Walton & Hersham 2 Ashford Town 2
from Your Milton Keynes Correspondent
This was a hugely frustrating game to witness. After almost an hour’s play, Ashford were well in control, with a two-goal lead, with a poor Walton & Hersham side having failed to be of any threat to Seb Barton’s goal – but The Swans somehow managed to get back into the game, to share the points. However, Ashford’s travelling fans must have been cheered by a cracking goal from Mitchell Sherwood, which is probably the Goal of the Season, from what I’ve seen.
A few weeks ago, when the boys were pushing hard for a promotion spot, we would have been gnashing our teeth over the needless dropping of two points, but the current reality, with six games of the season (including this one) remaining, is that any faint hope of promotion via the play-offs was effectively ended by the 1-1 draw at Chipstead in mid-week – so all that is really at stake now for Ashford Town is whether we eventually finish 7th, 8th, 9th or 10th. Today we travelled to Walton-on-Thames with a determination to enjoy what remains of the season, given that, after Wednesday’s news of a seemingly irreparable rift in the boardroom, it’s not certain who will be leading us, on and off the pitch, come August. In spite of there being no official Supporters’ Club coach party to today’s game, there were still plenty of fans who made the trip from Ashford – which was just as well for our hosts, as otherwise the official attendance of 101 might have been even more embarrassing.
It was sad to see such a meagre smattering of people at the Sports Ground, Stompond Lane, since Walton & Hersham FC used to be a big club in non-league circles, and they were in the Ryman Premier Division just a couple of seasons ago. Nowadays, the club is barely bigger than local rivals Walton Casuals, certainly in terms of league position (14th, as opposed to 18th) and average league attendance, (132 plays 103). Whilst The Casuals have conspicuously modest facilities, Walton & Hersham has a ground that provides echoes of a more glorious past. Apart from having a decent-sized main stand, for this level, there are eight steps of concrete terracing on the opposite side of the pitch, which is covered for the entire length of the pitch. It isn’t difficult to imagine football being played here to huge crowds, in past decades.
It’s not a ground that pleases everyone, though. The main feature, a six-lane running track around the pitch, means that the crowd is separated from the playing area, and, in spite of there being a curved area of terracing at one end of the running track, it’s not realistic for traditionalists to watch the game from behind either of the goals. This is partly because of the presence of various bits of kit belonging to Walton Athletics Club, such as a hammer throwing safety cage, high jump mattresses, etc. Our elevated position at the back of the main stand afforded a good view of proceedings – which was a pleasant change to the worm’s eye view that we often have in the Ryman League. It was also a cosy place to shelter from the chilly, blustery breeze this afternoon, which rivalled the cold wind that’s currently emanating from the Ashford Town boardroom.
One bonus of travelling to footy in Walton-on-Thames is that it provides the perfect excuse to have lunch at “The Weir”, a pub by the banks of the river, at the end of the lane that leads to Walton Casuals’ ground. In fact, “The Weir” is now the watering-hole of choice for all venues in South West London, including the two Walton teams, the Met. Police, Corinthian Casuals and Kingstonian. Come back, Molesey ! All is forgiven !
Steve Lovell named the same team that played out the majority of the 1-1 draw at Chipstead on Tuesday: Seb Barton in goal, a back four of Jimmy Elford, Sean Ray, Craig Wilkins and Daniel Brathwaite, a midfield quartet of Mitchell Sherwood, Ryan Briggs, Stanley Muguo and Charlie Glyde, and Paul Jones and Shawn Beveney in attack. Substitutes today were Josh Willis, Elliott Brathwaite, Tony Browne and Orlando Smith. The injured Danny Lye and Jimmy Bottle – (Jimmy reckons that he’s about a week away from making a return) – were also in attendance.
With broken cloud and patches of blue sky overhead, early exchanges were fairly scrappy, with the home side unable to put anything resembling a passing movement together, and Ashford, in spite of having the majority of possession, not faring much better. The quality of the play certainly wasn’t helped by the very bumpy playing surface, which made on-the-deck football difficult. The visitors, playing in their green & white home kit, with Walton & Hersham in red shirts, red shorts and white sockies – it was a curiosity of today’s match that there were 40 white socks out there, worn by the 20 outfield players, and ten black socks, worn by the goalkeepers and the officials – did have a half-chance in the eighth minute. This came from a Ryan Briggs free-kick near the left touchline, halfway inside the Walton half. Briggo sent the ball high and long, into the penalty area. Skipper Sean Ray rose, largely unchallenged, to meet the cross, and headed the ball back across goal, where his defensive partner, Craig Wilkins, headed wide.
