead of taking the offer of the Manager’s post at Sittingbourne. This is an important “barometer reading”. Obviously, a bloke like him will have some long-term ambitions to go into management, so the fact that he (and also Tommy) have pledged their immediate future to The Homelands sends a message to players, supporters and officials alike that there might be something worth persevering with at the Club !  Well, Tommy, for one, is certainly not doing it for the money !  Let’s hope that their loyalty is repaid some day.

A quiet half ended with a scare for Ashford. A cross from the Witney right was headed goalwards, and, with Tucker beaten, was cleared off the line by the newcomer Cornwall. So very little to report in the “incidents” column - Webster’s shot for Ashford, a soft penalty for Witney, and neither goalie actually making a save.

And so to half-time, and a pleasant surprise in the music department - rather than the usual seventies rubbish belting out on the tanoy (the curse of the smaller football ground), there was a first chance to hear a new release. Bruce Grobelaar’s debut single. A catchy cover version of Bob the Builder’s Christmas hit. Just love that chorus : -

            “           Grob the Builder,

                        Can he fix it ?

                        Grob the Builder,

                        YES HE CAN !!        ”

(What was the number of that solicitor’s again, Steve ?!)

The second half began much more brightly, with Ashford out of the traps pretty quickly. Our first attack, in the first minute, ended with a foul on Dave Peachey. Tony Eeles found Peachey’s head from the resulting free-kick, but the ball was put behind for a corner.

Moments later, it was the home side - playing in all-yellow, as usual - who came forward. Joe Cornwall committed the cardinal sin for a defender - he was caught in possession as the last man !  The Witney player who robbed him, first half substitute Richard Bourne, bore down on the Ashford goal, but shot straight into Craig Tucker’s arms.

Two minutes into the second half, Ashford won a throw-in, deep in the Witney half, on the right. Paul Ribbens threw the ball long, into the penalty area, where it fell at the feet of Tony Eeles. The stand-in skipper seemed to have all the time in the world, and was able to pass the ball into the far corner of the net. Yet another goal in a prolific season for the midfield general, and “i verdibianchi” were all square.

(Okay, so I’m being flash coming out with the italian - but you have to admit that it adds a touch of class to the web-site).

Tommy Sampson’s boys then largely took control of the game, having the lion’s share of possession and doing all the pressing. After 54 minutes, Tom Binks came on as sub for Joe Cornwall, after which Steve Taylor pushed further forward down the right, linking up well with Paul Ribbens. In this half - whether or not it was by chance or by design - it was young Dave Peachey who was the target of most long balls forward, and, in spite of his slight frame (he’s built rather like Rodney Trotter !), he was strong and competitive. But still the flick-ons and lay-offs didn’t quite come off.

To be honest, Ashford’s dominance was helped by Witney Town being fairly poor during this period - the best that they could offer in response to the equaliser was a speculative, long-range shot from Mike Cook, which was again straight into Tucker’s arms.

The next clear-cut chance fell to the visitors, after 55 minutes. Steve Lovell was fouled, deep in the Witney half. Tony Eeles’s free-kick was only half cleared, and Paul Ribbens’ header back into the danger zone found Dave Peachey on the edge of the six-yard box. As a natural goal-scorer, he looked odds-on to put the lads in the lead, but he pulled his shot across the face of the goal. (“Rodders, you plonker !”).

After 63 minutes, young David won yet another ball in the air, which Steve Lovell ran onto - unfortunately, he got the shot completely wrong, and sliced it well wide. Well, as Coach, you sometimes have to show the youngsters how NOT to do it !

By the time the home side made their second substitution - Geoff Neville, in the 64th minute - the pitch was beginning to cut up very badly, but Ashford were still in control, with most of our best work continuing to come down the right , through Steve Taylor and the excellent Paul Ribbens. The fact that the right wing area began to resemble a ploughed field told us something about the way the match was going !

After 67 minutes, it was Taylor who made in-roads into the Blanketmen’s penalty area, getting to the by-line before being brought down. Gentle appeals for the penalty were turned down, and the Nuts & Bolts had to settle for a corner on the right. This was taken by Kirk Watts, who had been having a quiet second half, after looking quite lively in the first period, but his cross was headed wide.

Just after the hour mark, the home side did come back into the game a little more, but could manage only a corner, after 69 minutes, which resulted in an Ashford free-kick for a foul on goalkeeper Tucker, and another optimistic long-range effort, that went well over the bar, on 70 minutes.

It was at about this time that there was the most amusing incident of the game. One of the Witney players responded to some on-going stick from an Ashford fan behind the goal by shouting : “Shut up, Noddy Holder !”. (A reference to his Barnet !). That was really refreshing. A fan being barracked by a player. It could only happen in non-league footy ! 

Witney had a rather better chance after 76 minutes, when goal scorer Keith Knight was put clean through on goal. Craig Tucker came out to meet him, and Knight pulled his shot wide - he should have done better.

