Dover Athletic 1 Ashford Town 1
from Your Milton Keynes Correspondent
No need to spend too much time hyping up this Easter Monday game at Crabble. A match against Dover has been THE local derby in recent times. What made today’s game particularly alluring was the fact that, with our hosts looking certain to be promoted to the Ryman Premier Division as Champions, this might well be the last time that this derby game is played for a little while. The last chance, then, for Ashford to avenge the narrow 1-2 defeat at The Homelands on Boxing Day, when most eye witnesses thought that we deserved at least a draw.
So it looks like The Whites are finally going to secure promotion, at the third attempt. I must say that this will be a loss to the teams left behind. Although Dover Athletic FC appears to be the least loved of the clubs in the division – (don’t shoot the messenger !) – there’s no doubt that we’ve all benefited from having them around for three seasons, particularly from the point of view of having a bumper crowd once a year; (we had 855 at The Homelands on Boxing Day).
I’ve also quite enjoyed our trips to The Crabble – (okay, I know it’s supposed to be called just “Crabble”, but I’ve been using the definite article all my life, so I’m not about to break the habit now). It’s certainly a completely different experience to away matches elsewhere in Ryman Division One South, as this is a proper football ground, populated by proper crowds, that wouldn’t be out of place in the Conference. There’s a depth of terracing behind each goal, with fans that actually sing footy songs behind the goal that Dover are attacking, (although it was eerily quiet for long periods this afternoon, in spite of the crowd of 1,324 being the biggest league gate in this division so far this season).
Crabble Athletic Ground is a multi-tiered facility built on a slope, which Dover Athletic FC shares with Dover’s Rugby Union Club. Whilst the ridiculous and over-rated game of catch takes place at the lower level, on the flat, circular area that used to host county cricket matches, the footy pitch is situated higher up the slope, and appears almost to have been cut into the side of the hill. With the stadium occupying such an elevated position, there is a good view of the tail end of the North Downs, with houses sprawled on their South-facing slopes. There is no main structure that dominates the ground – most of the seated accommodation is provided in a low, narrow stand that extends for the length of the pitch on one side, in which there are red and black plastic seats, about four-deep.
I’ll tell you something else. It’s certainly an expensive experience coming to The Crabble: £9 to get in, an additional £1.50 to get into the stand and £2 for a programme, so, for the two of us, it cost £23 before we’d even thought about something to eat and drink – not that we begrudged paying the Dover players’ wages, you understand !
At the end of one of the most miserable Easter week-ends, weather-wise, in living memory, it was no surprise that we had a bit of everything on the journey from Milton Keynes: snow, sleet, hail, rain and even some bright sunshine. The weather seemed to brighten up as we entered God’s own county, however, and, after a brief snow flurry during the ten minutes leading up to kick-off, the first hour of the game was played out in sunny, but chilly, conditions.
I was a shade apprehensive for the boys before this match, as we’ve been consistently inconsistent all season, and an off-day against a very good Dover side might have had embarrassing consequences – especially with the nagging fear that the prospect of exciting possibilities for next season, and beyond, might cause some players to just “go through the motions” for the remainder of this season. I needn’t have worried on that score, though, as the boys certainly gave it 100% this afternoon. This was a battling performance, against a superior side, and one which fully deserved the hard-earnt point.
Although Ashford inevitably had to ride their luck on several occasions, this was very much a triumph for Manager Steve Lovell. He set the team up in an interesting 3-4-1-2 formation, with three at the back: Sean Ray in the centre, with Danny Lye on his right and Daniel Brathwaite on his left. There was the usual midfield quartet of Mitchell Sherwood, Ryan Briggs, Anthony Hogg and Jimmy Bottle, with Hogg being particularly impressive, in a combative area of the field, and Briggs virtually doing a man-for-man job on Dover Player-Manager Andy Hessenthaler. Lovell played three strikers – which meant a rare start for Walid Matata, who, up front with Paul Jones, used his pace to stretch the Dover defence, with Manager’s son Mark “in the hole” behind them. On the bench there was the welcome sight of young Joe Hitchings, who has been recalled from his loan spell at Tunbridge Wells, Aron Freeman, new signing Toby Ashmore, goalkeeper Sam Moore and Tony Browne, who spent many years here at Crabble prior to this season.
Of course, the fact that the Ashford XVI included no fewer than five former Dover players was another reason why the team needed little extra motivation, and one of the Crabble old boys, Walid Matata, was certainly in inspired form, making John Keister’s life a misery. Whilst The Whites’ skipper was playing at centre-half, he’s actually even shorter than Walid, and certainly slower, with Matata showing the ability to run around his outside on several occasions. He did so in the opening couple of minutes of the game, but his cross, from the right, failed to find a green shirt in the area. The ball instead travelled all the way to Ryan Briggs, wide on the left. Briggs found Mitchell Sherwood, in the centre, but Mitch volleyed the ball well wide of goal, from outside the penalty area.
One feature of the afternoon was Ashford’s vulnerability to aerial balls into the penalty area, with Jamie Riley looking less than commanding, and skipper Sean Ray the only Ashford player to win a significant number of headers at the back. After Mark Lovell had fouled Jon Wallis, ten yards inside the Ashford half, the ball was floated into the penalty area. Jamie came out in an attempt to punch clear, and didn’t get near the ball, but in-form striker Shaun Welford couldn’t direct his header towards goal.
Another feature of the afternoon was a bizarre performance from the referee – that’s a kind way of saying “hopeless”, by the way – who missed a great deal of what seemed to be obvious to everyone in the ground but him and his assistants, and made puzzling decisions throughout the 90 minutes. His performance introduced a random element to the game, which made things interesting and unpredictable for any neutral spectators, but frustrated players and committed supporters of both teams. It must be said that neither side benefited more than the other, overall, but his failure to spot anything wrong with Ashford’s opening goal, in the seventh minute, gave the visitors a much-needed head start. Appropriately at Easter, this was very much a “Hand of God” incident, reminiscent of Mara%$$&a’s goal that cheated England out of the World Cup in 1986, and was all very unsatisfactory. A foul on Paul Jones gave Anthony Hogg the opportunity to float the ball into the Dover area. Our former hero John Whitehouse came out for what appeared to be a comfortable catch – whilst I didn’t see Danny Lye’s hand connect with the ball, the ball eluded John’s hands, and ended up in the back of the net, with an Ashford head nowhere near it. We know John Whitehouse well, and he is normally a calm and undemonstrative character, but he pursued the referee almost to the half-way line, in utter disbelief, just as Terry Fenwick had done in the World Cup. (Anyone spot an Ashford Town connection here ?). Many Dover players appeared to be incredulous at Mr Bentley’s decision to award a goal, and this incident added a little extra bite to proceedings, (but this entertaining game never degenerated into anything nasty).
The goal, followed by more strange refereeing decisions, certainly knocked Dover out of their stride for a while, and gave Ashford the confidence to knock the ball around with some good, passing football for a brief period – but The Whites soon recovered their composure, and the visitors spent most of the remainder of the half hanging on to the one-goal lead. Danny Lye certainly walked a disciplinary tightrope throughout the game, and was a bit fortunate not to get booked for a very late tackle from behind on the half-way line, in the 15th minute. From the resulting free-kick, Dover launched an attack, with a brilliant ball delivered inside the Ashford left-back providing Matt Fish with the opportunity to cross from the by-line, but he hit his attempt straight at Mitch Sherwood. The corner came to nothing. A minute later, a second corner, from the left, was met by Shaun Welford, but his glancing header went wide.
As Dover piled on the pressure, the tireless Andy Hessenthaler, under pressure from Ryan Briggs, won a corner, in the 17th minute; this was pulled back to James Rogers, but the left-back’s cross went straight to Jamie Riley. In the 21st minute, there were optimistic shouts for hand-ball from the Port of Dover stand, as Jon Wallis’s shot was deflected, but the referee was unmoved as Jamie Riley went down to his right to save.
It wasn’t entirely one-way traffic, though, with Ashford, playing in their green & white home kit this afternoon, having some opportunities in the first half. Probably our best chance came in the 23rd minute. Jimmy Bottle picked the ball up in his own half, after a Dover move had broken down, and carried the ball forward, through the centre circle. He was in full flight as he approached John Keister, and managed to play the ball to his right, into the path of Walid Matata, before Keister upended him. Walid just had one man to beat, but, incredibly, the ref failed to play the obvious advantage, and brought play back. Keister became the first of five players to be booked this afternoon.
A minute later, John Whitehouse came out to punch clear a Ryan Briggs cross, then Mitchell Sherwood managed to get in a long cross, from the right touchline, which John Keister headed away – but only as far as Jimmy Bottle, whose volley, from the edge of the area, went high and wide of the target.
Sherwood was again required in defence in the 28th minute, when Dover’s main play-maker, Jon Wallis, sent a long, swinging cross to the far post, and Mitch had to head the ball behind for a corner. This was typically well-worked by this passing Dover side, but the move ended with Alan Pouton side-footing over the bar.
The home side continued to press forward, having the majority of possession, with their best chance in the first half coming in the 37th minute. Frannie Collin, very much the class act in a very strong Dover squad, but kept very quiet by Daniel Brathwaite this afternoon, sent in a deep cross from the right, which Danny Lye had to head behind for a corner, on the left. This resulted in a glancing header going just wide of the Ashford goal, but there must have been a deflection, as another corner was awarded, this time on the right. Jon Wallis’s cross was met by Shaun Welford, who headed the ball down, at the far post. After a goalmouth scramble, the ball was blocked, on the line, by Daniel Brathwaite. It broke to Jon Wallis, who let fly with a shot with the outside of his right foot; this was always curling wide of the goal, but took a slight deflection, for yet another corner. This resulted in yet another free header for a Dover player in the Ashford penalty area, but the effort went wide.
With just three minutes to go before half time, Danny Lye clattered into the back of Jon Wallis, for what looked like an automatic yellow card. I was convinced that Danny had finally over-stepped the mark, as Mr Bentley’s card came out – but it was actually Andy Hessenthaler who was being yellowed, for protesting that Danny had got away without a caution. The resulting free-kick was floated into the area, and Mitch Sherwood once again put the ball behind for a corner. Yet again, it was a Dover head that got up to meet the ball, but the effort was again off target. A minute later, another Dover corner, from the left, was whipped in at pace, and passed all the way through the Ashford six-yard box, with Jamie Riley unable to get near the ball. It seemed just a matter of time before Dover equalised – probably from a cross - but the boys managed to hang on, and went in at half time a goal up.
Ashford had a brief spell of possession at the start of the second period – with Paul Jones bursting into The Whites’ penalty area early on, but seeing his attempted pull-back blocked – but the game soon settled back into the routine of Dover attacking and Ashford defending doggedly. The home side had two corners, which came to nothing, in the 49th minute, but then had a much clearer chance in the 53rd minute. Frannie Collin picked up a loose ball, and, in spite of being faced by Daniel Brathwaite, crossed the ball into the centre, but Sean Ray was there to cut out the cross; this resulted in another corner, on the right. This was sent deep into the Ashford penalty area, and a free header was directed down to the feet of Collin, who attempted to delicately tap the ball into the net, and this effort was easily blocked by Daniel Brathwaite.
In the 56th minute, Paul Jones sent the ball forward, along the right touchline, in an attempt to exploit Walid Matata’s pace. Walid was able to round John Keister once again, in spite of the Dover skipper trying to foul him. The Lino flagged, and, instead of allowing Ashford the advantage, the Referee brought play back. This drew protests from Anthony Hogg – which drew a yellow card from Mr Bentley. The mystery deepened further when the free-kick was actually awarded AGAINST Walid.