In the 19th minute, Ryan Briggs once again had the opportunity to pump the ball into the Walton & Hersham box, with a free-kick that was awarded when Byron Brown clattered Paul Jones from behind. Briggo’s initial ball forward was headed behind for a corner, on the left. This was taken short, to Daniel Brathwaite, whose first-time cross found Charlie Glyde in the area, but Charlie miscued what used to be called a “bicycle kick” in the old days.
Ashford opened the scoring, just as the sun came out, in the 22nd minute. A long free-kick, from inside the Ashford half, skidded off the head of Swans’ captain Jon Boswell, for a corner. Ryan Briggs’ initial cross was headed clear, but was chipped straight back into the penalty area, where Craig Wilkins directed what seemed to be a fairly tame header towards goal. Well, his attempt must have been accurate, as it went beyond the reach of goalkeeper Anthony Hall, and bounced three times before nestling in the far corner of the net. This was Wilko’s eighth goal of the season for Ashford, which is a very creditable contribution, given that he’s played at centre-back for at least half that time.
In the 25th minute, Shawn Beveney did some good work down by the right corner flag, turning past his man, before being pulled back – thanks to the Lino’s flag, Ashford were awarded a free-kick. Sean Ray got up well to meet the resulting cross, on about the six-yard box, and his header went just over the bar – but not without taking a deflection off the head of his marker, so it was an Ashford corner, on the right. This time, the cross was well claimed by Anthony Hall.
As it began to rain, the home side suffered a further reverse, when No.11 Byron Brown limped off, grimacing, to be replaced by Jordan Cheadle, on the left wing.
Charlie Glyde was penalised, with a minute left of the first half, apparently for showing his studs in a challenge on Julien Thompson, near the right touchline, level with his own 18-yard line. This was cause for concern, as Ashford have looked rather vulnerable when defending corners and crosses from free-kicks, but Craig Wilkins managed to deflect Cheadle’s free-kick behind for a corner, on the left, with his eye-brows. The Ashford defence was again unconvincing from the set-piece, as Jon Boswell got up to win a header from the resulting cross, but his effort looped just over the bar. Nevertheless, this was the nearest The Swans came to threatening Seb Barton’s goal in the first half, so Ashford were well worth their 0-1 lead at half time.
The second half began with a flurry of activity. Within the first minute and a half, Mitchell Sherwood had a left-foot shot from outside of the penalty area, which caused Anthony Hall to go down to his left, to make a comfortable diving save; then, at the other end, Julien Thompson shot from a similar distance, but his effort went well over the bar.
Ashford didn’t have to wait long, however, before they scored what appeared to be the clinching goal, even at this early stage. An awkward, bouncing ball, heading in the direction of the Walton & Hersham goal, was dinked over the head of a defender, by Charlie Glyde, to Paul Jones, in a central position. Jonah did something similar, finding Mitch Sherwood, on his right, on the corner of the penalty area. Mitchell hit a screaming volley, which never got more than three feet off the ground, low, into the back of the net. It was a great moment for a lad whose confidence has waned of late. It was also Mitch’s TWELFTH goal of the season – but most of these came before we’d finished our Christmas shopping.
Predictably, Ashford now began to knock the ball around with confidence, and, as the cloud overhead thickened and darkened, things started to look grim for the home side, as a major shellacking looked on the cards. The cry from the few Swans supporters who still care about this old club was: “Come on, make a game of it !”. And they did.
In the 58th minute, Craig Wilkins dealt with a raid down the right by heading the ball back to Seb Barton, but Seb’s despairing dive wasn’t enough to prevent the ball from going out for a corner. This seemingly innocuous incident was probably the turning-point in the match, as it opened the possibility of Ashford once again being embarrassed when defending a corner. It’s difficult to pin-point exactly who, or what, was at fault on this occasion, but the defence failed to effectively clear the initial cross, and, after briefly bouncing around the six-yard box, the ball was thumped into the net. The goal scorer was Julian Owusu-Bekoe, who had just come on as substitute for Scott Hassell whilst Walton & Hersham were preparing to take the corner.
So, with their first recognisable chance of the game, The Swans had brought the score back to 1-2, and there was a game on once again.
