Worthing 0 Ashford Town 0
from Your Milton Keynes Correspondent
This was Ashford’s third successive draw, and, whilst most of us feel that the lads really should have won the previous two matches, that ended 2-2, this was an entirely different kettle of fish – quite frankly, we were very grateful to escape from Worthing Stadium with a point this afternoon. Whilst this was a fairly closely-fought contest for three-quarters of the game, Ashford’s goal was under siege for most of the final period, and we had to ride our luck a little to keep the clean sheet. The real heroes today were the back four – Jimmy Elford, Sean Ray, Craig Wilkins and Daniel Brathwaite – who did a superb job. Jamie Riley also deserves a mention in dispatches. He still doesn’t quite inspire confidence, and often fails to dominate his six-yard box, but he put in a better performance this afternoon, making some important saves, one of them from an eighth-minute penalty.
This was actually a valuable point, as Worthing looked a good side, and were on a run of five successive league wins. For the second successive away game, (after the visit to Fleet a fortnight ago), we were up against a team lying just outside the play-off zone, but who would be in second place if they were to win their games in hand. Our hosts today are in their second season in Division One South of the Ryman League, having been relegated from the Premier Division a couple of seasons ago – we missed the corresponding fixture last season, so this was our first visit to Worthing, (commonly known as “God’s Waiting Room”).
I expected the ground to be fairly impressive, for this level, so was not surprised to see that the stadium is dominated by a large stand, which provides an elevated view of the playing area. There’s also a much smaller, secondary stand, between the dug-outs, on the other side of the pitch, with covered terracing behind both goals. The ground reminds me a bit of our old home, Essella Park, in as much as it has the old-fashioned quality of being set within a residential area. It’s a bit like Welling United – and, like at Welling, there’s no parking at the ground, so it’s a case of scrapping for the few parking spaces in the neighbouring streets.
Worthing is one of the better-supported clubs in our division, with currently the fourth-highest average league attendance, but today’s crowd of 363, bolstered considerably by another large (R&J Coaches) coach party from Ashford, was The Rebels’ best league attendance of the season to date.
There was mixed news on the injury front for Ashford. Centre-back Craig Wilkins had recovered from the knock he sustained against Walton & Hersham last Saturday, and was OK to start the game, but it appears that the luckless Josh Willis will be out for several weeks, following his thigh strain at Fleet, so Jamie Riley continued in goal, with Darren Ibrahim acting as cover on the bench. There was also disappointing news concerning Claude Seanla, who had not recovered from last week’s hamstring injury, so Ashford were decidedly thin in attack today. Steve Lovell started with Paul Jones and Andy Doerr up front, but, with Andy not expected to last much more than an hour, and with no striker on the bench, it was going to be interesting to see how Steve used his substitutions. The full bench-sitting line-up was Darren Ibrahim, James Humphries, Charlie Glyde, Tony Browne and Lee Hockey. For what it’s worth, my opinion is that this would have been an ideal opportunity to use one or two of the Reserves’ strikers on the bench.
So the full starting line-up, in 4-4-2 formation, was pretty much as expected, given the Ashford Town personnel available: Jamie in goal, the back four of Elford, Ray, Wilkins and Brathwaite, a central midfield pairing of Ryan Briggs and Danny Lye, with Jimmy Bottle wide-left and Mitchell Sherwood wide-right, and Jonah and Andy Doerr up front. I’m no expert on the Worthing team, but Skipper Ben Andrews was certainly conspicuous by his absence.
The home side, playing in all red, certainly wasn’t shy about revealing its favoured weapon – with only 50 seconds of the match gone, the first of many long throws from striker Ross Treleaven was launched into the Ashford penalty area. This was unashamedly aimed at The Rebels’ colossal skipper Andy Alexander, who looked even bigger than Sean Ray, but the Ashford defence cleared the ball to the edge of the area. A shot from this range didn’t appear to be particularly dangerous, but Daniel Brathwaite nearly managed to divert the ball past Jamie Riley, and the ‘keeper had to show good reflexes to tip the ball over the bar. The resulting corner, from the left, was strongly headed away by Craig Wilkins.
Big Andy Alexander showed another side of his game, in the fourth minute, when he demonstrated some good footwork to make himself some space on the edge of the Ashford area. He put Treleaven through on goal, with a neat, short pass, but the young striker sliced his shot well wide. However, it appeared that he had redeemed himself just three minutes later, when he won a penalty for his team. He seemed to be winning a chase for the ball against Jimmy Elford – in the penalty area, but going away from the goal – when he went down like the proverbial sack of spuds. I’m pretty sure that there was some contact from Jimmy, so it must go down as a slightly clumsy piece of defending, but it’s the sort of incident that would often be waved away by the Referee, and it appeared a little harsh to me. What didn’t help Ross Treleaven’s case, in the eyes of the Ashford fans, was that he is a Jurgen Klinsmann look-alike – but, with a name like his, Ross must be a Cornishman, so I’m sure he’s no relation. As it turned out, Referee Austin’s awarding of the penalty was not critical, as Jamie Riley saved Scott Kirkwood’s side-footed penalty, comfortably palming the ball away, diving to his left.
Just as Worthing unveiled their chief weapon early, it wasn’t long before we knew exactly what we could expect from Andy Doerr, on his first start of the season. He immediately looked strong and competitive when challenging for the ball in the air, and we know that he can stick the ball into net, but he currently appears to be totally devoid of pace, and a couple of early balls over the top for him to chase turned out to be a complete waste of time, not to mention possession. Nevertheless, both sides looked the part during the opening 15 minutes – but Jamie Riley was the busier of the two goalies. The home side certainly played the majority of the passing football during this time, with Ashford tending to release the ball early – often, it must be said, launching it long, and in the air.
Another pleasing aspect of today’s game was that there was a clean sheet in terms of the Pink Report – no gloves, no ear muffs, no hankies tucked up the sleeve. It was good to see, so well done, lads. Of course, this improved performance might have had something to do with the fact that it was a pretty mild afternoon – about 13ºC to 14ºC. There was also barely a breeze, with high, grey cloud moving slowly across the sky, so, with what looked a fantastic surface to play on, conditions were perfect for good football.
