Fleet Town 6 Ashford Town 2
from Your Milton Keynes Correspondent
Final game of the 2009-10 campaign. This really should have been a relaxing day out in the Spring sunshine – no stress, no strain – especially with the Fleet trip being the shortest one for us in the league calendar. (As it turned out, it took us one hour and eleven minutes to get to the ground, in spite of extensive 50 mph speed limits on the M1, M25 and M3). Unfortunately, Ashford’s season, and their struggle against relegation to the Kent League, is far from over. Last Saturday’s 2-0 victory at home to Sittingbourne gave us a three-point advantage over Walton Casuals, with three games in hand, which enabled many Ashford fans to breathe a large sigh of relief. However, two consecutive 0-1 home defeats during the week have reduced the games-in-hand advantage to just one, and the fact that Walton Casuals were today due to meet a Sittingbourne side playing in its fourth match in five days (!) made that three-point cushion look decidedly precarious.
Probably more worrying has been the manner of the two midweek defeats. In both cases, we went behind to an early goal, and then spent the remainder of each game unable to score, (meaning that we’d drawn a blank in five of our previous six games). So where could we go from here ? No chance any more of recruiting reinforcements. All Steve Lovell could do was to take the same squad of tired players, with several of them carrying injuries, to Hampshire, to take on Fleet Town, the side in sixth place in the table, still with a fair chance of making the promotion play-offs – and hope for the best !
Hope was not something that I had much of, given that today’s opponents are always a strong side, and impressed many observers when beating us 1-4 at The Homelands in February – so it was a good thing that we had had a decent meal in the Heron on the Lake before the game.
There was one surprise in the Ashford Town line-up this afternoon – there was a first start for 18 year-old striker Ben Morley, who had made brief substitute appearances in recent home games against Leatherhead and Whitstable. Ben played in attack, alongside Mark Lovell, who didn’t play against Whitstable on Thursday, (a bruised knee having been given as the reason). Joe Fuller, who played up front alongside Tom Murphy in that Thursday game, was utilised in central midfield this afternoon, as were Ronnie Dolan and Ross Morley, with Mitchell Sherwood wide on the left. Right-back Carl Harrold pushed up to fill the gap on the right side of midfield, whenever possible – Carl was part of a back four that also included Lee Hockey, Laurence Harvey and Danny Lye. Scott Chalmers-Stevens was once again in goal. On the bench we had goalkeeper Darren Ibrahim, plus striker Tom Murphy and midfielders Chris Borchescu, Dan Scorer and Matt Newman – so Lovell Snr was probably praying that he didn’t get an injury to a defender early on ! Those most notable by their absence were Toby Ashmore and Liam Geering.
It was a fairly typical end-of-season pitch at Calthorpe Park – a hard, dry surface, which caused the odd bobble, and barely a blade of grass in either goalmouth. The home side, playing in a rather fetching strip of sky blue shirts with diagonal navy blue stripes on the body, navy blue shorts and sky blue sockies, played down the obvious slope, in the first half, and had the first half-chance of the game, in the opening minute. A Mitch Sherwood hand-ball, near the halfway line, resulted in a free-kick that was pumped deep into the Ashford penalty area. This was nodded into the centre, from where bald central defender Steve Noakes tried a speculative over-head kick, which sailed harmlessly high and wide.
Unsurprisingly, given recent evidence, Ashford offered very little in terms of constructive, creative play. The game plan seemed to be to dig in, compete for everything and hope to get some joy from set-pieces using our aerial and physical presence. It was very much the cult of “get tight to ‘em, and be first to that ‘second ball’”. In the face of superior opposition, this probably wasn’t a bad game plan – although it must be said that Steve Lovell and Hugo Langton haven’t invested much time in trying to blind the opposition with science this season !
To be fair, there was early evidence that these tactics might bear fruit. In fact, Ashford Town actually took the lead, in the twelfth minute, and this opening goal stemmed from a Lee Hockey long throw. Lee’s first effort, from the right side of the field, was easily headed clear by Steve Hemmings, but his second attempt penetrated deep into the Fleet goalmouth. The ball broke to Laurence Harvey, who was first to react, and he poked the ball over the line, for his SIXTH goal of the season.
Almost immediately, news filtered in, through the aether, that Sittingbourne had taken a 0-1 lead against Walton Casuals, on the banks of the Thames – and, suddenly, we had a vision of salvation, with all of our pain and relegation nightmares erased, beneath the cloudless Hampshire sky. Would the Lee Hockey long throw prove to be the magic silver bullet that was to cure all of our ills ? Had Steve Lovell found the key to Ryman League survival ? Well, we weren’t going to be left wondering, as the visitors persisted with this tactic. Lee launched a low howitzer into the Fleet box, in the 15th minute, and this was headed behind for a corner, at the near post. Debutant Ben Morley delivered the cross, curling the ball in with his right foot, from the left.
I would say that, as the ball was sailing towards the far post, this was the high point of Ashford’s afternoon – because it all went downhill from here. Inexplicably, and unforgivably, Joe Fuller met the ball with a flailing hand, in an action that can only be described as a volleyball smash. (Actually, Joe’s action can be explained – he was trying to get away with a deliberate hand-ball !). Referee Dominic Gregory saw exactly what had happened, and it seemed that he had seen an absolutely nailed-on red card offence, so Joe was extremely fortunate to only receive a yellow card – which is a decision that I certainly can’t explain !
I’d hesitate to describe this as a Hand of God incident, as The Big Man does tend to get blamed for everything, but I reckon that God dealt out his own retribution, as Ashford’s lead was cancelled out just three minutes later. On second thoughts, the home side probably didn’t require the assistance of a twelfth man, as Ashford’s back five did them plenty of favours this afternoon. As a cross came in from the right, the ball was allowed to go all the way through the six-yard box, finding Tyrone Smith at the far post – and the Fleet skipper was easily able to sweep the ball into the net, from close range.
So Ashford’s lead had lasted for all of six minutes – and Fleet Town simply never looked back from here. There is a simple explanation for why this game turned into a 6-2 defeat for the visitors – man for man, Ashford were out-matched ! I saw little evidence of tiredness or lack of effort, but Andy Sinton clearly had better players at his disposal than Steve Lovell. It was very much like watching our lads pitting themselves against a Ryman Premier side – and I don’t think there was much that The Management could have done about it.