After 82 minutes, Ashford won a throw-in on the left, level with the penalty area. Again, they tried the long-throw routine - the throw was flicked on at the near post, and Tony Eeles was waiting at the far side of the box, as the last man, and drilled the ball into the corner of the net, hitting roughly the same spot that he had for the equaliser. Inevitably, there was the chant of : “Eelesy, Eelesy, Goal Machine” from the Ashford faithful behind the goal. The nickname “Goal Machine” has always meant to be ironic, as Tony has, traditionally, not scored the number of goals that you might expect from a player with his talent, but he’s certainly been banging the goals in this season !  1-2 to the Greens !

Witney never threatened to come back after this - their only remaining goal attempt came with a free-kick outside the penalty area, with two minutes to go, which was hit straight at Craig Tucker.

Then with 90 minutes on the watch - Scott McRobert having replaced Kirk Watts five minutes earlier - Dave Peachey burst onto a lobbed through-ball from midfield, leaving the home defence for dead. In a one-on-one situation with goalkeeper Tom King, Peachey shaped to curl the shot into the net with his in-step - King got a hand to the ball, but could not prevent it from ending up in the top corner of the net. A good striker’s goal for David, and one which was just reward for his good battling performance in the second half.

The 1-3 scoreline was also just reward for the team, for bossing the last 45 minutes, having been a goal down to a soft penalty at half-time. The victory was just what Tommy needed, after four consecutive defeats - let’s hope that the boys can now go on to finish the season strongly, to set us up for a promotion campaign next season. There are plenty of stern tests to come this term, though - we still have the Isle of Wight to play twice, Hastings to play twice, and have to go to the likes of Grantham and Rothwell. Also, Histon will be no push-overs.

Which brings us back to those amazing statistics. The magic number is now 33 : 16 wins, 17 defeats ...... and no draws. Also, Witney still haven’t beaten us on their home ground - either in this new stadium, or at their old place. Spare a thought for Craig Tucker and the defence, though - they were really unlucky not to have doubled their tally of clean sheets for the season !

ARCHIVE: Whyteleafe v Ashford Town. Ryman League Division 1 South. 26th of December 2006.

Whyteleafe         1       Ashford Town   1

from Your Milton Keynes Correspondent

Boxing Day 2006. This was another first for us, going to a footy match on Boxing Day, as we’ve previously always spent the day with the in-laws, as a sort of return leg from Christmas Day. It’s also a day when, traditionally, the fixtures compilers arrange some local derbies for clubs, to both minimise travelling for players and supporters, and to maximize gate receipts for those clubs scheduled to play at home. It was a bit galling for both Whyteleafe and Ashford Town, therefore, that, on a day when the fixture lists included Ramsgate v Margate, Sittingbourne v Maidstone, Chatham v Dartford and Erith & Belvedere v Erith Town, the two teams should be down to play each other. Unsurprisingly, the match attracted a crowd of only 129.

This was also the fourth match of John Cumberbatch’s reign as sole Manager, and it must be said that we approached the game with a rare sense of hope, after John had got off the mark with a deserved victory against a decidedly useful side in top-of-the-table Dulwich Hamlet on Saturday. According to eye-witnesses from both sides, Ashford looked both useful and committed. The victory was also founded upon a seemingly bizarre team selection, with Anthony Allman and Simon Glover, our two “class acts” in the centre of midfield for much of this season, being deployed at right- and left-back, respectively, and with vertically-challenged Tom Adlington played in central defence. Well, whether or not this was a stroke of genius from John, it certainly seemed to do the trick. And, as if to make the point that this team selection was not merely an aberration, the same starting line-up turned out for this noon kick-off, in spite of centre-half Nick Fenwick being fit enough to occupy a place on the bench - and all three of these lads had an excellent game in defence today.

Before describing the day’s events, I feel I should acknowledge a little debt of gratitude that we owe Whyteleafe FC, for saving us from relegation at the end of the 2004-5 season. Travelling to Horsham for the final game of that season, Ashford knew that they needed a victory to ensure safety from making the drop down to the Kent League – unfortunately, we got hammered 5-0, and it was only Whyteleafe’s 3-1 win over Dorking, here at Church Road, that pulled our nuts out of the fire. I should also say that everyone from the club that we met today went out of their way to be friendly and welcoming, so it was a pity that the ‘Leafe’s team management personnel acted in such a loutish and unsportsmanlike manner. We’ve become accustomed to the pitch-side banter being a little raucus at times, but their sledging of our players was unnecessarily unpleasant and personal, and the man who carried the big bag of balls did himself and his club no favours with his uncalled-for volleys of foul-mouthed abuse directed at the Ashford bench.

That 2004-5 season was three relegation scraps ago now, as we again find ourselves just three places from the bottom of the table, with today’s opponents just one place below us, level on points, but having played three games more. The game was therefore very much a six-pointer, with our hosts arguably in even greater need of the points than ourselves – they had also failed to register a single home win in the league this season, (with their last such victory at home, I’m told, being back in February).

So the team news was that Ashford were unchanged from the side that beat Dulwich Hamlet, with the only change to the team sheet being the addition of Nick Fenwick to the subs bench; the team was therefore, (from right to left, and in 4-4-2 formation): Jake Whincup, Anthony Allman, Marc Cumberbatch, Tommy Adlington, Simon Glover, Drew Watkins, Kevin Lott, Matt Carruthers, Kenny Jarrett-Elliott, Walid Matata and George Fenwick. The full list of subs was Ian Ross, Luke Coleman, Jamie Leggett, Nick F and Joe Hitchings (whose appearance from the bench on Saturday brought his total time spent on the pitch this season up to 78 minutes).