Ashford’s first recognisable chance came in the 20th minute. Sean Ray spread the ball wide, to Jimmy Bottle, who was converging from the left. A good first touch from Jimmy provided him with a decent situation, well inside the Worthing penalty area, but he should have done better with the cross, which he planted straight into goalkeeper Alan Mansfield’s arms. In the 24th minute, Ashford had another good opportunity, with a free-kick just beyond the corner of the penalty area – but Ryan Briggs, not for the last time this afternoon, made a Mary of the free-kick, and scuffed the ball to the first defender.
In the 26th minute, Ross Treleaven had the opportunity to launch another “Ian Hutchinson” into the Ashford area – for younger readers, that’s what we old gits call a “Rory Delap” – from near the left corner flag. The initial effort was headed up in the air, and, as Jamie Riley went to punch the ball clear, he was bundled into the net – Mr Austin, “a man barely alive”, had one of the afternoon’s easier decisions in blowing up for a free-kick.
In the 34th minute, Austin’s decision to award Ashford a free-kick, for a trip on Jimmy Bottle, was a little more debatable, but it provided Ryan Briggs with the chance to make something of the opportunity. This time, Briggo put in a good cross, which was met with a powerful header by Sean Ray, but his goal attempt went wide. Then, in the 38th minute, Ashford had their first corner of the game. Again it was Ryan Briggs who swung a cross into the area, and the ball broke into a vacant area, near the penalty spot. Mitchell Sherwood was first to the loose ball, and attempted to burst the net with his shot, but he only succeeded in fluffing it embarassingly wide. It was a moment that just about summed up Mitch’s present lack of confidence.
That was Ashford’s final chance of the first half, and it was Worthing who ended the first 45 minutes in the ascendancy, with the visitors having to repel another couple of Ross Treleaven’s long-throw attacks, just before the interval. So 0-0 it was at half time, and Ashford had looked to be pretty solid as a unit, especially in defence, but without creating anything in attack.
With the floodlights now shining brightly, it took Danny Lye about 30 seconds to get himself booked in the second half – although he had sown the seeds of his caution with a number of earlier fouls, so his late tackle in the centre circle was merely a culmination of what he’d been working for.
It was all Worthing in the opening minutes of this half, and the first of a series of threats on the Ashford goal came in the 48th minute, when a snap-shot by Enzo Benn, from the edge of the penalty area, went well over the bar. The bombardment of Treleaven’s long throw-ins then continued, with Danny Lye heading one clear, for a corner, in the 49th minute, and Sean Ray then doing something similar just two minutes later. Whilst the first corner was cleared, on the second occasion, Chris O’Flaherty’s cross found Jamie Brotherton on the six-yard line, in space, but Brotherton put his free header wide. This was The Rebels’ best chance of the game to date, but it just seemed a matter of time before they would score - maybe they would be rewarded for sheer persistence with all the long throw-ins and corners.
In the 54th minute, Enzo Benn did well to beat Daniel Brathwaite, (not that it happened very often this afternoon), near the right touchline. Mr Benn’s long cross into the Ashford area really should have been comfortably dealt with by Jamie Riley, as O’Flaherty, arriving from the left, connected with the ball not far from Jamie’s far post – but could only side-foot the ball into Jamie’s arms. This was just one instance of Jamie looking less than commanding under the high ball, but there were signs, as the match wore on, that he is gradually getting back to the form he showed last season. I’ve no evidence to support the theory, but I have a feeling that the aerial bombardment might have been a deliberate ploy by Worthing, having had Ashford watched, and having identified Jamie as being a potential weak link. If that’s the case, then the lad, (and the four men immediately in front of him), deserve much credit for coming through this test with a clean sheet – and it was noticeable that Jamie took a couple of clean catches from crosses in injury time, when the flak was really flying.
It was by no means a complete red tide in the second half, and Ashford put together a (rare) threatening move, in the 56th minute. It was no surprise that this involved Jimmy Bottle, chasing a ball down the left, who created some good situations with his pace – but it was also no surprise that Jimmy provided no end product, as he’s generally been struggling to do so this season. On this occasion, he whipped a cross, from near the corner flag, through a vacant penalty area. Mitch Sherwood picked the ball up on the far side, and set up Danny Lye for a shot, but Danny’s good effort with his left foot went just over the bar. A minute later, the yellow & greens – it was a bit like watching Liverpool playing Norwich City, (in more ways than one, at times) – broke out of defence, after yet another Worthing corner. This time, it was Mitchell Sherwood leading the attack, down the right. He tried to find Andy Doerr with a cross, but a combination of the inaccuracy of the ball in, and Andy’s lack of legs, meant that the delivery never arrived.
Jimmy Bottle went on another promising run down the left in the 65th minute. Again, he managed to get in a cross, which was cleared by the Worthing defence as far as Ryan Briggs, just outside the penalty area, but Briggo blasted his attempted shot well over the bar, over the tall netting that surrounded the stadium – and into someone’s garden. Ashford had a corner, which came to nothing, in the 69th minute, after a promising break involving Jimmy Elford and Paul Jones, down the right, but we were generally fairly ineffective in attack, and it was at about this time that, with the only possible results appearing to be a home win or a 0-0 draw, I came to the conclusion that, if the God of Football had offered me one point at this stage, then I would have snatched his Holy Hand off.
And that was before the game entered its final phase of one-way traffic – and that expression probably aptly sums up the final quarter of the game.
In the 71st minute, Mitch Sherwood conceded a corner, on the left. Andy Alexander came steaming in, meeting the resulting cross on the run, but the Rebel Captain put his header wide. A minute later, a long throw from Klinsmann, from the left, was punched away by Jamie Riley, but only as far as the blond German striker, coming in from the touchline, who hit a low, hard shot – which was put behind by Danny Lye. The resulting cross was swung into the Ashford area, from the left, and was met with an excellent downward header, which was prevented from going into the net by the shoulder of a yellow-shirted defender, on the line, by the far post. The shot from the rebound was fired over the bar.