The gulf in ability between the two teams was illustrated in the 29th minute, when Fleet went 2-1 up. This was a skilfully created goal, the like of which I cannot imagine any of Ashford’s forwards pulling off. Eddie Smith, with his back to goal, turned Lee Hockey without too much trouble, and fed the ball into the path of his strike partner, Mark Anderson, who calmly and firmly thumped the ball past Scott Chalmers-Stevens, into the corner of the net.
Ashford stuck to their task, and persisted with the plan of peppering the Fleet penalty area from corners, throw-ins and free-kicks, but failed in their efforts to create a clear-cut chance – until a Carl Harrold free-kick, from the edge of the centre circle, found the head of Mark Lovell, in the 38th minute, but Mark headed just wide.
The only time that Ashford heads appeared to drop a little was when Fleet went 3-1 up, with what seemed a fairly soft penalty, in the 42nd minute. A long clearance, down the slope, from Fleet ‘keeper Lyall Beazley, appeared to be going all the way through to Scott Chalmers-Stevens, who came out of his goal to punch clear. Suddenly, Mr Gregory was pointing to the penalty spot, making a gesture that seemed to be indicating that the striker was being pulled back – and Danny Lye got booked, but that’s all that I can tell you ! Eddie Smith easily slotted the ball into the corner of the net – and then we heard that Walton Casuals had equalised against Sittingbourne – and it was all going horribly wrong.
Furthermore, it very nearly got horribly worse, even before half time. Almost straight from the restart, Mark Anderson was put clean through on goal; he stabbed the ball past the advancing Chalmers-Stevens, but also just wide of goal. Then, in first half injury time, there seemed little danger as the ball was crossed from the Fleet left – but Lee Hockey, in the act of intercepting the cross, saw the ball slide off his instep, and straight into the path of Mark Anderson. The home No.9 was probably caught completely by surprise to see the ball at his feet, and he blasted wide, with only the ‘keeper to beat. So it was 3-1 at the interval, but Fleet’s lead might easily have been greater.
It was genuine sunbathing weather during half time, as the sky remained completely cloudless. Volcanic ash cloud ? What volcanic ash cloud ?
Unusually, the visitors emerged from the second half a few minutes before the home side. Was this a sign that Steve Lovell’s team talk had been fairly brief ? Apparently, his instructions had been “Just go for it”, which, under the circumstances, was probably as good a speech as any.
Whatever Steve had said, the home side went into a 4-1 lead in the 49th minute. Carl Harrold was unable to prevent Darren Wheeler from getting to the by-line and delivering a cross, from the left – but The Management’s wrath was directed at goalkeeper Chalmers-Stevens, as the ball was once again allowed to travel all the way through the Ashford six-yard box, before Nathan Smart, arriving at the far post, hit the ball firmly into the roof of the net.
Ashford reduced the deficit just two minutes later. The otherwise impressive young ‘keeper, Lyall Beazley, failed to hang on to a cross which came in from the Ashford right, and the ball was dinked back across goal, to Mark Lovell. Mark’s initial right-footed attempt at goal was blocked – but he hit the ball into the net at the second attempt, for his eighth goal of the season. Laurence Harvey and Mark Lovell have, between them, scored all five of Ashford’s goals that have been scored from open play in the past ten games.
Just prior to Ashford’s second goal, Danny Lye had been discussing with The Management whether or not he should continue to play, which suggests that Danny was clearly not 100% fit – and the Ashford Club Captain was replaced by Tom Murphy, in the 53rd minute, as the visitors switched to a 3-4-3 formation, with Ben Morley taking up a wide-left position. With the score at 4-2, this was clearly a nothing-to-lose tactical change, but having only three at the back might have contributed to Fleet’s fifth goal, which originated from a cross from the Fleet right, in the 54th minute. This was a cross that was fairly hammered across the face of Scott Chalmers-Stevens’ goal, and a diving Scott was unable to intercept it. The ball simply hit the deepest of the three Fleet forwards who were waiting in the penalty area, and rebounded to Leigh Rumbold, who hit the ball home, with the ‘keeper still stranded.
As well as scoring Ashford’s second goal, Mark Lovell looked as effective as anyone in a yellow shirt this afternoon. He battled away tirelessly, being one of the few Ashford players to have the physical presence to compete with a generally bigger and stronger team, and he also showed his experience when winning a few cheap free-kicks – like he did in the 58th minute, when Fleet left-back Bernard Asante also got yellow carded for his efforts. Mark also showed a deft touch, on the hour mark, when he beautifully deflected a Ronnie Dolan pass into the path of Tom Murphy – but Tom rather selfishly hammered the ball into the side netting. Three minutes later, Lee Hockey, who was getting excellent distance on his throws this afternoon, managed to launch the ball right into the home side’s goalmouth, but Mark, who might have been a little unsighted, headed wide.
Most of the good football, however, came from the home side, and Nathan Smart and Mark Anderson left the Ashford defence trailing, with a fast one-two down the right flank, in the 64th minute. Eddie Smith went diving in, trying to get a foot to the inevitable cross, but could only divert the ball wide, ending up in a cloud of dust in the goalmouth. A minute later, Ashford pieced together a rare good passing movement, which ended with Mark Lovell buying another cheap free-kick at the expense of Bernard Asante. Referee Gregory ignored the advice of the Ashford faithful behind the goal to show Bernard a second yellow card – which would have been totally unjustified – but had a long chat with the Fleet No.3, just to keep him on his toes. Tom Murphy took the resulting free-kick, hitting a low, hard shot which Lyall Beazley spilt, and a Fleet defender was injured in the ensuing scramble, as an Ashford player, (Lee Hockey, I think), tried to poke the ball over the line. This caused the only real flashpoint in the game, but the ref soon had the situation firmly under control – and Lee H was certainly one of the four players that Mr Gregory spoke to.