Just past the hour mark, the green & whites had a rare corner, on the left. Ryan Briggs delivered the cross, and Sean Ray got up well, heading the ball downwards – there was anguish as the ball hit the inside of the post, and popped, one bounce, into the arms of a stranded John Whitehouse. This really would have put the visitors in a commanding position, but there was no time to dwell on what might have been, as Dover immediately launched a counter-attack. This culminated in Alan Pouton hurriedly shooting wide, when he had plenty of time to compose himself and pick his spot.
In the 63rd minute, Ryan Briggs spread the ball wide for Walid Matata to chase, down the right flank. Walid again took the ball around the outside of John Keister, and then cut inside. He appeared to be bundled over, in the penalty area, but there was no reaction from the officials. It was one of those which often results in a penalty being awarded, but, in an age where forwards tend to go down very easily once they cross the white line, you can’t really blame the ref for erring on the side of the defender. Seconds later, Ryan Briggs was booked for dissent, after expressing some surprise at Mr Bentley’s decision to award Dover a free-kick, in the Ashford half. Before the kick could be taken, the home side made a bold tactical change, sending on Jimmy Dryden, as a third striker – (and what a luxury it must be to have a player of his calibre on the bench !) – in place of right-back Matt Fish.
In the 66th minute, Ryan Briggs fouled Jon Wallis, who shaped up to take the free-kick himself, faced by a two-man Ashford wall. Wallis bent his shot around this wall, but Jamie Riley made a good save, one-handed, diving low to his left. Two minutes later, Daniel Lye finally ran out of luck with the ref, and was booked after another challenge from behind. It’s true that he played the ball, but he also took a piece of the man first, so it was always going to be a foul – although nothing was absolutely certain with today’s referee ! Full marks to Danny, though, for having the brass neck to look aggrieved at being shown the yellow card. Worse was to follow, though, as Dover scored what had seemed an inevitable equaliser, from the free-kick. This was a very simple, and well-taken, goal for Jimmy Dryden, with his first touch since coming on as sub. As the ball was floated in, Dryden came flying in, and planted the ball in the net with his head.
With a quarter of the game still remaining, this was bound to be a real test of Ashford’s resolve, as the pressure on the visitors’ goal was cranked up a gear. A long cross from the right, in the 70th minute, went all the way through the Ashford penalty area, across the face of goal; James Rogers just about got on the end of this, but was unable to hook his foot around the ball. Five minutes later, a long-range Jimmy Dryden shot was deflected for a corner, on the right. Shaun Welford got up well, above the Ashford defence, and headed the resulting cross down, but Mitch Sherwood, on far post duty, hoofed the ball clear, (although I think Welford’s effort was actually going just wide). It was at this point that Dover made their second substitution, with their other full-back, James Rogers, making way for Steve O’Brien; (and not Paul O’Brien, as the PA announcer initially said – not that OB would look out of place in this Dover side !).
In the 77th minute, as the lowering sun eventually sank behind cloud, the home side launched a long throw into the Ashford area – the ball bounced around for a while, before Jimmy Dryden shot and turned in one movement, but shot well wide. A couple of minutes later, we saw the rare sight of a triple substitution from Ashford, as Steve Lovell decided to revert to a 4-4-2 formation. Walid Matata came off, having run his socks off, with Tony Browne slotting in at right-back, whilst Aron Freeman replaced Jimmy Bottle on the left side of midfield, and Joe Hitchings made a welcome return to central midfield in place of Anthony Hogg, who had turned in an excellent, battling performance. Credit should be given to Steve Lovell for the fact that his bold decision to play with three men at the back seemed to have worked, when a three-man defence has so often failed miserably, for other Ashford managers, in the past. (Credit too, of course, to the players, for making it work).
The fact that Ashford managed to hold out for a creditable point was very much due to an all-round team effort, so let’s not forget the contribution made by Jamie Riley. Without his brilliant save in the 81st minute, when he tipped over a spectacular, hip-high shot from Jon Wallis, there would be much less back-slapping of The Management and the outfield players, as the ball would have hit the roof of the net. Instead, Dover had to settle for a corner, with Jimmy Dryden heading the resulting cross over the bar.
In the 84th minute, a good one-two, on the right flank, gave Jon Wallis another sight of the Ashford goal. He cut inside, but his shot went well over the bar – just as the PA man announced that he was, deservedly, the sponsors’ Man of the Match. With two minutes remaining, a foul by Ryan Briggs on Hessenthaler, near the right corner flag, gave the home side another opportunity to swing the ball into the Ashford penalty area – the cross was headed clear by Sean Ray, but only as far as Jon Wallis, whose shot was again well saved by Jamie Riley.
So The Whites had to settle for a point, in a game that they had dominated for long periods – but Ashford deserved the draw for sheer effort and determination, defending well all over the pitch, and closing Dover down at every opportunity. I didn’t hear many complaints from the home supporters – and they were ultimately quite pleased with the result, given that Tooting & Mitcham suffered a surprise 3-1 defeat at Croydon Athletic, meaning that Hessy’s boys need just five points from their remaining five games to make sure of the championship.
There were many heroes in the Ashford side this afternoon. Skipper Sean Ray was solid, and dominant in the air, as usual; Mitchell Sherwood had a good game, particularly in the defensive context; Anthony Hogg was very strong, in a competitive midfield area; Ryan Briggs’s contribution in following the experienced Andy Hessenthaler around for 90 minutes shouldn’t be under-estimated; Danny Lye did well, (if we disregard the Hand of God incident). But our Man of the Match this afternoon was Daniel Brathwaite, who did a terrific job in looking after Frannie Collin, and always seemed to be there when required, on his return to The Crabble.
So seven games of Ashford’s season remaining – let’s have a quick Anorak’s Corner (including today’s match).
** Anorak’s Corner **
Milton Keynes Bowl: Today’s Man of the Match award was Daniel Brathwaite’s first, in away games; with two away matches remaining, Paul Jones still leads the field, with three MoM medals, with Jimmy Bottle, Danny Lye and Ryan Briggs just behind him, with two each.
Goalkeepers: Jamie Riley is still head & shoulders above his contemporaries, having now conceded an average of a goal every 85 minutes; the next-best, statistically, in recent years has been Jake Whincup, with a goal conceded every 61 minutes, and he has just signed for Grays Athletic, in the Conference, for the remainder of the season. I’d be very interested to see the record that John Whitehouse had when he played for Ashford – but I don’t have the figures. I reckon he’s probably the best ‘keeper we’ve had for many years, and is becoming respected as one of the best goalies in the Ryman League. He’s certainly impressed the people at Dover, having let in just four goals in 13 matches – and these have included a penalty and Danny’s controversial goal today !
Strikers: Walid Matata’s goal against Whyteleafe on Good Friday put him clear as the top scorer for Ashford this season – but with just eight goals. Mark Lovell, (who also scored five for Dover earlier in the season), is just behind him, with seven; then come midfielders Jimmy Bottle and Danny Lye, with six each. Walid clearly has the best rate of scoring of our current goal scorers; here are the figures for the past three seasons, (with former players in brackets): -
(George Fenwick: 18 @ 177 minutes per goal)
Walid Matata: 16 @ 206
(Nick Wright: 4 @ 221)
(Luke Coleman: 4 @ 228)
Mark Lovell: 7 @ 253
(Richard Sinden: 5 @ 276)
(Adam O’Neill: 2 @ 289)
Paul Jones: 4 @ 305
Danny Lye: 6 @ 342
Jimmy Bottle: 6 @ 362
(Rob Denness: 5 @ 368)
(Joby Thorogood: 18 @ 369)
(Steve Sodje: 5 @ 369)
(Shaun Bradshaw: 5 @ 487)
Attendances: As expected, the average home league attendance continues to decline, as things wind down towards the end of the season. The current average is 273, which compares with last season’s figure of 243. With five home games remaining, gates need to average just 141 for the remaining five games of the season for last year’s average to be beaten. The median figure stands at 220, and will definitely be higher than last season’s median of 198, even if the five remaining matches are played behind closed doors. Of course, we’re dealing with minimal improvements here, and we’re all hoping for a substantial increase in attendances in 2008-9 !
* * *
Man of the Match
(to go towards the Milton Keynes Bowl)
Daniel Brathwaite
Tuesday 25 March 2008
Sunday 16 March 2008
Walton & Hersham v Ashford Town. Ryman Division One South. 15th of March 2008.
Walton & Hersham 1 Ashford Town 2
from Your Milton Keynes Correspondent
Ashford began the day on 44 league points, with ten games remaining – that’s a very significant figure, as it’s the total number of points we amassed during the whole of last season’s relegation-haunted campaign. How nice to approach the first fixtures of Spring with the unusual luxury of not having to worry about the possibility of life in the Kent League !
In fact, most issues in the division are now more or less settled: it looks pretty certain that we will lose Molesey and Horsham YMCA through the trap-door, Dover are all but Champions (dammit), and Cray Wanderers, Tooting & Mitcham and the Met Police are nailed on to be three of the four clubs fighting out the play-offs. Just the fourth play-off place to be decided, then, with Walton & Hersham just about on the edge of a cluster of half a dozen clubs in contention, being six points adrift of fifth-placed Worthing. (Mind you, a draw and a defeat against the division’s bottom two teams – Horsham YMCA and Molesey, respectively - in their last two games haven’t helped Walton’s cause).
And, if The Swans are to be described as still having a realistic shout for promotion, then something similar should be said about Ashford, who trailed today’s hosts by seven points, with two games in hand, this morning. So not a dead rubber by any means, and there was always the probability that defeat for either team today would effectively smother any lingering hopes they might have – with a draw also being of about as much use as a cat flap on a submarine to both teams, it was not surprising that we witnessed an entertaining match, with both sides showing plenty of desire to take all three points.
An additional incentive for Ashford Town was the opportunity to avenge the 1-3 defeat we suffered against The Swans just a few weeks ago. This was a surprising reverse, at the time, halting a good run of performances and results that Steve Lovell and his men had put together since Boxing Day. The main characteristic of that defeat was a fairly shambolic defensive display, in the absence of goalkeeper Jamie Riley and rock-like centre-half and captain Sean Ray. In that game, Nicky Humphrey was switched from right-back to central defence, with Tony Browne filling in at right-back – which is what Steve Lovell did as a reaction to Lee Hockey’s unavailability for the match at Eastbourne Town, and that resulted in Ashford’s second hapless defensive performance of 2008, (and a 4-1 shellacking). It was no surprise, therefore, that Steve opted to leave Nicky Humphrey at No.2 this afternoon, with the versatile Danny Lye playing alongside Sean Ray at the back – as he had done in the 1-0 victory at home to the Metropolitan Police, on Saturday. Lee Hockey was at Stompond Lane this afternoon, wearing a white plaster on his hooter, after his recent enforced nose job. He looked like something from “Extreme Makeover” – whatever that is !
The remainder of the Ashford line-up was as we have come to expect: Jamie Riley in goal; a back four of (from right to left) Nicky Humphrey, Sean Ray, Danny Lye and Daniel Brathwaite; a midfield quartet of Mitch Sherwood, Ryan Briggs, Anthony Hogg and Jimmy Bottle, with Paul Jones and Mark Lovell in attack. The substitutes bench also had a reassuringly familiar look about it, (with Lee Hockey currently being the only member of the first-team squad unavailable for selection): Tony Browne, Aron Freeman, Nick Barnes, Walid Matata and sub goalie Sam Moore.
