Sittingbourne v Ashford Town. Ryman Division One South. 29th of December 2007.

Sittingbourne 1 Ashford Town 1
from Your Milton Keynes Correspondent

The final away game of 2007 took us to the fairly familiar surroundings of Bourne Park. Last season’s fixtures dictated that we should come here on three occasions – once for the league match against champions-to-be Maidstone United, and twice for the corresponding league game against Sittingbourne, due to the first attempt being abandoned at half-time due to floodlight failure. A little ironically, it was Steve Lovell, Ashford Town’s current Manager, who was in charge, at the time, of an impressive Sittingbourne side that led 2-0 when the lights went out, (and when Jake Whincup, in the Ashford goal, ably negotiated a stay of execution for his team).

It is a fact that neither Sittingbourne nor Ashford have so far flourished, on the field of play, since Lovell’s switch to The Homelands. He guided The Brickies to a haul of 22 points from 13 league games, and they have managed just twelve points from nine games since his departure; since taking over from Clive Walker at Ashford, Steve has managed just five points from eight league games, which compares with Clive’s record of 18 from twelve.

Nevertheless, both performances and results have steadily improved under Steve Lovell, with the two most recent displays – the 1-2 victory at Kingstonian and the excellent showing, albeit in the context of a 1-2 defeat, at home to Dover on Boxing Day – providing particular grounds for optimism. The broad consensus from the latter match appears to have been that we deserved at least a point against what appears to be far and away the best side in the division this year. (The more obnoxious of Dover’s fans have been belly-aching for more than two years about their team being too good for Ryman Division One South – now, at last, it seems that they’re right !). I can also tell you that we won’t meet many better sides than Kingstonian, who were fourth in the table this morning, for the remainder of the season, so we approached today’s fixture in a positive frame of mind.

Sittingbourne, however, having experienced a brief slump after (fairly amicably) parting company with Steve Lovell, have recently been showing signs of regaining their momentum under new manager, and non-league goal-scoring legend, Gary Abbott, and were ninth this morning, having gained a 0-2 victory at Whitstable on Boxing Day. There was therefore every expectation that this was going to be a close game.

One of the charms of watching non-league football lies in the variety of back-drops that different grounds have. Molesey, Burnham and Burgess Hill Town, for example, have a ground that nestles within a residential area, and so their football is played against a background of local houses – a bit like Essella Park used to be. Whyteleafe’s ground, in leafy Surrey, is surrounded by trees. Ashford Town (Middlesex), located on the Southern edge of Heathrow Airport, play in the shadow of a row of enormous fuel tanks, whilst there is a good view of the crematorium from the main stand at Croydon Athletic. Bourne Park, home of Sittingbourne FC, is situated at the end of an industrial estate, and football here is played to a backdrop of warehousing and light industrial units. On the opposite side to the main stand, there was the usual array of stored materials in the yards – green, blue and yellow plastic pipes and sheets, stacked on pallets – as well as the shell of an enormous new warehouse under construction. (This could be a cue for the joke about the dyslexic pimp who bought a warehouse, but I’ll leave that for another day). The footy ground very much blends into this scenery, being delineated on all four sides by a corrugated steel fence, with portakabins used to house the turnstiles and bar areas. All in all, more “gritty” than picturesque.

The single stand at Bourne Park, which gives a good, elevated view of proceedings, provided welcome shelter from the chilly breeze that was blowing this afternoon, but the best news of the day was that the weather forecast of “sunshine and showers” was only half correct – we barely saw a cloud all day, and it was appropriate that we entered the ground to the strains of ELO’s “Mr Blue Sky”. The pitch today looked a little bumpy, and there were a few sanded patches on one side, but I’m reliably informed that the surface was nowhere near as difficult to play on as our own pitch, at The Homelands. With the breeze not materially affecting the way the game was played, it’s actually pretty difficult to work out why this was such a terrible game ! Maybe Ashford were experiencing the hang-over from the excellent effort they put in against Dover on Boxing Day, but both sides looked very flat this afternoon.