It was at about this time that James Humphries came on as substitute for Andy Doerr. It’s no surprise that none of us in the stand noticed this switch being made – firstly, there was no announcement over the Tannoy system for any of the substitutions, and secondly, we were constantly looking in the direction of Jamie Riley’s goal during the final 20 minutes of the game, so wouldn’t have noticed if someone had committed a murder in the centre of the pitch !
Actually, that’s not quite true, as I saw Paul Jones get a yellow card, for a late tackle in the centre circle, in the 75th minute, but all eyes were once again turned to the right, just a minute later, to see a long-shot deflect off Sean Ray’s head, for a corner. The resulting cross, swung in right-footed, from the left, almost looked goal-bound, but an Ashford defender somehow managed to head behind for another corner without putting the ball into the net – with Jamie once again a bit of a spectator. Yet again, the renewed threat from the corner was dealt with by the visiting defence.
In the midst of this valiant rearguard action, there was one moment of pure class from Craig Wilkins that I’d like to tell you about. Sean Ray appeared to let a looping through-ball go over his head, and this led to a race between Wilkins and a Worthing striker. Wilkins was only the marginal favourite to win this race, facing his own goal, and there was much excitement and urging-on from the now-noisy home supporters, but Wilko showed great strength and composure to hold his man at bay, turn and then carry the ball upfield.
Having said that, Wilkins blotted his copybook just a little, in the 81st minute, when he was yellow-carded for a late tackle on Ross Treleaven, and Worthing’s Jamie Brotherton was booked for a foul on Wilkins, two minutes later, as the competitiveness of the game moved up a notch.
Still the waves of Red Army attacks continued. Another long throw from Treleaven was repelled in the 85th minute, then a long-range shot, from about mid-way inside the Ashford half, in the 89th minute, went over Jamie Riley’s head, dipped and crashed against the crossbar, bouncing down onto the goal-line and out again. The follow-up header was nodded wide, and then Referee Austin had to turn away optimistic claims from the Worthing players that the ball had crossed the line.
A minute into injury time, (after Charlie Glyde had slipped onto the field, unnoticed, in place of Danny Lye), and a Scott Kirkwood shot, through a crowded penalty area, appears to be going well wide, but a header at the far post just fails to redirect the ball into the net. In spite of the indication that there would be a minute of time added to the ninety – again, no announcement – the game enters the 93rd minute, with the Ashford goal now thoroughly under siege. The ball is crossed to Mickey Demetriou, on the left side of the Ashford area, and his superbly-hit shot looks like finding the far top corner of the net, but Jamie Riley makes a fantastic save, tipping the ball over the bar. Still there is no relief from the referee’s whistle, as Ashford have to endure another two corners. The second of these, whipped in by Chris O’Flaherty from the right, finds Demetriou again, but his header is wide.
Austin eventually ended the match as soon as Jamie Riley had taken the resulting goal kick, with four minutes of injury time having been played. I think the idea, new to the Ryman League this season, of announcements to the crowd of the amount of stoppage time to be played at the end of each half, is an excellent one, but the game becomes farcical when the amount of extra time actually played by the referee bears no relation to the amount of time that is announced. Do they think that Alex Ferguson is the only man with a watch ?
Anyway, that minor gripe shouldn’t distract us from the fact that the Ashford team today dug in for a hard-fought, and thoroughly deserved, point – and the very vocal band of fans behind the goal quite rightly gave the lads a rousing reception at the end of the game.
So The Rebels extended their unbeaten run in the league to eight games, whilst Ashford have now gone nine matches without a win, having won just one of the last 13. Obviously, the key to starting to win a few games is to reinforce the attack, as Paul Jones certainly can’t be expected to win games on his own. The name floating around the ground yesterday was Folkestone’s Jimmy Dryden. There’s no denying that Dryden is one of the best strikers in the division, but even he wouldn’t prosper with the current service to the front men. We have two very talented wide men in Jimmy Bottle and Mitch Sherwood, but they both appear to be a little out of sorts at the moment, with end-product being in very short supply.
But the final word has to go to the defence on this occasion. The back four was superb today, led and co-ordinated by a colossal performance from Skipper Sean Ray, who was deservedly named as Man of the Match.
Man of the Match
(to go towards the Milton Keynes Bowl)
Sean Ray
Sunday 16 November 2008
Sunday 2 November 2008
Fleet Town v Ashford Town. Ryman Division One South. 1st of November 2008.
Fleet Town 2 Ashford Town 2
from Your Milton Keynes Correspondent
It was good to be back at Fleet again. For reasons best known to the people at the FA who allocate non-league clubs to different leagues, Fleet Town, along with Godalming Town, were shoved into the Southern League Division One South West for last season. Well, they’re both back this year – at the expense of Thamesmead Town and Chatham Town – so the trip to Calthorpe Park, our shortest away trip in the league, was back on the roster.
This was always going to be a test for the boys. Fleet are a good side. It was just a few years ago that they were one of the whipping boys perennially struggling against relegation – like us – but former Spurs and England winger Andy Sinton has certainly turned them around since taking over as Manager. They finished fifth under Sinton in our division in 2006-7, and were then runners-up in their division last year. In August I actually fancied them to make a play-off position for the third successive season, but they made a fairly sticky start to the current campaign, and were in ninth place this morning – but closer inspection of that league table reveals that Fleet would actually be SECOND if they win the two games they have in hand of all the teams above them. They were unbeaten in their last seven league games, so were very much one of the teams in form.
That’s more than could be said about Ashford, coming into this game. With one win in the last eight, and only one goal in the last four, (and that a gift, after a defensive error), we were looking decidedly ropy. I’m not into encouraging pressure on the manager or any of the players when results aren’t good, but I wouldn’t be setting the scene for this match properly if I didn’t mention that Steve Lovell had been receiving his fair share of criticism since Tuesday’s 1-0 defeat at Merstham – and, with five wins in 17 games this season, and the team sinking to 14th place, there have been one or two suggestions among the supporters that he might not be the man to lead us to the play-offs in May. This was therefore a very important game for both Steve Lovell and his squad of players.