This was only my second visit to Walton & Hersham FC – and it is no coincidence that it was also Ashford Town’s second visit here, and only the fifth match between the two teams EVER. I found this quite a staggering fact, given that these are two long-established non-league clubs in the South East of England, Walton & Hersham being able to trace their history back to 1896. The teams didn’t meet until 1969, when The Swans, who were reigning Champions of the Athenian league, came to Essella Park for an FA Cup 4th Qualifying Round tie. Ashford, then led by legendary Player-Manager Peter Sillett, went down 0-1, in front of a crowd of around 2,500 – which wasn’t a particularly unusual gate in those days. The only previous time that the two clubs have been in the same division was the 2004-5 season, when Walton beat us home and away, on the way to being promoted to the Premier Division, along with AFC Wimbledon – when Ashford came unacceptably close to slipping down to the Kent League. The Swans’ victory at The Homelands earlier in the year therefore made it a perfect record against us of four wins out of four, with an aggregate score of seven goals to two.
With Walton & Hersham being one of the bigger clubs in the division – on a par with the likes of Tooting & Mitcham and Dulwich Hamlet – it was no surprise that they have a decent-sized ground. The main stand is one of the larger ones on the circuit, with spectators having an elevated view of proceedings. Much of the seating is this stand is in the form of a pair of wooden slats, worn smooth by many bums, which are surprisingly comfortable – but it is the fact that some of this wooden “seating” still has rather aged plastic seats attached to it that suggests that this wasn’t necessarily the original plan. On the far side, there is terracing, several steps deep, which is covered by a stand which, impressively, extends for the whole length of the pitch. But the slightly unusual feature of the Sports Ground at Stompond Lane is that it is surrounded by a six-lane athletics track – the football club shares this Council-owned facility with Walton Athletics Club. This explains the athletics paraphernalia on view – shot putt netting, high jump mattress etc. At one end of the ground, there is more terracing, which curves around Lane 6, and beyond this there is what looks like a large, inflated tent, which I assume is an indoor training or sports facility of some sort.
All in all, the ground gives the impression of being able to comfortably accommodate a large crowd, and that it is inhabited by a big club at this level. For all that, I still found it to be a cozy, friendly place, with the bar and boardroom housed in two converted bungalows. Sadly, though, interest in the old club locally has dwindled to the extent that its average gate so far this season is a paltry 136 – only Chipstead, Molesey, Croydon Athletic and Walton Casuals currently have a lower average league gate than this. Today’s attendance was 125 – and that was boosted by a fair sprinkling of Ashford fans, the noisiest being a small “kop” of eight, occupying the terracing on the far side, level with the penalty area being defended by the home side.
For the first time this year, the temperature was mercifully mild, at 13ºC, but it was cloudy, with “occasional showers” forecast – the High Street was still wet and puddled from a recent downpour when we drove through Weybridge.
Playing in the all-yellow strip, and a disciplined 4-4-2 formation, Ashford started brightly enough. Paul Jones set Jimmy Bottle off down the left flank, in the opening seconds, but Jimmy put his cross, disappointingly, straight into the hands of Richard Stroud, making only his ninth appearance for Walton & Hersham, this afternoon. A Ryan Briggs corner, in the eighth minute, came to nothing, as did a Briggs free-kick from the right touchline, in the tenth minute – but the home side was able to counter-attack straight away. The kick from Stroud, with the breeze behind him, went deep into the Ashford half of the field, all the way to No.9 Jon Neal; he set the ball up for Matt Martin, whose low shot went wide of Jamie Riley’s left-hand post.
The home side, which I expect is the only football team to both be nicknamed “The Swans”, and play in all red – the colours are, I understand, an historical deference to Liverpool FC – now began to exert a great deal of pressure on the Ashford goal. In the twelfth minute, good, sharp passing between Julien Thompson and Rob George, in the Ashford penalty area, left Sean Ray looking hopefully for the Lino’s flag – which remained at his side – and set up a clear chance for Jon Neal. Whilst Neal’s shot was well struck, Daniel Brathwaite was there to save on the goal line. Shortly after this, a late tackle by Sean Ray on Julien Thompson, right on the edge of the penalty area, gave Adam Moriarty a free-kick opportunity – but Ray it was who then headed clear.
The Ashford skipper was very much involved with the Walton & Hersham goal, in the 14th minute. First, as Moriarty floated a free-kick into the Ashford penalty area, Ray headed the ball behind to safety, at the expense of a corner, on the left. Moriarty again took the kick, curling the ball into the heart of the Ashford area. Razor was first to the ball, but, facing his own goal, from about six yards out, probably tried to steer the ball wide, for another corner – but succeeded instead in side-footing the ball into the corner of the net. 1-0 to The Reds.
Ashford’s first clear-cut chance came in the 18th minute. A good cross from Jimmy Bottle, on the left wing, was well controlled by Mitch Sherwood, in the middle of the Walton penalty area, on his chest. Mitch took another deft touch, with his left foot, and then let fly with a firm shot, which looked like it was heading for the roof of the net before it struck Paul Jones on the back and popped over the bar.
The equaliser wasn’t long in coming, though. A long kick by Jamie Riley, in the 20th minute, aimed at the far left corner flag, was missed by Swans’ defender Robbie Watkins, but was well controlled by Paul Jones. Jonah’s chipped cross found Jimmy Bottle, in the centre; Jimmy set the ball up for Anthony Hogg, who was waiting just outside the penalty area; Hoggy took one touch, and then planted a low shot into the corner of the net. This was Anthony’s first goal for the Club, in the 612th minute of his Ashford career – and so he became our 14th individual scorer this season.
Strangely, or maybe because he was suddenly inspired by the scoring of the goal, Hogg almost doubled his season’s total, just four minutes later. He got up well, above his marker, to meet a Ryan Briggs cross, which came in from the left, and his looping header appeared to be dropping over Stroud’s head, and into the net, but the ‘keeper managed to finger-tip the ball onto his crossbar. The rebound fell to Mark Lovell, but he was swamped by the Walton & Hersham defence before he could knock the ball into the net.
Both sides looked dangerous when going forward, and there were chances at both ends before the end of the first half. In the 31st minute, it was that man Hogg, again in a forward position, who turned and shot, from just outside the area, but his left-footed effort grubbed along the ground, and went wide of the post. Four minutes later, it was The Swans on the attack, and a cross from the right flank found Jon Neal, in a central position, about eight yards out. Neal was unable to direct his header on target, but the worrying thing was that he was conspicuously unmarked.
In the 39th minute, Nicky Humphrey and Mark Lovell linked up well, with a neat one-two, which enabled Nicky to get to the by-line, but his cross was punched clear by the goalkeeper. In the 42nd minute, Jamie Riley got himself into a bit of trouble, under a high, hanging cross. He seemed to catch up with the ball just before it went behind for a goal-kick, but succeeded only in palming the ball down to the feet of a Walton & Hersham forward; the ball was played back to Jon Neal, who duly stuck the ball into the net, but the referee signalled for a corner, as the ball had already gone out of play. Still the danger wasn’t over for Ashford, as the resulting cross, from the left, found the head of a red-shirted player, unmarked in the middle of the penalty area, but Ryan Briggs was there to clear off the line, at the far post.
So 1-1 it was at half time, and this was just about a fair result, in spite of the home side having had a goal disallowed, and two shots cleared off the line.
The early minutes of the second half saw some rather disjointed play, with the flow of the game being interrupted by several off-sides – and soon the first of the forecast light rain began to fall.
The first noteworthy incident came in the 52nd minute, when a good one-two between Mitchell Sherwood and Mark Lovell enabled Mitch to have a run on goal, and he showed good strength to hold off a defender and make it to the by-line. Unfortunately, Mitch side-footed an attempted cross straight at the goalie. This was not the only example of good, slick passing by Ashford this afternoon, but they were quite often helped by some sloppy play from the Walton & Hersham back line. It was, however, left-winger Tom Carter who presented Sherwood with the ball, in the 53rd minute; he woefully fluffed his attempted backpass, putting the ball straight into his opponent’s path. Mitch cut inside, onto his left foot, and unleashed a firm shot, pretty much straight at the ‘keeper. Stroud seemed to have this effort well covered, and attempted a straightforward catch, but the ball slipped through his hands, and landed just the wrong (from Ashford’s point of view) side of the post.
Walton & Hersham’s reprieve didn’t last long, though, as Ashford took the lead in the 55th minute – and this was a candidate for Goal of the Season. Anthony Hogg helped the ball on, from midfield, into the path of Paul Jones, who was about 30 yards from goal, in the inside-right channel. In this position, Jonah is so good at holding the ball up, waiting for support – but on this occasion the ball sat up nicely, and he hit a diagonal shot which whistled past Richard Stroud, and into the net. It was a moment that had the small Ashford Town contingent in the main stand on their feet. It was only Paul’s fourth goal of the season, but it was worth waiting for – one worthy of being mentioned in the same breath as his screamer against D£££r on Boxing Day. Maybe it had something to do with the 700ml of Go Go Juice he drank before the match !
A minute later, Tom Carter – I can’t bring myself to refer to him as “Tommo”, which is how he’s described in the match day programme, as it reminds me too much of that embarrassing idiot on Channel Four Racing – tried a shot, from just outside the penalty area, which went straight to Jamie Riley. Then, five minutes later, Mitch Sherwood set the ball up for Mark Lovell, just outside The Swans’ area, but Mark’s shot careered high and wide of the target.
In truth, Ashford had looked the better side since going a goal down, early in the first half, so Walton & Hersham Manager Les Cleevely really had to change something, and did so, in the 64th minute, replacing Matt Martin with Liam Alleyne.
In the 67th minute, Paul Jones again showed that priceless ability he has to bully his marker, and presented himself with a one-on-one with the goalkeeper, simply by having the strength to turn and burst clear. Whilst that was impressive, the rest Jonah would probably like to forget – whilst he had plenty of time in which to decide how he was going to score, he dwelt for far too long, and Rob George was able to get back and put the ball behind for a corner.
Walton & Hersham strove hard for an equaliser, but, as the rain intensified, the pitch became increasingly difficult to play on, and this probably suited the visitors, who found it easier, in the conditions, to sit on a lead than the home side found it to chase the game. In the 69th minute, a Walton attack broke down, and a good move involving Jimmy Bottle, Mark Lovell and Paul Jones swept the ball to the other end of the pitch – but towering Swans’ skipper Aaron Nowacki put and end to the attack, at the expense of a corner.
After 72 minutes, Walton & Hersham took off striker Jon Neal, and replaced him with Will Jenkins. Shortly after, Steve Lovell made Ashford’s only substitution of the game, replacing his son, Mark, with Walid Matata. Mark did OK today. His hold-up and link-up play was good, and both he and Anthony Hogg probably played their best game for Ashford, of those that I’ve seen. The introduction of Walid always gets a cheer – and his appearance was marked with the first song from the travelling Ashford Choir: a rendition of “Walid Matata”, to the tune of that great Mario Lanza standard “La Donna e Mobile”. (We don’t have a tenor of Mario’s class, but we do have one member of the choir who looks like Mario the Plumber). The song I preferred was “What’s that coming over the hill ? Is it a monster ? No, it’s Matata”.
Walid was involved in the action within five minutes or so of coming on. It was in the 79th minute that Mitchell Sherwood won a corner, when his attempted cross was cut out by Robbie Watkins. Anthony Hogg took the corner, on the right, and found Walid beyond the far post – he nodded the ball back into the centre, but Aaron Nowacki was there to head clear.
A minute later, Walton & Hersham had a real chance to equalise. A good passing movement put Rob George through on goal, well inside the Ashford penalty area. Jamie Riley came out and saved well with his legs – the only meaningful save he was really called upon to make today. The ball broke to Julien Thompson, who tried, in vain, to turn and shoot, with the ball squeezing out to substitute Liam Alleyne, on the corner of the six-yard box. Sean Ray leaped across with a desperate saving tackle. It was a fair tackle, as he played the ball first, but, unfortunately, it left Alleyne in a crumpled heap on the ground, and in a fair bit of pain. There was a delay of a few minutes, as a stretcher was brought on and Alleyne was carried off with an ice pack strapped to his knee. The lad was later taken off to hospital, but our own Physio, Mo Alvi, reckons that it’s probably knee ligament damage, with nothing broken.
