Croydon Athletic 2 Ashford Town 1
from Your Milton Keynes Correspondent
Croydon Athletic away – and new Manager Steve Lovell’s first game in charge of Ashford Town. Yes, I know that he was officially in the plate for Tuesday night’s defeat away at Chipstead, but Mr Lovell was really no more than a spectator on that occasion. The new man’s approach seemed very much to be to pick the side and then watch and see what they could do – and it wasn’t much. He will already have been aware that he inherits, from Clive Walker, a very talented squad of players; probably second only in Ryman Division 1 South to that of Dover Athletic. (And when he gets round to seeing the Reserves play, he’ll no doubt discover that he has TWO richly talented squads at his disposal). But the stand-out feature of Tuesday’s performance was that, in spite of there being plenty of effort and spirit shown by the 14 players who took the field, there was barely a semblance of team-work, strategy or collective know-how. If a team’s ability is a product of the natural talent that each individual has, and the added value of team-work and tactics that can be imposed by the management, then anything that Steve Lovell can do to provide the players with some direction and pattern of play is likely to make Ashford Town a very competitive side in this division.
In the early stages of Tuesday’s game, there were signs that Ashford might overcome their hosts purely on the strength of the ability of individual players, with Walid Matata and Jimmy Bottle in particular showing flashes of brilliance, going past opponents with ease. Rob Denness also looked dangerous when coming forward from midfield, and a visibly unfit Adrian Stone showed some glimpses of his obvious talent. But it was never going to be enough, with the team not functioning as a unit – and, Rob Gillman’s headed goal from a corner, in the 81st minute, apart, the Chipstead goalie never had a shot to save.
Gillman “did OK” at the back. He looked classy and composed, and sometimes made the job of defending look easy, but I couldn’t help getting the impression that he was doing no more than put in an honest shift, to just about justify his week’s wages. With his ability, his presence and his potential leadership qualities, (I think I’m right in saying that he was captain of Luton Town Reserves at the age of seventeen), Rob could probably pick these players up by the scruff of the neck, and carry them forwards – if he could be bothered.
For the record, the leader out on the pitch on Tuesday night was Nick Barnes.
Croydon Athletic away is not a fixture that I particularly look forward to – mainly on the grounds that it’s a pain to get to. For our previous two visits, for league games in the 2004-5 and 2005-6 seasons, it took an hour to get to the Keith Tuckey Stadium from Junction 7 of the M25. After the road works on the A23, there was the labyrinth of residential streets, choked with parked cars, to pick our way through, then the secret, single-track lane at the end of Mayfield Road, notorious for its pot-holes, which eventually leads to the ground. Well, the road works are gone now, which wipes 15 minutes off the journey, and I notice that some resurfacing work has been done to the access road since two seasons ago, but it’s still a bugger to get to. I think that Salman Rushdie missed a trick when he was in hiding several years ago. If he’d hung around in the main stand here, nobody would have found him ! (I notice that Rushdie has now brought out another book – this one’s entitled “Mike Tyson is a Twat”).
On arrival at the stadium, it’s actually quite a pleasant place to be. Except for when sitting in the wind tunnel of a main stand, there is shelter from the worst of the elements. There’s a good bar, with plenty of large screens showing footy, and a well-equipped kitchen that has a more extensive menu than most places on the circuit. (Just don’t expect a smile from either place, as that’s not part of the deal). It’s all a notch above the bare-minimum level of facility you get at the newly-promoted places, such as Chipstead and Walton Casuals.
The venue actually nestles in a sports ground, between Croydon Cemetery and the crematorium. The large, square, brick chimney of the crem overlooks the pitch, on the opposite side to the main stand. At least there’s a certain “sense of place” here. Tuesday night’s game at Chipstead could have been played anywhere – with the pitch being tightly hemmed in by a windbreak made of some black, Hessian-like material, there was nothing but impenetrable darkness beyond. It really did fell like the game was being played on the deck of an aircraft carrier on Tuesday. It was certainly cold enough. We’re well into November now, of course, and the few trees that lined the ground here today, in Thornton Heath, hanging on to the last few brown leaves, reminded me of Ashford Town fans, in denial about the fact that the season is already one-third over.
