Metropolitan Police 1 Ashford Town 1
from Your Milton Keynes Correspondent
My fourth visit to Imber Court to see us take on the Metropolitan Police – and the three previous visits have involved seeing the boys lose on each occasion, by scores of 3-2, 2-1 and 2-1. So the omens weren’t particularly good ! This was Ashford’s 20th game of the season, in all competitions – but, more pertinently, it was Steve Lovell’s fifth in charge.
By all accounts, there were signs last time out that Steve’s team is starting to get it together, with an encouraging draw at home to Burgess Hill Town. There were two other important aspects of that 1-1 draw. Firstly, it broke the sequence of us having lost every game in which we had conceded first; incredibly, Mark Lovell’s debut goal, in the 89th minute, was our first equaliser of the season ! Secondly, the starting line-up was the first not to contain any of last season’s squad, so it really did signal the start of a new era.
Of course, many of those who played last Saturday were players brought in by Clive Walker, but Lovell has started to implant his own personnel – starting, in text book style, with the “spine” of the team: a new goalie, who made his debut today, a strong, commanding centre-back, a midfield playmaker and a centre-forward. All of these I was seeing for the first time today. Sean Ray, the centre-half signed from Hastings, is the most obvious addition – partly because of his size, but mostly because of his sheer presence. Even as the players warmed up before the game, it was obvious to me which one “Razor” was, without him having to be pointed out. As he’s been Man of the Match on both occasions that he’s played for Ashford Town to date, I was also expecting a fairly imposing performance today, and wasn’t disappointed. He was a colossus at the back this afternoon, and looks to be an excellent signing for a Club that’s had a very nervous-looking defence all season.
Many of the defensive problems – we’ve only managed two clean sheets all season, and none since the third game – have stemmed from a lack of confidence in the goal-keeper, and The Management moved decisively to address this issue by shelling out some hard cash when signing Jamie Riley from East Thurrock United on Monday. Again, this looks to be an excellent investment, as Jamie really looks the part. A David James lookalike, Jamie pulled off a candidate for the Save of the Season, late in the first half, so has started to repay the investment already.
Ryan Briggs – who apparently suffers a lot from Ryan Giggs jokes, (although I’m old enough to mainly associate the name with speedway) – also impressed. He looked comfortable with the ball at his feet, and seemed to enjoy having the responsibility of the role of playmaker. At the head of the spine, Mark Lovell had the demeanor of a striker, and is sure to score more goals for us – in spite of missing a candidate for Sitter of the Season today ! Of Steve Lovell’s two other signings, it’s difficult to evaluate Mitchell Sherwood, a right-sided midfield player from Sittingbourne, as he rarely saw the ball this afternoon, and our old favourite, Paul Jones, still needs to regain full fitness before showing us what he can do.
Arguably, however, Steve Lovell’s most important addition on show this afternoon was TEAMWORK – that intangible “twelfth man”. Seemingly by magic, Ashford Town morphed into a side playing patient, passing football – certainly one which was unrecognisable from the collection of strangers that took the field at Chipstead a short while ago ! Actually, (at the risk of this sounding like a report from one of the Reserves’ games), this was a great game to watch, between two good, passing sides. I was very impressed with our hosts. If anything, they were the better side, with their passing being a shade quicker, enabling them to move the ball around the pitch at greater speed, and they looked very incisive when in the final third of the pitch. In the circumstances, therefore, this was very much a point gained for Ashford. The fact that The Met equalised as late as the 87th minute made it feel as if something had been taken away, of course, but 1-1 was a fair result overall, especially with The Police hitting the woodwork three times.
Here’s today’s line-up in full. We had Jamie Riley in goal, with a back four of (from right to left) Tony Brown, Rob Gillman, Sean Ray and Daniel Brathwaite; the midfield quartet in a 4-4-2 set-up was Mitch Sherwood, Nick Barnes, Ryan Briggs and Jimmy Bottle; Mark Lovell and Rob Denness were up front. (In other words, it was the same team that started on Saturday, against Burgess Hill, except for the ‘keeper). On the subs bench we had the deposed Sam Moore, Kevin Lott, Nicky Humphrey, Walid Matata and Paul Jones. Lee Spiller, Aron Freeman and Danny Lye were all at the ground as civilians, whilst Steve Sodje and Joe Hitchings were on duty for the Ressies.
