Leatherhead 1 Ashford Town 3
from Your Milton Keynes Correspondent
So we are roughly a quarter of the way through this, the most eagerly anticipated of all seasons – I notice that, by coincidence, my report on last season’s corresponding fixture, which fell on St Patrick’s Day, was the first since Don Crosbie and Tony Betteridge bought The Club for £1 – so it’s a good time to take stock of where we are.
Simply put, we’re 13th – seven points adrift of the fourth and final play-off place, and level on points with Corinthian-Casuals, Chatham Town and Whitstable Town, with an identical results record. Did we expect to be ahead of these teams by this stage of the season ? Most of us probably did. Do we expect to be ahead of them come the end of the season ? I, for one, sincerely hope so.
Whilst performances on the pitch have been distinctly variable, my own view is that we’ve basically wasted the first quarter of the season. Four matches in particular – at home to Horsham YMCA and Corinthian Casuals, and away at Molesey and Walton Casuals – should have been straightforward wins for us, but instead these games have yielded just two points. If we’d taken all twelve points, as we should have done, without too much effort and inspiration, then we’d currently be lying SECOND in the table, with plenty of improvement to come !
Even though 13th represents dizzy heights of achievement, compared with the previous three seasons, the fact that the boys haven’t yet approached promotion form has, together with a first-hurdle exit from three cup competitions, left most Ashford Town fans feeling a little disappointed. At times like this, I remember an old saying that I saw on a calendar, many years ago: “Attention to petty detail is a wonderful source of cheerfulness”. It’s something that I’ve always believed in, so let’s retreat to Anorak’s Corner.
** Anorak’s Corner **
Attendances: Whilst there has not been a spectacular deluge of support for home games, there is no doubt that attendances have improved. After five home league matches, the average attendance has been 311, which is 68 up on last season’s figure of 243, (in spite of the latter figure being inflated by a total of 1,248 people attending the final two games, during the final week of last season). Similarly, the median (i.e. middle) figure is up 69 on last season, at 267. The most telling contrast, though, is in the comparison of attendances at the first five games of this season, compared with the first five this time last year – so far, gates have varied between 220 and 411, whilst last season the range was 133 to 190.
Goalkeepers: Here we have a simple comparison between the seven games played by Sam Moore, and the six played by Jake Whincup – and it’s quite a contrast, in more ways than one. Whilst Jake has been mercilessly barracked and ridiculed during most of his career at Ashford, he continues to be, statistically, the best goalie we’ve had in recent years. So far this season he has conceded goals at a rate of one every 68 minutes – which is even better than his record last season, when he let one in every 59 minutes. Sam Moore, on the other hand, appears to be immune from any sort of criticism, in spite of conceding at a rate of exactly two per game (i.e. one every 45 minutes), letting in at least one goal every game in the process. I’m tempted to use the line about not being able to keep a clean sheet on his wedding night, but I’ve used it before, so I won’t bother. What we need to remember about Sam, though, is that he’s still only 20, so long may his honeymoon with the Ashford supporters continue.
Strikers: With only 15 goals scored in the 13 games to date, there’s little joy to be had in looking at the strikers’ overall record. We currently (before today’s game) have three joint-top scorers, Jimmy Bottle, Walid Matata and Rob Denness, all with just three goals. At the same stage last season, George Fenwick had scored six; (and, without betraying my G.Fenwick bias too much, George has already knocked in four for Cray Wanderers this season). But closer inspection of the statistics reveals that Jimmy and Walid both have quite a respectable strike-rate. If the benchmark of a goal every other game (i.e. one every 180 minutes) can be used as the standard that most decent strikers will aspire to, they’re doing OK, with Jimmy scoring at one every 159 minutes, and Walid going at one every 175 minutes. (George Fenwick scored his 18 goals last season at a rate of one every 177 minutes). The same can’t be said for the hard-working Rob Denness, however, as he might be having sleepless nights about the benchmark set by Shaun Bradshaw in the 2005-6 season – Shaun was a lovely bloke, but he was certainly anything but a decent striker at this level, and scored his goals that season at a rate of one every 487 minutes. Rob is currently on one every 377 minutes, so the spectre of Bradders is hovering above him. (And Steve Sodje can wipe that smile off his face – Sodj is still yet to get off the mark for the season, having so far played for a total of 383 minutes).
Before we leave the subject of strikers, I should mention Joby Thorogood. During that season in which he received precious little help from Shaun Bradshaw, Joby was our top scorer, with twelve goals at one every 295 minutes. Last season, goals were much harder to come by, mainly due to him being deployed mostly in midfield, and he managed to score only four, each one taking him 580 minutes to get, on average. Well, this season Joby has been used almost exclusively as a striker, when he has played, and his two goals to date have come at a much more characteristic rate of one every 258 minutes. Joby’s season has also been remarkable for the fact that he hasn’t yet completed the entire 90 minutes of a match, which rather suggests that Clive Walker hasn’t had him 100% fit so far.
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The news about our hosts today, Leatherhead, was that they had a new Manager. With the previous incumbent having resigned recently, for personal and business reasons, The Tanners moved swiftly to appoint Ian Hazel, who himself left his post as Manager of Sutton United, in the Conference South, only three weeks ago. Hazel has also managed Tooting & Mitcham and Walton & Hersham, so knows what it’s all about at this level, and inherits a team lying in 9th place at the start of today’s game – four places and four points ahead of Ashford, having played two games more.