In the 71st minute, another Lee Hockey long throw, from the right, was headed behind for a corner. Before the kick was taken, Chris Borchescu replaced Joe Fuller, who had clearly been struggling, physically; Andy Sinton also made a substitution, sending on James Field in place of the bruised Bernard Asante, who had felt the weight of a Mark Lovell foul just seconds earlier. Borchescu took the corner himself, but his cross was headed clear, and the home side was immediately off on a break. With the three-man Ashford defence struggling to get back, up the slope, a brilliantly accurate ball was swept into the path of Darren Wheeler, but Wheeler failed to do the pass justice, and steered the ball wide. Three minutes later, the No.11 tried to make amends, attacking the Ashford defence down the left, and was about to get the better of Laurence Harvey when Laurence blatantly clung onto his opponent’s arm. (Good boy ! You’re learning !). Scottie Three Names punched the resulting free-kick clear, being fouled in the process. In the 76th minute, Wheeler was on the ball again, on the left wing, teasing Mitchell Sherwood, who was facing him down. In spite of Mitch standing his ground, Wheeler got in a good cross, but Leigh Rumbold headed over at the far post.
In the 79th minute, Andy Sinton replaced Mark Anderson with Paul Harkness, and his team took a 6-2 lead, just two minutes later, with what I think was the goal of the game. Fleet Town simply passed the ball around our lads. It was something that the home side had looked capable of doing all game, and it was almost as if they did so merely to prove the point. The last of several passes found substitute James Field on the edge of the Ashford penalty area – and, come to think of it, he also passed the ball, right into the corner of Scottie’s net, giving the ‘keeper no chance. This was the third time that Chalmers-Stevens had conceded six or more goals in a game this season; he has now let in 56, which is more than any other Ashford goalkeeper over the past five seasons, with the exception of Jake Whincup, who let in the same number. The difference, however, is that Jake kept goal for a total of 3,420 minutes during the 2006-7 and 2007-8 seasons, whilst Scott has charged to this total in just 2,546 minutes; (not that I’m suggesting for a moment that either ‘keeper was responsible for all of those goals).
There were optimistic Ashford appeals for a penalty, in the 83rd minute, after a Mark Lovell shot, from just inside the area, hit a Fleet defender’s hand, and then, with just two minutes of normal time remaining, Chris Borchescu showed some fancy footwork when trying to dance between three Fleet players – but his showy cameo was ended with a foul. Tom Murphy, who often appears to have graduated from the Greta Garbo School of Teamwork, went for goal with the free-kick, hitting the ball low and hard towards the Fleet goal. Lee Hockey intercepted his effort, and very nearly poked the ball into the net, but earnt nothing more than a corner. Worse still, the corner came to nothing, and the home side quickly turned the situation into a counter-attack. In fact, this really should have been a seventh goal for Fleet Town, as Eddie Smith was soon racing clear of the pursuing Ashford defence – but Scott Chalmers-Stevens did well, making a good save.
With Leatherhead only drawing at Merstham this afternoon, the home side is now just a point outside the play-off zone, and so still has a live chance of what would be a thoroughly well-deserved promotion, having been one of the best footballing sides at this level for four or five years now. As for Ashford’s predicament, well, The Brickies did us a huge favour in holding Walton Casuals to a draw; with their one remaining game of the season being away to in-form Leatherhead, this was Walton’s big chance to really put pressure on Ashford. As it is, the situation is very simple now – assuming that we get nothing from Wednesday’s home game against third-placed Worthing, (who will be motivated by the fact that they are still not sure of a play-off place), then we’ll finish in the bottom two if Casuals win next Saturday and we don’t. If we somehow get a point against Worthing, then a point at home to Chatham will be enough to see us finish clear of the relegation zone.
If the unthinkable happens, and we do end up in the relegation places, then it will be as the 21st-placed team, and then relegation will, or won’t, become a reality depending on how reprieves are handed out as a result of clubs from higher up in the pyramid going out of business, etc. My understanding from sources of unknown reliability – in the absence of the late, and much missed, Tony Kempster – is that the earlier demise of King’s Lynn FC and Newcastle Blue Star FC will result in a reprieve for the teams finishing in 21st position in Unibond Division One North and Unibond Division One South. (This is something to do with a prior agreement to maintain numbers in the Unibond League). Priority for any further reprieves will be assessed on the basis of the team(s) finishing 21st with the best points total in the four remaining Step 4 divisions – which will be Ashford Town, by a considerable distance, indicating that the bottom of Ryman Division One South has been fairly competitive this season.
Let’s hope that it doesn’t come to that !
Man of the Match
(to go towards the Milton Keynes Bowl)
Mark Lovell
Sunday 18 April 2010
Monday 5 April 2010
Ramsgate v Ashford Town. Ryman Division One South. 5th of April 2010.
Ramsgate 0 Ashford Town 0
from Your Milton Keynes Correspondent
Easter Monday, 2010, and this was the second leg of a double-header for us, as we were at The Homelands for Saturday’s 0-1 defeat at home to in-form Leatherhead. The Easter week-end gives us the opportunity to spend a few days in God’s own town, and to take in a couple of games – thanks to the wonderful hospitality of the Orsbournes ! Culinary highlights of the week-end were, of course, the cooked breakfast, but also an excellent meal at The Halfway House, in Challock, on the Sunday. I’d recommend the smoked haddock rarebit to anybody !
To summarise the outcome of the footy over the three days, Ashford Town’s haul was a solitary point – but a point that was valuable, in that, with results elsewhere mostly going our way, we emerge from Easter with a cushion of three points between us and Walton Casuals and Eastbourne Town, and with four games in hand of both of those rivals. Furthermore, looking at a slightly wider picture, the outcome was that we managed to play two of nine games that remained to be played, at the start of the week-end. Given that there was a significant portion of the pitch that was under water last Wednesday, that comes as quite a relief, with fears having begun to grow as to whether we would be able to actually fulfil our fixtures for the season. The weather has certainly relented just in time for the week-end. Whilst The Homelands pitch had several sandy patches on it, and the top was a bit loose, on Saturday, the surface seemed to play pretty well, and Steve Hackett had obviously done a tremendous job in getting the pitch into a playable condition.