The new Manager made several changes to the team for this match – and some of these raised an eyebrow or two. His policy seemed to be to go for experience, with recalls in the starting line-up for Club Captain Lee Spiller, Daniel Brathwaite and Tony Browne, and a second start for Adrianho – even though all four are coming back from injury. This meant consigning some of our brightest young talents – Jimmy Bottle, Joe Hitchings, Barry Gardner and Kevin Lott - to the bench. Jake Whincup was also named as a substitute, with Sam Moore starting, in goal. (Of course, the Lovell strategy might simply have been to have a look at as many players as possible !). There was certainly a fluidity about the formation, as it changed throughout the game, with players swapping positions and swapping sides, but Ashford began the match with a 4-4-2 set-up consisting of the following personnel (from right to left): Sam in goal; Tony Browne, Rob Gillman, Nicky Humphrey and Aron Freeman at the back; Nick Barnes, Rob Denness, Lee Spiller and Daniel Brathwaite in midfield; Walid Matata and Adrianho up front. Graham Porter and Danny Lye, both on the injury list, were in attendance and able to take part in the pre-match warm-up, but there was no place in the sixteen for either Joby Thorogood – (guess who was angry and upset about that !) – and Steve Sodje. Both looked glum and disappointed as they watched the Sunderland-Newcastle game in the bar at 2.30pm.
It was a cool, but sunny, afternoon, with not much breeze, so conditions were right for a good game of football. Ashford, in all yellow, had an early chance, in the third minute, when Daniel Brathwaite ran onto a quick throw-in, into the Croydon penalty area. Daniel had a chance to cross the ball to Walid Matata, in the centre, but he instead put the ball straight into the hands of goalkeeper Sam Mott. (A bit confusing, having Sam Moore in one goal and Sam Mott in the other, but let’s see how we get on).
It was the home side, playing in a mostly maroon strip, but with that characteristic broad, white stripe on the shirt (à la Birmingham City in the 1970s), that was first to settle into their game, and started to play some nice football. Their first dangerous attack came in the ninth minute, when Tony Browne had to head behind for a corner, at the far post. The resulting cross was punched clear by Sam Moore. A minute later, Athletic had another chance, but this time it was rather presented to them by some sloppy work at the back by the Ashford defence. Tony Browne attempted to launch a ball forward, but this was charged down by Luke Adams. It looked like Rob Gillman was there to tidy up, but he was a little too casual, and the speedy Moses Ademola nicked it away from him, and was through on goal. Ademola hit a firmly-struck shot, straight at Sam Moore, but Sam still did well to turn the ball over the bar. The 20-year-old ‘keeper continued his good start to the game five minutes later, when Jordan Kiffin beat the Ashford off-side trap. Sam was quickly off his line, and got to the ball first, the ball cannoning off Kiffin’s shins, to safety.
Ashford showed plenty of positive intent, with Danny Brathwaite pushing well forward on the left, and Rob Denness occasionally moving up to join the front two, from midfield – but our first really good attack didn’t materialise until the 24th minute. This began with a well-won header by Tony Browne, with Adrianho following that up by getting up well to nod the ball on to Walid Matata. Adrian’s header appeared to have put Walid through with a one-on-one with the goalie, but Bradley Duke did really well with the covering tackle, at the expense of a corner. This was taken, on the right, by Daniel Brathwaite – the “New Ian Ross”, with his quality, left-footed delivery – whose deep cross found Rob Denness beyond the far post. Rob seemed to be taking too long to let the bouncing ball settle, but he eventually hooked a right-foot shot, hip-high, against the cross-bar.
Our boys were starting to play some nice football themselves, when the home side had another chance to open the scoring. Again it was Jordan Kiffin who broke clear, into the Ashford penalty area, chased this time by Nicky Humphrey, in the 27th minute. Again the shot was well-hit and on target, but Sam Moore made another good save. Three minutes later, the other Sam, in the other goal, had to make a save. Walid Matata, who had just swapped sides with Adrianho, picked the ball up on the left. He moved a few yards infield, and then hit a good, right-footed shot on target, but Sam Mott did his job well. Seconds later, Mott did well to punch a cross clear, taking out Daniel Brathwaite, who was challenging him in the air, in the process. Daniel was on the floor for a long time, receiving attention to his right shoulder, but was able to continue.
In the 35th minute, by which time Brathwaite had transferred to the right side of midfield, still pushing well forward, with Lee Spiller on the left, Ashford broke forward from a defensive clearance from Sam Moore. With four yellow shirts in an advanced position, Rob Denness laid the ball off, setting it up nicely for Lee Spiller, who chipped the ball forward. Nick Barnes challenged for the ball, which broke to Walid Matata, and Walid’s attempted lob went just over the bar.
Shortly after Liam Shirley had received the first yellow card of the game, for a very late tackle on Aron Freeman – The Rams had both a Shirley and a Debrah in their line-up today, as well as a Jordan and a Moses in attack – Ashford were caught out by a quickly-taken free-kick by Gareth Graham, the Croydon Athletic skipper. The ginger-haired Graham, who is his team’s play maker, driving force and inspiration, fed the ball down the left touchline, to the unmarked Luke Adams, in the 40th minute. Adams put in a decent cross to Moses Ademola, who failed to get his header on target – but his effort was from quite a way out, and he would have done well to beat Sam Moore from there.