In the first half, Ashford played up the slope of a pitch that was both bumpy and undulating, and that had several bare, muddy patches. The home side, playing in green shirts, with white shorts and sockies, having forsaken their more familiar Celtic-style strip of green and white hoops, did most of the early pressing, and, with the exception of an off-target, long-range effort from Anthony Allman, Ashford found it hard to get out of their own half in the opening ten minutes. The first real chance that our boys, playing in an all-yellow strip, managed to create came in the twelfth minute. This came about as a result of a foul on Kevin Lott. The free-kick was taken by Anthony Allman, who today shared the dead-ball duties with Kenny Jarrett-Elliott; Anthony chipped the ball into the centre of the penalty area, where Marc Cumberbatch rose to meet it, only to see Danny Coote, in the Whyteleafe goal, make a comfortable catch.

Whyteleafe themselves had a free-kick in a dangerous position, in the 15^th minute, after Tommy Adlington had tapped the heels of Danny Plâtel, from behind. This was taken by Jo Clarke – the only man on the pitch with more grey hair than your correspondent. His cross into the area was a good one, but Daniel Hornsby’s push on Tom Adlington was as obvious as they come, and he didn’t get away with it.

In the 17^th minute, Ashford had a free-kick, near the right touchline, which was awarded for hand-ball. Kenny Three Names whipped this in, with pace, attacking the near post – two yellow shirts also attacked the near post, in what was obviously a pre-planned ploy, but Danny Coote (who wasn’t actually bald) held onto the ball well. Within seconds, Whyteleafe took the lead – and it was Ashford’s new ‘keeper, Jake Whincup, who didn’t exactly cover himself in glory with this one. An up & under into the Ashford penalty area appeared to be bouncing harmlessly out towards the corner flag, but this was hoiked back in, hoisted high once again, by Daniel Hornsby. This was always going to be a tricky one to deal with, as it was on course to drop into the Ashford goal, but it was in the air for a long time, and Jake really should have done something decisive with it. Instead, it was allowed to bounce off either Danny Plâtel or Marc Cumberbatch, and plop over the line. There was some suggestion that it might have been a Cumberbatch own goal, but it was confirmed at half time that the goal was awarded to Plâtel, the man with a circumflex – and I bet you didn’t even know he was Jewish ! 

To give credit to the home side, they fought hard to protect their lead, snapping in tackles, and chances were hard to come by for Ashford, but Walid Matata had a chance to score his first goal for the club, in the 21^st minute. Kevin Lott released him through on goal, with a visionary pass from inside the centre circle, but Walid scuffed his first-time shot wide of the goal. In the 28^th minute, he showed a touch of class, as he expertly turned Kris Barry, rounded another Whyteleafe defender, and then put in a low centre, looking for George Fenwick. George flicked the ball back with the outside of his boot, to set Matt Carruthers up with a great chance to score, but, disappointingly, Matt skied a left-footed shot well over the bar. A minute later, we had another opportunity, when Anthony Allman took a free-kick near the left touchline. He sent in a useful, curling cross into the penalty area, and Simon Glover’s flicked back-header went just over the bar.

At the other end, in the 31^st minute, Daniel Hornsby lobbed another high, speculative cross into the Ashford goalmouth. Again, Jake failed to come for the ball, so that Anthony Allman, who had no Whyteleafe player near him, but no direction from his ‘keeper either, had no choice but to nod the ball behind for a corner. On this occasion, the set piece came to nothing. Three minutes later, George Fenwick’s persistence persuaded Oliver Barrett to concede a corner, on the right. This was taken by Kenny Jarrett-Elliott, again attacking the near post, but this was headed behind by Luke Basford, the man on the post, for another corner. Whilst the follow-up kick also failed to produce a clear-cut chance, Ashford managed to keep the pressure on the home defence, and, soon after, Matt Carruthers was tripped as he careered through central midfield, towards the Whyteleafe area. This provided Ashford with a free-kick in a position that really did have possibilities, and Anthony Allman was the first among our free-kick specialists to have a crack (as each of them did in turn throughout the match – all failing to deliver). Anthony’s method was to go for the direct power shot – as he did, successfully, against Folkestone in the Kent Senior Cup victory earlier on in the season – but this time his effort was always going wide.

In the 39^th minute, Marc Cumberbatch and Tommy Adlington had an awkward, bouncing ball to deal with, running back towards their own goal; the ball broke to Danny Plâtel, who struck his shot firmly, and on target, but Jake Whincup this time made an excellent save. The resulting corner, from the left, was crossed long, beyond the far post, where Daniel Hornsby headed wide.

It was in the 42^nd minute that Walid Matata gave a glimpse of what he is capable of. A long clearance from the Ashford defence went beyond the Whyteleafe defensive line; Walid gave his man a start of at least five yards, but, with a lightning burst of speed, got to the ball easily, and was set for a one-on-one with the goalkeeper. The chance was snuffed out when the defender cynically hauled Walid down, in what looked to be a clear example of a red-card offence. Unsurprisingly, Referee Bentley (who had a big nose) seemed to chicken out, and settled for showing a yellow card. This time it was Drew Watkins’s turn to try to make something of the free-kick. Now, we know that Drew is capable of “bending it like Rossi” – David Beckham has also scored the odd goal in this manner – as he hit the bar, from a free-kick in a similar position, at Tooting & Mitcham. On this occasion, Drew managed to curl the ball over and around the defensive wall, but also wide of the goal.