The main problem, of late, has been the exceptionally wet winter that the ground has had to endure. East Kent actually had a February that was 283.7% wetter than average, and the March figure is not dissimilar. (Your Milton Keynes Correspondent took the trouble to visit the Environment Agency’s official weather station in Sellinge, in order to provide you with this authoritative and accurate piece of information – and all in the interest of maintaining the high standards of journalism set on this web-site). It was certainly a bright, sunny morning as we set off from Ashford on the (for us) short journey to Southwood Stadium, in Ramsgate, and the sunshine lasted throughout the day, rarely, if ever, disappearing behind the ever-present white clouds.
So lovely weather, good food, good company and accurate rain gauge measurements …………. and then one of the worst games of football that I have ever seen ! I won’t say that it was THE worst, as there have been many candidates for that mantle over the years of following Ashford Town around the South of England – but it was dreadful.
As ever, there were some valid excuses for the players not treating us to a rerun of Arsenal v Barcelona. One of these was the state of the Southwood pitch, which looked incredibly green, with an almost complete coverage of dark green grass – but it was clear from the opening seconds that the surface was bumpy, with the ball bobbling around in all areas. There was also a considerable breeze to contend with – and this was obvious throughout the match, as both sets of players did their best to keep the ball in the air as high, and for as long, as possible; (and to sometimes kick it as far away as possible, when they should have been shooting for goal !). The game was also refereed by Mr Lee Venamore, who is known to be one of the fussier referees on the circuit, so this further reduced the probability of a flowing football spectacle. Furthermore, the home team’s players could point out that, (although they’d never let Manager Jim Ward hear them think it), this was very much an end-of-season exercise for them. Being safely tucked away in mid-table, with only four games left after this one, Ramsgate had the luxury of treating this game as being like one of those slow dances that one used to have at the end of a disco – except that nobody actually got $%£&ed afterwards.
Given The Rams’ deep-down disinterest, the visitors had little problem with matching their opponents during the course of this dance – but had fewer excuses, as this was another vital game in the on-going struggle to avoid relegation to the Kent League. Having failed to register a shot on target throughout the match, (Ramsgate had three), Ashford only had the one shot off target, according to Rob Lane’s figures – which just about sums up the 90 minutes of entertainment. However, it would be unfair to say that these statistics sum up the Ashford performance, as that would ignore the fact that every man battled hard, in difficult playing conditions, and it will be important to quarry out precious points like this, if we are to have a Staying Up Party at the end of the season ! That would also tend to devalue some good individual performances out there this afternoon. One of the main reasons for Ashford keeping a clean sheet, (and therefore taking home a point, as we never looked likely to score), was yet another commanding performance by Lee Hockey at the centre of defence, both in the air and on the ground. I also thought that Mark Lovell played well. He looked strong, and in control, when having the ball at his feet, but never did so within shouting distance of the Ramsgate goal, so never threatened to get onto the score-sheet. I was also quietly impressed with young Ronnie Dolan – in both matches over the week-end, in fact. He’s really starting to find his feet in the first team, and is beginning to look a good player.
The Ashford side was bolstered in defence by the return of Carl Harrold and Laurence Harvey. I heard several vivid and colourful descriptions of their indisposition for Saturday’s game – but I’ll settle for saying that they were both absent due to a stomach upset. A notable absentee, however, was Ross Morley, who had work commitments. Joe Fuller was also on the injury list, having been taken off at half time in the Leatherhead match, with a leg problem, and it appears that Nick Smith will be out injured for the rest of the season.
On the plus side, however, there was an unexpected and welcome return for Liam Geering. The loanee from Gillingham, who arrived at the same time as Tom Murphy, has been suffering from glandular fever, and it had been anticipated that this debilitating illness would keep him out for the rest of the season, but he turned up at Southwood Stadium with a clean bill of health.
So Ashford lined up in 4-4-2 formation, with the ever-improving Scott-Chalmers Stevens in goal, Laurence Harvey at right-back, Carl Harrold at left-back and Lee Hockey and skipper Toby Ashmore in the centre; Chris Borchescu continued in the centre of midfield, this time alongside Ronnie Dolan, who had operated in a wide position against Leatherhead on Saturday; Mitchell Sherwood was wide on the right, with Liam Geering on the left; Tom Murphy (with his right knee bandaged) partnered Mark Lovell up front. The substitutes bench consisted of three lads who had featured in the Leatherhead game – Danny Shearing, Dan Scorer and Sam Conlon – as well as sub goalie Darren Ibrahim and Club Captain Danny Lye, who was never going to be considered fit enough to play.
One other absentee to mention was Manager Steve Lovell, who had to serve the first of a four-game touchline ban, meaning that he was left to chunter away in the stand – Assistant Manager Hugo Langton took charge of the team.
I did make copious notes on the game’s events, as usual, but will spare readers the ordeal of a list of corners, free-kicks and Lee Hockey long throws, as all of these situations came to nothing (!). Instead, I will, for once, settle for quoting Rob Lane’s corners statistic: it ended up 6-3 to Ramsgit !
The home side did look marginally more dangerous when going forward, in the early stages – mainly through Rhys Lawson. In the fifth minute, with the ball spread wide to him, on the right, Lawson rounded Carl Harrold on his outside, and got to the by-line, but his cross-cum-shot flew across the face of goal. In the 14th minute, the same player again beat Harrold, and managed to get a cross in from the by-line, but this time his cross was too strong, and eluded everybody.
The best chance of the entire game fell to Rams’ skipper Warren Schulz, in the 21st minute, and Schulz’s effort would have been worthy of all three points, if it had gone in. Finding himself under a high ball, just outside the Ashford penalty area, he hit a snap shot, on the volley, causing Scott Chalmers-Stevens to make a spectacular save, catching the ball as he dived, at full stretch, to his left. It was certainly one for the photographers, but a fine save, nonetheless. Scottie generally had a solid (albeit fairly quiet) game, apart from a few adventures with his kicking !
Laurence Harvey was also fairly solid this afternoon, in his slightly less familiar position of right-back, but did cause a flutter in the 24th minute, after being caught in possession in his own half. This immediately led to a swift attack from the home side, but Lee Hockey was there to save the day with a good tackle inside the penalty area.