Fetcham Grove is always quite a pleasant place to come; a tree-lined ground set within a green space that also comprises a cricket ground, a general sports ground, a leisure centre and a water park. Whilst one side of the pitch is bordered by a small, old-fashioned stand with a green roof, and with covered terracing on either side of it, there is a sloping, grassy bank beyond the opposite touchline. The pitch was flat, and looked in nice condition, and, with the weather forecasters predicting a cloudy but mild, still day, everything seemed set for a decent match.
There were one or two interesting items of team news. One was that, for the first time this season, Rob Denness was dropped to the bench, in favour of a strike partnership of Joby Thorogood and Walid Matata. The other issue that Clive Walker faced was the continued absence of Tony Browne at right back – and, in spite of the hoo-ha earlier in the season about us lacking left-sided players, we now seem to be very short of players on the right, particularly in defence. The Gaffer’s solution was to shove Nicky Humphrey across to right back, with Rob Gillman and Graham Porter in the centre, and Aron Freeman on the left, in a 4-4-2 formation – rather than switch to the unfamiliar three-at-the-back mullarky, which seems to have caused us more problems than it’s worth at times this season. Brownie’s problem is that he has cracked ribs, and these can be very slow to heal – but it was good to see him at the Grove this afternoon. The other big team news was that Jake Whincup was back in goal – but this was a self-selecting change, in that Sam Moore was late on parade, so relegated himself to the subs’ bench. In midfield we had Danny Lye and Kevin Lott in the centre, with plenty of flair on the flanks, in the shape of Jimmy Bottle on the left, and Barry Gardner on the right. The full quota of five substitutes was completed by Nick Barnes, Joe Hitchings and Steve Sodje. Adrianho was also in attendance, and looking pretty lean and fit, and Daniel Brathwaite played for the Ressies, at The Homelands, (where the lads beat Sittingbourne Reserves 2-1).
The word from the home side was that they were missing four first-team regulars, but, although they looked a very young side, closer inspection of their line-ups to date this season revealed that there were only two in the starting eleven today who hadn’t already played several times for the first team. Jamie Beer wasn’t playing for The Tanners – which saves all those silly jokes about what he might do to Jimmy Bottle.
Most of the early action in the game took place in the Ashford half, with Leatherhead, in their familiar home colours of green shirts, white shorts and green socks – bless ‘em – making a positive start. As early as the second minute, a right-wing raid by Billy Marshall – one of two blond Tanners strikers – resulted in a dangerous cross, which was cut out by Rob Gillman, at the expense of a corner. This was taken by Mark Hammond, on the right. This appeared to be a rehearsed set-piece, as he picked out the completely isolated Iain Hendry, (not the alcoholic British actor from the 1970s), on the edge of the penalty area, but Hendry’s poor header for goal went well wide. Leatherhead had another corner, just two minutes later, after Rob Gillman had again been on hand to intercept a Mark Hammond cross. Again, Hammond took the kick himself, on the right, and it was Aron Freeman who scraped the low cross clear – but only as far as James Greenaway, whose speculative lob, from just outside the penalty area, was always going well over the bar.
Jake Whincup’s first test – always a nervy moment for us all – came in the sixth minute, when he found himself under a long, high lob which was aimed to land just inside his six-yard box. Jake fumbled his attempted catch, under pressure from a Leatherhead player, but the referee (rather generously) came to the rescue, blowing up for a foul on the ‘keeper. Other than in this instance, however, it must be said that Jake’s handling was sound this afternoon.
Ashford, in all yellow, didn’t mount an attack until the eighth minute, when a long throw-in from Kevin Lott was headed behind for a corner. Walid Matata got his head to Jimmy Bottle’s resulting cross, from the right, but was unable to direct his effort towards the goal.
A feature of today’s game was the rather fussy performance by Referee Tony Power. Some of his decisions were very pedantic, whilst others were downright mystifying – and I’m normally the very last person to criticise match officials. Power certainly seemed intolerant of any body contact that our central defenders made with the opposition, which frustrated Ports and Rob Gillman for most of the afternoon – but both generally coped pretty well, and looked fairly solid. One of these decisions gave the home side a free-kick some eleven yards outside the Ashford penalty area, after Ports had presumably breathed on Billy Marshall’s shirt. Mark Hammond took the kick, curling the ball over a four-man wall, but Jake Whincup was able to make a comfortable catch.
In the 13th minute, Ashford broke out of defence, with Joby Thorogood making ground down the right wing. His cross, aiming for Walid Matata, was put behind for a corner. As the corner came to nothing, it was Leatherhead’s turn to break. The ball came back into the Ashford half, and Aron Freeman and Jimmy Bottle appeared to be dealing with the situation calmly and effectively – until Aron lost his footing on the slippery surface. This immediately gave Billy Marshall the opportunity to break into the Ashford half, but his cross, which was looking for his striking partner, Scott Forrester, was woefully inaccurate, and the ball went harmlessly out for a goal-kick.
In the 16th minute, it was panto time with Power again – Forrester chased a diagonal ball, just outside the Ashford area, and Rob Gillman, marking him closely, seemed to have the situation well under control. However, Forrester went down, on the edge of the area, and the Referee awarded what appeared to be a harsh free-kick. Even more amazing was the fact that Rob also received a yellow card ! Happily, there was no further damage for the visitors, as Tanners’ No.2 Aaron Murphy hit the free-kick straight into the Ashford wall.
A minute later, Leatherhead had yet another corner on the right, and Mark Hammond was again able to provide a team-mate with a free header in the Ashford area – but James Greenaway, under no pressure, headed a poor effort wide, from about twelve yards out.