Matata had another chance to score, shortly before half time, when George Fenwick flicked on another long clearance. Walid got to the ball at about the same time as ‘keeper Danny Coote, and managed to kick it through his hands, but there was a defender on hand to hoof the ball off the line. So 1-0 it was to the green & whites (nice strip !) at the interval, but I still felt that we were bound to score against this lot, and were still probably capable of forcing a win.

This impression was very nearly confirmed in the first minute of the second half, when Walid Matata burst onto a through-ball. I was still ambling back to my position on the halfway line, with my cup of Bovril, and I should emphasise that the job of linesman is not an easy one, but I found Mr Phillips’s decision to raise his flag for offside to be totally inexplicable. Nevertheless, the flag went up, and that was that. In the 48^th minute, a good Ashford move down the right, involving Drew Watkins, Anthony Allman and Matt Carruthers, ended with a goal-mouth scramble, but the Whyteleafe defence managed to force the ball behind for a corner. This was taken by Kenny Jarrett-Elliott, on the right, and his deep cross was headed against the far post by Matt Carruthers.

In the 50^th minute, good defending by Simon Glover conceded a corner at the other end, on the Whyteleafe right. This produced a rare scare in the second half for the Ashford defence, as ‘Leafe skipper Danny Arkwright, who looked to be about seven feet tall, rose to meet the cross with a good, on-target header, but Tommy Adlington was there to clear the ball off the line.

Generally, though, Ashford always looked to be the side most likely to score – even through my biased eyes – and we had another free-kick opportunity in the 53^rd minute. This came about as a result of a trip by Jo Clarke on Walid Matata, for which the Whyteleafe No.8 got booked. This time, it was Matt Carruthers’s turn to go for goal; with the ‘Leafe defensive wall lined up on the edge of the penalty area, Matt’s curling shot went just past the angle of post and bar. The home side did, though, have a free-kick in a dangerous position a couple of minutes later – this was for a push by Marc Cumberbatch on Daniel Hornsby. Jo Clarke took the kick, from just outside the area, bending the ball around the wall, and it needed a very good diving save from Jake Whincup to keep it out. He managed to push Clarke’s effort around the post, for a corner, and then came out to collect the resulting cross with an acrobatic leap and a catch that was so impressive that it drew chuckles of appreciation from his team-mates on the bench.

In the 62^nd minute, Whyteleafe made their first substitution, with Calvin MacLean replacing Leon McDowell; Luke Coleman got the call to get ready from John Cumberbatch at about the same time, and eventually went on for Drew Watkins in the 64^th minute.

In the 68^th minute, George Fenwick and Walid Matata again combined well, when George put Walid through with a one-on-one with the goalkeeper, only for Coote to make a good save at his feet – the ball broke to George, and it looked like he only had to knock it into an empty net, but the ball was deflected for a corner. Kenny Three Names took the kick, on the right, and the ball was soon returned to him; he crossed the ball again, and, this time, he found Simon Glover, arriving at the far post, who nodded the ball down into the far corner of the net. This was Glovesie’s first goal for Ashford in his current spell at the Club, and it’s a little ironic that he has broken what was becoming quite a worrying duck when being switched to the back four !  (For you anoraks out there, Gloves has, at the time of writing, played exactly 2,000 minutes of football this season for that one goal).

With Whyteleafe reacting by immediately replacing Kris Barry with Tony Martin, Ashford then started to show what they were capable of, as, for a short spell after that equaliser, they visibly increased the tempo of their play. In the 73^rd minute, a cross from the left from Simon Glover was headed clear by the Whyteleafe defence, but only as far as Kenny, on the edge of the area, who attempted an ambitious, long-range header that went just wide. A minute later, Gloves sent in another cross from the left, after some good hold-up work from Walid Matata, but Luke Coleman headed wide at the far post.

In the 78^th minute, Whyteleafe broke out of defence with a move that took them all the way to the corner flag, on the right, but good defending by Tom Adlington conceded a corner. There was a delay as, first the referee took time out to yellow-card Danny Plâtel, for an earlier incident, and then play was suspended for treatment to a Whyteleafe player. When Jo Clarke eventually took the kick, Marc Cumberbatch did well to head the ball clear, in spite of being challenged by ‘Leafe’s giant centre-half Danny Arkwright – later, Arkwright was to be named as the home team’s Man-of-the-Match, according to a supporters’ poll, whilst Cumber was named as the MK Man-of-the-Match, after another solid and polished performance at the back.

By the time that Matt Kember was replaced by Scott Marshall, in the 81^st minute, Whyteleafe appeared to have weathered the brief onslaught, and the draw began to look the most likely result. They did have a free-kick in a dangerous position, in the 82^nd minute, which Jo Clarke curled straight at Jake Whincup, and substitute Tony Martin had a long-range shot which curled wide of the post, on the 90-minute mark, but there would be no addition to the score. The last act of note came in the 92^nd minute, when George Fenwick got himself booked, (in spite of trying to persuade Mr Bentley that it was now hardly worth bothering with – “Yes, I think we need a good send-off”, was the ref’s banter, in response !).