Tom Murphy didn’t have a particularly effective week-end – things just didn’t seem to fall right for him, in either game – but he was responsible for Ashford’s most promising moments in the opposition’s half of the field. In the 25th minute, he dinked the ball past a defender, and ran on into the penalty area, only to slice his attempted cross – but these chances were few and far between, with Ashford not being helped by Mr Venamore’s apparent refusal to play any advantage to the visitors. In a fifteen-minute spell in the first half, the referee frustrated players and management alike, when on three occasions he blew up for a foul when there was clearly an advantage to be played. On each occasion, the resulting free-kick came to nothing. Venamore was also maybe a little harsh when he booked Ronnie Dolan for not retreating ten yards, after Warren Schulz had blasted the ball at him – he evened things up by showing a yellow card to Schulz, as well !
Ashford had a promising situation at the start of the second half, when good work on the ball by Mark Lovell drew a foul, and a free-kick, just a couple of yards outside the penalty area, in a central position. There were plenty of options for the visitors; would Chris Borchescu use his undoubted skill to bend the ball in with his left foot? Would Tom Murphy curl it in with his right? Would Toby Ashmore just hit it as hard, and as straight, as he could? In the end, Tom hit a firm shot which hit Ramsgate’s James Gregory, on the end of the wall, full in the face, knocking him over like a skittle – for the only really light moment of the game.
In the 53rd minute, Lee Hockey was again impressive, with two great saving tackles, in quick succession, in the penalty area. He also showed his aerial prowess to great effect when he beat Warren Schulz in the air, with a powerful header – but Mr Venamore took a different view of things, and actually booked Lee for leading with his arm. Schulz required treatment for the blow he received, and there was probably more than just an element of retribution in the challenge, in the 64th minute, when Lee received an elbow in the face after winning a header against big Joe Taylor, who had been on the field for three minutes, having previously replaced Gary Lockyer. In fairness to Mr V, he showed consistency when having no hesitation in booking Taylor.
Steve Lovell – I mean Hugo Langton – made just the one substitution, when he replaced Liam Geering with Dan Scorer, on the left wing, but Dan was unable to make an impact, and after the Bank Holiday crowd of 267 was forced to endure five minutes of added time, everyone shook hands on a 0-0 draw.
Man of the Match
(to go towards the Milton Keynes Bowl)
Lee Hockey
from Your Milton Keynes Correspondent
Easter Monday, 2010, and this was the second leg of a double-header for us, as we were at The Homelands for Saturday’s 0-1 defeat at home to in-form Leatherhead. The Easter week-end gives us the opportunity to spend a few days in God’s own town, and to take in a couple of games – thanks to the wonderful hospitality of the Orsbournes ! Culinary highlights of the week-end were, of course, the cooked breakfast, but also an excellent meal at The Halfway House, in Challock, on the Sunday. I’d recommend the smoked haddock rarebit to anybody !
To summarise the outcome of the footy over the three days, Ashford Town’s haul was a solitary point – but a point that was valuable, in that, with results elsewhere mostly going our way, we emerge from Easter with a cushion of three points between us and Walton Casuals and Eastbourne Town, and with four games in hand of both of those rivals. Furthermore, looking at a slightly wider picture, the outcome was that we managed to play two of nine games that remained to be played, at the start of the week-end. Given that there was a significant portion of the pitch that was under water last Wednesday, that comes as quite a relief, with fears having begun to grow as to whether we would be able to actually fulfil our fixtures for the season. The weather has certainly relented just in time for the week-end. Whilst The Homelands pitch had several sandy patches on it, and the top was a bit loose, on Saturday, the surface seemed to play pretty well, and Steve Hackett had obviously done a tremendous job in getting the pitch into a playable condition.
The main problem, of late, has been the exceptionally wet winter that the ground has had to endure. East Kent actually had a February that was 283.7% wetter than average, and the March figure is not dissimilar. (Your Milton Keynes Correspondent took the trouble to visit the Environment Agency’s official weather station in Sellinge, in order to provide you with this authoritative and accurate piece of information – and all in the interest of maintaining the high standards of journalism set on this web-site). It was certainly a bright, sunny morning as we set off from Ashford on the (for us) short journey to Southwood Stadium, in Ramsgate, and the sunshine lasted throughout the day, rarely, if ever, disappearing behind the ever-present white clouds.
So lovely weather, good food, good company and accurate rain gauge measurements …………. and then one of the worst games of football that I have ever seen ! I won’t say that it was THE worst, as there have been many candidates for that mantle over the years of following Ashford Town around the South of England – but it was dreadful.
As ever, there were some valid excuses for the players not treating us to a rerun of Arsenal v Barcelona. One of these was the state of the Southwood pitch, which looked incredibly green, with an almost complete coverage of dark green grass – but it was clear from the opening seconds that the surface was bumpy, with the ball bobbling around in all areas. There was also a considerable breeze to contend with – and this was obvious throughout the match, as both sets of players did their best to keep the ball in the air as high, and for as long, as possible; (and to sometimes kick it as far away as possible, when they should have been shooting for goal !). The game was also refereed by Mr Lee Venamore, who is known to be one of the fussier referees on the circuit, so this further reduced the probability of a flowing football spectacle. Furthermore, the home team’s players could point out that, (although they’d never let Manager Jim Ward hear them think it), this was very much an end-of-season exercise for them. Being safely tucked away in mid-table, with only four games left after this one, Ramsgate had the luxury of treating this game as being like one of those slow dances that one used to have at the end of a disco – except that nobody actually got $%£&ed afterwards.