Well, I’m pleased to report that, although this was just a single point gained in Hampshire this afternoon, all seems to be on a much more even keel tonight. This was a much improved performance, and one which heartened the travelling coach-load of support from Ashford. It was just a shame that an equaliser from the home side in the fifth minute of injury time robbed the boys of what would have been a thoroughly deserved victory.
Part of the reason for the improvement might have been the fact that Steve Lovell sent out what many of us believe is his best starting line-up. Jimmy Bottle was back on the left wing, with Mitchell Sherwood starting on the right, and Ryan Briggs and Danny Lye was the central midfield pairing. (It’s true that Ashford tended to bypass the centre of midfield a little this afternoon, but this might have been understandable, given the employment of two wide players. Paul Jones and Claude Seanla is surely the best partnership option up front – the strong hold-up man and the sharp finisher – and Craig Wilkins and Sean Ray look an accomplished pairing in the centre of defence. Daniel Brathwaite was back at left-back today, after having been on his travels in midfield and at centre-half, with Jimmy Elford wearing the No. 2 shirt. To complete the “ideal eleven”, Josh Willis was in goal – Josh has out-performed Jamie Riley this season, and, since making his debut, he has only lost his place when having a genuine reason for being unavailable.
On the subs bench were Jamie Riley, Lee Hockey, Tony Browne (who’s had a good run on the right side of midfield this season) and Andy Doerr.
Ashford’s cause today was also helped considerably by the fact that we made a good start. As early as the third minute, Jimmy Elford played a low ball forward to Claude Seanla, who laid it off to Paul Jones. Jonah took a touch, to take the ball infield, and got in a low, left-footed shot, which was well saved by ‘keeper Dave Smalley. This was rather a sign of how things were to develop, as Smalley made a number of good saves this afternoon, and Ashford looked most dangerous when attacking down the right flank, with Claude, Jonah, Mitch Sherwood and Jimmy Elford combining well. We certainly went forward in numbers, when we had the ball, and looked likely to score – which is not something that could be said about the performance at Merstham on Tuesday.
On this occasion, Smalley’s save was at the expense of a corner, on the right, which was cleared, but only as far as Ryan Briggs, whose firm shot went straight at the ‘keeper. Fleet turned defence into attack, but made a mess of the assault, and lost the ball in midfield. Immediately, the ball was played upfield for Paul Jones to run on to, and Jonah was soon clear of the defence, with only the goalkeeper to beat. He rounded Smalley and struck the ball firmly into the empty net. It was a good striker’s goal, and Paul’s seventh of the season – which equals his total for last season.
It was all Ashford, playing in their Norwich City-style away kit, in the opening minutes, as the visitors didn’t let the home side get into the game. In the fifth minute, Ryan Briggs spread the ball wide to Jimmy Bottle, who was in hectares of space – note the modern, Euro-friendly terminology – on the left. Jimmy cut inside and got in a right-footed shot, but this was saved by goalkeeper Smalley. A minute later, Claude Seanla, starting with his back to goal in the “D”, turned and shot, but was well off target.
Fleet, playing in familiar colours of sky blue shirts, and navy blue shorts and sockies, did manage one attack during this early phase – in the eighth minute, James Field went smoothly, and unchallenged, through the Ashford midfield, and tried a long-range shot which crept past Josh Willis’s right-hand post. Nineteen year-old Josh must have got a touch, as a corner was awarded – but this came to nothing.
At the other end, in the tenth minute, Mitchell Sherwood took a throw-in on the right. He found Paul Jones, in the penalty area, who turned and shot, but tamely, and straight at the ‘keeper.
A feature of today’s game was that it was played, from start to finish, in steady rain. This meant that the entire crowd of 162 this afternoon could be found under the cover that was available. The main, medium-sized stand was the place to be for maximum dryness, but the majority of the intrepid Ashford Town coach party huddled beneath a very ramshackle shelter, made mostly from scaffolding poles, behind each goal. It was good to see a large Ashford Town FC flag in the midst of this gathering. A green & white cross of St George. A flag to die for. “Cry God for Harry ! Ashford, and St George !”.
It might well have been the rain-affected surface that caused Steve Lovell his first real moment of concern, in the 16th minute, when goalkeeper Josh Willis sustained an injury to his left thigh, which was certainly not related to a challenge. After some brief first aid, Josh tested his thigh with a gentle jog, but it was immediately obvious that he was unable to continue, so Jamie Riley was sent on to deputise. It was a good thing that we had a ‘keeper on the subs bench with plenty of first team experience – but it seems that the luckless Josh is doomed to not have an extended run in the team.
Ashford, playing up Calthorpe Park’s diagonal slope in the first half, continued to make the running. In the 25th minute, Jimmy Bottle chipped in a cross from the left, which found Mitch Sherwood at the far post. Mitch fluffed his initial attempt at goal, with his right foot, but still had time to have a second crack, this time with his left – which he pulled well wide. Three minutes later, Mitchell had another shot at goal, which was deflected wide, for a corner. This was taken by Ryan Briggs, on the right. Sean Ray got up well with the header, but Referee Eric Mackrell must have seen something fishy about the challenge, so blew up for a free-kick. (OK, so I’m still working on the act !).
On the half-hour mark, the Mackrell failed to spot a hand-ball by lively Fleet striker Nathan Smart in the Ashford area. Nevertheless, Mitchell Sherwood was there to put the ball behind for a corner, on the left. The resulting cross, a little worryingly, was allowed to travel all the way through the Ashford penalty area, before Sean Ray nodded the ball behind for another corner, on the right. This time it was Daniel Brathwaite who cleared the lines, with a header away.
Which reminds me that I have another entry to make to the Pink Report. Whilst the boys made a generally good showing today, wearing short-sleeved shirts on this cold and very wet afternoon, Daniel B was still caught wearing gloves in public. This is most disappointing. I’m not sure whether there will be an appropriate award at the end of the season, but, if there is, Brathers has accumulated enough Pink Points at this stage of the season to be streets ahead of his team-mates. Watch this space.