In terms of the league positions at the bottom of Ryman Division 1 South, there was no change – with Walton Casuals also picking up a Boxing Day point, they remain on the same number of points as the two teams in action today – but Ashford will have been more content with the draw, given that they have three games in hand of today’s hosts. There was, however, a very strong consensus among the lads afterwards that this was a couple of points dropped, as we had enough of the game, and demonstrated enough superiority, to feel that we could, and should, have taken all three.

Never mind; let’s not be too greedy. At least the lads are beginning to play well, and there is evidence that a good squad of players is rapidly gelling together. On Saturday, there is a far sterner test – at home to Hastings United, in a proper holiday-period derby. We beat Hastings 0-1 at The Pilot Field earlier on in the season, but they’re a much better side now, and proved that with a 1-1 draw at home to Dover this afternoon.

Man of the Match

(to go towards the Milton Keynes Bowl)

Marc Cumberbatch

ARCHIVE: Whyteleafe v Ashford Town. Ryman League Division 1 South. January 2006.

Whyteleafe         3       Ashford Town   2

from Your Milton Keynes Correspondent

Although we’ve had only two games so far in 2006, it’s already been a year of extreme highs and lows. From the euphoria of the 3-0 first-half performance against Dover, which culminated in that exhilarating third goal from Denver “Box to Box” Birmingham, the lads suffered the crushing psychological blow of that 93rd minute winner for the Metropolitan Police last Saturday. Nevertheless, the bottom line is that we collected three points from those two games, whilst, of our rivals at the bottom of the table, only Corinthian Casuals managed to get a point (and only one) during the same period, with Burgess Hill Town actually playing three games.

That, I’m afraid is the stark reality of our current position – we’re in a division within a division, involving four teams: ourselves (18 points from 25 games, at the start of today’s play), Burgess Hill Town (17 from 22), Corinthian Casuals (16 from 24) and Newport IoW (15 from 23). In theory, two of these teams are supposed to go down at the end of the season, but, with another restructuring happening in non-league football in the Summer, which will involve a whole bunch of teams being promoted from Step 5 to our level, the chances are that no more than one team will actually go down. Nevertheless, it’s always good to set your sights high, so we really should be aiming for 21^st position or better in this 23-team division. That means that we just need to make sure that we keep two of these three teams behind us. (We still need to play these three teams once; away from home each time).

The fact that we’re in another relegation battle in Ryman Division 1 – and not fighting it out for third place behind Beckenham and Maidstone in the Kent League – is due to events here at Church Road, Whyteleafe, on the last day of last season. Whilst Ashford were a few miles down the road at Horsham, getting thrashed 5-0, Whyteleafe saved our skin by getting a 3-1 result against Dorking, which relegated The Dorks, in our stead. In recognition of the debt that we undoubtedly owe The ‘Leafe, Mrs Milton Keynes Correspondent and I kissed the ground as we passed through the turnstiles.

As the name of the place suggests, today’s venue was deep in leafy Surrey (i.e. posh end – compared to South Ashford, at least). It’s a pleasant, tree-lined little ground at Church Road. It’s also what the Queen Mother used to describe as an “arse about face” ground, with the main stand (the “Gold Air Stand”) behind one goal, and a smaller stand with a few green and white seats, including club Directors’ seats, on the half-way line. The place has rather more terracing than some venues in Ryman Division 1, and is capable of holding more than the 176 that turned up this afternoon, (295 is Whyteleafe’s best crowd so far this season). The pitch was blighted with patches of bare mud, but that was hardly surprising, given the wet weather that’s been about recently.

There were a few “nice to see”s in the Ashford line-up. Firstly, it was nice to see Rossi making his 201^st appearance for the Club – having been told that he would never play football again, following that horrendous double-fracture of the leg, I’m sure that he doesn’t take playing for granted, so we shouldn’t either. Quite apart from that, three of Ashford Town’s last four goals have come about as a result of an Ian Ross cross or free-kick. It was also good to see Big Dave Wietecha back in goal – no disrespect to Sean Glover (who was apparently at fault to some extent for both goals against The Met), but Dave is an outstanding ‘keeper. In front of him, we had the now-familiar back-four of Rossi, Mark Banks, Tom Adlington and Jamie Smith. (Once again, the full-backs towered over their centre-back colleagues – but so too did the Whyteleafe forwards !). On the subject of defenders, it was good to see former captain and centre-half Peter Mortley on the bench. Peter has recently left Hastings United, reportedly on the grounds of the travelling he has to do from his Medway home, and has apparently re-signed for us.

There is plenty of competition for places in midfield at the moment, and the promising RJ Boorman also had to be content with a place on the subs’ bench. The preferred central defensive pairing is currently Denver Birmingham (now fit enough to complete 90 minutes of late) and Gary Clarke, with J-P Collier on the right, and Sol Henry on the left. Emmanuel Sackey also had to make do with a place on the bench, with Nathan Thomas and Anthony Pace being other midfielders unable to make the first team squad. With Joby Thorogood starting a four-game ban, Shaun Bradshaw partnered Adrian Stone up front, (Adrianho carrying the Club’s yellow livery for the first time, with Whyteleafe playing in their usual Celtic strip). The bench was completed by Kennickson Jarrett-Elliott and Sean Glover.