It was probably out of annoyance at the injury to his team-mate – and possibly a slight feeling of injustice at the appeals for a penalty being turned down – that Rob George steamed into Walid Matata with a late tackle, on the half-way line, in the 84th minute, and collected a quite unnecessary yellow card. As the referee was completing the paperwork for the booking, Walton & Hersham replaced the unfortunate Alleyne with Cedric Kabongo (the Slightly Silly candidate). This was the home side’s final substitution, which meant that David Banjo remained on the bench. This is a pity, as I was hoping for an excuse to tell the anecdote about a music-loving friend of mine (he was a drummer in a jazz band for years and years), who once asked me if I knew the difference between a ukulele and a banjo. “A banjo burns quicker !”, he said.
Back to some football, and the ball broke to Paul Jones, in the 86th minute, and, again seemingly from nothing, he was clean through, behind The Swans’ defence. He rounded the ‘keeper, and got to the by-line, and managed to put over a cross which virtually went along the goal line. Jimmy Bottle was arriving at the far post, but a defender somehow got his body between Jimmy and the ball, and kept the ball out.
As full-time approached, the home side’s defence got sloppier with possession, and, with 90 minutes on the clock, Robbie Watkins presented the ball to Paul Jones, when he should have made a routine clearance – but James Campbell nipped in and cleared the ball, to save his mate’s blushes. Ashford succeeded in frittering away much of the injury time that was played, by keeping the ball within a few inches of the corner flag, and the home side was not granted another opportunity to equalise. It was surprising that Referee Groves added only two minutes of injury time – and the irony was not lost on those of us who remember the previous occasion we played at Stompond Lane, when we were robbed of a priceless point in that season’s relegation battle, when our hosts equalised in the 97th minute ! On that day, I think the extra time played was merely an aberration by the referee.
Paul Jones thoroughly deserved his Man of the Match award, although Anthony Hogg was certainly a live candidate. I’d also like to mention Mitch Sherwood in dispatches, as he did a lot of good work up and down the right flank, particularly in his defensive role. Jonah is now clear, with three away-day MoM medals, in the contest for the Milton Keynes Bowl – his nearest pursuers are Jimmy Bottle, Nick Barnes, Danny Lye and Ryan Briggs, all with two. There are just three away matches remaining this season, assuming, of course, that we don’t have any play-offs at the end of the season. The situation now is that Ashford, in 12th position, are ten points adrift of fifth-placed Worthing (who we still have to play), and we have two games in hand of them. It’s a tall order, but it’s just enough within reach to keep us all interested.
Man of the Match
(to go towards the Milton Keynes Bowl)
Paul Jones
from Your Milton Keynes Correspondent
Ashford began the day on 44 league points, with ten games remaining – that’s a very significant figure, as it’s the total number of points we amassed during the whole of last season’s relegation-haunted campaign. How nice to approach the first fixtures of Spring with the unusual luxury of not having to worry about the possibility of life in the Kent League !
In fact, most issues in the division are now more or less settled: it looks pretty certain that we will lose Molesey and Horsham YMCA through the trap-door, Dover are all but Champions (dammit), and Cray Wanderers, Tooting & Mitcham and the Met Police are nailed on to be three of the four clubs fighting out the play-offs. Just the fourth play-off place to be decided, then, with Walton & Hersham just about on the edge of a cluster of half a dozen clubs in contention, being six points adrift of fifth-placed Worthing. (Mind you, a draw and a defeat against the division’s bottom two teams – Horsham YMCA and Molesey, respectively - in their last two games haven’t helped Walton’s cause).
And, if The Swans are to be described as still having a realistic shout for promotion, then something similar should be said about Ashford, who trailed today’s hosts by seven points, with two games in hand, this morning. So not a dead rubber by any means, and there was always the probability that defeat for either team today would effectively smother any lingering hopes they might have – with a draw also being of about as much use as a cat flap on a submarine to both teams, it was not surprising that we witnessed an entertaining match, with both sides showing plenty of desire to take all three points.
An additional incentive for Ashford Town was the opportunity to avenge the 1-3 defeat we suffered against The Swans just a few weeks ago. This was a surprising reverse, at the time, halting a good run of performances and results that Steve Lovell and his men had put together since Boxing Day. The main characteristic of that defeat was a fairly shambolic defensive display, in the absence of goalkeeper Jamie Riley and rock-like centre-half and captain Sean Ray. In that game, Nicky Humphrey was switched from right-back to central defence, with Tony Browne filling in at right-back – which is what Steve Lovell did as a reaction to Lee Hockey’s unavailability for the match at Eastbourne Town, and that resulted in Ashford’s second hapless defensive performance of 2008, (and a 4-1 shellacking). It was no surprise, therefore, that Steve opted to leave Nicky Humphrey at No.2 this afternoon, with the versatile Danny Lye playing alongside Sean Ray at the back – as he had done in the 1-0 victory at home to the Metropolitan Police, on Saturday. Lee Hockey was at Stompond Lane this afternoon, wearing a white plaster on his hooter, after his recent enforced nose job. He looked like something from “Extreme Makeover” – whatever that is !
The remainder of the Ashford line-up was as we have come to expect: Jamie Riley in goal; a back four of (from right to left) Nicky Humphrey, Sean Ray, Danny Lye and Daniel Brathwaite; a midfield quartet of Mitch Sherwood, Ryan Briggs, Anthony Hogg and Jimmy Bottle, with Paul Jones and Mark Lovell in attack. The substitutes bench also had a reassuringly familiar look about it, (with Lee Hockey currently being the only member of the first-team squad unavailable for selection): Tony Browne, Aron Freeman, Nick Barnes, Walid Matata and sub goalie Sam Moore.
This was only my second visit to Walton & Hersham FC – and it is no coincidence that it was also Ashford Town’s second visit here, and only the fifth match between the two teams EVER. I found this quite a staggering fact, given that these are two long-established non-league clubs in the South East of England, Walton & Hersham being able to trace their history back to 1896. The teams didn’t meet until 1969, when The Swans, who were reigning Champions of the Athenian league, came to Essella Park for an FA Cup 4th Qualifying Round tie. Ashford, then led by legendary Player-Manager Peter Sillett, went down 0-1, in front of a crowd of around 2,500 – which wasn’t a particularly unusual gate in those days. The only previous time that the two clubs have been in the same division was the 2004-5 season, when Walton beat us home and away, on the way to being promoted to the Premier Division, along with AFC Wimbledon – when Ashford came unacceptably close to slipping down to the Kent League. The Swans’ victory at The Homelands earlier in the year therefore made it a perfect record against us of four wins out of four, with an aggregate score of seven goals to two.
With Walton & Hersham being one of the bigger clubs in the division – on a par with the likes of Tooting & Mitcham and Dulwich Hamlet – it was no surprise that they have a decent-sized ground. The main stand is one of the larger ones on the circuit, with spectators having an elevated view of proceedings. Much of the seating is this stand is in the form of a pair of wooden slats, worn smooth by many bums, which are surprisingly comfortable – but it is the fact that some of this wooden “seating” still has rather aged plastic seats attached to it that suggests that this wasn’t necessarily the original plan. On the far side, there is terracing, several steps deep, which is covered by a stand which, impressively, extends for the whole length of the pitch. But the slightly unusual feature of the Sports Ground at Stompond Lane is that it is surrounded by a six-lane athletics track – the football club shares this Council-owned facility with Walton Athletics Club. This explains the athletics paraphernalia on view – shot putt netting, high jump mattress etc. At one end of the ground, there is more terracing, which curves around Lane 6, and beyond this there is what looks like a large, inflated tent, which I assume is an indoor training or sports facility of some sort.
All in all, the ground gives the impression of being able to comfortably accommodate a large crowd, and that it is inhabited by a big club at this level. For all that, I still found it to be a cozy, friendly place, with the bar and boardroom housed in two converted bungalows. Sadly, though, interest in the old club locally has dwindled to the extent that its average gate so far this season is a paltry 136 – only Chipstead, Molesey, Croydon Athletic and Walton Casuals currently have a lower average league gate than this. Today’s attendance was 125 – and that was boosted by a fair sprinkling of Ashford fans, the noisiest being a small “kop” of eight, occupying the terracing on the far side, level with the penalty area being defended by the home side.
For the first time this year, the temperature was mercifully mild, at 13ºC, but it was cloudy, with “occasional showers” forecast – the High Street was still wet and puddled from a recent downpour when we drove through Weybridge.
Playing in the all-yellow strip, and a disciplined 4-4-2 formation, Ashford started brightly enough. Paul Jones set Jimmy Bottle off down the left flank, in the opening seconds, but Jimmy put his cross, disappointingly, straight into the hands of Richard Stroud, making only his ninth appearance for Walton & Hersham, this afternoon. A Ryan Briggs corner, in the eighth minute, came to nothing, as did a Briggs free-kick from the right touchline, in the tenth minute – but the home side was able to counter-attack straight away. The kick from Stroud, with the breeze behind him, went deep into the Ashford half of the field, all the way to No.9 Jon Neal; he set the ball up for Matt Martin, whose low shot went wide of Jamie Riley’s left-hand post.
The home side, which I expect is the only football team to both be nicknamed “The Swans”, and play in all red – the colours are, I understand, an historical deference to Liverpool FC – now began to exert a great deal of pressure on the Ashford goal. In the twelfth minute, good, sharp passing between Julien Thompson and Rob George, in the Ashford penalty area, left Sean Ray looking hopefully for the Lino’s flag – which remained at his side – and set up a clear chance for Jon Neal. Whilst Neal’s shot was well struck, Daniel Brathwaite was there to save on the goal line. Shortly after this, a late tackle by Sean Ray on Julien Thompson, right on the edge of the penalty area, gave Adam Moriarty a free-kick opportunity – but Ray it was who then headed clear.
The Ashford skipper was very much involved with the Walton & Hersham goal, in the 14th minute. First, as Moriarty floated a free-kick into the Ashford penalty area, Ray headed the ball behind to safety, at the expense of a corner, on the left. Moriarty again took the kick, curling the ball into the heart of the Ashford area. Razor was first to the ball, but, facing his own goal, from about six yards out, probably tried to steer the ball wide, for another corner – but succeeded instead in side-footing the ball into the corner of the net. 1-0 to The Reds.
Ashford’s first clear-cut chance came in the 18th minute. A good cross from Jimmy Bottle, on the left wing, was well controlled by Mitch Sherwood, in the middle of the Walton penalty area, on his chest. Mitch took another deft touch, with his left foot, and then let fly with a firm shot, which looked like it was heading for the roof of the net before it struck Paul Jones on the back and popped over the bar.
The equaliser wasn’t long in coming, though. A long kick by Jamie Riley, in the 20th minute, aimed at the far left corner flag, was missed by Swans’ defender Robbie Watkins, but was well controlled by Paul Jones. Jonah’s chipped cross found Jimmy Bottle, in the centre; Jimmy set the ball up for Anthony Hogg, who was waiting just outside the penalty area; Hoggy took one touch, and then planted a low shot into the corner of the net. This was Anthony’s first goal for the Club, in the 612th minute of his Ashford career – and so he became our 14th individual scorer this season.
Strangely, or maybe because he was suddenly inspired by the scoring of the goal, Hogg almost doubled his season’s total, just four minutes later. He got up well, above his marker, to meet a Ryan Briggs cross, which came in from the left, and his looping header appeared to be dropping over Stroud’s head, and into the net, but the ‘keeper managed to finger-tip the ball onto his crossbar. The rebound fell to Mark Lovell, but he was swamped by the Walton & Hersham defence before he could knock the ball into the net.