The story of the game, in a nut-shell, was that Ashford took the lead in the seventh minute, with Mark Lovell scoring, on his return to Bourne Park, with a well-taken goal from open play. Neither side really looked like scoring again – certainly not for the next 87 minutes - with Ashford dominating for the most part. When Sittingbourne had a player sent off, with about an hour gone, it appeared that a dire match was finally over, as a contest. Then, after three minutes of injury time had been played, Walid Matata missed a simple chance to slot the ball past the goalkeeper to make it 0-2, and The Brickies duly went up the other end and equalised. The visitors might have felt aggrieved to have missed out on victory today – and it’s true to say that, if Jamie Riley had saved Hicham Akhazzan’s shot, then it would have been Jamie’s first save of the match – but Ashford’s overall performance didn’t really merit all three points.

The lack-lustre performance certainly cannot be blamed on Steve Lovell tinkering around with the line-up, as we started with the same eleven that took the field against Dover: Jamie Riley in goal; a back four of Nicky Humphrey, Sean Ray, Lee Hockey and Daniel Brathwaite; a midfield quartet of Mitchell Sherwood, Ryan Briggs, Nick Barnes and Jimmy Bottle; and Mark Lovell and Paul Jones up front. The substitutes today were Sam Moore (the ‘keeper), Tony Browne, Danny Lye, Rob Denness and Walid Matata – Lee Spiller and Aron Freeman were also in attendance, in their civvies.

With Mitchell Sherwood and Lee Hockey having been regulars for Sittingbourne earlier in the season, and Jamie Riley having played here on loan, there was one ex-Ashford player in The Brickies’ line-up – Danny Eason, who impressed for our Reserves earlier in the season, started in goal for Sittingbourne for the second time since joining them a few weeks ago. The other familiar face was that of Steve Nolan, formerly Assistant Manager to Clive Walker at The Homelands, who was doing his “Andy Gray” bit in the Press Box, working as expert summariser for BBC Radio Kent.

One thing that can be said of Ashford Town is that they at least tried to get the ball on the ground and pass it around, but, whilst this enabled them to keep possession for short periods, it was never slick or incisive – with the exception of the build-up which led to our goal, in the seventh minute. This first action of any note since the kick-off saw Mitchell Sherwood on a run down the right wing. He broke through Sittingbourne skipper Joe Dowley’s tackle, and squared the ball to Paul Jones. Jonah pushed a measured pass behind The Brickies’ defence, for Mark Lovell to run on to, and the former Sittingbourne and Dover striker got to the ball just before Danny Eason, stabbing it into the corner of the net.

Ashford then enjoyed a spell of ascendancy, on the back of this goal, with Paul Jones looking the livelier of our attacking options. In the tenth minute, Jonah was fouled by Dowley, near the right corner flag, but Jimmy Bottle hit the resulting free-kick too long. Then, in the 13th minute, Nick Barnes hit a long ball into the same corner, for Jones to chase, but the Sittingbourne defence cleared the ball for a throw-in. Nicky Humphrey’s long throw, into the penalty area, was forced behind for a corner, on the right, and skipper Sean Ray got up well to meet the resulting left-footed cross from Jimmy Bottle, but Razor could do no more than head the ball high over the bar. (You know that we had very few real chances, when Your Correspondent makes a point of describing the throw-ins !). In the 25th minute, a long ball from the back four from Lee Hockey was allowed, by the home defence, to travel all the way to Paul Jones, who picked the ball up near the by-line, but a good tackle put the ball behind for a corner, on the right. Again it was Jimmy Bottle who came across to swing the ball in, left-footed, and this time it was Nicky Humphrey who could only head the ball up into the air.

The only real threat to the Ashford goal in the first half-hour came in the 18th minute, when Jamie Riley caught a long, hanging cross on his goal-line, only to drop the ball over the line as he was being challenged by a Sittingbourne forward – whether or not a foul had been committed, there was always going to be a 100% probability that Mr Smith, the Referee, would blow up for a foul.

