Kingstonian v Ashford Town. FA Cup First Qualifying Round. 14th of September 2008.

Kingstonian 3 Ashford Town 0
from Your Milton Keynes Correspondent

History was made today, in as much a this was the first time I’ve been to a footy match on a Sunday. It meant that there was much rushing around in the morning, getting ready for church and everything – for the record, I prayed for a 2-2 draw, and then victory in the replay – but all in all it made a pleasant change. The reason for the change to the week-end routine was that Kingstonian’s landlords, AFC Wimbledon, had a home fixture on the Saturday, so the Ks got second knockings. There was a crowd of 3,039 to see The (new) Dons, (not to be confused with the former FA Cup winners who now play in Bletchley, Milton Keynes), beat Maidenhead United 3-1 in the Conference South. Today’s attendance of 401, Kingstonian’s best so far this season, hardly compares with that, but the fact that this figure was boosted considerably by two minibus loads of Ashford Town supporters made for a good atmosphere. I can’t remember the last time the Supporters’ Club organised transport for an away match, but let’s hope it’s not the last time.

Always a pleasure to come to Kingsmeadow – a proper, Conference-standard football ground, with plenty of good parking, a main stand that provides covered, seated accommodation along the full length of the pitch on one side, and an immaculate, bowling green-style pitch. A timely reminder, of course, that Kingstonian were in the Conference proper just a few years ago, so are a very big fish at this level. The glory days of winning the FA Trophy two seasons running, (in 1999 and 2000), before making it to the FOURTH Round of the FA Cup in 2001, must seem a long way away now. In those days, Kingsmeadow was theirs, but now they are tenants to their former lodgers. It must be fairly galling to have to sleep in the box room, whilst young, upwardly-mobile Roger not only sleeps with your wife, but also uses your home as a base whilst pursuing his thriving career.

Kingstonian certainly seem to be in the process of launching a serious push for promotion this year. Having finished seventh last season, (one place above Ashford), they currently lie second in Ryman Division One South, (with Ashford fifth), and are unbeaten, after six games. Given that Ashford had had a fairly easy set of fixtures up to this point, there are some who will have regarded this as one of the first trials of strength between two teams who look certain to be fighting it out for promotion this season. Personally, I regarded this as being no more than a side issue – for this is the FA Cup. THE Cup, and the only thing that really mattered was which of the two teams would make it through to the Second Qualifying Round draw.

Everything was set fair today for great cup-tie. A lovely, sunny September afternoon, and two apparently evenly-matched sides. The Ashford players must certainly have been full of confidence - and the crowd of green-clad fans, outside the bar in the sunshine before the game, full of optimism – coming off a 5-0 demolition of Leatherhead on Tuesday. Manager Steve Lovell also had virtually a full squad of fit players to choose from, so he was able to select the team that was successful in midweek. Josh Willis retained his place in goal, with a back four of Jimmy Elford, Sean Ray, Daniel Brathwaite and Robbie Ryan. Danny Lye again partnered Ryan Briggs in central midfield, with Mitchell Sherwood and Tony Browne on either side, whilst Paul Jones and Bradley Spice were up front, in a 4-4-2 formation. As it’s the FA Cup, both sides were mob-handed with seven subs each; for Ashford there were Jamie Riley, Lee Hockey, Charlie Glyde, James Humphreys, Andy Doerr, Jimmy Bottle and Anthony Hogg.

So this was virtually the whole of Ashford’s first team squad on parade today – the one, notable exception being Mark Lovell, who was hobbling around Kingsmeadow today on crutches, and with a heavily-bound knee. The news from Mark was that he has an appointment in October for a scan. He was cheerfully optimistic, but it sounds like it’ll be several weeks yet before he’s back pushing for a place in the team.

Two items of note in the Kingstonian line-up, the first being the presence of danger man Bobby Traynor up front – but also, on the beverages menu, they had Jon Coke at No.2 and Jamie Beer at No.7. (You just couldn’t make it up, could you ?).