Both sides looked dangerous when going forward, and there were chances at both ends before the end of the first half. In the 31st minute, it was that man Hogg, again in a forward position, who turned and shot, from just outside the area, but his left-footed effort grubbed along the ground, and went wide of the post. Four minutes later, it was The Swans on the attack, and a cross from the right flank found Jon Neal, in a central position, about eight yards out. Neal was unable to direct his header on target, but the worrying thing was that he was conspicuously unmarked.
In the 39th minute, Nicky Humphrey and Mark Lovell linked up well, with a neat one-two, which enabled Nicky to get to the by-line, but his cross was punched clear by the goalkeeper. In the 42nd minute, Jamie Riley got himself into a bit of trouble, under a high, hanging cross. He seemed to catch up with the ball just before it went behind for a goal-kick, but succeeded only in palming the ball down to the feet of a Walton & Hersham forward; the ball was played back to Jon Neal, who duly stuck the ball into the net, but the referee signalled for a corner, as the ball had already gone out of play. Still the danger wasn’t over for Ashford, as the resulting cross, from the left, found the head of a red-shirted player, unmarked in the middle of the penalty area, but Ryan Briggs was there to clear off the line, at the far post.
So 1-1 it was at half time, and this was just about a fair result, in spite of the home side having had a goal disallowed, and two shots cleared off the line.
The early minutes of the second half saw some rather disjointed play, with the flow of the game being interrupted by several off-sides – and soon the first of the forecast light rain began to fall.
The first noteworthy incident came in the 52nd minute, when a good one-two between Mitchell Sherwood and Mark Lovell enabled Mitch to have a run on goal, and he showed good strength to hold off a defender and make it to the by-line. Unfortunately, Mitch side-footed an attempted cross straight at the goalie. This was not the only example of good, slick passing by Ashford this afternoon, but they were quite often helped by some sloppy play from the Walton & Hersham back line. It was, however, left-winger Tom Carter who presented Sherwood with the ball, in the 53rd minute; he woefully fluffed his attempted backpass, putting the ball straight into his opponent’s path. Mitch cut inside, onto his left foot, and unleashed a firm shot, pretty much straight at the ‘keeper. Stroud seemed to have this effort well covered, and attempted a straightforward catch, but the ball slipped through his hands, and landed just the wrong (from Ashford’s point of view) side of the post.
Walton & Hersham’s reprieve didn’t last long, though, as Ashford took the lead in the 55th minute – and this was a candidate for Goal of the Season. Anthony Hogg helped the ball on, from midfield, into the path of Paul Jones, who was about 30 yards from goal, in the inside-right channel. In this position, Jonah is so good at holding the ball up, waiting for support – but on this occasion the ball sat up nicely, and he hit a diagonal shot which whistled past Richard Stroud, and into the net. It was a moment that had the small Ashford Town contingent in the main stand on their feet. It was only Paul’s fourth goal of the season, but it was worth waiting for – one worthy of being mentioned in the same breath as his screamer against D£££r on Boxing Day. Maybe it had something to do with the 700ml of Go Go Juice he drank before the match !
A minute later, Tom Carter – I can’t bring myself to refer to him as “Tommo”, which is how he’s described in the match day programme, as it reminds me too much of that embarrassing idiot on Channel Four Racing – tried a shot, from just outside the penalty area, which went straight to Jamie Riley. Then, five minutes later, Mitch Sherwood set the ball up for Mark Lovell, just outside The Swans’ area, but Mark’s shot careered high and wide of the target.
In truth, Ashford had looked the better side since going a goal down, early in the first half, so Walton & Hersham Manager Les Cleevely really had to change something, and did so, in the 64th minute, replacing Matt Martin with Liam Alleyne.
In the 67th minute, Paul Jones again showed that priceless ability he has to bully his marker, and presented himself with a one-on-one with the goalkeeper, simply by having the strength to turn and burst clear. Whilst that was impressive, the rest Jonah would probably like to forget – whilst he had plenty of time in which to decide how he was going to score, he dwelt for far too long, and Rob George was able to get back and put the ball behind for a corner.
Walton & Hersham strove hard for an equaliser, but, as the rain intensified, the pitch became increasingly difficult to play on, and this probably suited the visitors, who found it easier, in the conditions, to sit on a lead than the home side found it to chase the game. In the 69th minute, a Walton attack broke down, and a good move involving Jimmy Bottle, Mark Lovell and Paul Jones swept the ball to the other end of the pitch – but towering Swans’ skipper Aaron Nowacki put and end to the attack, at the expense of a corner.
After 72 minutes, Walton & Hersham took off striker Jon Neal, and replaced him with Will Jenkins. Shortly after, Steve Lovell made Ashford’s only substitution of the game, replacing his son, Mark, with Walid Matata. Mark did OK today. His hold-up and link-up play was good, and both he and Anthony Hogg probably played their best game for Ashford, of those that I’ve seen. The introduction of Walid always gets a cheer – and his appearance was marked with the first song from the travelling Ashford Choir: a rendition of “Walid Matata”, to the tune of that great Mario Lanza standard “La Donna e Mobile”. (We don’t have a tenor of Mario’s class, but we do have one member of the choir who looks like Mario the Plumber). The song I preferred was “What’s that coming over the hill ? Is it a monster ? No, it’s Matata”.
Walid was involved in the action within five minutes or so of coming on. It was in the 79th minute that Mitchell Sherwood won a corner, when his attempted cross was cut out by Robbie Watkins. Anthony Hogg took the corner, on the right, and found Walid beyond the far post – he nodded the ball back into the centre, but Aaron Nowacki was there to head clear.
A minute later, Walton & Hersham had a real chance to equalise. A good passing movement put Rob George through on goal, well inside the Ashford penalty area. Jamie Riley came out and saved well with his legs – the only meaningful save he was really called upon to make today. The ball broke to Julien Thompson, who tried, in vain, to turn and shoot, with the ball squeezing out to substitute Liam Alleyne, on the corner of the six-yard box. Sean Ray leaped across with a desperate saving tackle. It was a fair tackle, as he played the ball first, but, unfortunately, it left Alleyne in a crumpled heap on the ground, and in a fair bit of pain. There was a delay of a few minutes, as a stretcher was brought on and Alleyne was carried off with an ice pack strapped to his knee. The lad was later taken off to hospital, but our own Physio, Mo Alvi, reckons that it’s probably knee ligament damage, with nothing broken.
It was probably out of annoyance at the injury to his team-mate – and possibly a slight feeling of injustice at the appeals for a penalty being turned down – that Rob George steamed into Walid Matata with a late tackle, on the half-way line, in the 84th minute, and collected a quite unnecessary yellow card. As the referee was completing the paperwork for the booking, Walton & Hersham replaced the unfortunate Alleyne with Cedric Kabongo (the Slightly Silly candidate). This was the home side’s final substitution, which meant that David Banjo remained on the bench. This is a pity, as I was hoping for an excuse to tell the anecdote about a music-loving friend of mine (he was a drummer in a jazz band for years and years), who once asked me if I knew the difference between a ukulele and a banjo. “A banjo burns quicker !”, he said.
Back to some football, and the ball broke to Paul Jones, in the 86th minute, and, again seemingly from nothing, he was clean through, behind The Swans’ defence. He rounded the ‘keeper, and got to the by-line, and managed to put over a cross which virtually went along the goal line. Jimmy Bottle was arriving at the far post, but a defender somehow got his body between Jimmy and the ball, and kept the ball out.
As full-time approached, the home side’s defence got sloppier with possession, and, with 90 minutes on the clock, Robbie Watkins presented the ball to Paul Jones, when he should have made a routine clearance – but James Campbell nipped in and cleared the ball, to save his mate’s blushes. Ashford succeeded in frittering away much of the injury time that was played, by keeping the ball within a few inches of the corner flag, and the home side was not granted another opportunity to equalise. It was surprising that Referee Groves added only two minutes of injury time – and the irony was not lost on those of us who remember the previous occasion we played at Stompond Lane, when we were robbed of a priceless point in that season’s relegation battle, when our hosts equalised in the 97th minute ! On that day, I think the extra time played was merely an aberration by the referee.
Paul Jones thoroughly deserved his Man of the Match award, although Anthony Hogg was certainly a live candidate. I’d also like to mention Mitch Sherwood in dispatches, as he did a lot of good work up and down the right flank, particularly in his defensive role. Jonah is now clear, with three away-day MoM medals, in the contest for the Milton Keynes Bowl – his nearest pursuers are Jimmy Bottle, Nick Barnes, Danny Lye and Ryan Briggs, all with two. There are just three away matches remaining this season, assuming, of course, that we don’t have any play-offs at the end of the season. The situation now is that Ashford, in 12th position, are ten points adrift of fifth-placed Worthing (who we still have to play), and we have two games in hand of them. It’s a tall order, but it’s just enough within reach to keep us all interested.
Man of the Match
(to go towards the Milton Keynes Bowl)
Paul Jones
Sunday 2 March 2008
Eastbourne Town v Ashford Town. Ryman Division One South. 1st of March 2008.
Eastbourne Town 4 Ashford Town 1
from Your Milton Keynes Correspondent
This was our first visit to Eastbourne Town FC, today’s hosts having been promoted as champions of the Sussex County League last season. But it wasn’t my first visit to the ground – The Saffrons – a well-known sporting venue which also used to host county cricket matches. I remember toddling off there in my youth, taking a train from Ashford, to see Kent play Sussex. One match that sticks in the mind included a savage century by Chris Cowdrey. I recall him bringing up his hundred by smashing the ball to the boundary. The ball went like a rocket, skimming along the green outfield. Once the generous applause had died down, I heard some old-timer, at the back, say: “Of course, his old man would have STROKED the ball to the boundary”. I felt sorry for the lad. What more could he do ?
I wonder if Mark Lovell ever feels the weight of his father’s shadow ? I wouldn’t put the Lovells in the same league as the Cowdrey Dynasty, but it’s true that Mark’s father, Steve, was a prolific striker for Gillingham, in the football league, as well as for Ashford, late in his career. Watching Mark play this season, I’ve often had the impression that he’s been over-shadowed enough by the excellent Paul Jones. One might compare it to seeing Tom Hanks resemble a piece of wood when on the same set as Sir Ian McKellern, (a proper actor). In every game I’ve seen, in which the pair have played, Paul Jones has looked comfortably the best striker on the pitch, with Mark barely noticeable.
But hang on a minute. Let’s look at the statistics - which never lie, of course (!?!). Let’s look at Mark’s excellent strike-rate of a goal every 178 minutes, which is second only to that of George Fenwick (a goal every 177 minutes), of the strikers who have played for Ashford in the past three seasons. Walid Matata isn’t that far behind, with a goal every 204 minutes in his Ashford career, but Jonah currently has the surprisingly modest return of a goal every 291 minutes, which is only slightly better than the strike-rate of midfielders Jimmy Bottle (304) and Danny Lye (308). So what does this tell us ? It certainly confirms that Lovesy knows where the goal is – and he is our joint-top goal-scorer this season, along with Walid, with seven goals, (although Mark has actually scored twelve times, including the five he scored for Dover). Another way of rationalising these figures is to point out that strikers tend to hunt in pairs, and Paul Jones has already acknowledged, in an interview, that he and Mark are developing a good playing relationship.
I must remember to try to use Eastbourne Town’s full name, given that there are no fewer than three teams in Eastbourne, the others being Eastbourne Borough, second in the Conference South, at the time of writing, and Eastbourne United Association, of the Sussex County League. Founded in 1881, Town is actually the oldest of the three. In fact, it is the oldest senior football club in Sussex. This creates a little coincidence, as Ashford’s next match will be against the oldest club in Kent - Cray Wanderers, (which is actually the second-oldest football club anywhere in the world, for that matter).