The first occasion that the Boys in Blue hit the frame of the goal was in the third minute, when Chris Meikle’s close-range shot, from an acute angle, eluded Riley’s left hand, but rebounded back off the near post, with a “ping”. It should, however, have been Ashford who took an early lead, in the seventh minute, after a move that was beautiful in its simplicity and its incisiveness. It began with a long ball from Ryan Briggs, from inside his own half, which sent Jimmy Bottle on a chase down the left wing. Jimmy got to the ball before the defender, rounding his man and getting to the by-line. He looked up and picked out Mark Lovell, on the edge of the six-yard box, with a perfect, low cross. Any sort of clean contact with a boot would have put the ball into the back of the net, but Mark somehow got it stuck under his feet, allowing it to trickle to Will Packham, in the Police goal.
Whilst the build-up play from both sides was pleasing to watch, both sides also found it hard to get shots on target. Nick Barnes, who was the dominant presence in central midfield for Ashford, particularly in the first half, attempted an ambitious shot from inside the centre circle, in the tenth minute – although he struck the ball well, his effort went wide. A minute later, the home side had a free-kick, right on the edge of the penalty area, after Tony Browne had brought down Craig Carley. This resulted in James Greenaway blasting the ball well over the bar. Then, in the thirteenth minute, The Blues’ Scott Corbett sliced a shot, from outside the area, well wide.
There were two other brief scares for Ashford, mid-way through the first half. Tony Browne, who’s been prone to the odd howler this season, (and who will be missing the Kent Senior Cup tie against Tonbridge Angels on Tuesday, after Saturday’s red card), very nearly passed the ball straight to Craig Carley, in the 16th minute. This was not a great idea, given that Carley has so far scored 14 goals in 20 starts this season, but Daniel Brathwaite saved the situation with a full-stretch interception. In the 25th minute, a through-ball which nutmegged Rob Gillman seemed to present Dave Stevens with a one-on-one with the ‘keeper, but the Lino’s flag was immediately up for off-side.
Although Ashford looked good when having the ball, it’s probably fair to say that The Met had the most possession in the first 45 minutes. (It’s also interesting to note that The Blues seemed fairly comfortable in their 3-5-2 formation, especially since our national side seems to be all at sea with anything other than 4-4-2 !). Our hosts’ best move was probably seen in the 29th minute. A quick interchange of passes on the edge of the Ashford penalty area ended with Michael Cobden being put through on goal, but Jamie Riley was quickly off his line, and did well to block Cobden’s shot.
It was noticeable this afternoon that, when the long ball was used by Ashford, it was invariably aimed towards the corners. A good example was Sean Ray’s booming diagonal ball for Jimmy Bottle to chase, down the left wing, in the 32nd minute. Jimmy, who was a handful for The Police throughout the game, got to the ball first, near the corner flag, but was worried out of it by the defender.
When Tony Browne conceded a corner, when blocking a cross, in the 39th minute, it was actually the first time that the home side had been on the attack for several minutes, with Ashford having enjoyed a brief period of control. The Met were, however, about to really start to buzz, as they finished the first half strongly. From the resulting corner, Tony Browne was beaten in the air, the ball being nodded down to Craig Carley, who wasted a golden opportunity by shooting well over the bar. Two minutes later, Dave Stevens rounded both Daniel Brathwaite and Sean Ray, on the right side of the penalty area, and delivered a good cross from the by-line. Jamie Riley did well to block the initial effort, but then, after a brief goalmouth scramble, the ball fell to James Greenaway, whose well-struck shot, from about 16 yards out, seemed destined for the far corner of the net. That was when Jamie pulled off the diving save that confirmed to us all that we now have the services of a top-class goalkeeper.
But the danger had not yet passed, as The Police had a corner. Whilst the Ashford defence repelled the initial cross, the ball broke to Craig Carley, who hit the bar with a great shot from outside the penalty area.
Ashford will have been quite pleased to go in at half time with the score at 0-0, but actually had the final chance of the half. With 45 minutes up on my watch, Daniel Brathwaite led a break by releasing Jimmy Bottle down the left – a break that was ended when Jimmy was upended, in a position that was about level with the 18 yard line. Nick Barnes took the resulting free-kick, curling in a teasing, in-swinging cross towards the far post, but neither Sean Ray nor Mark Lovell, who both went flying in, could get the vital touch.
Although the home side had an early corner, which came to nothing, it was Ashford – playing with Mitch Sherwood switched to the left and Jimmy on the right - who had the first recognisable chance of the second half, in the 48th minute. Mark Lovell laid a firm pass forward off to Rob Denness, but Rob, who’s due to miss next Saturday’s game against Walton & Hersham, as a result of clocking up five yellow cards for the season, rather hurried his shot, and sliced wide. The Met’s Michael Cobden then had a sight of goal in the 55th minute, but his firm, low shot went across the face of goal – with Jamie Riley in control, watching the ball as it went wide.