It was great to see Jimmy Bottle back, after missing him for five games following the opening up of his right eyebrow by a clash of heads against Chipstead. His pace on the left wing was a constant threat to Fleet, but there were one or two signs of “ring rust”. In the 33rd minute, he gave away a free-kick with a miss-timed tackle, but the resulting cross towards the penalty area was headed clear, to Claude Seanla on the half-way line. Claude turned and spread the ball wide to Jimmy, in space on the left, and suddenly Jimmy had a clear sight of goal – but lack of match practice showed again, as he pulled his shot across the face of goal.
Fleet gradually began to ease themselves into the game, and did look dangerous going forward. Smart Nathan showed good persistence to break through a couple of Ashford tackles, in the 35th minute, and struck his eventual shot against an Ashford arm, from close range - but there was never going to be a penalty awarded for that, (nor should there have been). The ball was still in the penalty area, but Jamie McClurg blasted it over the bar.
In the 36th minute, Daniel Brathwaite conceded a free-kick on the edge of the penalty area. This was taken by Fleet’s dead-ball specialist James Field. Faced by a four-man wall, Field chipped a shot to the near post, but Jamie Riley made a good save, pushing the ball behind, for a corner on the right. Jamie came out to claim the resulting cross, and seemed to have caught the ball cleanly, but then fumbled it, and dropped it – but an Ashford defender on the line cleared it as it span towards the line. The clearance only went to a player in a blue shirt, just outside the area, whose shot was well saved by Jamie, at the expense of another corner, this time on the left. There were groans from the home fans as the taker failed to clear the first defender with the corner, as there were two minutes later, when Daniel Brathwaite cleared another corner, with a near-post header.
Nevertheless, this was a good period of Fleet pressure, and Ashford desperately needed to get out of their own half. Eventually, they managed it, and it was a relief to have a throw-in, deep into the home side’s half of the slope, in the 40th minute. The ball was thrown to Jimmy Elford, who sent a left-footed cross into The Blues’ penalty area. Paul Jones got up to flick the ball goalwards with a back-header, but this was comfortably caught by David Smalley. A minute later, the ball broke to Jimmy Bottle, in the Fleet area, but his shot was blocked, and Ashford had a corner on the right. Sean Ray, still looking for his first goal of the season, got up well, with a downward header that was on target, and it appeared, from the stand, as if a defender’s foot had flicked a clearance over the bar, from inside the six-yard box – but nobody seemed to complain when a goal-kick was awarded.
In the 44th minute, just as the PA Announcer informed us that there would be three minutes of added time at the end of the first half, Ashford were awarded their first free-kick in a dangerous position of the match, for a foul on Claude Seanla. This was curled in by Dan Brathwaite, but there was anti-climax as the Lino flagged immediately for off-side. But Ashford went in at half time with a deserved 0-1 lead, and the travelling fans who had also witnessed the performance at Merstham on Tuesday night were very encouraged by the boys’ much improved showing.
Whilst Ashford played well in the first half, the same cannot really be said about the home side – but, as The Great Brian Clough once said: “They played as well as they were allowed to play, young man”. [ On the subject of great men, I heard on the telly, recently, that Peter Sillett still holds the Chelsea record for goals scored by a defender, and might get more mentions in the near future as John Terry closes in on his total. ] Anyway, Andy Sinton wasted no time in ringing the changes, as he replaced his two strikers, Jermaine Hamilton and Bernard Asante, with Mark Anderson and Eddie Smith.
As the rain continued to pour, Eddie Smith’s first contribution was to get clogged by Craig Wilkins, in the 51st minute – Wilko had lost the ball, on the halfway line, and was rightly yellow-carded for his late challenge.
Two minutes later, a high cross was sent into the Ashford penalty area, from the right, and Jamie Riley came for the ball and managed to finger-tip it away. The defence failed to clear the danger immediately, and the ball was bouncing around in the area – but then the referee noticed that Jamie was flat on his back in the six-yard box, so he had no choice but to halt play. This was a bit worrying, as the only other option was to use Lee Hockey as a makeshift goalkeeper – but Jamie was OK after treatment.
Ashford then had a period of good pressure. Jimmy Bottle won a corner, on the left, which was taken by the hard-working Ryan Briggs. His cross was cleared to the edge of the area, where Claude Seanla picked the ball up, turned and shot. His effort seemed to get momentarily stuck in the wet and the mud of the goalmouth, but eventually slid just past the post. There must have been a Fleet touch en route, though, as another corner was awarded. Briggo again swung the ball in from the left, into David Smalley’s six-yard box, but it rebounded off Sean Ray’s shin, and into the ‘keeper’s hands.
Fleet equalised, the first time, in the 63rd minute. This came about as a result of a free-kick awarded against Daniel Brathwaite – for pulling his man back, according to the Lino’s mime. From a position just to the right of centre, James Field sent in a high, curving cross. This appeared to be relatively harmless, but Steve Hemmings, almost facing his own goal, managed to get his head around the ball, to send his header goalwards. The ball crept just inside the post, and it was “game on”, at 1-1.
The game might have gone either way from this point, but it was Ashford who regained the lead, in the 76th minute – a minute after Andy Doerr had been sent on in place of Claude Seanla. It was a goal that involved both of Ashford’s wide men. Mitchell Sherwood sent in a long, looping cross, from wide on the right. Jimmy Bottle converged on the ball from the left wing, and timed his arrival perfectly, side-footing a volley low, into the net, from about ten yards out, for his first goal of the season. It was good to see Jimmy get on the score-sheet, on his return from injury – but, ironically, it appears that this injury prevented him from taking any further part in the game, as it seems that the hugs and kisses from his team-mates opened up his eyebrow again. He was immediately substituted for Tony Browne, before Fleet could kick off.
Andy Doerr – who should earn a few Pink Points for the white polo-necked vest he was wearing underneath his shirt – very nearly added to his impressive strike-rate as a substitute, in the 80th minute. Paul Jones ran on to a long through-ball, over the top, down the right wing. Jonah did well to catch up with the ball and deliver a good cross into the centre. Doerr timed his shot perfectly, but Smalley made a fantastic, point-blank save, to keep Fleet in the match.