Mitchell Sherwood had his afternoon spoilt, in the 66th minute, when he was unlucky to be yellow-carded – this was for an honest tackle, in which he did go slightly over the top of the ball. Seconds later, after Walton & Hersham had replaced Charlie Emery with Jack Watkins, a long ball was launched into the Ashford penalty area, and was put behind for a corner, on the right – so it was again “squeaky bum time” for the defence. The initial cross was headed away by Sean Ray, but was immediately chipped back into the danger area. Seb Barton came for the ball, and lost it, under pressure from the experienced Julien Thompson. Seb sprawled on the ground – which is enough for eight out of ten cats and referees to blow up for a foul – but there was no whistle on this occasion, and Thompson turned towards goal, with the ‘keeper “not at home”. Inevitably, it was skipper Sean Ray who came across to cover at the near post, and turned Thompson’s side-footed shot behind, for another corner. Substitute Jordan Cheadle came across to the right, to swing the ball in with his left foot. Barton came out for the cross, but Sean Ray was there before him, heading the ball clear.
With the home side looking for an equaliser, with a 4-3-3 formation, Steve Lovell’s only substitution saw Orlando Smith replace Shawn Beveney, in a straight swap up front, in the 70th minute – and Walton & Hersham did level the scores, two minutes later. It was, admittedly, a good, incisive move that led to the goal. A quick ball forward was laid off into the path of Julian Owusu-Bekoe, who suddenly had a clear sight of goal; although Seb Barton got fingers to his firm shot, it wasn’t enough to prevent the ball from ending up in the corner of the net.
So it was now 2-2, with plenty of time left, and, although Ashford tried hard to reassert their grip on the game, the genie was out of the bottle, with a suitably encouraged home side now much more difficult to control.
In the 73rd minute, Stanley Muguo, who has looked competent, but hardly the man who is going to transform the effectiveness of our midfield, did well to turn out of a tight spot near the right corner flag, and feed the ball through to Mitch Sherwood. Mitch squared the ball to Charlie Glyde, who was just inside the penalty area, but the ball wouldn’t settle, on the awkward surface, and his left-foot shot went well over the bar. Two minutes later, Sherwood won a corner, on the right, and Charlie Glyde’s left-footed cross slipped through the ‘keeper’s hands, but went out for a corner, on the other side of the pitch. This time, Ryan Briggs’ cross failed to beat the first defender, at the near post.
It would be a slight exaggeration to say that Briggo had a ‘mare this afternoon, but he had a poor game, by the standards of his early-season form. He was badly caught in possession, in the 79th minute, by Jordan Cheadle, who left both Briggs and Muguo trailing in his wake, as he carried the ball through the central midfield area. Cheadle went down rather easily, a few yards outside the Ashford penalty area, but did enough to persuade Referee Alex Groves to blow his whistle, for a free-kick. The substitute took the kick himself, and also went across to take the corner, on the right, after his shot at goal was deflected, over the bar, off Ashford’s defensive wall. Seb Barton came out to collect the resulting cross, and, intercepting the ball above the head of Sean Ray, rather patted it down, and was a shade fortunate to be able to fall on the ball, to gather at the second attempt.
With two minutes of normal time remaining, Ryan Briggs was once again caught in possession in central midfield, and Julian Three-Names was off on a raid on the Ashford goal. He slipped the ball to Zak Graham, on his left, but the No.10 pulled his shot across the face of goal, and wide of the post. A minute later, Briggo had a chance to make amends, with a free-kick, about 25 yards out. Sean Ray challenged for the ball, and challenged again as the ball popped up into the air, but ‘keeper Anthony Hall managed to palm the ball out to safety, for a corner.
So 2-2 it finished, and that made it three successive draws away from home, each time against a team in the bottom half of the table, with Ashford so far failing to win away in 2009. When the final whistle was blown, it was the Walton & Hersham bench and supporters who cheered the loudest – but the Ashford players were later given a rousing reception, as they left the pitch, by the Ashford faithful. The players responded with some applause of their own, in a gesture which seemed to indicate that, whatever is going on behind the closed doors of the Boardroom, in terms of the basics of playing the game and supporting the team, it’s “business as usual”.
As on Tuesday night, Daniel Brathwaite and Sean Ray were strong candidates for Man of the Match – although Razor looked a little flat-footed for Walton & Hersham’s second goal – but Jimmy Elford pipped the pair of them, after another polished performance. With just two away games of the season remaining, the “leader board” for The Milton Keynes Bowl now reads,
Sean Ray 4
Jimmy Elford 3
Daniel Brathwaite 2
Ryan Briggs 2
James Humphreys 2
Paul Jones 2
It may or may not be significant that, of the 21 MoM awards given at away games this season, ten have gone to defenders, with only six going to the men in midfield.
Man of the Match
(to go towards the Milton Keynes Bowl)
Jimmy Elford
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