It’s been a fairly tough first season at Ryman League level for Eastbourne Town. At the start of today’s match, they were third from bottom, with 30 points from 31 games, having suffered their 15th league defeat of the season on Wednesday, at home to Chipstead – but, with Horsham YMCA seven points behind them, and bottom-placed Molesey a further nine points adrift, it seems unlikely that relegation will be an issue for them. With today’s three points lifting them up to fifth from bottom, they’re all but safe.
I’m actually quite pleased that we’ll be returning to The Saffrons next season, as I enjoyed my visit today. After a gruelling three-hour drive from Bedfordshire, it was a relief to find that there was a spacious bar available, with a kitchen that served proper food, and decent tea in china mugs. Our hosts should also be applauded for their excellent VFM – “That’s Value For Money”, as Jimmy Young used to say. Admission was only £5, the programme was £1 and we had two hot meals and a large mug of tea for £7. But the best thing about The Saffrons Bar today, though, was that it was awash with green & white-clad Ashford Town supporters, who swelled the attendance to a very respectable 228, and who, quite frankly, deserved a better performance from the playing staff this afternoon.
With this vast green area also accommodating hockey, cricket and croquet - (yes – croquet) – the footy pitch is at the Saffrons Road end of the complex. It’s probably unique in as much as it is the only football ground I have visited that has no seated accommodation at all for spectators. The only shelter to speak of is provided by a stand, which extends for the width of the pitch, that covers a narrow ribbon of terracing behind one goal. At the other end, there are cricket nets, whilst the sides of the pitch are bordered by a 6ft-high fence, which at least protected watchers from the strong, blustery wind today. The best feature of The Saffrons, however, is that it is easily the most picturesque ground in our division, having Eastbourne Town Hall, with its clock tower, the Law Courts and some beautiful and pricey-looking houses as a backdrop. I must say that, compared with the pallets and roll cages of Sittingbourne, and the huge fuel tanks of Ashford Town (Middx), it was like watching a game with the Taj Mahal in the background !
I’d like to describe the town centre of Eastbourne a little more, and give a fuller description of the chicken tikka curry I had for dinner – because it would delay having to mention the football. This was a puzzlingly poor performance by Ashford, and one that none of us had expected. The back four – normally very solid since the turn of the year – took turns in presenting Eastbourne Town with goals, with sloppy errors, (and the home side was actually quite impressive in punishing them each time). In spite of having plenty of possession, and applying plenty of pressure on the home goal, Ashford never caused Eastbourne’s goalie, Greg Nessling, to make a save during the match – when we did eventually score, it was a rubbish goal, and, on the only other occasion that Nessling was beaten, the ball struck an Eastbourne defender on the line. Jamie Riley also failed to make a save – oh, there was the one occasion, but the centre-forward nodded in the rebound.
It would be very tempting to write this off as just a “very bad day at the office”, during which the defence got all their errors out of their system in one go. I’m not so sure. What worries me is the similarity between today’s performance and a previous capitulation this year, at home to Walton & Hersham (which I didn’t see). What these two games had in common was the reshuffling of the defence, with Nicky Humphrey – excellent at right-back for the whole season – moving to centre-half, and Tony Browne coming in on the right. I fear the resulting shambles might not have been a coincidence.
The reason for today’s changes at the back was Lee Hockey’s absence, due to having an operation on his nose, which was broken at Burgess Hill. This meant that the back four (in a 4-4-2 formation), from right to left, read Browne, Humphrey, Ray (capt.) and Brathwaite. Jimmy Bottle was unavailable today, so Danny Lye retained the No.11 shirt, on the left side of midfield, with Anthony Hogg and Ryan Briggs in the centre, and Mitchell Sherwood on the right. With Paul Jones still out with a hamstring tear, and Rob Denness having now returned to Chatham Town, we’re left with just the two strikers in the first team squad – Walid Matata and Mark Lovell – which meant that Scott Penfold was called up from the Reserves to do some bench duty. It actually got better than that for young Scott, as Walid was a victim of train cancellations during his journey from London, so Ashford started with the front pairing of Penfold and Lovell – much to the delight of many of the travelling supporters, who have heard so much about the talent that is ripening nicely in the Reserves squad.
Scott was joined on the trip by Neil Manning, who has been impressing people with his performances in goal for the Ressies, with Sam Moore, who has previously acted as Jamie Riley’s under-study, playing today in the Reserves’ 1-2 defeat at home to Tunbridge Wells Reserves. Also on the Ashford bench were Aron Freeman, Nick Barnes and Walid Matata (who arrived just before kick-off). It was also good to see Paul Jones joining the lads on the bench, although there was no question of him being named as a sub. Jonah reckons that his hamstring has healed extremely well, and expects to be fit to return to action next Saturday, at home to the Met Police, with an outside chance that he might be OK to line up against Cray Wanderers on Tuesday. He was very generous in his praise for Club Physio Mo Alvi, who has done a great job in helping him back to fitness. The fact that Mo is a first class physiotherapist, and not just a man with a wet sponge, is one of many good things that the Club has going for it at the moment, and is one that is seldom mentioned.
Before Eastbourne scored, (in the 14th minute), things were looking OK. Ashford, playing in green & white, in deference to the home side’s strip of yellow shirts and royal blue shorts and sockies, passed the ball around, on an undulating and rather bumpy pitch, and had most of the possession during this period. Scott Penfold looked pretty much the part, on his debut – never coming across as a boy amongst men. Scott actually had a half-chance, as early as the second minute, when Mitch Sherwood fed a ball through to him, in the inside-right position. Scott’s cross-cum-shot went just over the bar, drawing an encouraging “oooooooo” from the noisy Ashford fans behind the goal.
So it was in the 14th minute that the St David’s Day massacre really began. Eastbourne’s opening goal was a swift and incisive blow. From Greg Nessling’s kick-out, the ball went straight to Gary Brockwell, in space, on the left flank. He cut inside, and drilled a right-foot shot into the far corner of the net. It found the seam of the net so precisely that it pinged straight out again, but the officials couldn’t help noticing that it had gone in ! I’ll hold my hands up, as I often do, and admit that I don’t know enough about football to judge the extent to which this was a brilliant piece of play by Brockwell, and the extent to which the full-back was at fault – but my instinct tells me that anyone with a coaching badge would point the finger at the Browne Dog, and say that he should’ve done better.
Eastbourne Town went 2-0 up after 20 minutes, (shortly after Mitch Sherwood was, rather harshly, I thought, booked for a late, but honest, tackle). This time, it was no surprise that it was the prolific Liam Baitup who got the goal. Baitup had scored 16 of his team’s 40 league goals, before today’s match, and looked an accomplished poacher this afternoon. (He was playing up front on his own this afternoon – so it was a bloody good job that Eastbourne didn’t play with two strikers !). The goal can really be attributed to a Nicky Humphrey gaff. Running back towards his own goal, trying to deal with a bouncing ball, Nicky chose the correct option in attempting to nod the ball back to Jamie Riley – but his header was woefully short, falling into the path of the ever-alert Baitup, who had no hesitation in smashing the ball into the net, with all the instinctive confidence of an in-form goal-scorer.
Humphrey did much better, two minutes later, when Simon Catt attempted to pounce on a long, lobbed ball, into the Ashford penalty area. Nicky got there ahead of him, and nodded the ball behind for a corner.
There were half-chances at both ends during the next ten minutes. First, Anthony Hogg had a weak shot, from outside the penalty area, which trickled wide, in the 26th minute; then Eastbourne’s Luke Denton pulled a shot well wide of goal, in the 29th minute. As the clock in the Town Hall chimed for 3.30pm, Ryan Briggs launched a long ball forward to Mark Lovell, in the inside-right channel, finding the ex-Dover striker in the penalty area – but the ball seemed to stick under Mark’s feet like a piece of chewing gum, and so ended his only note-worthy contribution of the afternoon.
The home side came a lot closer, in the 37th minute. Again, it was Gary Brockwell on the left wing, attacking Tony Browne, at pace. Brockwell unleashed a firm shot, which flew across the face of the Ashford goal. Jamie Riley watched the ball go past, but Liam Baitup probably wasn’t far away with an attempted diving header at the far post.
Ashford desperately needed a goal before half time, to get themselves into the game, and there was no shortage of attacking intent, with a sprinkling of corners and free-kicks. Tony Browne pushed forward, down the right, whenever possible. In the 39th minute, the Browne Dog led an attack, and his cross broke to Anthony Hogg, who pulled a shot, from outside the area, wide. In the 42nd minute, Daniel Brathwaite launched a long throw into the Eastbourne Town area, (in the absence of usual long-throw specialist Lee Hockey). The home defence failed to clear the ball, but Ashford also failed to get in a meaningful shot.
Shortly after, in the 43rd minute, the next defensive cock-up occurred, and it was once again an unforced error by an individual – this time it was Daniel Brathwaite. Daniel’s attempted upfield pass, from a couple of yards inside his own half, was charged down by Liam Baitup, who was suddenly all on his own, inside the Ashford area and behind the visitors’ defence. I began to text the message “3-0”, expecting Baitup to convert this one-on-one opportunity with ease, and it was probably the biggest surprise of the afternoon when he curled his effort just high and wide of the goal. So 2-0 at half time it was, but it should have been worse.
Steve Lovell’s response was to make a double-substitution at the start of the second half. He replaced Scott Penfold with Walid Matata, so ending Scott’s first-team adventure, and Anthony Hogg with Nick Barnes. (Hoggy came to Ashford from Sittingbourne with a considerable reputation, but I’ve yet to see him put in a telling performance). Barnesy took up a position on the right side of the midfield quartet, with Danny Lye moving into the centre and Mitch Sherwood switching to the left.
Ashford certainly made a bright, attacking start to the second period. Almost immediately, Mitch sent in a right-footed cross, from the left, and found Walid Matata, in the penalty area – but Walid’s shot was blocked, and went behind for a corner. Ryan Briggs delivered the cross, from the left, but Nessling made a good catch. In the 48th minute, Briggs took a corner on the right, but Walid Matata couldn’t quite rise high enough, and the ball merely skimmed off the top of his head.
Any hopes of an Ashford comeback were effectively snuffed out as early as the 51st minute, when a mistake by skipper Sean Ray enabled the home side to go 3-0 up, sapping any remaining morale in the process. Facing his own goal, and under pressure from Liam Baitup, Sean made what appeared to be an accomplished turn, which he often does so effectively – but this time Baitup robbed him of the ball, and squared it to John Piercy, on the edge of the area. Jamie Riley got plenty on Piercy’s low shot, but the ball forced its way under Jamie’s body, and into the net.
Two minutes later, Razor attempted to make amends for his error, when rising well to meet Ryan Briggs’s corner, from the right, but his header went well over the bar. Then, in the 54th minute, we witnessed another great piece of skill from Baitup. Coming deep to collect a forward pass from his defence, and closely marked by Nicky Humphrey, Baitup actually stepped over the ball, with Nicky buying the freehold on the dummy, in full and up front. As the defender let out a heart-felt cry of anguish, John Piercy was away, down the left wing. He bore down on the Ashford goal, into the penalty area, creating a clear-cut chance for a left-foot shot, but instead attempted something elaborate with his right, and poked the ball wide.
On the hour mark, a foul on Ryan Briggs gave the visitors an opportunity with a free-kick, a little way outside the penalty area. Nick Barnes went for goal with this, but his shot was deflected off the Eastbourne wall, and went behind for a corner. Again it was Ryan Briggs with the kick, which was headed clear, but only as far as Mitch Sherwood, on the edge of the area, whose well-struck shot beat Greg Nessling, but hit a yellow-shirted defender, on the line. The rebound popped up into the ‘keeper’s hands – which rather confirmed that it wasn’t going to be Ashford’s day today. Just a minute later, Ashford had another free-kick, just outside the area – a little closer to goal than the previous one – and this was taken by Ryan Briggs. This was actually a good effort by Ryan, but went just over the bar, meaning that the midfielder is still yet to open his account for Ashford.