There was something of a Bromley reunion here, as Kevin George was named in the Whyteleafe side, having been released from Bromley in the same cull that has enabled Adrian Stone and John-Paul Collier to return to Ashford. (I now understand that Adrianho is with us on a month’s loan, but presumably this loan-period can be extended when it expires).

In damping, overcast conditions, Ashford started the better of the two teams, and ran the game for the first ten minutes. Our one shooting chance during this period came after Adrianho had shown good skill to win a corner, on the right. Skipper Ian Ross came across to take it, his cross falling to Shaun Bradshaw – Bradders hit his shot into the ground, and it bounced up for a comfortable catch for ‘keeper James Wastell.

Whyteleafe’s first real venture into Ashford’s half of the field came after ten minutes – and it took this long for Jamie Smith to lunge in with his first reckless tackle. Smudger is obviously a very talented footballer, but his disciplinary record has been appalling since he joined us. Having been sent off for two yellows in the previous match, against the Met Police, he again attracted the referee’s attention. The resulting free-kick, from wide on the left, was floated into the Ashford area, and was nodded down by a Whyteleafe forward, but this was easy for Dave Wietecha to gather.

In the twelfth minute, Shaun Bradshaw had a glimmer of a chance when he almost latched onto a fairly innocuous ball from deep midfield – it just needed him to get a toe to the ball, but he couldn’t make the vital contact, and the ball went harmlessly through to James Wastell.

After creating some promising situations with a corner, and a free-kick in a forward position, Ashford then went behind, in the 16^th minute. Mark Banks, who has been looking quite solid at the back since establishing himself in the side, appeared to be in control of a long ball from the ‘Leafe defence, chasing back towards his own goal. Unfortunately, he fluffed the tap back to Dave Wietecha, and presented a great chance for a Whyteleafe forward. (I wasn’t on great form when it came to identifying the opposition’s players today – mainly because the black numbers on the hooped shirts were not decipherable beyond a distance of about ten yards !). Big Dave made the first of a number of great saves, but ‘Leafe skipper Lee Sidwell was there to hammer in the rebound.

A minute later, there was the first sign of ill-feeling on the field, when an incident involving Jean-Paul Collier led to a push & shove session that involved most of the outfield players. To say that J-P got booked for a foul is incorrect – he actually got booked for kicking an opponent in the back of the legs, after his victim had passed the ball. Whether it was as a result of something that had been said to him, or a previous challenge, J-P was clearly peering through a red mist of some kind, and a yellow card, at least, was inevitable. Whyteleafe’s Gareth Graham was also booked, presumably for his part in the ensuing ruck.

Collier’s yellow card really should have acted as a warning to him to watch his step for the rest of the game – which is what they’re for, after all – but, three minutes later, he dived in with a late, reckless and brainless tackle, right under referee Haines’s nose. It was almost as if he had a train to catch, as the red card was automatic. As travelling fans, we get used to players making mistakes, with some struggling to make the grade at this level, and with some not being as fit as they might be, and we tend to take such things with a pinch of salt, but this was very hard to accept. John-Paul’s actions appeared to be those of a player who had absolutely no regard for the interests of the Club. Worse than that, he let his team-mates down badly, as they were now a goal down, a man down and with still 70 minutes to play. The lads have enough on their plate at the moment, and having had to play with nine and ten men in recent matches hasn’t helped their cause.

Things might have gone downhill very rapidly from here, following Collier’s dereliction of duty – in the First World War he would’ve been shot ! – but, surprisingly, Ashford hit back almost immediately, with an equaliser. It was a well-taken goal, but it certainly involved some slack defending from the home side. A free-kick from the half-way line from Ian Ross was floated into the Whyteleafe area – this found Adrianho in plenty of space, and he had time to control the ball and square it to Shaun Bradshaw. Bradders also had time to steady himself, and planted the ball into the corner of the net.

That meant that four of Ashford Town’s last five goals had come about as a result of an Ian Ross cross or free-kick.

One thing that can be said about Ashford’s reaction to going down to ten men is that the two-man attack was generally maintained; Jamie Smith tended to push up into the right of midfield whenever possible, leaving three at the back in a 3-4-2 formation. This defence did, however, find itself under pressure for much of the remainder of the game, especially in the lead-up to half time. In the 24^th minute, Mark Banks had to concede a corner when coming across with a saving tackle – Dave Wietecha demonstrated that there is at least some height in the Ashford defence, when he rose to easily collect the resulting cross. A minute later, Ian Ross conceded a free-kick on the Ashford left. This was floated long to the far post, and long-haired No.10 Andrew Martin – think of Francis Rossi in his prime, circa 1973 – got up high above Ashford Town’s Rossi, and did just about all that could be expected of him, with a good, downward header. This “finish” deserved a goal, but Dave Wietecha did well to make a great save, one-handed, low to his right. After some fairly boorish behaviour from some football clubs in this league recently, and in a game where ill-temper was never far below the surface, I’m delighted to report that Andrew Martin sportingly shook Big Dave’s hand, to congratulate him on the save.