Given The Rams’ deep-down disinterest, the visitors had little problem with matching their opponents during the course of this dance – but had fewer excuses, as this was another vital game in the on-going struggle to avoid relegation to the Kent League. Having failed to register a shot on target throughout the match, (Ramsgate had three), Ashford only had the one shot off target, according to Rob Lane’s figures – which just about sums up the 90 minutes of entertainment. However, it would be unfair to say that these statistics sum up the Ashford performance, as that would ignore the fact that every man battled hard, in difficult playing conditions, and it will be important to quarry out precious points like this, if we are to have a Staying Up Party at the end of the season ! That would also tend to devalue some good individual performances out there this afternoon. One of the main reasons for Ashford keeping a clean sheet, (and therefore taking home a point, as we never looked likely to score), was yet another commanding performance by Lee Hockey at the centre of defence, both in the air and on the ground. I also thought that Mark Lovell played well. He looked strong, and in control, when having the ball at his feet, but never did so within shouting distance of the Ramsgate goal, so never threatened to get onto the score-sheet. I was also quietly impressed with young Ronnie Dolan – in both matches over the week-end, in fact. He’s really starting to find his feet in the first team, and is beginning to look a good player.
The Ashford side was bolstered in defence by the return of Carl Harrold and Laurence Harvey. I heard several vivid and colourful descriptions of their indisposition for Saturday’s game – but I’ll settle for saying that they were both absent due to a stomach upset. A notable absentee, however, was Ross Morley, who had work commitments. Joe Fuller was also on the injury list, having been taken off at half time in the Leatherhead match, with a leg problem, and it appears that Nick Smith will be out injured for the rest of the season.
On the plus side, however, there was an unexpected and welcome return for Liam Geering. The loanee from Gillingham, who arrived at the same time as Tom Murphy, has been suffering from glandular fever, and it had been anticipated that this debilitating illness would keep him out for the rest of the season, but he turned up at Southwood Stadium with a clean bill of health.
So Ashford lined up in 4-4-2 formation, with the ever-improving Scott-Chalmers Stevens in goal, Laurence Harvey at right-back, Carl Harrold at left-back and Lee Hockey and skipper Toby Ashmore in the centre; Chris Borchescu continued in the centre of midfield, this time alongside Ronnie Dolan, who had operated in a wide position against Leatherhead on Saturday; Mitchell Sherwood was wide on the right, with Liam Geering on the left; Tom Murphy (with his right knee bandaged) partnered Mark Lovell up front. The substitutes bench consisted of three lads who had featured in the Leatherhead game – Danny Shearing, Dan Scorer and Sam Conlon – as well as sub goalie Darren Ibrahim and Club Captain Danny Lye, who was never going to be considered fit enough to play.
One other absentee to mention was Manager Steve Lovell, who had to serve the first of a four-game touchline ban, meaning that he was left to chunter away in the stand – Assistant Manager Hugo Langton took charge of the team.
I did make copious notes on the game’s events, as usual, but will spare readers the ordeal of a list of corners, free-kicks and Lee Hockey long throws, as all of these situations came to nothing (!). Instead, I will, for once, settle for quoting Rob Lane’s corners statistic: it ended up 6-3 to Ramsgit !
The home side did look marginally more dangerous when going forward, in the early stages – mainly through Rhys Lawson. In the fifth minute, with the ball spread wide to him, on the right, Lawson rounded Carl Harrold on his outside, and got to the by-line, but his cross-cum-shot flew across the face of goal. In the 14th minute, the same player again beat Harrold, and managed to get a cross in from the by-line, but this time his cross was too strong, and eluded everybody.
The best chance of the entire game fell to Rams’ skipper Warren Schulz, in the 21st minute, and Schulz’s effort would have been worthy of all three points, if it had gone in. Finding himself under a high ball, just outside the Ashford penalty area, he hit a snap shot, on the volley, causing Scott Chalmers-Stevens to make a spectacular save, catching the ball as he dived, at full stretch, to his left. It was certainly one for the photographers, but a fine save, nonetheless. Scottie generally had a solid (albeit fairly quiet) game, apart from a few adventures with his kicking !
Laurence Harvey was also fairly solid this afternoon, in his slightly less familiar position of right-back, but did cause a flutter in the 24th minute, after being caught in possession in his own half. This immediately led to a swift attack from the home side, but Lee Hockey was there to save the day with a good tackle inside the penalty area.
Tom Murphy didn’t have a particularly effective week-end – things just didn’t seem to fall right for him, in either game – but he was responsible for Ashford’s most promising moments in the opposition’s half of the field. In the 25th minute, he dinked the ball past a defender, and ran on into the penalty area, only to slice his attempted cross – but these chances were few and far between, with Ashford not being helped by Mr Venamore’s apparent refusal to play any advantage to the visitors. In a fifteen-minute spell in the first half, the referee frustrated players and management alike, when on three occasions he blew up for a foul when there was clearly an advantage to be played. On each occasion, the resulting free-kick came to nothing. Venamore was also maybe a little harsh when he booked Ronnie Dolan for not retreating ten yards, after Warren Schulz had blasted the ball at him – he evened things up by showing a yellow card to Schulz, as well !
Ashford had a promising situation at the start of the second half, when good work on the ball by Mark Lovell drew a foul, and a free-kick, just a couple of yards outside the penalty area, in a central position. There were plenty of options for the visitors; would Chris Borchescu use his undoubted skill to bend the ball in with his left foot? Would Tom Murphy curl it in with his right? Would Toby Ashmore just hit it as hard, and as straight, as he could? In the end, Tom hit a firm shot which hit Ramsgate’s James Gregory, on the end of the wall, full in the face, knocking him over like a skittle – for the only really light moment of the game.
In the 53rd minute, Lee Hockey was again impressive, with two great saving tackles, in quick succession, in the penalty area. He also showed his aerial prowess to great effect when he beat Warren Schulz in the air, with a powerful header – but Mr Venamore took a different view of things, and actually booked Lee for leading with his arm. Schulz required treatment for the blow he received, and there was probably more than just an element of retribution in the challenge, in the 64th minute, when Lee received an elbow in the face after winning a header against big Joe Taylor, who had been on the field for three minutes, having previously replaced Gary Lockyer. In fairness to Mr V, he showed consistency when having no hesitation in booking Taylor.
Steve Lovell – I mean Hugo Langton – made just the one substitution, when he replaced Liam Geering with Dan Scorer, on the left wing, but Dan was unable to make an impact, and after the Bank Holiday crowd of 267 was forced to endure five minutes of added time, everyone shook hands on a 0-0 draw.