We then had a lighter moment, in the 62nd minute. With Aron Freeman preparing to come on as Ashford’s third, and final, substitute, the “11” number board was held aloft. Mitch Sherwood dutifully trooped off towards the touchline, and was almost within hand-shaking distance of Freeman when he realised that he was wearing the No.7 shirt this afternoon ! So it was Danny Lye who was replaced, with Aron making a very welcome return to the side, after his groin injury and operation. He took up a position on the left of midfield, with Mitch going over to the left and Nick Barnes switching to the centre.
Aron always looks a quality player on the ball, but it wasn’t long before he was involved in yet another embarrassing mix-up at the back for Ashford. He and Daniel Brathwaite rather got in each other’s way, on the left edge of the penalty area, when in possession, and the ball broke to John Piercy. Piercy’s shot was actually saved by Jamie Riley, but the ball popped up in the air, and the prowling Liam Baitup was there to head it home, from close range. Unbelievably, it was now 4-0 to the team just one place above the relegation zone.
However, there was still one positive to be drawn out, even in this dark hour – the fair-sized knot of Ashford supporters behind the goal continued to sing. I suppose it’s possible to point to alcohol as being chiefly responsible for this unquenchable spirit, but I also reckon it’s a sure sign that there is nothing, absolutely nothing, that can dampen the spirits of the Town’s fans in this new world of boundless hope and optimism.
Eastbourne made their first substitution, in the 72nd minute, when Nima Cham was sent on in place of Simon Catt. Nicky Humphrey was yellow-carded for a foul in the centre circle, in the 79th minute, as Ashford’s players generally started to get tetchy, and argumentative with Referee “Ruth” Rendell – and then we got a consolation goal, in the 81st minute. Today, it seems, it was inevitable that this was going to be a crap goal. Aron Freeman won a corner, on the left, and Ryan Briggs swung a cross in, right under Greg Nessling’s crossbar. Walid Matata and Nicky Humphrey somehow managed to bundle the ball over the line, with Nicky just about getting the final touch, and being credited with his second goal of the season. This was the signal for Eastbourne’s John Piercy to be replaced by Peter Cooper – but this was hardly a panic measure. For the record, the home side made their final substitution, with a minute of normal time to go, when Liam Baitup made way for Steven Dallaway, but this was merely so that Baitup could receive some sort of ovation for his efforts.
Ryan Briggs had a couple of long-range shots – one in the 83rd minute, which went wide after a slight deflection, and one in the dying seconds, which he ballooned over the bar – and then the pain was over, as the ref blew the final whistle.
So it was a miserable March the 1st for Swansea-born Steve Lovell – and I’d better not grass him up by saying that he admitted to not knowing it was St David’s Day, as they’ll never let him back in to the Land of his Fathers ! Things might get more miserable for Steve if the lads play the same way against Cray Wanderers next Tuesday, as they’ll get the Mother of all shellackings. Cray extended their unbeaten run in the league to twenty games this afternoon, and are absolutely flying, playing some great football. Mr Lovell has been quoted as saying, on a couple of occasions recently, that he can see some team getting a good hiding soon. Another performance like the one we saw today, and it’ll be us ! (On the other hand, if our lads can play anywhere near as well as they did at Hayes Lane, earlier in the season, when we beat them 2-5, then it’s going to be a cracking match !).
There were few candidates for the Man of the Match medal among the Ashford team this afternoon, but it seemed a fairly straightforward decision to give it to Ryan Briggs. He at least showed some quality throughout the 90 minutes, running whatever show there was, in central midfield. More importantly, he gave his all, and was never tempted to hide. It’s actually quite tight for the Milton Keynes Bowl now. With four away trips still to come, there are now five players with two MoM awards in away games this season: Ryan Briggs, Jimmy Bottle, Nick Barnes, Paul Jones and Danny Lye. There are four men with one medal: Jamie Riley, Nicky Humphrey, Aron Freeman and Lee Hockey; (players who leave the Club before the end of the season, such as Rob Denness and Barry Gardner, become ineligible for The Bowl). There is a “tie breaker” already in place – in the event of a tie, the end-of-season award will go to the player appearing on the pitch for the most minutes, which puts Jimmy Bottle currently in pole position.
Man of the Match
(to go towards the Milton Keynes Bowl)
Ryan Briggs
from Your Milton Keynes Correspondent
This was our first visit to Eastbourne Town FC, today’s hosts having been promoted as champions of the Sussex County League last season. But it wasn’t my first visit to the ground – The Saffrons – a well-known sporting venue which also used to host county cricket matches. I remember toddling off there in my youth, taking a train from Ashford, to see Kent play Sussex. One match that sticks in the mind included a savage century by Chris Cowdrey. I recall him bringing up his hundred by smashing the ball to the boundary. The ball went like a rocket, skimming along the green outfield. Once the generous applause had died down, I heard some old-timer, at the back, say: “Of course, his old man would have STROKED the ball to the boundary”. I felt sorry for the lad. What more could he do ?
I wonder if Mark Lovell ever feels the weight of his father’s shadow ? I wouldn’t put the Lovells in the same league as the Cowdrey Dynasty, but it’s true that Mark’s father, Steve, was a prolific striker for Gillingham, in the football league, as well as for Ashford, late in his career. Watching Mark play this season, I’ve often had the impression that he’s been over-shadowed enough by the excellent Paul Jones. One might compare it to seeing Tom Hanks resemble a piece of wood when on the same set as Sir Ian McKellern, (a proper actor). In every game I’ve seen, in which the pair have played, Paul Jones has looked comfortably the best striker on the pitch, with Mark barely noticeable.
But hang on a minute. Let’s look at the statistics - which never lie, of course (!?!). Let’s look at Mark’s excellent strike-rate of a goal every 178 minutes, which is second only to that of George Fenwick (a goal every 177 minutes), of the strikers who have played for Ashford in the past three seasons. Walid Matata isn’t that far behind, with a goal every 204 minutes in his Ashford career, but Jonah currently has the surprisingly modest return of a goal every 291 minutes, which is only slightly better than the strike-rate of midfielders Jimmy Bottle (304) and Danny Lye (308). So what does this tell us ? It certainly confirms that Lovesy knows where the goal is – and he is our joint-top goal-scorer this season, along with Walid, with seven goals, (although Mark has actually scored twelve times, including the five he scored for Dover). Another way of rationalising these figures is to point out that strikers tend to hunt in pairs, and Paul Jones has already acknowledged, in an interview, that he and Mark are developing a good playing relationship.
I must remember to try to use Eastbourne Town’s full name, given that there are no fewer than three teams in Eastbourne, the others being Eastbourne Borough, second in the Conference South, at the time of writing, and Eastbourne United Association, of the Sussex County League. Founded in 1881, Town is actually the oldest of the three. In fact, it is the oldest senior football club in Sussex. This creates a little coincidence, as Ashford’s next match will be against the oldest club in Kent - Cray Wanderers, (which is actually the second-oldest football club anywhere in the world, for that matter).
It’s been a fairly tough first season at Ryman League level for Eastbourne Town. At the start of today’s match, they were third from bottom, with 30 points from 31 games, having suffered their 15th league defeat of the season on Wednesday, at home to Chipstead – but, with Horsham YMCA seven points behind them, and bottom-placed Molesey a further nine points adrift, it seems unlikely that relegation will be an issue for them. With today’s three points lifting them up to fifth from bottom, they’re all but safe.
I’m actually quite pleased that we’ll be returning to The Saffrons next season, as I enjoyed my visit today. After a gruelling three-hour drive from Bedfordshire, it was a relief to find that there was a spacious bar available, with a kitchen that served proper food, and decent tea in china mugs. Our hosts should also be applauded for their excellent VFM – “That’s Value For Money”, as Jimmy Young used to say. Admission was only £5, the programme was £1 and we had two hot meals and a large mug of tea for £7. But the best thing about The Saffrons Bar today, though, was that it was awash with green & white-clad Ashford Town supporters, who swelled the attendance to a very respectable 228, and who, quite frankly, deserved a better performance from the playing staff this afternoon.
With this vast green area also accommodating hockey, cricket and croquet - (yes – croquet) – the footy pitch is at the Saffrons Road end of the complex. It’s probably unique in as much as it is the only football ground I have visited that has no seated accommodation at all for spectators. The only shelter to speak of is provided by a stand, which extends for the width of the pitch, that covers a narrow ribbon of terracing behind one goal. At the other end, there are cricket nets, whilst the sides of the pitch are bordered by a 6ft-high fence, which at least protected watchers from the strong, blustery wind today. The best feature of The Saffrons, however, is that it is easily the most picturesque ground in our division, having Eastbourne Town Hall, with its clock tower, the Law Courts and some beautiful and pricey-looking houses as a backdrop. I must say that, compared with the pallets and roll cages of Sittingbourne, and the huge fuel tanks of Ashford Town (Middx), it was like watching a game with the Taj Mahal in the background !
I’d like to describe the town centre of Eastbourne a little more, and give a fuller description of the chicken tikka curry I had for dinner – because it would delay having to mention the football. This was a puzzlingly poor performance by Ashford, and one that none of us had expected. The back four – normally very solid since the turn of the year – took turns in presenting Eastbourne Town with goals, with sloppy errors, (and the home side was actually quite impressive in punishing them each time). In spite of having plenty of possession, and applying plenty of pressure on the home goal, Ashford never caused Eastbourne’s goalie, Greg Nessling, to make a save during the match – when we did eventually score, it was a rubbish goal, and, on the only other occasion that Nessling was beaten, the ball struck an Eastbourne defender on the line. Jamie Riley also failed to make a save – oh, there was the one occasion, but the centre-forward nodded in the rebound.
It would be very tempting to write this off as just a “very bad day at the office”, during which the defence got all their errors out of their system in one go. I’m not so sure. What worries me is the similarity between today’s performance and a previous capitulation this year, at home to Walton & Hersham (which I didn’t see). What these two games had in common was the reshuffling of the defence, with Nicky Humphrey – excellent at right-back for the whole season – moving to centre-half, and Tony Browne coming in on the right. I fear the resulting shambles might not have been a coincidence.
The reason for today’s changes at the back was Lee Hockey’s absence, due to having an operation on his nose, which was broken at Burgess Hill. This meant that the back four (in a 4-4-2 formation), from right to left, read Browne, Humphrey, Ray (capt.) and Brathwaite. Jimmy Bottle was unavailable today, so Danny Lye retained the No.11 shirt, on the left side of midfield, with Anthony Hogg and Ryan Briggs in the centre, and Mitchell Sherwood on the right. With Paul Jones still out with a hamstring tear, and Rob Denness having now returned to Chatham Town, we’re left with just the two strikers in the first team squad – Walid Matata and Mark Lovell – which meant that Scott Penfold was called up from the Reserves to do some bench duty. It actually got better than that for young Scott, as Walid was a victim of train cancellations during his journey from London, so Ashford started with the front pairing of Penfold and Lovell – much to the delight of many of the travelling supporters, who have heard so much about the talent that is ripening nicely in the Reserves squad.