In the 19th minute, Aron Freeman took a throw-in, deep inside the Leatherhead half. As one might expect from a former international gymnast, Aron is more than capable of throwing the ball a long way, but this time he rather got underneath it, and achieved more height than distance. Nevertheless, young Jimmy Bottle, who’s actually quite handy in the air, got up well to flick the ball on. I think it was then Danny Lye who nodded the ball further into the heart of the Leatherhead box, where Barry Gardner went steaming in, and volleyed the ball into the net. This was Barry’s second goal of the season – the other came at Whyteleafe – and both have been well-taken efforts.
Incredibly, this means that Ashford have taken the lead in eleven of the 14 matches played this season – and it’s pretty well-documented that, before today, we had only managed to win three of them. (There was a joke, a few seasons ago, about not asking an Ashford Town player to take your dog for a walk, as they can’t hold on to a lead – and we don’t want that bandied around again, do we ?!).
So the boys were 0-1 up, but it was not all plain sailing at this time, as Kevin Lott had been struggling with a rib injury for a short while, having received an unwelcome elbow just above his hip-bone. This meant that Clive had to make an unscheduled substitution, replacing him with Nick Barnes, (who, to use a term employed to describe the fitness of racehorses, seemed to be carrying a bit of “conditioning”). Kevin hopes to be fit enough to play in Tuesday’s league match, at home to Whitstable.
Ashford then seemed to be pretty much in control for the rest of the half. In the 24th minute, Walid Matata went on a run which drew delighted applause from the noisy bunch of ten or so Ashford supporters behind the Leatherhead goal. He picked the ball up on the left flank, deep inside the Tanners’ half, with his back to the goal and closely marked by ex-Ashford centre-half Lynval Duncan; (Lynval played for us in the first 23 league matches of the 2005-6 season, scoring twice). Walid turned and beat Lynval, and then battled and improvised his way past three more defenders, before the ball was put behind for a corner, just as he was about to enter the penalty area. The corner was curled in by Nick Barnes, from the left, and Nicky Humphrey rose well at the far post, but his header was blocked. Another corner, again from the left side, and this time Graham Porter got up well to head the ball goalwards, but the effort was again blocked.
In the 36th minute, Aron Freeman needlessly got himself booked for tapping the ball away after a throw-in had been awarded to Leatherhead, but Ashford were on the attack again, two minutes later, with a Jimmy Bottle cross being put behind, at the near post, for another corner. Again it was Nick Barnes who came across to take the corner on the left, and again it was Nicky Humphrey who did well to rise highest of the crowd of players at the far post, but his header was wide. Nevertheless, Ashford were certainly posing an aerial threat at set-pieces, with the big defenders supplying the ammunition. (Surprisingly, we’ve reached the 14th game of the season, without a single goal from a defender, which is a statistic that must surely be put to bed soon).
It was a striker, Walid Matata, who put Ashford 0-2 ahead. The goal actually came from the penalty spot, but this was for a foul on Walid himself, when he was clear on goal. He latched onto a through ball, in the 43rd minute, getting there just in front of Lynval Duncan, who brought him down. Referee Power immediately blew up for the penalty, and it seemed certain, given the official’s pedantic performance to date, that our old friend would be sent off against Ashford Town for the second time since he left us. Inexplicably, the colour of the card was yellow. Never mind. The important issue to report is that Walid hit the ball firmly, low and to the right of Paul McCarthy, in the Leatherhead goal, and we were two up.
So 0-2 was the half-time score, with Jake Whincup having barely been threatened in the Ashford goal.
There was certainly plenty for Ian Hazel to think about in the Leatherhead dressing room, and the new man in the dug-out was pretty decisive, making a double substitution – he replaced Aaron Murphy and Lynval with Scott Bennetts and Terry Bowes. The shaggy-haired and bearded Bowes – I used to look like that ! – had an early opportunity to impress the boss, with a threatening run down the left wing, in the opening minutes of the half. He chipped in a cultured cross, with his right foot, but Ports was there to head clear. A good passing movement, in the 48th minute, which originated from the Leatherhead back four, culminated with young Billy Marshall being put through in the inside-right channel – but he shot across Jake Whincup’s goal, and wide.
Two minutes later, though, the ball was at the other end. Jimmy Bottle, who never showed the brilliant form that was so evident during his first start, against Cray Wanderers, but nevertheless had a solid enough game, sent in a cross, from the left, aiming for Barry Gardner, but the ball was headed behind, for a corner, on the right. Jimmy came across to take the corner himself, and his in-swinging cross went all the way to Joby Thorogood, beyond the far post. Joby played the ball back into the centre, where Nicky Humphrey controlled the ball, turned and shot, but Paul McCarthy made a good catch, above his head.
As early as the 52nd minute, Ashford lost their second central midfielder, and mainstay, Danny Lye. Danny limped off, to be replaced by Rob Denness, and is definitely out of Tuesday’s Kent Derby with Whitstable. So we had the unfamiliar sight of Rob Denness playing alongside Nick Barnes in the centre of the park – whilst Joe 90 remained on the bench. Clive Walker explained, after the game, that he did this because of the physical nature of the job that needed to be done in this area. Make no mistake; Clive rates Joe as one of the best footballers at the Club, but is very aware that he is still very young, and doesn’t want to over-face him. He seems to think that Joe needs another year on his back before we really see the best of him. As it turned out, Rob and Nick did a great job in the middle of the park for Clive, providing just the steel that we needed. Nick looks to be a competent footballer anywhere, and Rob is not as unfamiliar with the midfield role as many Ashford fans assume, having done the job, in the past, for Chatham.