Whyteleafe weren’t to be denied for long, though, and they regained the lead in the 35^th minute – but once again it took them two attempts to get past Dave Wietecha. Gareth Graham, who looked to be the home side’s inspiration in midfield, sent in a dangerous, curling cross to the near post, from a free-kick. Dave did well to keep the ball out, in the first instance, but Bobby George was there, on the oche, to knock in the rebound.

In the 42^nd minute, Jamie Smith (unusually, it must be said) gave the ball away, with a misplaced pass, and the Whyteleafe midfield immediately sprang out to attack, quickly outnumbering the Ashford defence, four against three. Sol Henry did well to get back goal-side of the ball, holding the attack up and eventually winning a free-kick. Solly had a really good game defensively today, looking strong when in possession, and often tracking back to help the defence. (The fact that he never threatened as an attacking force, not giving the merest hint that he might put in a cross from the left, was one of the reasons for few chances being created by the visitors this afternoon).

Andrew Martin – anyone remember Mario Kempes, who played for Argentina in the seventies and eighties ? – showed himself to be a quality player, with 45 minutes on the watch. He chased a ball down the right wing, to the corner flag, turned and beat two Ashford defenders, beat another one to find himself inside the Ashford penalty area, and then saw his shot well saved by Dave Wietecha. Although he didn’t get onto the scoresheet, Martin was later named as Man of the Match, and this was well deserved.

So 2-1 to The ‘Leafe at half time, and, although Ashford generally played OK, particularly in midfield and in defence, it was significant that James Wastell, in the home goal, hadn’t actually made a save in the first half.

Whyteleafe had the first chance of the second half, winning a corner, as early as the 47^th minute, after Sol Henry had done a good covering job for Ian Ross. The corner was floated deep, beyond the far post, and Andrew Martin was there with a volley on the turn, but his effort flashed just over the bar.

Rossi – I’m referring to the Ashford captain again here – was the next yellow-shirted player to pick up a yellow card. This was for a late tackle, in the 51^st minute; nothing vicious or vindictive, but it was late. The energetic Gareth Graham took the free-kick, a short distance from the left corner of the Ashford area, and faced by a three-man wall. Graham’s cross skidded dangerously through the Ashford six-yard box, and behind, and must have touched a defender, as a corner was given. Graham came across to the right to take the corner himself, but Ian Ross headed clear.

Jason Goodchild scuffed a weak shot wide of the post, two minutes later, but the next chance came at the other end. Denver “Two Cities” Birmingham did well to win a corner, on the right, in the 56^th minute. This was taken by Ian Ross, aiming for the head of Adrianho, at the near post; the Bromley Brazilian got half a head to it, but, after a brief scramble in the Whyteleafe penalty area, the ball was cleared.

Adrianho had a much better chance three minutes later. Running onto a long ball from defence, he got a touch to take the ball past the goalkeeper, but a Whyteleafe defender, running back, was able to clear the ball from the gaping mouth of the goal.

‘Leafe manager Stuart Massey made his first substitution in the 61^st minute, replacing Gareth Graham, who had been hobbling a little, with Tony Martin – probably with the instruction that all Ashford players intruding into the penalty area should be shot in the back !  Similarly, the Ashford bench – with Tim Thorogood now back from Las Vegas – brought off Gary Clarke, who seemed to be carrying a knock of some kind, and replaced him with RJ Boorman, in the 65^th minute.

As the home side continued to press forward, Bobby George managed a weak shot straight at Dave Wietecha, in the 66^th minute, and then, two minutes later, a headed clearance from Tom Adlington fell to the feet of Kevin George, and the ex-Bromley man’s shot was deflected wide for a corner. The resulting cross was drilled, all along the ground, to Leigh Douce in the heart of the penalty area, and the centre-half sweetly (get it ?) side-footed the ball into the corner of the net. This looked bad, defensively, as the ball was allowed to travel a long way without a defender getting a foot to it, but this also looked to be a training ground set-piece, so you have to give the attacking team some credit for that.

At 3-1, and with ten-man Ashford having created so few chances, that looked to be the goal that wrapped up the points for Whyteleafe, but, for the second time in the match, the boys scored when everyone least expected them to. In fact, it was just a minute later that they pulled the score back to 3-2. A great, diagonal ball from RJ Boorman – a bit of a trade mark, really – was chased into the right corner of the pitch by Denver Birmingham, and the Colorado city won a free-kick, near the corner flag. Ian Ross went across to take the kick, and curled the ball deep into the area. Sol Henry got as high as he could, and aimed a looping header towards goal. This should have been an easy tip-over for Whyteleafe’s ‘keeper Leigh Wastell, but he did no more than deflect the ball onto the bar – he flicked his hand at the ball again, as it dropped, but the ball plopped embarrassingly into the corner of the net. This was a comical gaff from a normally reliable and well-respected ‘keeper, but all gifts are gratefully received by Ashford Town at this stage of the season. The goal was actually credited to Solomon Henry, so, at long last, after 40 hours and 14 minutes of football for Ashford this season – and with his brother scoring a hat-trick for Arsenal this afternoon - Solly has finally broken his duck.