The home side, who certainly looked stretched at the back as they pushed forward for an equaliser, had a free-kick, from about the same position as the one that had led to their goal, in the 83rd minute. Again it was James Field who sent in a high, looping cross. Jamie Riley used his finger tips to good effect, to intercept the cross, and then got back to make a good save, low at his near post, at the expense of a corner. This was lofted high, from the left, and Jamie was there again, diving low, and scooping the downward header away for another corner. Last season’s No.1 ‘keeper sometimes looked ungainly in making his saves, and is certainly still nowhere near his best, but he showed this afternoon that he hasn’t lost his ability as a shot-stopper.
Andy Sinton made his third and final substitution in the 85th minute, replacing Damien Smith, (one of three Smiths in the Fleet squad today), with Darren Campbell, but, as the playing surface got wetter, and players started slipping and sliding all over the place, Ashford appeared to remain in full control. Most of the closing minutes of the game, including an incredible six minutes of injury time conjured up by the Mackrell, were played in Fleet’s half of the field, with Ashford content to run down the clock. Unfortunately, there was one more attack left in the home side – this came with 95 minutes on the clock. A cross from the right found Eddie Smith, on the left side of the penalty area. Smith E took one touch, to control the ball, and then thumped the ball firmly into the far corner of the net, to preserve Fleet’s unbeaten run.
Although this was a real sickener, so late on, arguably the most important thing today was that the team’s performance was much improved – and this was against a very decent side. I overheard one Fleet fan, in the bar afterwards, say that he thought Ashford were the best side to come to Calthorpe Park this season – which is always a compliment. The challenge for Steve Lovell and the boys is now to maintain this level of form, consistently, over a period of time. If they can achieve that, then a place in the play-offs, at the end of the season, might still be a possibility.
It was one of those all-round team performances that made it difficult to nominate a Man of the Match – but Daniel Brathwaite just shaded it. He must have headed the ball clear a hundred times, and might almost be forgiven for wearing those gloves on this occasion.
Man of the Match
(to go towards the Milton Keynes Bowl)
Daniel Brathwaite
from Your Milton Keynes Correspondent
It was good to be back at Fleet again. For reasons best known to the people at the FA who allocate non-league clubs to different leagues, Fleet Town, along with Godalming Town, were shoved into the Southern League Division One South West for last season. Well, they’re both back this year – at the expense of Thamesmead Town and Chatham Town – so the trip to Calthorpe Park, our shortest away trip in the league, was back on the roster.
This was always going to be a test for the boys. Fleet are a good side. It was just a few years ago that they were one of the whipping boys perennially struggling against relegation – like us – but former Spurs and England winger Andy Sinton has certainly turned them around since taking over as Manager. They finished fifth under Sinton in our division in 2006-7, and were then runners-up in their division last year. In August I actually fancied them to make a play-off position for the third successive season, but they made a fairly sticky start to the current campaign, and were in ninth place this morning – but closer inspection of that league table reveals that Fleet would actually be SECOND if they win the two games they have in hand of all the teams above them. They were unbeaten in their last seven league games, so were very much one of the teams in form.
That’s more than could be said about Ashford, coming into this game. With one win in the last eight, and only one goal in the last four, (and that a gift, after a defensive error), we were looking decidedly ropy. I’m not into encouraging pressure on the manager or any of the players when results aren’t good, but I wouldn’t be setting the scene for this match properly if I didn’t mention that Steve Lovell had been receiving his fair share of criticism since Tuesday’s 1-0 defeat at Merstham – and, with five wins in 17 games this season, and the team sinking to 14th place, there have been one or two suggestions among the supporters that he might not be the man to lead us to the play-offs in May. This was therefore a very important game for both Steve Lovell and his squad of players.
Well, I’m pleased to report that, although this was just a single point gained in Hampshire this afternoon, all seems to be on a much more even keel tonight. This was a much improved performance, and one which heartened the travelling coach-load of support from Ashford. It was just a shame that an equaliser from the home side in the fifth minute of injury time robbed the boys of what would have been a thoroughly deserved victory.
Part of the reason for the improvement might have been the fact that Steve Lovell sent out what many of us believe is his best starting line-up. Jimmy Bottle was back on the left wing, with Mitchell Sherwood starting on the right, and Ryan Briggs and Danny Lye was the central midfield pairing. (It’s true that Ashford tended to bypass the centre of midfield a little this afternoon, but this might have been understandable, given the employment of two wide players. Paul Jones and Claude Seanla is surely the best partnership option up front – the strong hold-up man and the sharp finisher – and Craig Wilkins and Sean Ray look an accomplished pairing in the centre of defence. Daniel Brathwaite was back at left-back today, after having been on his travels in midfield and at centre-half, with Jimmy Elford wearing the No. 2 shirt. To complete the “ideal eleven”, Josh Willis was in goal – Josh has out-performed Jamie Riley this season, and, since making his debut, he has only lost his place when having a genuine reason for being unavailable.
On the subs bench were Jamie Riley, Lee Hockey, Tony Browne (who’s had a good run on the right side of midfield this season) and Andy Doerr.
Ashford’s cause today was also helped considerably by the fact that we made a good start. As early as the third minute, Jimmy Elford played a low ball forward to Claude Seanla, who laid it off to Paul Jones. Jonah took a touch, to take the ball infield, and got in a low, left-footed shot, which was well saved by ‘keeper Dave Smalley. This was rather a sign of how things were to develop, as Smalley made a number of good saves this afternoon, and Ashford looked most dangerous when attacking down the right flank, with Claude, Jonah, Mitch Sherwood and Jimmy Elford combining well. We certainly went forward in numbers, when we had the ball, and looked likely to score – which is not something that could be said about the performance at Merstham on Tuesday.