In the 30th minute, Sean Ray bundled over Tunisian striker Sabeur Trabelsi, in the centre circle. The resulting free-kick was chipped into the Ashford area, and headed away by Nicky Humphrey. The ball fell to full-back Toby Ashmore, just outside the penalty area, but his low shot was always going well wide. A minute later, Sean Ray rather body-checked Trabelsi on the right-hand touchline, whilst attempting to shield the ball out for an Ashford throw – and was shown a yellow card, presumably for an accumulation of offences. Anthony Hogg took the free-kick, aiming for Trabelsi, in the Ashford area, but Ray managed to get his body in the way, at the expense of a corner. This time, a left-footed cross was swung in from the right, and was homing in on the near post - Jamie Riley kept the ball out, but there was a bit of “bat & pad” with the upright.

With little creative football being produced by either side, it appeared that the best chance of another goal would come from a set-piece, but Jack Baines and Anthony Hogg did manage to combine with a sweet one-two, deep in the Ashford half, and were rewarded with a corner, on the left. This resulted in a deep cross, which travelled all the way through to Joe Dowley, on the far edge of the area – but he crossed the ball straight into the hands of Jamie Riley.

Ashford’s best chance of extending their lead in the first half came in the 39th minute. Again, it was Paul Jones who was the instigator, picking the ball up just inside the Sittingbourne half, and going on a run down the left channel. As always, Jonah looked strong in possession, and, after one challenge had bounced off him, he pulled the ball back from the by-line. Mark Lovell let the ball run to Ryan Briggs, who skied his left-footed shot, from about 20 yards out, high over the bar.

Steve Lovell made one enforced change at half time – Danny Lye replaced Nick Barnes, who had picked up a calf injury which looked pretty sore as he hobbled off into the car park at the end of the game.

This substitution preceded a second half that was probably even more scrappy than the first, with most of the few noteworthy incidents during the next 45 minutes being cards of various colours being waved at players by the referee. Both teams did, however, have a squeak of a chance shortly after the restart. In the 48th minute, a ball forward found Hicham Akhazzan, half-way inside the Ashford half – he slipped a through-ball to his strike-partner Sabeur Trabelsi, whose first touch had all the finesse of a fork-lift truck, so that Jamie Riley was able to usher the ball behind for a goal-kick. At the other end, a minute later, Lee Hockey, who is the image of the current Robin Hood, took a long throw, from near the right corner flag – but, though Danny Lye got his head to the ball, on the front edge of the six-yard box, he could do no more than pop the ball over the bar.

The first of a rash of yellow cards was shown to Sabeur Trabelsi, in the 55th minute, after he had left his foot in on Daniel Brathwaite, after Daniel had affected a clearance. Four minutes later, Joe Dowley was booked for a foul on Mitchell Sherwood, and then Referee Smith reached for his pocket again, in the 61st minute, after a coming-together between Trabelsi and Sean Ray. It seemed a fairly innocuous incident, and it wasn’t clear which way the free-kick would be awarded, but Trabelsi it was who was shown his second yellow card, which was quickly followed by a red one. (It was actually a fairly rich shade of pink – fuchsia maybe – but the Tunisian got the message, and trooped off to the dressing-room). Amid the uproar from the home supporters in the main stand, Sean turned and indicated that an elbow had been used.

As previously noted, the general feeling was that this incident effectively ended the game as a contest – on the grounds that Sittingbourne had looked poor, and had made little impact on the Ashford defence with all eleven men on the pitch. (Your Correspondent made a note to himself, at the time, to the effect that this would now be a REALLY EMBARRASSING game not to win !). It was certainly a shame for Trabelsi, who had been involved in a promising move for Sittingbourne, in the 57th minute, just prior to his dismissal. He had spread the ball wide to Jack Baines, on the left, who had found Hicham Akhazzan, in the centre, with a good cross, but Akhazzan’s flicked header was comfortably caught by Jamie Riley.