With a minute to go before half-time – not including the seven minutes of first-half injury time that were added – Ashford took the lead, and this was really a goal from nothing. Left-back Michael Harney should have comfortably dealt with the situation, chasing the ball towards the corner flag, but he instead allowed Walid Matata to steal it away from him. Carrying the ball to the by-line, Walid pulled it back to Rob Denness, who was arriving fast, in the centre, and The Menace smashed the ball into the roof of the net. Rob’s fifth goal of the season – he’s now just one behind Walid – clearly delighted the Ashford travelling support, which was again uncharacteristically vocal. There were 20 supporters behind Sam Mott’s goal – 19 plus Steve Sodje, that is – which is more than we’ve had for many seasons.
There was an additional problem, almost immediately, for the home side, when Martin Debrah went off injured, to be replaced by Reis Aslan, and they might have gone further behind when Nick Barnes created a good shooting chance for himself, with 50 minutes on the watch. Nick picked the ball up, from wide on the left, and bulldozed his way through three tackles, but he completely miss-hit his shot, which trickled tamely wide.
So we went in at half time 0-1 up, and there were certainly some encouraging signs of things starting to gel together. So what went wrong ? How did we contrive to lose this one ?
Well, there is now a very telling statistic – we’ve taken the lead in no fewer than TWELVE of the 17 games that we’ve played this season, and have managed to win only five of them. Even more damning, I think, is the fact that we’ve lost all five of the games in which we’ve initially gone behind, and, quite unbelievably, there hasn’t been a single occasion to date when we’ve actually scored an equaliser. Does this suggest a lack of fighting spirit and/or application ? I think it’s more likely to be a question of the team sitting back a little once ahead – mentally switching off.
One or two people have suggested that it might be a case of a lack of physical fitness, especially with several players currently recovering from injury. Well, that certainly was not the case this afternoon, as this match was lost in the third quarter. Croydon Athletic certainly asserted early on in the second half. They had a corner, on the right, in the 48th minute. As with all dead-ball kicks, this was taken by Gareth Graham; his cross was headed away by Nick Barnes, and Moses Ademola’s ambitious shot, from well outside the area, was sliced high and wide. A minute later, “Ginge” took a free-kick, in the centre of the Ashford half, spreading it wide to Reis Aslan, on the right. Aslan’s attempted cross was blocked by Aron Freeman, for another corner. This time, Graham’s cross found Liam Shirley unmarked in the centre, but his free header was booted away by Aron at the near post.
In the 52nd minute, Shirley played the ball forward to Ademola, who collected the ball on the edge of the “D”, turned and then put his shot well wide. A minute later, a Croydon player again had the chance to score with a free header from a corner. This time, Graham’s cross was met by Duke Bradley, who put his header wide, from about ten yards out. The peer really should have scored, and Ashford’s lead was really only intact because of our opponents’ incompetence in front of goal – but this didn’t last for long. The Rams’ equaliser came in the 58th minute, from an attack down the right. A low cross wasn’t cleared by the Ashford defence, and Luke Adams had all the time in the world, on the edge of the six-yard box, to power the ball under Sam Moore. Sam made a valiant attempt to save it, but the ball ricocheted off the underside of his body, and up into the roof of the net.
By this time, Ashford’s formation had already looked more 4-3-3 than 4-4-2, with Rob Denness taking forward positions, in support of the front two. On the hour mark, Rob was fouled, half-way inside the Croydon half, and to the right. This is definitely Daniel Brathwaite territory, and he curled a dangerous cross into the goalmouth. Rob Gillman got up well to meet the ball with his head, but the ball rather popped up in the air – if he’d known where the ball was, he could have turned on it and shot, but the ball landed behind him and was cleared. Ashford’s best chance of scoring in the second half certainly appeared to be through a Rob Gillman header from a Daniel Brathwaite cross, (which was, of course, how the goal came at Chipstead). The pair tried again, in the 64th minute, with the free-kick being from a similar position – Daniel’s cross was aiming for Gillman’s head, but Sam Mott came out well to collect the ball, under pressure from both Gillman and Humphrey.
Croydon Athletic’s winner came in the 67th minute, and, depending on your viewpoint, it was either sheer brilliance from Jordan Kiffin, or a fluke. Yes, I’m afraid it was Ronaldinho and David Seaman all over again ! Kiffin picked the ball up on the left touchline, and sent in what looked to be no more than a dangerous cross to the far post. Sam Moore appeared to be watching the ball out for a goal-kick, but it hit the post, high up, and went in. I looked over Jordan, and he was celebrating the goal as if he’d intended it as a shot – but I’m not convinced. From an Ashford stand-point, however, I think we must put this down as a goal-keeping misjudgement, but I’m sure that not everyone would agree.