Denness the Menace was actually involved in just about Ashford’s best move of the match, within a couple of minutes of coming on. Linking up well with Walid Matata and Jimmy Bottle, the movement ended with Rob putting Jimmy through on goal, to the left of the penalty area, but Jimmy was caught off-side.
Well, it seems that we always seem to make one defensive error in every game, regardless of the opposition and of how well we play as a team, and today was no exception. In the 56th minute, with the yellow defensive line pushing up, Scott Forrester put his strike partner, Billy Marshall, through in the inside-right position. The Ashford defence froze momentarily, appealing for off-side, by which time the bird had long flown. With no flag from the Lino, Marshall pulled the ball back to Forrester, who slotted the ball home, giving Jake Whincup no chance.
So 1-2 it was, and, with ten of the 13 leads having been thrown away already this season, it would have been unnatural if a few seeds of doubt had not entered the mind of the Ashford players, in spite of them having looked fairly comfortable on the two-goal lead. On this occasion, though, the opposition’s revival was brief, as Walid Matata put Ashford 1-3 up, just six minutes later. A long, lobbed ball upfield was gamely chased by Joby Thorogood, who was fouled in the act of getting his head to the ball. Again, the Ref was very harsh on the offender, and produced a yellow card for Tanners’ skipper Neil Baker, for what was a fairly innocuous foul. The real price paid by the home side, of course, was the award of a free-kick to Ashford, just outside the penalty area, to the right of the goal. Jimmy Bottle chipped the ball into the area, to feet, and the ball found its way to Nicky Humphrey, on the six-yard line, and with his back to goal. The Ashford Captain cheekily back-heeled the ball towards the Leatherhead goal, and Walid was there to sweep the ball into the net, from close range. This was Walid’s fifth goal of the season, making him clearly our top scorer to date.
That third goal just about killed off the threat from Leatherhead, but, with almost half an hour remaining, there was still time for some slightly bizarre decisions from Mr Power. In the 66th minute, seconds after Rob Gillman had cleared a cross from the right wing, high and behind for a corner, Graham Porter was yellow-carded for I-know-not-what. As Ports didn’t actually do anything, I presume that it was for something he said. Very soon after, Leatherhead were reduced to ten men when, out of the blue, with the ball out for a throw-in, Billy Marshall was shown a red card. Apparently, this was because Billy used a four-letter word to describe one of the Linesmen – in which case the Referee was quite right to send him off. We can, of course, have some fun trying to guess what the term of endearment actually was – but I think we all know. (Years ago, the saying was that Margaret Thatcher’s got one, Ted Heath’s never seen one and Norman Tebbitt is one – but that’s a bit dated now).
Ian Hazel did try to respond by throwing on another striker – Julian Thompson, for Mark Hammond, in the 73rd minute. Thompson actually had a scoring opportunity just two minutes later, when a quick break by Leatherhead sent him clear, down the right flank. Thompson had a clear sight of goal, and Jake Whincup made a good diving save to keep out his low shot. One of the other subs, Terry Bowes, latched onto the rebound, but was denied when Nicky Humphrey threw himself at the ball, and made a great block.
In the 76th minute, Ashford attacked Leatherhead down the left flank, with a ball played well ahead of Jimmy Bottle. Although the right-back had several yards’ start, Jimmy skinned him with tremendous natural pace, easily getting to the ball first, and crossing to Walid Matata, in the centre. Walid got his head to the awkward, bouncing ball, but was unable to do any more than knock the ball over the bar. A minute later, Walid was fouled, just five yards outside the Leatherhead area, to the right of the goal. This gave Jimmy the perfect opportunity to go for goal with a left-foot curler, but his effort, over the wall, went just over the bar.
In the 84th minute, the home side again attacked down the right flank, but Nicky Humphrey – playing at right-back, remember – came determinedly across, to make the covering tackle. This resulted in a throw-in, which was launched long, into the Ashford area. The ball bounced once, and then Scott Forrester attempted an ambitious overhead kick, which was comfortably taken by Jake.
Nobody has scored a hat-trick yet for Ashford this season, but Walid Matata had half a chance, with three minutes of normal time remaining. Iain Hendry, who looked a fairly dodgy defender, made an awful Horlicks of an attempted header back to Paul McCarthy, which Walid gratefully latched on to. However, McCarthy was quickly out of his goal, and gave Walid precious little to aim at, and comfortably blocked the shot.
At this point, Nicky Humphrey had been the clear choice for MK Man of the Match, but it would have been an interesting choice if Walid had managed to get his hat-trick. As it was, the nod went to the skipper, particularly as he had been playing out of position this afternoon. But there were good performances all over the pitch, in what was a good, solid display. Among the other “positives” was the fact that both Joby Thorogood and Graham Porter completed 90 minutes for the first time this season, but, just as others are regaining fitness after injury, fresh injuries are beginning to mount up.
It’s also worth mentioning that, for the first time in many years, there was plenty of singing from the Ashford fans – in fact, most of the noise made by the 202 crowd came from behind the Leatherhead goal. This was not unnoticed, and not unappreciated, by the Ashford players, some of whom acknowledged the choir at the final whistle.
It must be said that Leatherhead looked a poor side today, and that Ian Hazel has quite a job on his hands, so we shouldn’t get carried away with the performance or the result – but, all in all, this was a comfortable win, and the three points lifted Ashford up to 12th position in the table, just one point, and one place, behind Leatherhead.