On this occasion, Smalley’s save was at the expense of a corner, on the right, which was cleared, but only as far as Ryan Briggs, whose firm shot went straight at the ‘keeper. Fleet turned defence into attack, but made a mess of the assault, and lost the ball in midfield. Immediately, the ball was played upfield for Paul Jones to run on to, and Jonah was soon clear of the defence, with only the goalkeeper to beat. He rounded Smalley and struck the ball firmly into the empty net. It was a good striker’s goal, and Paul’s seventh of the season – which equals his total for last season.
It was all Ashford, playing in their Norwich City-style away kit, in the opening minutes, as the visitors didn’t let the home side get into the game. In the fifth minute, Ryan Briggs spread the ball wide to Jimmy Bottle, who was in hectares of space – note the modern, Euro-friendly terminology – on the left. Jimmy cut inside and got in a right-footed shot, but this was saved by goalkeeper Smalley. A minute later, Claude Seanla, starting with his back to goal in the “D”, turned and shot, but was well off target.
Fleet, playing in familiar colours of sky blue shirts, and navy blue shorts and sockies, did manage one attack during this early phase – in the eighth minute, James Field went smoothly, and unchallenged, through the Ashford midfield, and tried a long-range shot which crept past Josh Willis’s right-hand post. Nineteen year-old Josh must have got a touch, as a corner was awarded – but this came to nothing.
At the other end, in the tenth minute, Mitchell Sherwood took a throw-in on the right. He found Paul Jones, in the penalty area, who turned and shot, but tamely, and straight at the ‘keeper.
A feature of today’s game was that it was played, from start to finish, in steady rain. This meant that the entire crowd of 162 this afternoon could be found under the cover that was available. The main, medium-sized stand was the place to be for maximum dryness, but the majority of the intrepid Ashford Town coach party huddled beneath a very ramshackle shelter, made mostly from scaffolding poles, behind each goal. It was good to see a large Ashford Town FC flag in the midst of this gathering. A green & white cross of St George. A flag to die for. “Cry God for Harry ! Ashford, and St George !”.
It might well have been the rain-affected surface that caused Steve Lovell his first real moment of concern, in the 16th minute, when goalkeeper Josh Willis sustained an injury to his left thigh, which was certainly not related to a challenge. After some brief first aid, Josh tested his thigh with a gentle jog, but it was immediately obvious that he was unable to continue, so Jamie Riley was sent on to deputise. It was a good thing that we had a ‘keeper on the subs bench with plenty of first team experience – but it seems that the luckless Josh is doomed to not have an extended run in the team.
Ashford, playing up Calthorpe Park’s diagonal slope in the first half, continued to make the running. In the 25th minute, Jimmy Bottle chipped in a cross from the left, which found Mitch Sherwood at the far post. Mitch fluffed his initial attempt at goal, with his right foot, but still had time to have a second crack, this time with his left – which he pulled well wide. Three minutes later, Mitchell had another shot at goal, which was deflected wide, for a corner. This was taken by Ryan Briggs, on the right. Sean Ray got up well with the header, but Referee Eric Mackrell must have seen something fishy about the challenge, so blew up for a free-kick. (OK, so I’m still working on the act !).
On the half-hour mark, the Mackrell failed to spot a hand-ball by lively Fleet striker Nathan Smart in the Ashford area. Nevertheless, Mitchell Sherwood was there to put the ball behind for a corner, on the left. The resulting cross, a little worryingly, was allowed to travel all the way through the Ashford penalty area, before Sean Ray nodded the ball behind for another corner, on the right. This time it was Daniel Brathwaite who cleared the lines, with a header away.
Which reminds me that I have another entry to make to the Pink Report. Whilst the boys made a generally good showing today, wearing short-sleeved shirts on this cold and very wet afternoon, Daniel B was still caught wearing gloves in public. This is most disappointing. I’m not sure whether there will be an appropriate award at the end of the season, but, if there is, Brathers has accumulated enough Pink Points at this stage of the season to be streets ahead of his team-mates. Watch this space.
It was great to see Jimmy Bottle back, after missing him for five games following the opening up of his right eyebrow by a clash of heads against Chipstead. His pace on the left wing was a constant threat to Fleet, but there were one or two signs of “ring rust”. In the 33rd minute, he gave away a free-kick with a miss-timed tackle, but the resulting cross towards the penalty area was headed clear, to Claude Seanla on the half-way line. Claude turned and spread the ball wide to Jimmy, in space on the left, and suddenly Jimmy had a clear sight of goal – but lack of match practice showed again, as he pulled his shot across the face of goal.
Fleet gradually began to ease themselves into the game, and did look dangerous going forward. Smart Nathan showed good persistence to break through a couple of Ashford tackles, in the 35th minute, and struck his eventual shot against an Ashford arm, from close range - but there was never going to be a penalty awarded for that, (nor should there have been). The ball was still in the penalty area, but Jamie McClurg blasted it over the bar.
In the 36th minute, Daniel Brathwaite conceded a free-kick on the edge of the penalty area. This was taken by Fleet’s dead-ball specialist James Field. Faced by a four-man wall, Field chipped a shot to the near post, but Jamie Riley made a good save, pushing the ball behind, for a corner on the right. Jamie came out to claim the resulting cross, and seemed to have caught the ball cleanly, but then fumbled it, and dropped it – but an Ashford defender on the line cleared it as it span towards the line. The clearance only went to a player in a blue shirt, just outside the area, whose shot was well saved by Jamie, at the expense of another corner, this time on the left. There were groans from the home fans as the taker failed to clear the first defender with the corner, as there were two minutes later, when Daniel Brathwaite cleared another corner, with a near-post header.
Nevertheless, this was a good period of Fleet pressure, and Ashford desperately needed to get out of their own half. Eventually, they managed it, and it was a relief to have a throw-in, deep into the home side’s half of the slope, in the 40th minute. The ball was thrown to Jimmy Elford, who sent a left-footed cross into The Blues’ penalty area. Paul Jones got up to flick the ball goalwards with a back-header, but this was comfortably caught by David Smalley. A minute later, the ball broke to Jimmy Bottle, in the Fleet area, but his shot was blocked, and Ashford had a corner on the right. Sean Ray, still looking for his first goal of the season, got up well, with a downward header that was on target, and it appeared, from the stand, as if a defender’s foot had flicked a clearance over the bar, from inside the six-yard box – but nobody seemed to complain when a goal-kick was awarded.