Scott was joined on the trip by Neil Manning, who has been impressing people with his performances in goal for the Ressies, with Sam Moore, who has previously acted as Jamie Riley’s under-study, playing today in the Reserves’ 1-2 defeat at home to Tunbridge Wells Reserves. Also on the Ashford bench were Aron Freeman, Nick Barnes and Walid Matata (who arrived just before kick-off). It was also good to see Paul Jones joining the lads on the bench, although there was no question of him being named as a sub. Jonah reckons that his hamstring has healed extremely well, and expects to be fit to return to action next Saturday, at home to the Met Police, with an outside chance that he might be OK to line up against Cray Wanderers on Tuesday. He was very generous in his praise for Club Physio Mo Alvi, who has done a great job in helping him back to fitness. The fact that Mo is a first class physiotherapist, and not just a man with a wet sponge, is one of many good things that the Club has going for it at the moment, and is one that is seldom mentioned.
Before Eastbourne scored, (in the 14th minute), things were looking OK. Ashford, playing in green & white, in deference to the home side’s strip of yellow shirts and royal blue shorts and sockies, passed the ball around, on an undulating and rather bumpy pitch, and had most of the possession during this period. Scott Penfold looked pretty much the part, on his debut – never coming across as a boy amongst men. Scott actually had a half-chance, as early as the second minute, when Mitch Sherwood fed a ball through to him, in the inside-right position. Scott’s cross-cum-shot went just over the bar, drawing an encouraging “oooooooo” from the noisy Ashford fans behind the goal.
So it was in the 14th minute that the St David’s Day massacre really began. Eastbourne’s opening goal was a swift and incisive blow. From Greg Nessling’s kick-out, the ball went straight to Gary Brockwell, in space, on the left flank. He cut inside, and drilled a right-foot shot into the far corner of the net. It found the seam of the net so precisely that it pinged straight out again, but the officials couldn’t help noticing that it had gone in ! I’ll hold my hands up, as I often do, and admit that I don’t know enough about football to judge the extent to which this was a brilliant piece of play by Brockwell, and the extent to which the full-back was at fault – but my instinct tells me that anyone with a coaching badge would point the finger at the Browne Dog, and say that he should’ve done better.
Eastbourne Town went 2-0 up after 20 minutes, (shortly after Mitch Sherwood was, rather harshly, I thought, booked for a late, but honest, tackle). This time, it was no surprise that it was the prolific Liam Baitup who got the goal. Baitup had scored 16 of his team’s 40 league goals, before today’s match, and looked an accomplished poacher this afternoon. (He was playing up front on his own this afternoon – so it was a bloody good job that Eastbourne didn’t play with two strikers !). The goal can really be attributed to a Nicky Humphrey gaff. Running back towards his own goal, trying to deal with a bouncing ball, Nicky chose the correct option in attempting to nod the ball back to Jamie Riley – but his header was woefully short, falling into the path of the ever-alert Baitup, who had no hesitation in smashing the ball into the net, with all the instinctive confidence of an in-form goal-scorer.
Humphrey did much better, two minutes later, when Simon Catt attempted to pounce on a long, lobbed ball, into the Ashford penalty area. Nicky got there ahead of him, and nodded the ball behind for a corner.
There were half-chances at both ends during the next ten minutes. First, Anthony Hogg had a weak shot, from outside the penalty area, which trickled wide, in the 26th minute; then Eastbourne’s Luke Denton pulled a shot well wide of goal, in the 29th minute. As the clock in the Town Hall chimed for 3.30pm, Ryan Briggs launched a long ball forward to Mark Lovell, in the inside-right channel, finding the ex-Dover striker in the penalty area – but the ball seemed to stick under Mark’s feet like a piece of chewing gum, and so ended his only note-worthy contribution of the afternoon.
The home side came a lot closer, in the 37th minute. Again, it was Gary Brockwell on the left wing, attacking Tony Browne, at pace. Brockwell unleashed a firm shot, which flew across the face of the Ashford goal. Jamie Riley watched the ball go past, but Liam Baitup probably wasn’t far away with an attempted diving header at the far post.
Ashford desperately needed a goal before half time, to get themselves into the game, and there was no shortage of attacking intent, with a sprinkling of corners and free-kicks. Tony Browne pushed forward, down the right, whenever possible. In the 39th minute, the Browne Dog led an attack, and his cross broke to Anthony Hogg, who pulled a shot, from outside the area, wide. In the 42nd minute, Daniel Brathwaite launched a long throw into the Eastbourne Town area, (in the absence of usual long-throw specialist Lee Hockey). The home defence failed to clear the ball, but Ashford also failed to get in a meaningful shot.
Shortly after, in the 43rd minute, the next defensive cock-up occurred, and it was once again an unforced error by an individual – this time it was Daniel Brathwaite. Daniel’s attempted upfield pass, from a couple of yards inside his own half, was charged down by Liam Baitup, who was suddenly all on his own, inside the Ashford area and behind the visitors’ defence. I began to text the message “3-0”, expecting Baitup to convert this one-on-one opportunity with ease, and it was probably the biggest surprise of the afternoon when he curled his effort just high and wide of the goal. So 2-0 at half time it was, but it should have been worse.
Steve Lovell’s response was to make a double-substitution at the start of the second half. He replaced Scott Penfold with Walid Matata, so ending Scott’s first-team adventure, and Anthony Hogg with Nick Barnes. (Hoggy came to Ashford from Sittingbourne with a considerable reputation, but I’ve yet to see him put in a telling performance). Barnesy took up a position on the right side of the midfield quartet, with Danny Lye moving into the centre and Mitch Sherwood switching to the left.
Ashford certainly made a bright, attacking start to the second period. Almost immediately, Mitch sent in a right-footed cross, from the left, and found Walid Matata, in the penalty area – but Walid’s shot was blocked, and went behind for a corner. Ryan Briggs delivered the cross, from the left, but Nessling made a good catch. In the 48th minute, Briggs took a corner on the right, but Walid Matata couldn’t quite rise high enough, and the ball merely skimmed off the top of his head.
Any hopes of an Ashford comeback were effectively snuffed out as early as the 51st minute, when a mistake by skipper Sean Ray enabled the home side to go 3-0 up, sapping any remaining morale in the process. Facing his own goal, and under pressure from Liam Baitup, Sean made what appeared to be an accomplished turn, which he often does so effectively – but this time Baitup robbed him of the ball, and squared it to John Piercy, on the edge of the area. Jamie Riley got plenty on Piercy’s low shot, but the ball forced its way under Jamie’s body, and into the net.
Two minutes later, Razor attempted to make amends for his error, when rising well to meet Ryan Briggs’s corner, from the right, but his header went well over the bar. Then, in the 54th minute, we witnessed another great piece of skill from Baitup. Coming deep to collect a forward pass from his defence, and closely marked by Nicky Humphrey, Baitup actually stepped over the ball, with Nicky buying the freehold on the dummy, in full and up front. As the defender let out a heart-felt cry of anguish, John Piercy was away, down the left wing. He bore down on the Ashford goal, into the penalty area, creating a clear-cut chance for a left-foot shot, but instead attempted something elaborate with his right, and poked the ball wide.
On the hour mark, a foul on Ryan Briggs gave the visitors an opportunity with a free-kick, a little way outside the penalty area. Nick Barnes went for goal with this, but his shot was deflected off the Eastbourne wall, and went behind for a corner. Again it was Ryan Briggs with the kick, which was headed clear, but only as far as Mitch Sherwood, on the edge of the area, whose well-struck shot beat Greg Nessling, but hit a yellow-shirted defender, on the line. The rebound popped up into the ‘keeper’s hands – which rather confirmed that it wasn’t going to be Ashford’s day today. Just a minute later, Ashford had another free-kick, just outside the area – a little closer to goal than the previous one – and this was taken by Ryan Briggs. This was actually a good effort by Ryan, but went just over the bar, meaning that the midfielder is still yet to open his account for Ashford.
We then had a lighter moment, in the 62nd minute. With Aron Freeman preparing to come on as Ashford’s third, and final, substitute, the “11” number board was held aloft. Mitch Sherwood dutifully trooped off towards the touchline, and was almost within hand-shaking distance of Freeman when he realised that he was wearing the No.7 shirt this afternoon ! So it was Danny Lye who was replaced, with Aron making a very welcome return to the side, after his groin injury and operation. He took up a position on the left of midfield, with Mitch going over to the left and Nick Barnes switching to the centre.
Aron always looks a quality player on the ball, but it wasn’t long before he was involved in yet another embarrassing mix-up at the back for Ashford. He and Daniel Brathwaite rather got in each other’s way, on the left edge of the penalty area, when in possession, and the ball broke to John Piercy. Piercy’s shot was actually saved by Jamie Riley, but the ball popped up in the air, and the prowling Liam Baitup was there to head it home, from close range. Unbelievably, it was now 4-0 to the team just one place above the relegation zone.
However, there was still one positive to be drawn out, even in this dark hour – the fair-sized knot of Ashford supporters behind the goal continued to sing. I suppose it’s possible to point to alcohol as being chiefly responsible for this unquenchable spirit, but I also reckon it’s a sure sign that there is nothing, absolutely nothing, that can dampen the spirits of the Town’s fans in this new world of boundless hope and optimism.
Eastbourne made their first substitution, in the 72nd minute, when Nima Cham was sent on in place of Simon Catt. Nicky Humphrey was yellow-carded for a foul in the centre circle, in the 79th minute, as Ashford’s players generally started to get tetchy, and argumentative with Referee “Ruth” Rendell – and then we got a consolation goal, in the 81st minute. Today, it seems, it was inevitable that this was going to be a crap goal. Aron Freeman won a corner, on the left, and Ryan Briggs swung a cross in, right under Greg Nessling’s crossbar. Walid Matata and Nicky Humphrey somehow managed to bundle the ball over the line, with Nicky just about getting the final touch, and being credited with his second goal of the season. This was the signal for Eastbourne’s John Piercy to be replaced by Peter Cooper – but this was hardly a panic measure. For the record, the home side made their final substitution, with a minute of normal time to go, when Liam Baitup made way for Steven Dallaway, but this was merely so that Baitup could receive some sort of ovation for his efforts.
Ryan Briggs had a couple of long-range shots – one in the 83rd minute, which went wide after a slight deflection, and one in the dying seconds, which he ballooned over the bar – and then the pain was over, as the ref blew the final whistle.
So it was a miserable March the 1st for Swansea-born Steve Lovell – and I’d better not grass him up by saying that he admitted to not knowing it was St David’s Day, as they’ll never let him back in to the Land of his Fathers ! Things might get more miserable for Steve if the lads play the same way against Cray Wanderers next Tuesday, as they’ll get the Mother of all shellackings. Cray extended their unbeaten run in the league to twenty games this afternoon, and are absolutely flying, playing some great football. Mr Lovell has been quoted as saying, on a couple of occasions recently, that he can see some team getting a good hiding soon. Another performance like the one we saw today, and it’ll be us ! (On the other hand, if our lads can play anywhere near as well as they did at Hayes Lane, earlier in the season, when we beat them 2-5, then it’s going to be a cracking match !).
There were few candidates for the Man of the Match medal among the Ashford team this afternoon, but it seemed a fairly straightforward decision to give it to Ryan Briggs. He at least showed some quality throughout the 90 minutes, running whatever show there was, in central midfield. More importantly, he gave his all, and was never tempted to hide. It’s actually quite tight for the Milton Keynes Bowl now. With four away trips still to come, there are now five players with two MoM awards in away games this season: Ryan Briggs, Jimmy Bottle, Nick Barnes, Paul Jones and Danny Lye. There are four men with one medal: Jamie Riley, Nicky Humphrey, Aron Freeman and Lee Hockey; (players who leave the Club before the end of the season, such as Rob Denness and Barry Gardner, become ineligible for The Bowl). There is a “tie breaker” already in place – in the event of a tie, the end-of-season award will go to the player appearing on the pitch for the most minutes, which puts Jimmy Bottle currently in pole position.
Man of the Match
(to go towards the Milton Keynes Bowl)
Ryan Briggs
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