Man of the Match
(to go towards the Milton Keynes Bowl)
Lee Hockey
Saturday 27 March 2010
Godalming Town v Ashford Town. Ryman Division One South. 27th of March, 2010.
Godalming Town 1 Ashford Town 1
from Your Milton Keynes Correspondent
The long slog to avoid relegation to the Kent League continued today, but, due to an upturn in form over the past few weeks, which has seen Ashford Town climb into the top half of the current form table, those of us who traveled to Weycourt, Godalming, Surrey, did so with more than a little cause for optimism that our boys would line up in the Ryman League again next season. At the start of the day, we were four points clear of Walton Casuals, with four games in hand of them, and two points clear of Eastbourne Town, with three games in hand – and that’s a whole lot different to the situation a little while back, when we were six points adrift at the bottom, and playing so poorly that it didn’t matter how many games we had in hand of those above us. It’s certainly true to say that we have looked genuinely competitive in recent weeks, and capable of taking points from any team in the division, and it has been this improvement in the level of performance that has been the main source of optimism for those of us of a green & white persuasion. A very telling statistic, I believe, is that Ashford haven’t been beaten by more than one goal for twelve games now, (the 1-4 defeat at the hands of Fleet Town, on the 3rd of February, being the last time that happened).
The warning in my heart, however, is that two points is not much of a cushion between ourselves and Eastbourne Town, the team most likely to overhaul us, and the three games we have in hand of them might count for very little if we say that these three are the fixtures we have coming up against, say, Croydon Athletic, Worthing and FleetTown; (and there’s also a very tough match against Sittingbourne to negotiate). The other thing that is bothering me a little is that the squad is starting to look a bit thin again, and there is a distinct possibility that injuries and fatigue will take their toll as one fixture follows another in quick succession. Manager Steve Lovell is already drawing quite heavily on the Club’s youth to bolster the squad, and it looks likely that he will continue to need to do so in order to get through the remaining ten games of the season.
The most notable absentees for today’s game at Godalming were striker Tom Murphy, still out with a thigh strain, Club Captain Danny Lye, whose hamstring appears to be fraying under the stress of so much football, and Nick Smith, who has recently returned from a four-match suspension. Matt Newman, who was limited to just a ten-minute substitute appearance against Chipstead in mid-week, was also absent. Steve Lovell covered these absences by calling up defender Danny Shearing, winger Dan Scorer and striker Sam Conlon, as substitutes, from the Reserves squad, (alongside sub goalie Darren Ibrahim).
The starting line-up, in an orthodox 4-4-2 formation, consisted of Scott Chalmers-Stevens in goal, with Carl Harrold at right-back, Lee Hockey and Toby Ashmore in the centre of defence, and, in the absence of a specialist left-back in the squad, Laurence Harvey at No.3; we had a pretty young and inexperienced midfield quartet today, with Ross Morley on the right, Chris Borchescu and Ronnie Dolan in the centre, and Mitch Sherwood, the old git of the four, at the age of 23, out on the left; Joe Fuller partnered Mark Lovell in attack.
I don’t know a great deal about today’s opposition, but we are all aware that Godalming Town, in their fourth season at this level, having won the Combined Counties Championship in 2005-6, have been mounting a serious challenge at the top of our division all season, and their two stand-out players have been Phil Williams and Glen Stanley, who have scored 36 goals between them, in all competitions. Williams is certainly one of the outstanding players in the division, and began today’s game as joint third-top scorer in Ryman Division One South, with 18 goals. Godalming went into the match in fifth place, and seemingly well placed to secure a play-off position come May. The news that Stanley was not playing this afternoon was a source of encouragement, but this was nevertheless going to be a tough fixture.
Given that expectations as to what we might get out of the game were at a fairly low ebb, the solution was to proactively console ourselves with a decent lunch before the game – after which any result is that much easier to take. Fortunately, we stumbled upon The Harrow Inn, in the nearby village of Compton. Things got off to a promising start when we were informed that there was waitress service, (most unusual that, for a pub), and the food turned out to be excellent – in the same class as The White Hart, in Chipstead. Mrs Milton Keynes Correspondent had what she definitely considered to be the best fish n chips that she had ever tasted – and my homemade sausages weren’t half bad, either ! I’d definitely say, from a purely selfish, culinary point of view, that the priorities for this season are that Chipstead should avoid relegation, and Godalming should miss out on promotion.
Could anything dampen our spirits, as we arrived at the ground ? Well, there was always the possibility of getting soaking wet, given the BBC forecast of “heavy showers”, coupled with the fact that there’s not a great deal of shelter available at Weycourt. For those unfamiliar with Godalming Town FC’s pleasant little ground, the only cover provided is in the form of a small stand, situated just off-centre on one side of the pitch. Bums are parked on seven rows of wooden benches, painted green, with two half-rows of red, plastic seats in the Directors’ Box. There is a canopy of sorts behind the goal that Scottie Three Names defended during the first half, but this is little bigger than a bus shelter, and thirty people would probably struggle to squeeze themselves under the curved roof, even for a bet ! In fact, there was a stark contrast provided by the dug-outs, situated on the opposite side to the green main stand, which are probably the most spacious that I have seen. Behind the dug-outs was Broadwater Golf Course, where the yellow flags on the nearby greens clashed disconcertingly with the flag of the lino on that side !
The match actually began in bright sunshine, in spite of the presence of much broken cloud, and it was the home side that tried to make hay in the very early stages, with a concerted attack. A throw-in on the left side of the field found Phil Williams, inside the penalty area, and the G’s’ talisman confidently turned and shot, in one movement, causing Scott Chalmers-Stevens to make a good save, diving low to his right. With the ball still in play, Lee Hockey conceded a free-kick, on the right edge of his penalty area, with a trip; this earnt Lee an early lecture from Referee Neil, who was no doubt mindful of the presence of the Referees Assessor in the stand. The resulting free-kick was curled over Ashford’s defensive wall, but was then cleared as far as Chris Wales, who was waiting just outside the “D”; Wales’s shot was blocked, at point blank range, by Mitchell Sherwood, and Mitch was very unlucky to be penalised for hand-ball. The free-kick was in a dangerous, central position, very close to the 18-yard line, but Arjan Tajbakhsh’s attempted chip into the danger area was headed away by the green & white wall, and the ball was eventually put behind, for a corner, on the right. The resulting cross was a good one, and was met by a header that would have given the home side the lead, if the ball had not been cleared off the line, (by Ronnie Dolan, I think, who was stationed by the far post).