Ashford certainly started this cup tie on the front foot; we dominated for the first ten minutes, and just about shaded the first half, both territorially and in terms of possession. In the second minute, Paul Jones, inside the Ks’ penalty area, with his back to goal, accepted a throw-in from Tony Browne; he laid the ball back to Jimmy Elford, but the full-back disappointingly curled his shot over the bar. Then in the fifth minute, Danny Lye was given enough time and space, on the edge of the area, in which to control the ball on his chest, turn and shoot, but this effort also sailed over the bar.

Daniel Brathwaite looked like he’d been playing in central defence all his life this afternoon, and he also showed glimpses of his passing ability. In the eighth minute, he sent a superb, diagonal pass out to the left, to Mitchell Sherwood, but, after Mitch’s cross into the area, the ball refused to settle for a yellow-shirted striker. Ashford tried again, from the left, and Robbie Ryan’s cross almost found Tony Browne, on the right side of the penalty area, but The Brown Dog was just beaten to it by a defender. This resulted in a corner, on the left, but this was cleared – as were two throw-ins from the left flank – so this early period of dominance failed to deliver a goal.

Ashford, playing in yellow & green in the style of Norwich City (and Godalming Town), were very unlucky, in the eleventh minute, not to be awarded a free-kick just inside the Ks’ penalty area, when ‘keeper Luke Garrard inexplicably picked up a backpass, with Bradley Spice bearing down on him. The reaction from Spice and the Ashford bench was one of utter disbelief as both Referee John Rowbury and the Lino failed to spot the obvious hand-ball. Spice and Jones both worked tremendously hard up front today, and Bradley did well to win a corner, on the right, in the 15th minute. This was swung in, towards the far post, by Ryan Briggs, but Kingstonian’s tall striker, Carl Wilson-Denis, got his head to the ball first.

The visitors had plenty of opportunities to get the ball into the danger area from free-kicks today. In the 18th minute, Max Hustwick was penalised for holding Paul Jones, and Jimmy Elford, from about five yards inside the Ks’ half, floated the ball long, towards Sean Ray, but Razor’s header went well over the bar. Two minutes later, Nick Rundell clattered Tony Browne late, having arrived second when challenging for the ball in the air. This provided Ryan Briggs with the opportunity to put in a cross from a dangerous position, but he hit the ball straight into the defensive wall.

In the 21st minute, it was Briggo’s turn to commit a foul, on slippery left-winger Dean Lodge. Tommy Williams’s free-kick, from the left, was cleared, but Lodge was soon on the ball again, when the play was spread out to him near the left touchline. He cut inside Jimmy Elford, moving swiftly infield, and let fly with a firm, right-footed shot, but this went just a couple of feet over the bar. A minute later, Tony Browne got a public rollicking from Ryan Briggs when his rather careless pass to him went astray, and presented Simon Huckle with the gift of possession, but the Kingstonian midfielder pulled his first-time shot horribly wide.

The play was much more end-to-end now, and, in the 25th minute, Kingstonian, wearing black shorts and sockies with their famous red & white hooped shirts, had a throw-in on the right, deep inside the Ashford half. The ball again failed to settle for the attacking side, and, after a brief scramble, ran through to Josh Willis. In the 27th minute, Danny Lye was late on Simon Huckle, in central midfield, but the free-kick delivered by Nick Rundell went all the way through the Ashford area, for a goal-kick.

Kingstonian’s opening goal, in the 28th minute, came from their first clear-cut chance, but it was an extremely well crafted goal, and beautifully finished, so nobody in the visitors’ camp could have any complaints. Carl Wilson-Denis created space for himself on the right, after playing an excellent one-two with Bobby Traynor, and Tommy Williams rose well to head his cross into the far corner of the net.

Nineteen year-old Josh Willis had little chance with the goal, but, in spite of making some good saves today, there were occasions when he looked a shade vulnerable – not least when there were signs that he is yet to establish an understanding with some of the defenders in front of him. One such occasion came in the 31st minute. Daniel Brathwaite, quite rightly, allowed the ball to run to Willis, who had clearly called for him to do so, but Jamie Beer nipped in with an interception. As Beer caught up with the ball near the by-line, he had evidently clipped Josh on the way through, as the ‘keeper was curled up, holding his head, on the edge of the area. It didn’t suit some partisan Kingstonians behind the goal, but the referee had no choice but to halt the game.