The home side’s response, almost immediately, was to replace Luke Adams with Nathan Campbell, and, as two Ashford substitutes were getting stripped off and ready for action, Sam Moore launched a long clearance into the Croydon half, in the 70th minute. Adrianho did well to get up and head the ball on, and Rob Denness met the flick-on with his own head, after which a defender clattered into him after the ball had gone. Referee Smith’s immediate reaction was to stop play, so that Rob could have attention for an injury to his head, (and he was OK to continue, after treatment). What baffles me, however, is why this wasn’t a stone-cold bonking penalty, given that the ball had gone, and the incident happened in the penalty area.
A minute later, Steve Lovell showed a Lotta Bottle with a double-substitution – Kevin Lott and Jimmy Bottle coming on for Lee Spiller and Adrianho. This meant that Rob Denness joined Walid Matata up front, with Jimmy on the left of midfield and Daniel Brathwaite moving across to the right. The skipper’s armband was passed to Nicky Humphrey. It was no surprise that Adrianho was one of the players to make way, as, in spite of occasionally making a contribution with his strength in the air, he still looks a long way from being match fit. His substitution was greeted with a chorus of “We want Sodj” from the Steve Sodje Fan Club behind the goal. (On the subject of the afternoon’s musical entertainment, there was also a brief rendition of “One Clive Walker; there’s only one Clive Walker” – which I thought was a bit premature, given that the new man in charge was only in his second game).
Whilst Rob Gillman, Nicky Humphrey and Aron Freeman all played pretty well at the back today, I’m afraid that the returning Tony Browne had a thoroughly bad day at the office. One moment he’d probably like to forget was in the 74th minute, when he was caught in possession by Moses Ademola, deep inside his own half. Ademola had the fairly simple task of then putting a team-mate through on goal, but he instead gave the ball straight to Nicky Humphrey. Keep taking the tablets, Moses !
Richard Blackwell became the second Croydon Athletic player to be shown a yellow card, in the 81st minute, after quite a nasty late tackle on Kevin Lott – in a match that had very little nastiness in it. From the resulting free-kick, on the right and about 18 yards out, Daniel Brathwaite’s good cross to the far post was headed behind for a corner, on the left. This time, Nick Barnes floated the ball long, beyond the far post, where the in-coming Jimmy Bottle met the ball with his head, but his effort was blocked. Five minutes later, yet another Daniel Brathwaite free-kick from a wide-right position found Rob Gillman in the penalty area, but, although Rob’s head was first to the ball, he couldn’t get any direction on the header, and as he lay on the ground, having taken a knock, there was a brief goalmouth scramble before the ball was cleared.
In the 88th minute, Gillman had some defending to do, and, for once, Moses Ademola beat him to the ball, and was through on goal. Cutting in from the left, Ademola shot, but Sam Moore made another good save. The home side then had another couple of corners in quick succession, before the end of normal time, but both of these were cleared.
With the electronic scoreboard at the Crematorium End of the ground showing that five minutes of injury time were to be played, Ashford’s next glimmer of a chance came in the 92nd minute. This came after a surprisingly painstaking build-up from the visitors – given that night was drawing in, and we were running out of time – and this resulted in a corner, on the right, which was curled into the mixer by Daniel Brathwaite. Rob Gillman again got up, in front of the goalkeeper, but couldn’t get his header on target. The ball broke to Brathwaite, whose cross was cleared as far as Rob Denness, who hit his shot like a rocket, only to see it thud into the body of a defender. There was a suggestion that the ball might have come off the lad’s elbow, but not even the most optimistic Ashford supporter had any real hopes of us getting a penalty from this.
Victory at the final whistle was greeted with arms aloft from many of the Croydon Athletic players; not because they were hanging on particularly desperately – I think it was more a case of this result ending a run of four consecutive defeats. The three points for The Rams lifts them from 17th to 13th in the table. Ashford drop down to 12th, so the total impact of our two defeats this week has been to cost us one place in the table.
So Steve Lovell begins his stint as Manager with two defeats – after his predecessor ended with a run of five games unbeaten in the league. But let’s not be fooled by any of this. Whilst many of the Ashford fans in today’s crowd of 112 will have gone home disappointed with the result – and probably with many aspects of the performance – it should be emphasised that Lovell is still very much at the reconnaissance stage. Whilst we’re all strapped into the spaceship and waiting for take-off, and have been for some time now, Steve has very shrewdly made sure that he used no fewer than 18 players in the two games for which he has been in charge, and clearly has his mind focused on the long-term mission.
Rob Denness was given the nod as Man of the Match – scored a goal, hit the bar, should’ve had a penalty and never stopped working, both in midfield and in attack. In terms of who’s going to receive the Milton Keynes Bowl for most MoM performances in away matches, at the end of the season, we now have NINE joint leaders, with one medal each !
Man of the Match
(to go towards the Milton Keynes Bowl)
Rob Denness
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