Man of the Match
(to go towards the Milton Keynes Bowl)
Nicky Humphrey
from Your Milton Keynes Correspondent
So we are roughly a quarter of the way through this, the most eagerly anticipated of all seasons – I notice that, by coincidence, my report on last season’s corresponding fixture, which fell on St Patrick’s Day, was the first since Don Crosbie and Tony Betteridge bought The Club for £1 – so it’s a good time to take stock of where we are.
Simply put, we’re 13th – seven points adrift of the fourth and final play-off place, and level on points with Corinthian-Casuals, Chatham Town and Whitstable Town, with an identical results record. Did we expect to be ahead of these teams by this stage of the season ? Most of us probably did. Do we expect to be ahead of them come the end of the season ? I, for one, sincerely hope so.
Whilst performances on the pitch have been distinctly variable, my own view is that we’ve basically wasted the first quarter of the season. Four matches in particular – at home to Horsham YMCA and Corinthian Casuals, and away at Molesey and Walton Casuals – should have been straightforward wins for us, but instead these games have yielded just two points. If we’d taken all twelve points, as we should have done, without too much effort and inspiration, then we’d currently be lying SECOND in the table, with plenty of improvement to come !
Even though 13th represents dizzy heights of achievement, compared with the previous three seasons, the fact that the boys haven’t yet approached promotion form has, together with a first-hurdle exit from three cup competitions, left most Ashford Town fans feeling a little disappointed. At times like this, I remember an old saying that I saw on a calendar, many years ago: “Attention to petty detail is a wonderful source of cheerfulness”. It’s something that I’ve always believed in, so let’s retreat to Anorak’s Corner.
** Anorak’s Corner **
Attendances: Whilst there has not been a spectacular deluge of support for home games, there is no doubt that attendances have improved. After five home league matches, the average attendance has been 311, which is 68 up on last season’s figure of 243, (in spite of the latter figure being inflated by a total of 1,248 people attending the final two games, during the final week of last season). Similarly, the median (i.e. middle) figure is up 69 on last season, at 267. The most telling contrast, though, is in the comparison of attendances at the first five games of this season, compared with the first five this time last year – so far, gates have varied between 220 and 411, whilst last season the range was 133 to 190.
Goalkeepers: Here we have a simple comparison between the seven games played by Sam Moore, and the six played by Jake Whincup – and it’s quite a contrast, in more ways than one. Whilst Jake has been mercilessly barracked and ridiculed during most of his career at Ashford, he continues to be, statistically, the best goalie we’ve had in recent years. So far this season he has conceded goals at a rate of one every 68 minutes – which is even better than his record last season, when he let one in every 59 minutes. Sam Moore, on the other hand, appears to be immune from any sort of criticism, in spite of conceding at a rate of exactly two per game (i.e. one every 45 minutes), letting in at least one goal every game in the process. I’m tempted to use the line about not being able to keep a clean sheet on his wedding night, but I’ve used it before, so I won’t bother. What we need to remember about Sam, though, is that he’s still only 20, so long may his honeymoon with the Ashford supporters continue.
Strikers: With only 15 goals scored in the 13 games to date, there’s little joy to be had in looking at the strikers’ overall record. We currently (before today’s game) have three joint-top scorers, Jimmy Bottle, Walid Matata and Rob Denness, all with just three goals. At the same stage last season, George Fenwick had scored six; (and, without betraying my G.Fenwick bias too much, George has already knocked in four for Cray Wanderers this season). But closer inspection of the statistics reveals that Jimmy and Walid both have quite a respectable strike-rate. If the benchmark of a goal every other game (i.e. one every 180 minutes) can be used as the standard that most decent strikers will aspire to, they’re doing OK, with Jimmy scoring at one every 159 minutes, and Walid going at one every 175 minutes. (George Fenwick scored his 18 goals last season at a rate of one every 177 minutes). The same can’t be said for the hard-working Rob Denness, however, as he might be having sleepless nights about the benchmark set by Shaun Bradshaw in the 2005-6 season – Shaun was a lovely bloke, but he was certainly anything but a decent striker at this level, and scored his goals that season at a rate of one every 487 minutes. Rob is currently on one every 377 minutes, so the spectre of Bradders is hovering above him. (And Steve Sodje can wipe that smile off his face – Sodj is still yet to get off the mark for the season, having so far played for a total of 383 minutes).
Before we leave the subject of strikers, I should mention Joby Thorogood. During that season in which he received precious little help from Shaun Bradshaw, Joby was our top scorer, with twelve goals at one every 295 minutes. Last season, goals were much harder to come by, mainly due to him being deployed mostly in midfield, and he managed to score only four, each one taking him 580 minutes to get, on average. Well, this season Joby has been used almost exclusively as a striker, when he has played, and his two goals to date have come at a much more characteristic rate of one every 258 minutes. Joby’s season has also been remarkable for the fact that he hasn’t yet completed the entire 90 minutes of a match, which rather suggests that Clive Walker hasn’t had him 100% fit so far.
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The news about our hosts today, Leatherhead, was that they had a new Manager. With the previous incumbent having resigned recently, for personal and business reasons, The Tanners moved swiftly to appoint Ian Hazel, who himself left his post as Manager of Sutton United, in the Conference South, only three weeks ago. Hazel has also managed Tooting & Mitcham and Walton & Hersham, so knows what it’s all about at this level, and inherits a team lying in 9th place at the start of today’s game – four places and four points ahead of Ashford, having played two games more.