The first substitution of the game came in the 62nd minute, when Nicky Humphrey replaced Tony Browne. I thought, momentarily, that Steve Lovell might be forced into another, enforced reshuffle, when Nick Barnes lunged into a tackle with a hint of twofootedness, just a minute later – but it was at the cost of no more than a free-kick, and the referee seemed unconcerned, so it must have looked worse than it actually was. The free-kick, which was about 15 yards inside the Ashford half, was quickly taken by Craig Carley, who tried to catch Jamie Riley napping, but The Blues’ top scorer’s lob was just too high.
In the 66th minute, Walid Matata replaced Rob Denness, who had worked hard, without ever threatening to score or create a chance. Then, three minutes later, Jamie Riley made his first and only error, when he misjudged a chipped cross. Whilst he should have caught the ball comfortably, he could do no more, at full stretch, than flip the ball out to Craig Carley, who hit the post with a shot from about twelve yards.
Walid Matata had been on the field for about six minutes when he put Ashford in front – and this was a well-worked goal. Jimmy Bottle had the ball on the right side of the field, in the 72nd minute. Whilst Nicky Humphrey showed great energy, haring off down the flank, on an overlap, Jimmy cut inside, onto his left foot. His deep cross found Matata, who laid the ball off to Mark Lovell. Mark set the ball up again for Walid, who took his time to side-foot the ball into the corner of the net, for his seventh goal of the season.
This set-back caused The Police to redouble their efforts – somebody’s comment about “all guns blazing” was inappropriate, given recent events – and Craig Carley beat the off-side trap, running onto a chipped through-ball, in the 74th minute. He caught up with the ball by the by-line, and pulled it back with a good cross, but Nicky Humphrey, running back, was there to nod behind for a corner. With Daniel Brathwaite behind the goal receiving treatment from Mo Alvi as the corner came across, Sean Ray headed clear. The luckless Daniel actually left the field two minutes later, to be replaced by Kevin Lott; this caused a bit of a reshuffle in defence, as Nicky Humphrey moved across to left-back, so that Kevin could fill in as a makeshift right-back. (It’ll be interesting to see who plays at full-back on Tuesday if Daniel’s not fit, with Aron Freeman already on the injury list and Tony Browne due to miss the match due to suspension).
Walid Matata was certainly the man on fire at this time. He ran onto a ball from Ryan Briggs, down the right touchline, in the 78th minute, and took possession of it near the corner flag – another example of the Ashford Town strategy of stretching the opposition with these balls into the corners. With space very tight, Walid nevertheless managed to beat two defenders, but was fouled as he was about to carry the ball along the by-line. Nick Barnes and Jimmy Bottle worked a short free-kick between them, and Jimmy was body-checked as he attempted to dribble the ball into the area. The resulting free-kick, right on the line, came to nothing.
At the other end, Craig Carley once again showed his pace, in the 80th minute, chasing a ball from the half-way line from the impressive Steve Sutherland. Carley got to the ball before the Ashford defence – which still isn’t over-endowed with pace – but his shot, from an acute angle, was comfortably saved by Jamie Riley.
Making their only substitution of the game in the 81st minute, (with Jon Daly replacing Martyn Lee), the home side equalised just three minutes from time. This came from a free-kick, just inside the Ashford penalty area. A long cross was headed down, into the mixer, and fell to Steve Sutherland, with his back to goal, somewhere near the penalty spot. He flipped the ball over his right shoulder, probably with the intention of causing some mayhem at the far post, and was delighted to see the ball loop over Jamie Riley’s head and plop into the corner of the net. I don’t want to tread the sour grapes too much by overemphasising the possible flukiness of this goal, as our hosts deserved to equalise, on the overall evidence of the game, but it was a slightly cruel way for Steve Lovell to be denied his first victory, and for Jamie Riley to miss out on a clean sheet on his debut.
There was an exciting finish to this entertaining game, as both sides pressed for a winner, but 1-1 was the final score. The point lifts the Met Police up one place, to sixth, in the table, whilst Ashford Town remain in 13th, now level on points with four other teams.
A couple of post scripts to today’s game. Firstly, it appears that the brief revival of the noisy travelling away support for Ashford Town seems to have fizzled out, for we were back to the handful of die-hards behind the goal today. Maybe the absentees are a bit shy of The Law ! Secondly, you might have noticed that there is barely a reference to today’s Referee – Mr Smith. That’s because he had an exemplary game, doing the job quietly and efficiently. No fuss. No theatrics. No yellow cards.
Man of the Match
(to go towards the Milton Keynes Bowl)
Nick Barnes
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