There were even more complaints after the ref restarted the game by dropping the ball at Sean Ray’s feet and Razor kicked for touch, Rugby Union style, deep into the Ks’ half of the field. Nevertheless, the home side was immediately back on the attack, and won a corner, on the right, in the 33rd minute – their first corner of the game. This was taken by Tommy Williams, who pulled the ball back to Bobby Traynor, near the corner of the penalty area. Traynor, currently the leading scorer in Ryman Division One South, with seven goals, chipped the ball in towards the far post, and there was again a hint of confusion, as Jimmy Elford headed the ball off the line, a split-second before Josh Willis could punch clear.

In the 35th minute, Bradley Spice won a corner, on the right. With the big centre-backs up for the cross, it was full-backs Jimmy Elford and Robbie Ryan who were left on the half-way line, watching the back door. As Ryan Briggs’s corner was cleared, the ball was picked up by the pacy and skilful Dean Lodge. The winger carried the ball almost to the edge of the Ashford penalty area, but he was shadowed all the time by Robbie Ryan, who eventually snuffed out the break with a good tackle. A minute later, it was Mitch Sherwood, back defending, who blocked an attempted cross, at the expense of a corner. The resulting cross, from the right, was sent in deep, beyond the far post, where Sean Ray headed behind for another corner, this time on the left. Not for the only time this afternoon, there was a sense that the home side was trying to test Ashford’s young ‘keeper, as Simon Huckle curled the ball right underneath Josh Willis’s crossbar, but Josh came through the test on this occasion, and punched clear. As Dean Lodge picked the ball up on the right wing, Bradley Spice was penalised for a slightly over-enthusiastic tackle, clearly taking the man first. This time, it was Robbie Ryan who was there to head clear the resulting, in-swinging cross.

Ashford were, by this time, not launching attacks with the regularity they had done early in the half, but Mitchell Sherwood, whose golden start to the season has brought him seven goals in as many matches, had the visitors’ best chance of the game in the 38th minute. Paul Jones, who had himself scored four in the previous four matches, picked up a clearance from defence, and showed all his strength and experience to hold the ball up down the right flank. He eventually pulled the ball back to Tony Browne, whose chip to the far post found Sherwood virtually unmarked, but Mitch planted his header straight into the arms of Luke Garrard. Three minutes later, the ex-Sittingbourne man had another opportunity, when Jimmy Elford fed the ball through to him, in the inside-right position. Mitchell showed that his confidence is high at the moment, when he turned towards goal and struck the ball hard, from a fairly acute angle, but Garrard did well, at his near post, to beat the ball behind for a corner. The ‘keeper did well again when he cleared Ryan Briggs’s corner with a good punch.

At the other end, Dean Lodge broke down the left wing, but his attempted cross was cut out by Jimmy Elford, giving Kingstonian a corner. This was sent long, beyond the far post, and Sean Ray was there to head clear. The ball fell to Bradley Spice, but the momentary chance of a quick counter-attack was ended by a foul by Lodge.

With a minute remaining before the break, a good turn and cross by Bradley Spice sent the ball curling behind the home side’s defence, and it required a hurried, hoiked clearance, for a corner, to save the situation. As the corner, from the left, was swung into the penalty area, there were some appeals for a penalty for hand-ball, but this never looked like being given, and Kingstonian went into the interval 1-0 up. So the game had so far lived up to pre-match expectations of being a closely-fought cup-tie between two evenly-matched teams.

Ashford had a chance to hit back just three minutes into the second half, when the ball broke to Tony Browne, on the right side of the Ks’ penalty area, but Brown Dog lashed his shot into the top of the side-netting. I couldn’t see how close it was, from my viewing angle, but there were several Ashford players with their hands on their head. Two minutes later, seconds after Referee Rowbury had missed a transparently obvious double hand-ball by Paul Jones, Bradley Spice had a shot deflected behind for a corner, on the right. This was taken by Ryan Briggs, but Luke Garrard again showed his quality, with a sound catch.