In the 75th minute, with little or nothing happening for Ashford, Steve Lovell made a double-substitution, replacing Paul Jones and Mark Lovell with Rob Denness and top-scorer Walid Matata – (which he probably would have done even if the good-sized group of Ashford supporters behind the goal had not been singing Walid’s name !). This is actually the first time that Lovell Jnr has been substituted during his Ashford career to date – and may or may not have had something to do with the fact that he had picked up a yellow card for leaving a foot in on Billy Manners, in the 66th minute.

Gary Abbott soon responded with some substitutions of his own, replacing Jack Baines with Steve Hafner, in the 77th minute, and Dave Milton with James Campbell, in the 79th minute.

Campbell was soon involved in what passed for “the action” in this match, when, in the 81st minute, he spread the ball wide to Akhazzan, on the left – but, faced by Nicky Humphrey, the ex-Chatham forward tried a speculative shot from outside the area, which went well wide. As the home side increasingly committed themselves forward, in search of an equaliser, Mitchell Sherwood broke from a deep position, in the 86th minute, carrying the ball through the centre circle and finding Jimmy Bottle in space, on the left. Jimmy certainly caught the eye with his pace this afternoon, but, in all honesty, he produced very little end-product; (and it might be significant that Toby Ashmore, who had the job of marking him, was named as Sittingbourne’s Man of the Match). On this occasion, however, Jimmy did manage to get around his man and put in a dangerous cross, aiming for Walid at the far post, but the home defence managed to head the ball behind, for a corner, on the right. Jimmy went across to take the kick, but Paul Ainsworth was there to head his cross clear.

As full-time approached, it appeared that Ashford were in the process of winding up what is referred to in modern parlance as an “ugly victory”, playing possession football, with one eye on the (imaginary) clock. With 90 minutes up on my watch, a patient build-up concluded with Ryan Briggs threading a diagonal ball through for Rob Denness to run on to, but the Lino had his flag up before The Menace slid the ball into the net.

Then came the cruel twist to the tale, deep into injury time. In the 93rd minute, Danny Eason miss-hit a clearance, straight to Mitchell Sherwood, who immediately put Walid Matata through on goal, with a diagonal pass. Walid opened up his body, to sweep the ball over young Danny, and into the net, but his attempt went wide. A 0-2 scoreline would have flattered Ashford this afternoon, but a clinching goal from their hero would have delighted the Ashford contingent behind the goal. So we would have to settle for a hard-fought, if uninspiring, 0-1 victory – except that the story didn’t end there. As the game entered the 94th minute, Sittingbourne were awarded a free-kick, mid-way into the Ashford half. There was a shot at goal, and the ball seemed to stick under the foot of Hicham Akhazzan, who then turned and fired it past Jamie Riley.

It’s difficult to gauge the precise reaction of the Ashford fans to this late equaliser, as it appeared that, unusually, none of them went for a drink in the bar afterwards – which might, in itself, be a clue to the level of disappointment with the team’s performance this afternoon. It’s certainly a shame that the fair number of fans who had travelled from Ashford this afternoon had to witness a surprisingly low-key performance from the lads, especially after the good showing on Boxing Day. The only way that I can reconcile the two performances is to suggest that the Dover game took plenty out of the players, both mentally and physically – we’ll certainly be looking for a marked improvement against second-bottom Horsham YMCA (no puns intended) in a week’s time.

In the interests of balance, I should also point out that Sittingbourne looked a poor outfit today, and didn’t, in my opinion, deserve a point from this game – but I’m absolutely certain that this was not a typical performance from our hosts, as they wouldn’t be in the top half of the table if they couldn’t do better than this.

One other snippet of information, which caught my eye recently: did you know that Ashford are yet to be defeated by more than one goal away from home in the league this season ? The only away defeat by more than one goal to date has come in the FA Cup, when we went down 2-0 to Erith & Belvedere – the only two survivors from that game in the starting line-up this afternoon were Nicky Humphrey and Nick Barnes. Hope that keeps the anoraks happy.

Man of the Match
(to go towards the Milton Keynes Bowl)
Ryan Briggs