Fetcham Grove is always quite a pleasant place to come; a tree-lined ground set within a green space that also comprises a cricket ground, a general sports ground, a leisure centre and a water park. Whilst one side of the pitch is bordered by a small, old-fashioned stand with a green roof, and with covered terracing on either side of it, there is a sloping, grassy bank beyond the opposite touchline. The pitch was flat, and looked in nice condition, and, with the weather forecasters predicting a cloudy but mild, still day, everything seemed set for a decent match.
There were one or two interesting items of team news. One was that, for the first time this season, Rob Denness was dropped to the bench, in favour of a strike partnership of Joby Thorogood and Walid Matata. The other issue that Clive Walker faced was the continued absence of Tony Browne at right back – and, in spite of the hoo-ha earlier in the season about us lacking left-sided players, we now seem to be very short of players on the right, particularly in defence. The Gaffer’s solution was to shove Nicky Humphrey across to right back, with Rob Gillman and Graham Porter in the centre, and Aron Freeman on the left, in a 4-4-2 formation – rather than switch to the unfamiliar three-at-the-back mullarky, which seems to have caused us more problems than it’s worth at times this season. Brownie’s problem is that he has cracked ribs, and these can be very slow to heal – but it was good to see him at the Grove this afternoon. The other big team news was that Jake Whincup was back in goal – but this was a self-selecting change, in that Sam Moore was late on parade, so relegated himself to the subs’ bench. In midfield we had Danny Lye and Kevin Lott in the centre, with plenty of flair on the flanks, in the shape of Jimmy Bottle on the left, and Barry Gardner on the right. The full quota of five substitutes was completed by Nick Barnes, Joe Hitchings and Steve Sodje. Adrianho was also in attendance, and looking pretty lean and fit, and Daniel Brathwaite played for the Ressies, at The Homelands, (where the lads beat Sittingbourne Reserves 2-1).
The word from the home side was that they were missing four first-team regulars, but, although they looked a very young side, closer inspection of their line-ups to date this season revealed that there were only two in the starting eleven today who hadn’t already played several times for the first team. Jamie Beer wasn’t playing for The Tanners – which saves all those silly jokes about what he might do to Jimmy Bottle.
Most of the early action in the game took place in the Ashford half, with Leatherhead, in their familiar home colours of green shirts, white shorts and green socks – bless ‘em – making a positive start. As early as the second minute, a right-wing raid by Billy Marshall – one of two blond Tanners strikers – resulted in a dangerous cross, which was cut out by Rob Gillman, at the expense of a corner. This was taken by Mark Hammond, on the right. This appeared to be a rehearsed set-piece, as he picked out the completely isolated Iain Hendry, (not the alcoholic British actor from the 1970s), on the edge of the penalty area, but Hendry’s poor header for goal went well wide. Leatherhead had another corner, just two minutes later, after Rob Gillman had again been on hand to intercept a Mark Hammond cross. Again, Hammond took the kick himself, on the right, and it was Aron Freeman who scraped the low cross clear – but only as far as James Greenaway, whose speculative lob, from just outside the penalty area, was always going well over the bar.
Jake Whincup’s first test – always a nervy moment for us all – came in the sixth minute, when he found himself under a long, high lob which was aimed to land just inside his six-yard box. Jake fumbled his attempted catch, under pressure from a Leatherhead player, but the referee (rather generously) came to the rescue, blowing up for a foul on the ‘keeper. Other than in this instance, however, it must be said that Jake’s handling was sound this afternoon.
Ashford, in all yellow, didn’t mount an attack until the eighth minute, when a long throw-in from Kevin Lott was headed behind for a corner. Walid Matata got his head to Jimmy Bottle’s resulting cross, from the right, but was unable to direct his effort towards the goal.
A feature of today’s game was the rather fussy performance by Referee Tony Power. Some of his decisions were very pedantic, whilst others were downright mystifying – and I’m normally the very last person to criticise match officials. Power certainly seemed intolerant of any body contact that our central defenders made with the opposition, which frustrated Ports and Rob Gillman for most of the afternoon – but both generally coped pretty well, and looked fairly solid. One of these decisions gave the home side a free-kick some eleven yards outside the Ashford penalty area, after Ports had presumably breathed on Billy Marshall’s shirt. Mark Hammond took the kick, curling the ball over a four-man wall, but Jake Whincup was able to make a comfortable catch.
In the 13th minute, Ashford broke out of defence, with Joby Thorogood making ground down the right wing. His cross, aiming for Walid Matata, was put behind for a corner. As the corner came to nothing, it was Leatherhead’s turn to break. The ball came back into the Ashford half, and Aron Freeman and Jimmy Bottle appeared to be dealing with the situation calmly and effectively – until Aron lost his footing on the slippery surface. This immediately gave Billy Marshall the opportunity to break into the Ashford half, but his cross, which was looking for his striking partner, Scott Forrester, was woefully inaccurate, and the ball went harmlessly out for a goal-kick.
In the 16th minute, it was panto time with Power again – Forrester chased a diagonal ball, just outside the Ashford area, and Rob Gillman, marking him closely, seemed to have the situation well under control. However, Forrester went down, on the edge of the area, and the Referee awarded what appeared to be a harsh free-kick. Even more amazing was the fact that Rob also received a yellow card ! Happily, there was no further damage for the visitors, as Tanners’ No.2 Aaron Murphy hit the free-kick straight into the Ashford wall.
A minute later, Leatherhead had yet another corner on the right, and Mark Hammond was again able to provide a team-mate with a free header in the Ashford area – but James Greenaway, under no pressure, headed a poor effort wide, from about twelve yards out.