Kingstonian’s Carl Wilson-Denis spoilt what was otherwise a very satisfactory day out for him by getting himself a yellow card, for showing heated dissent at the Lino, simply because a throw-in decision went against him. Nevertheless, this was probably soon forgotten, as Kingstonian put the cup-tie to bed with two goals in four minutes – and it was Carl Three Names who got the first of these. Again, this was a well-made goal. A good ball inside the right full-back by Bobby Traynor, in the 53rd minute, sent Dean Lodge into the Ashford penalty area. After an unnecessary step-over, Lodge sent in a short cross to Wilson-Denis, in the centre, who tucked the ball in, from close range.

A minute later, still urged on by the sizable and vocal mob of travelling supporters, Ashford had a good situation, just outside the Kingstonian area, after Adam Thompson had fouled Paul Jones. Ryan Briggs crossed the free-kick in, from the left, and Daniel Brathwaite stooped low, to direct a looping header on target, but this went straight to Luke Garrard. Almost immediately, play switched to the other end, and Dean Lodge, beavering away, burst into the Ashford area from the left wing, but then seemed to be caught in two minds as he appeared to pass the ball out for a goal-kick.

The decisive, third goal came in the 56th minute. A Simon Huckle shot was deflected wide for a corner, on the left, off Daniel Brathwaite. Once again, it was time to test the young goalie, as the ball was swung into the goal mouth. Up went centre-half Max Hustwick, and, with a glancing header, planted the ball in the net, from no distance at all.

So that’s how a competitive game of football soon became a procession. Heads didn’t go down on the Ashford side, and the day-trippers behind the goal didn’t err in their support and encouragement, but it was just a little disappointing how soon the team seemed to run out of ideas – and it was then more likely that the home side would extend the lead, than it was for Ashford to close the gap. In the 58th minute, it was that man Dean Lodge who provided the danger once again; picking the ball up as it was spread out wide to the left, he got to the by-line, and crossed the ball from a tight angle. Josh Willis cut out the cross with a diving interception, and then pounced on the ball as it rolled gently towards the feet of Sean Ray.

A minute later, a turn and a hoiked shot by Bradley Spice went wide. Soon after, Ryan Briggs picked out Paul Jones with a cross-field pass. Jonah took the ball on his chest, and carried the ball to a central position. One thing I’ve noticed about Paul Jones is that, when he’s battled away without success for about an hour or so, he’s inclined to take the attitude that he’ll bloody well do the job on his own, and it seemed obvious that he was looking for a shot at goal on this occasion. He’d made it almost to the edge of the penalty area when he struck the ball, but his effort went across the face of goal, and wide of the far post.

It was Kingstonian Manager Alan Dowson who was first to make a substitution; he put Jon Neal on in place of Carl Wilson-Denis – a striker for a striker – just after the hour mark, and it wasn’t long before the Ks were on the attack again. The ball was spread wide to Jon Coke, on the right, in the 62nd minute. Coke had the bottle to take on Mitchell Sherwood, and went around Mitch before delivering a good cross. Three Kingstonian players converged on the ball and had a go at getting a touch, before Tony Browne hooked the ball clear. A minute later, Josh Willis had to be alert as an attempted shot, from just outside the area, was completely miscued, and spiralled, spinning, into the air. The ball really could have gone anywhere, but it went precisely where Josh didn’t want it to go – just behind the defence, and about to drop onto the six-yard line, before the ‘keeper came out to punch it clear.

There was a nasty-looking incident in the 64th minute, when Daniel Brathwaite – hair like Whoopi Goldberg, face of an angel – went down with a yell, clutching his face. After some treatment, Daniel was OK to continue, but it did give all of the players the opportunity for a drinks break, on what was still a warm, sunny afternoon - as Jimmy Bottle warmed up on the touchline.