It also meant that five of Ashford Town’s last six goals had come about as a result of an Ian Ross cross or free-kick.

Wastell’s uncharacteristic horlicks appeared to be contagious, as Dave Wietecha did something very similar at the other end, in the 73^rd minute. Dave looked to have a similarly easy task to tip over a curling cross, from a free-kick near the by-line, but he failed to make the necessary contact, and the ball skidded off the face of the bar. RJ Boorman picked the ball up and cleared.

Whilst there was plenty of time left for Ashford to grab an equaliser, this never looked likely to happen, and a fourth goal for Whyteleafe was far more likely. In the 75^th minute, a speculative long-range shot was deflected behind for a corner, which Ian Ross headed clear. Two minutes later, a good run down the left wing resulted in a cross to Andrew Martin, at the near post, but a great volley from the No.10 flashed just over the bar. In the 81^st minute, a through-ball from midfield split the Ashford defence, and presented Jason Goodchild with a one-on-one with Dave Wietecha, in the Ashford area, but big Dave did well yet again, saving at the midfielder’s feet.

The occasional ill-temperedness of the first half appeared to have died down, but, seemingly from nowhere, things “kicked off” again in the 85^th minute. A free-kick was awarded to Ashford, and the two players involved appeared to get into a bit of a tangle. Well, one thing led to another, and soon there was a mass scrum. This was the usual sort of thing – much pushing and shoving; some players trying to make peace, but actually making things worse; some players trying to make war, but being unable to get a clean punch in. The best box-to-box run of the entire match came from the linesman on the far side, who sprinted three-quarters of the length of the pitch – presumably to tell the referee that he saw everything !  Anyway, after several minutes of discussion and delay, the result was a yellow card for the not-so-sweet Leigh Douce. After further debate, Jamie Smith was shown a yellow card – his second of the match – and, as night follows day, a red. It appeared to be a harsh decision for Smith to be singled out, from all the players who were involved in the incident, but it later emerged that he was yellow-carded for throwing a punch. If that’s the case, then Jamie can have no complaints, and should be thankful that it was not a straight red, to follow his yellow card in the first half. Being sent off for the second successive match, I’m not sure how long his “holiday” will be, but I assume this will mean a lengthy ban. (Mortley to come back into the centre of defence, enabling Tom Adlington to return to his right-back position ?). It also meant that Ashford Town continued with this very poor disciplinary record; we’ve now failed to finish with eleven players in three of the last four games, having collected no fewer than five red cards in that time. This could well prove costly when the suspensions start.

The home side shouldn’t get too sanctimonious about this, as they were very fortunate to finish with all their playing personnel on the field – in this most recent incident I distinctly saw a right hook thrown by an arm in a green & white hooped sleeve, and left-back Chris Head also threw a punch, in the first half, which was not spotted by the officials.

When the football eventually restarted, Ian Ross’s free-kick went harmlessly through the Whyteleafe penalty area, and beyond the far post, but there was a further lengthy delay to enable treatment for both James Wastell and Shaun Bradshaw, who had accidentally clashed in mid-air as Bradders challenged for the ball.

With 91 minutes on the clock, but with the expectation of plenty of injury time, Adrianho, who, like Bradshaw, had worked hard up front throughout the game, got caught in possession on the half-way line. Whyteleafe immediately sprang out from midfield, and Tommy Adlington and Mark Banks soon found themelves wide-eyed and outnumbered – six against two. Again, though, Sol Henry got back well to defend, and further losses were avoided.

When the referee’s final whistle went after only four minutes of injury time, it was something of a surprise, but Whyteleafe looked more than capable of running down the clock, as necessary.

Ashford weren’t thrashed 4-0; we weren’t out-played; we weren’t out-classed; nobody threw the towel in. The truth, though, is that, whilst the majority of the players had a good game, the opposition goalkeeper wasn’t called upon to make a save in anger. Ashford were actually quite flattered that the scoreline was so close, with our second goal being an absolute gift. So, after just one away win in 2005, the first away match of 2006 has resulted in defeat. Today’s result must have been quite a relief for Whyteleafe, as this was their first win in the league since the 22^nd of November.

The overwhelming mood amongst the players and management after the game appeared to be one of disappointment that the job had been made harder by the actions of a deserter after only 20 minutes of the game. Not that there was much opportunity for post mortems after the game; with a clubhouse packed with players and supporters wishing to talk footy, all conversations were drowned by a pub band that decided to embark on an unwelcome practice session in the bar. (This was not the calibre of artist that would get Steve Monk falling over himself to make a booking for Ashford Rocks – one of the old standards murdered was The Who’s “Substitute”, but Anthony Pace wasn’t present to be able to appreciate the joke). I’m not sure who gave permission for this racket to be made at this time and in this place, but, whoever it was, they have no understanding of the grieving process that we fans need to go through immediately after a defeat.

In the current situation, no report would be complete without it being put in the context of how the other teams in the relegation mini-league got on: whilst Burgess Hill Town won at home, both Newport and Corinthians lost, so the overall damage was minimal, I suppose. Our next opponents are Tonbridge Angels, at home (!).