In the 44th minute, just as the PA Announcer informed us that there would be three minutes of added time at the end of the first half, Ashford were awarded their first free-kick in a dangerous position of the match, for a foul on Claude Seanla. This was curled in by Dan Brathwaite, but there was anti-climax as the Lino flagged immediately for off-side. But Ashford went in at half time with a deserved 0-1 lead, and the travelling fans who had also witnessed the performance at Merstham on Tuesday night were very encouraged by the boys’ much improved showing.
Whilst Ashford played well in the first half, the same cannot really be said about the home side – but, as The Great Brian Clough once said: “They played as well as they were allowed to play, young man”. [ On the subject of great men, I heard on the telly, recently, that Peter Sillett still holds the Chelsea record for goals scored by a defender, and might get more mentions in the near future as John Terry closes in on his total. ] Anyway, Andy Sinton wasted no time in ringing the changes, as he replaced his two strikers, Jermaine Hamilton and Bernard Asante, with Mark Anderson and Eddie Smith.
As the rain continued to pour, Eddie Smith’s first contribution was to get clogged by Craig Wilkins, in the 51st minute – Wilko had lost the ball, on the halfway line, and was rightly yellow-carded for his late challenge.
Two minutes later, a high cross was sent into the Ashford penalty area, from the right, and Jamie Riley came for the ball and managed to finger-tip it away. The defence failed to clear the danger immediately, and the ball was bouncing around in the area – but then the referee noticed that Jamie was flat on his back in the six-yard box, so he had no choice but to halt play. This was a bit worrying, as the only other option was to use Lee Hockey as a makeshift goalkeeper – but Jamie was OK after treatment.
Ashford then had a period of good pressure. Jimmy Bottle won a corner, on the left, which was taken by the hard-working Ryan Briggs. His cross was cleared to the edge of the area, where Claude Seanla picked the ball up, turned and shot. His effort seemed to get momentarily stuck in the wet and the mud of the goalmouth, but eventually slid just past the post. There must have been a Fleet touch en route, though, as another corner was awarded. Briggo again swung the ball in from the left, into David Smalley’s six-yard box, but it rebounded off Sean Ray’s shin, and into the ‘keeper’s hands.
Fleet equalised, the first time, in the 63rd minute. This came about as a result of a free-kick awarded against Daniel Brathwaite – for pulling his man back, according to the Lino’s mime. From a position just to the right of centre, James Field sent in a high, curving cross. This appeared to be relatively harmless, but Steve Hemmings, almost facing his own goal, managed to get his head around the ball, to send his header goalwards. The ball crept just inside the post, and it was “game on”, at 1-1.
The game might have gone either way from this point, but it was Ashford who regained the lead, in the 76th minute – a minute after Andy Doerr had been sent on in place of Claude Seanla. It was a goal that involved both of Ashford’s wide men. Mitchell Sherwood sent in a long, looping cross, from wide on the right. Jimmy Bottle converged on the ball from the left wing, and timed his arrival perfectly, side-footing a volley low, into the net, from about ten yards out, for his first goal of the season. It was good to see Jimmy get on the score-sheet, on his return from injury – but, ironically, it appears that this injury prevented him from taking any further part in the game, as it seems that the hugs and kisses from his team-mates opened up his eyebrow again. He was immediately substituted for Tony Browne, before Fleet could kick off.
Andy Doerr – who should earn a few Pink Points for the white polo-necked vest he was wearing underneath his shirt – very nearly added to his impressive strike-rate as a substitute, in the 80th minute. Paul Jones ran on to a long through-ball, over the top, down the right wing. Jonah did well to catch up with the ball and deliver a good cross into the centre. Doerr timed his shot perfectly, but Smalley made a fantastic, point-blank save, to keep Fleet in the match.
The home side, who certainly looked stretched at the back as they pushed forward for an equaliser, had a free-kick, from about the same position as the one that had led to their goal, in the 83rd minute. Again it was James Field who sent in a high, looping cross. Jamie Riley used his finger tips to good effect, to intercept the cross, and then got back to make a good save, low at his near post, at the expense of a corner. This was lofted high, from the left, and Jamie was there again, diving low, and scooping the downward header away for another corner. Last season’s No.1 ‘keeper sometimes looked ungainly in making his saves, and is certainly still nowhere near his best, but he showed this afternoon that he hasn’t lost his ability as a shot-stopper.
Andy Sinton made his third and final substitution in the 85th minute, replacing Damien Smith, (one of three Smiths in the Fleet squad today), with Darren Campbell, but, as the playing surface got wetter, and players started slipping and sliding all over the place, Ashford appeared to remain in full control. Most of the closing minutes of the game, including an incredible six minutes of injury time conjured up by the Mackrell, were played in Fleet’s half of the field, with Ashford content to run down the clock. Unfortunately, there was one more attack left in the home side – this came with 95 minutes on the clock. A cross from the right found Eddie Smith, on the left side of the penalty area. Smith E took one touch, to control the ball, and then thumped the ball firmly into the far corner of the net, to preserve Fleet’s unbeaten run.
Although this was a real sickener, so late on, arguably the most important thing today was that the team’s performance was much improved – and this was against a very decent side. I overheard one Fleet fan, in the bar afterwards, say that he thought Ashford were the best side to come to Calthorpe Park this season – which is always a compliment. The challenge for Steve Lovell and the boys is now to maintain this level of form, consistently, over a period of time. If they can achieve that, then a place in the play-offs, at the end of the season, might still be a possibility.
It was one of those all-round team performances that made it difficult to nominate a Man of the Match – but Daniel Brathwaite just shaded it. He must have headed the ball clear a hundred times, and might almost be forgiven for wearing those gloves on this occasion.
Man of the Match
(to go towards the Milton Keynes Bowl)
Daniel Brathwaite
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