Jimmy had to wait for his chance to make a difference, however, as Steve Lovell persisted with his starting eleven. Ashford’s next chance came in the 67th minute. A free-kick awarded for a foul on Robbie Ryan, for not very much, it seemed, gave Daniel Brathwaite the opportunity to cross the ball from the left. He delivered the ball to beyond the far post, where Sean Ray, who is yet to get himself on the scoresheet this season, got up well, and headed the ball down at the feet of Luke Garrard. This might have been an awkward moment for a lesser ‘keeper, but Garrad was untroubled, and got down to it well. Two minutes later, Paul Jones and Bradley Spice tried to link up, but Adam Thompson came across to cover. Soon after, a Jimmy Elford cross was met by the head of Danny Lye, in the centre, but Danny’s effort went well wide. Ashford put a good passing move together in the 71st minute. This ended with Robbie Ryan putting in a measured cross, from near the left touchline, towards the far post. It was again Danny Lye who got up to meet the cross, but his downward header went wide of the post.

So plenty of forward momentum from the visitors, and no shortage of effort, as the players reacted to the encouragement from the supporters, and the supporters responded to the players, but Luke Garrard and the Kingstonian defence were barely troubled. It’s not absolutely true to say that Ashford had run out of ideas – in fact, Steve Lovell had quite a big idea, in the 71st minute, although it smacked a little of desperation, in the context of a 3-0 scoreline. He took off Bradley Spice, sent big Sean Ray up to join the attack, replacing him with Lee Hockey, took right-back Jimmy Elford off, leaving a three-man back line, pushed Mitchell Sherwood forward to join Paul Jones and Razor, and put Jimmy Bottle on, down the left. If you’ve been following all this, you’ll realise that Steve’s final throw of the dice was to revert to a 3-4-3 formation, with Sean Ray’s role up front a rather obvious one. In fact, it was probably a little too obvious, and failed to make an impact on the game. Ray won his fair share of aerial challenges, but the key, obviously, was for him to provide knock-downs for the other two strikers, and this failed to materialise.

Jimmy Bottle, however, was straight into the action, off on a run down the left wing, in the 72nd minute. He managed to get a cross in, but this was headed behind for a corner, on the left. This was also cleared, but only as far as Mitch Sherwood, who was some way outside the penalty area. The way things have been going for Mitch lately, it would have been no surprise to see the ball fly into the top corner of the net from his right boot, but, although he struck it sweetly, like a man in form, his effort went just over the bar.

Kingstonian made their second substitution – Dean Lodge, their best player this afternoon, being replaced by Phil Williams – in the 73rd minute, as Ashford continued to press forward. With 15 minutes remaining, Mitch Sherwood fed the ball forward to Paul Jones, just inside the Ks’ area. Jonah went down under pressure from two defenders, but there was little chance of a penalty being awarded.

There was some confusion when Steve Lovell made his final substitution, in the 78th minute. The idea was to bring off No.7 Tony Browne, and send on Andy Doerr, wearing the No.18 shirt, but the absence of a No.18 number board meant that numbers 1, 8 and 7 were held up. This caused No.8 Danny Lye to come across to the touchline, thinking he’d been summoned – but it was soon sorted out, and Andy Doerr entered the fray for his usual cameo appearance. This is the fourth time that Andy, still on the road to recovery after a serious injury, has come on as a sub this season, and his longest stint has been one of 17 minutes – although he did get 90 minutes under his belt for the Ressies in midweek.

A minute later, Kingstonian completed the comings and goings by replacing Tommy Williams with Neil Lampton. Either side of this substitution, Ashford had two, almost identical, attempts at making the Sean Ray Plan work. On both occasions, Daniel Brathwaite launched a long ball from about the half-way line, looking for the skipper’s head, in the vicinity of the far post, but neither effort produced the desired result.

Of course, the downside to being adventurous with a 3-4-3 line-up is the possibility of being exposed at the back, and today’s victors had several chances to increase their lead, (although this would, by common consent, have flattered them). With fully ten minutes remaining, two of the Ks’ substitutes, Phil Williams and Neil Lampton, combined in a counter-attack, against Ashford’s back three. This ended with Lampton chipping the ball towards the far post, but the cross-cum-shot went just wide.