In the 19th minute, Aron Freeman took a throw-in, deep inside the Leatherhead half. As one might expect from a former international gymnast, Aron is more than capable of throwing the ball a long way, but this time he rather got underneath it, and achieved more height than distance. Nevertheless, young Jimmy Bottle, who’s actually quite handy in the air, got up well to flick the ball on. I think it was then Danny Lye who nodded the ball further into the heart of the Leatherhead box, where Barry Gardner went steaming in, and volleyed the ball into the net. This was Barry’s second goal of the season – the other came at Whyteleafe – and both have been well-taken efforts.
Incredibly, this means that Ashford have taken the lead in eleven of the 14 matches played this season – and it’s pretty well-documented that, before today, we had only managed to win three of them. (There was a joke, a few seasons ago, about not asking an Ashford Town player to take your dog for a walk, as they can’t hold on to a lead – and we don’t want that bandied around again, do we ?!).
So the boys were 0-1 up, but it was not all plain sailing at this time, as Kevin Lott had been struggling with a rib injury for a short while, having received an unwelcome elbow just above his hip-bone. This meant that Clive had to make an unscheduled substitution, replacing him with Nick Barnes, (who, to use a term employed to describe the fitness of racehorses, seemed to be carrying a bit of “conditioning”). Kevin hopes to be fit enough to play in Tuesday’s league match, at home to Whitstable.
Ashford then seemed to be pretty much in control for the rest of the half. In the 24th minute, Walid Matata went on a run which drew delighted applause from the noisy bunch of ten or so Ashford supporters behind the Leatherhead goal. He picked the ball up on the left flank, deep inside the Tanners’ half, with his back to the goal and closely marked by ex-Ashford centre-half Lynval Duncan; (Lynval played for us in the first 23 league matches of the 2005-6 season, scoring twice). Walid turned and beat Lynval, and then battled and improvised his way past three more defenders, before the ball was put behind for a corner, just as he was about to enter the penalty area. The corner was curled in by Nick Barnes, from the left, and Nicky Humphrey rose well at the far post, but his header was blocked. Another corner, again from the left side, and this time Graham Porter got up well to head the ball goalwards, but the effort was again blocked.
In the 36th minute, Aron Freeman needlessly got himself booked for tapping the ball away after a throw-in had been awarded to Leatherhead, but Ashford were on the attack again, two minutes later, with a Jimmy Bottle cross being put behind, at the near post, for another corner. Again it was Nick Barnes who came across to take the corner on the left, and again it was Nicky Humphrey who did well to rise highest of the crowd of players at the far post, but his header was wide. Nevertheless, Ashford were certainly posing an aerial threat at set-pieces, with the big defenders supplying the ammunition. (Surprisingly, we’ve reached the 14th game of the season, without a single goal from a defender, which is a statistic that must surely be put to bed soon).
It was a striker, Walid Matata, who put Ashford 0-2 ahead. The goal actually came from the penalty spot, but this was for a foul on Walid himself, when he was clear on goal. He latched onto a through ball, in the 43rd minute, getting there just in front of Lynval Duncan, who brought him down. Referee Power immediately blew up for the penalty, and it seemed certain, given the official’s pedantic performance to date, that our old friend would be sent off against Ashford Town for the second time since he left us. Inexplicably, the colour of the card was yellow. Never mind. The important issue to report is that Walid hit the ball firmly, low and to the right of Paul McCarthy, in the Leatherhead goal, and we were two up.
So 0-2 was the half-time score, with Jake Whincup having barely been threatened in the Ashford goal.
There was certainly plenty for Ian Hazel to think about in the Leatherhead dressing room, and the new man in the dug-out was pretty decisive, making a double substitution – he replaced Aaron Murphy and Lynval with Scott Bennetts and Terry Bowes. The shaggy-haired and bearded Bowes – I used to look like that ! – had an early opportunity to impress the boss, with a threatening run down the left wing, in the opening minutes of the half. He chipped in a cultured cross, with his right foot, but Ports was there to head clear. A good passing movement, in the 48th minute, which originated from the Leatherhead back four, culminated with young Billy Marshall being put through in the inside-right channel – but he shot across Jake Whincup’s goal, and wide.
Two minutes later, though, the ball was at the other end. Jimmy Bottle, who never showed the brilliant form that was so evident during his first start, against Cray Wanderers, but nevertheless had a solid enough game, sent in a cross, from the left, aiming for Barry Gardner, but the ball was headed behind, for a corner, on the right. Jimmy came across to take the corner himself, and his in-swinging cross went all the way to Joby Thorogood, beyond the far post. Joby played the ball back into the centre, where Nicky Humphrey controlled the ball, turned and shot, but Paul McCarthy made a good catch, above his head.
As early as the 52nd minute, Ashford lost their second central midfielder, and mainstay, Danny Lye. Danny limped off, to be replaced by Rob Denness, and is definitely out of Tuesday’s Kent Derby with Whitstable. So we had the unfamiliar sight of Rob Denness playing alongside Nick Barnes in the centre of the park – whilst Joe 90 remained on the bench. Clive Walker explained, after the game, that he did this because of the physical nature of the job that needed to be done in this area. Make no mistake; Clive rates Joe as one of the best footballers at the Club, but is very aware that he is still very young, and doesn’t want to over-face him. He seems to think that Joe needs another year on his back before we really see the best of him. As it turned out, Rob and Nick did a great job in the middle of the park for Clive, providing just the steel that we needed. Nick looks to be a competent footballer anywhere, and Rob is not as unfamiliar with the midfield role as many Ashford fans assume, having done the job, in the past, for Chatham.
Denness the Menace was actually involved in just about Ashford’s best move of the match, within a couple of minutes of coming on. Linking up well with Walid Matata and Jimmy Bottle, the movement ended with Rob putting Jimmy through on goal, to the left of the penalty area, but Jimmy was caught off-side.
Well, it seems that we always seem to make one defensive error in every game, regardless of the opposition and of how well we play as a team, and today was no exception. In the 56th minute, with the yellow defensive line pushing up, Scott Forrester put his strike partner, Billy Marshall, through in the inside-right position. The Ashford defence froze momentarily, appealing for off-side, by which time the bird had long flown. With no flag from the Lino, Marshall pulled the ball back to Forrester, who slotted the ball home, giving Jake Whincup no chance.
So 1-2 it was, and, with ten of the 13 leads having been thrown away already this season, it would have been unnatural if a few seeds of doubt had not entered the mind of the Ashford players, in spite of them having looked fairly comfortable on the two-goal lead. On this occasion, though, the opposition’s revival was brief, as Walid Matata put Ashford 1-3 up, just six minutes later. A long, lobbed ball upfield was gamely chased by Joby Thorogood, who was fouled in the act of getting his head to the ball. Again, the Ref was very harsh on the offender, and produced a yellow card for Tanners’ skipper Neil Baker, for what was a fairly innocuous foul. The real price paid by the home side, of course, was the award of a free-kick to Ashford, just outside the penalty area, to the right of the goal. Jimmy Bottle chipped the ball into the area, to feet, and the ball found its way to Nicky Humphrey, on the six-yard line, and with his back to goal. The Ashford Captain cheekily back-heeled the ball towards the Leatherhead goal, and Walid was there to sweep the ball into the net, from close range. This was Walid’s fifth goal of the season, making him clearly our top scorer to date.
That third goal just about killed off the threat from Leatherhead, but, with almost half an hour remaining, there was still time for some slightly bizarre decisions from Mr Power. In the 66th minute, seconds after Rob Gillman had cleared a cross from the right wing, high and behind for a corner, Graham Porter was yellow-carded for I-know-not-what. As Ports didn’t actually do anything, I presume that it was for something he said. Very soon after, Leatherhead were reduced to ten men when, out of the blue, with the ball out for a throw-in, Billy Marshall was shown a red card. Apparently, this was because Billy used a four-letter word to describe one of the Linesmen – in which case the Referee was quite right to send him off. We can, of course, have some fun trying to guess what the term of endearment actually was – but I think we all know. (Years ago, the saying was that Margaret Thatcher’s got one, Ted Heath’s never seen one and Norman Tebbitt is one – but that’s a bit dated now).
Ian Hazel did try to respond by throwing on another striker – Julian Thompson, for Mark Hammond, in the 73rd minute. Thompson actually had a scoring opportunity just two minutes later, when a quick break by Leatherhead sent him clear, down the right flank. Thompson had a clear sight of goal, and Jake Whincup made a good diving save to keep out his low shot. One of the other subs, Terry Bowes, latched onto the rebound, but was denied when Nicky Humphrey threw himself at the ball, and made a great block.
In the 76th minute, Ashford attacked Leatherhead down the left flank, with a ball played well ahead of Jimmy Bottle. Although the right-back had several yards’ start, Jimmy skinned him with tremendous natural pace, easily getting to the ball first, and crossing to Walid Matata, in the centre. Walid got his head to the awkward, bouncing ball, but was unable to do any more than knock the ball over the bar. A minute later, Walid was fouled, just five yards outside the Leatherhead area, to the right of the goal. This gave Jimmy the perfect opportunity to go for goal with a left-foot curler, but his effort, over the wall, went just over the bar.
In the 84th minute, the home side again attacked down the right flank, but Nicky Humphrey – playing at right-back, remember – came determinedly across, to make the covering tackle. This resulted in a throw-in, which was launched long, into the Ashford area. The ball bounced once, and then Scott Forrester attempted an ambitious overhead kick, which was comfortably taken by Jake.
Nobody has scored a hat-trick yet for Ashford this season, but Walid Matata had half a chance, with three minutes of normal time remaining. Iain Hendry, who looked a fairly dodgy defender, made an awful Horlicks of an attempted header back to Paul McCarthy, which Walid gratefully latched on to. However, McCarthy was quickly out of his goal, and gave Walid precious little to aim at, and comfortably blocked the shot.
At this point, Nicky Humphrey had been the clear choice for MK Man of the Match, but it would have been an interesting choice if Walid had managed to get his hat-trick. As it was, the nod went to the skipper, particularly as he had been playing out of position this afternoon. But there were good performances all over the pitch, in what was a good, solid display. Among the other “positives” was the fact that both Joby Thorogood and Graham Porter completed 90 minutes for the first time this season, but, just as others are regaining fitness after injury, fresh injuries are beginning to mount up.
It’s also worth mentioning that, for the first time in many years, there was plenty of singing from the Ashford fans – in fact, most of the noise made by the 202 crowd came from behind the Leatherhead goal. This was not unnoticed, and not unappreciated, by the Ashford players, some of whom acknowledged the choir at the final whistle.
It must be said that Leatherhead looked a poor side today, and that Ian Hazel has quite a job on his hands, so we shouldn’t get carried away with the performance or the result – but, all in all, this was a comfortable win, and the three points lifted Ashford up to 12th position in the table, just one point, and one place, behind Leatherhead.
Man of the Match
(to go towards the Milton Keynes Bowl)
Nicky Humphrey