Soon after, there was another despairing solo effort from Paul Jones. Picking the ball up just inside the Kingstonian half, he turned and carried it forward, through the midfield area. He tried a low, long-range shot, but Garrard made a comfortable save, going down to his right. In the 82nd minute, Lee Hockey took a long throw, on the right – no doubt the introduction of this additional weapon was part of Steve’s big idea for Plan B – and this was headed behind by Nick Rundell, for a corner. Unfortunately, Ryan Briggs wasted this opportunity when he failed to beat the first defender. A minute later, the fresh legs of Phil Williams took him on a run down the left wing, and he won a corner on that side – but the resulting cross came off centre-half Max Hustwick, for a goal-kick.

Danny Lye picked up a needless yellow card, with five minutes remaining, when he was rather late in making an aerial challenge – but the booking was clearly for the accumulation of infringements, rather than for any malicious intent.

By this time, the sun, which had shone for most of the afternoon, had sunk behind thin cloud, but Ashford continued to have the majority of possession. When Kingstonian did get the ball back, however, star man Bobby Traynor, who had been very quiet for 87 minutes, reminded us all of his presence with what would have been an excellent goal. The Ks relieved some pressure with an up & under into the Ashford half. Traynor chased after this, and caught up with the ball just outside the Ashford penalty area. With a defender at his back, he turned and his looping shot hit the base of the far post, with Josh Willis beaten.

At the other end, Andy Doerr did manage an attempt at goal, a couple of minutes before the end of normal time; breaking through a tackle, he aimed a shot from well outside the area, but the ball swerved away, high and wide.

As this was an FA Cup tie, we were deprived of an announcement of how many minutes of injury time were to be played. In the event, Mr Rowbury added on three and a half minutes, and this only served to provide the home team with further opportunities to extend their already unassailable lead – (not that they could resist the temptation to run the clock down by keeping possession of the ball by the corner flag !). In the 91st minute, Phil Williams bore down on Lee Hockey, who stood his ground on the edge of the penalty area. Williams slipped the ball past Lee, who, predictably, tripped his man. It was almost as predictable that he got a yellow card for his troubles. The free-kick was hit with plenty of pace and venom, beating the yellow & green defensive wall, but Josh Willis did well to beat the ball away.

As a final chorus of “Nuts & Bolts, Nuts & Bolts” resonated in the Malden air, with 93 minutes on my watch, a shot by Jon Neal was blocked by Daniel Brathwaite, inside the Ashford penalty area. The ball fell to Bobby Traynor, whose snap shot was well saved by Josh Willis, who certainly played his part in keeping the goal total down to three.

The match ended with a brief flurry of Kingstonian corners, and a 3-0 scoreline that few people could really argue with. The home side had had this game wrapped up before the hour mark, with three beautifully-taken goals, and they will be the ones watching the usual web-sites for the cup draw around about lunch-time on Monday.

This was a very disappointing anti-climax for the bus loads of travelling supporters – who were rightly applauded by some of the players at the final whistle – as this is another “cup run” that has fizzled out prematurely. To return to the earlier theme about this game being seen as an early trial of strength between two promotion hopefuls, it is, of course, difficult not to compare ourselves with today’s opponents. Obviously, Kingstonian are a very good side, who must be one of the contenders for the championship this season. It’s hard to escape that fact that they brushed a virtually full-strength Ashford Town aside fairly comfortably this afternoon, but I don’t think we’re as far behind them as the bare result suggests. We looked to be a good, cohesive unit, with good players all over the pitch, who were comfortable on the ball, but it’s a little worrying that we barely threatened to break through the Ks’ defence, after having at least as much possession as the winning side.

The decision for MK Man of the Match was not an easy one – nobody had an outstanding game, and, equally, nobody can be blamed for having had a stinker. The nod went to Daniel Brathwaite, who just about looked our best player this afternoon, in spite of being blamed in some quarters for Kingstonian’s first goal. Strangely, his main rivals for the award, in a 3-0 defeat, were defenders Sean Ray and the flawless Robbie Ryan, neither of whom appeared to do a great deal wrong. A mention should also be given to the two strikers, Paul Jones and Bradley Spice, who both worked extremely hard – particularly the uncomplaining Jones, who at times appeared to be carrying the yoke on his own, not getting the support he deserves from his team-mates.

Man of the Match
(to go towards the Milton Keynes Bowl)
Daniel Brathwaite