Ashford, playing in their home strip, for the quite understandable reason that Godalming’s green & yellow colours à la Norwich City are identical to our away kit, did eventually get into the home side’s half during the first quarter of an hour, but, in spite of a couple of Lee Hockey’s trademark long throws, were unable to create anything resembling a chance. Then the first of a number of heavy showers – the weather forecasters are rarely wrong – arrived, and we decided to abandon our position between the dug-outs, on the open side of the ground, and seek shelter in the stand. We arrived to find that most of the crowd of 155, including a squad of noisily enthusiastic under-11 footballers, was already congregated there. We also arrived in time to discover that, whilst we were walking behind this stand, the home side had put the ball in the back of the net, but the “goal” was disallowed, (for a foul, I think).
In the 14th minute, Ashford had a free-kick, on the half-way line, which Toby Ashmore, (who was skipper this afternoon), floated into the penalty area. Lee Hockey won the ball with a back-header that he deliberately aimed at goal, and, although this attempt did seem a little innocuous, goalkeeper Rodney Chiweshe had to scramble a little to put it out for a corner. This came to nothing, as did a couple of other corners for the visitors during the following five minutes, and the next opportunity fell to Godalming. Unsurprisingly, it was Phil Williams who was the source of the danger. He picked the ball up on the right, in the 22nd minute, cut inside and then beat one Ashford defender, which took him inside the Ashford area, before the ball rather ran away from him, and went out for a goal-kick.
Still the rain fell, intensifying, if anything – and the stand continued to fill, as more and more refugees from the touchline arrived.
In almost every move, the home side tried to feed the ball to Williams. In the 28th minute, he was given possession in the Ashford penalty area. Like any good striker accustomed to scoring goals, his only thought was to stick the ball in the back of the net, and he turned and made several attempts to make room for a shot. His eventual effort hit a defender on the back, and deflected away for a corner, on the right. As the ball was put into the danger area, there was a goalmouth scramble that was probably repeated in any number of non-league matches up and down the country this afternoon. This one resulted in a shot, on target, from the home side, which required an excellent left-handed save from Scott Chalmers-Stevens, low down. It was all Godalming at this stage, and Scottie Three Names, who looked confident and secure throughout the game, certainly deserved credit for keeping the score at 0-0.
In the 33rd minute, however, Three Names was grateful for the assistance of the woodwork – (which I know isn’t really made of wood !). After Laurence Harvey, in his right-back position, had charged down an attempted cross, at the expense of a corner, on the left, the subsequent cross was flicked on at the near post. This found Phil Williams, in the centre, and, although the Godalming No.11 was unable to get very much power into his effort, his looping header hit the bar, near the angle.
The rain had ceased by this time, but the pitch had become very slippery on top. Nevertheless, it was noticeable that, in spite of the home side hogging the majority of possession in the first half, Ashford, at every opportunity, tried to play controlled, passing football. In fact, I could not recognise the side that had been slated by its fans for playing hopeful, up in the air, hoofing football during the previous two home games. It was a joy, at times, to watch young players in an Ashford shirt stroking the ball around – particularly considering the playing surface, which the rain had made extremely difficult. There was a particularly good passing movement put together by the visitors in the 37th minute, during which I swear the ball never went above six inches from the ground. The move ended with Joe Fuller shooting straight at goalkeeper Rodney Chiweshe, from a central position.
The sun came out for the final few minutes of the first half, during which both sides had good situations from set-pieces. In the 42nd minute, Godalming’s Richard Taylor launched a long throw into the visitors’ crowded penalty area. A yellow-socked foot directed the ball goalwards, at the near post, and Scott Chalmers-Stevens again had to be alert, going down to save, low, to his left. The home side then had a free-kick, near the right touchline, after a foul by Mitch Sherwood. Arjan Tajbakhsh – and that’s an Iranian name – crossed the ball into the Ashford area, but the ball was cleared, for a corner, by an Ashford shin. Two minutes later, even deeper into first-half injury time, Lee Hockey launched a long throw into the Godalming area, and the ref blew for half time as the ball was cleared.
So 0-0 it was at the interval. The home side had certainly had the better of the half, and had looked unnervingly dangerous in attack, but the Ashford lads had certainly tried to play football at every opportunity, albeit without carrying much threat up front.
It was the latter thought that immediately sprang to mind in the third minute of the second half – as Godalming Town took the lead, and it was then very difficult to imagine how Ashford were going to get back on terms. The goal was actually very simply constructed. The diminutive Victor Kiri fed the ball down the left flank, for Phil Williams to latch onto. Williams did so in such a casual, languid way, that I assumed that he had seen the lino’s flag go up for offside, or that the ball had gone out of play – but he picked out defender Russell Pym, on the edge of the penalty area, who very calmly side-footed the ball into the corner of the net.
Almost immediately, the sky darkened considerably, and, as the floodlights shone down on Weycourt, the rain returned. This time it was driving rain, which angled in from behind the Ashford players as they attacked the Godalming goal, to our right. By now, the little scaffolding & tin shelter behind this goal was crammed full of Ashford Town’s travelling faithful.
Just after the hour mark, these fans had to watch and hope from a distance, as Carl Harrold was caught in possession, deep inside his own half. Inevitably, the ball was quickly fed forward to Phil Williams, who was soon inside the Ashford area. Williams, faced by Lee Hockey, transferred the ball onto his left foot, and tried to make room for a shot – but the Ashford defender snuffed out the danger with an excellent tackle. This was typical of Lee’s work this afternoon, as he had another outstanding game.
As the game entered its final quarter, there was a rash of yellow cards. Laurence Harvey was the first in Mr Neil’s book, for a trip in the 65th minute – and it’s possible that the ref had simply run out of patience with a succession of Ashford fouls, and thought that a lecture would no longer do. Seconds later, Godalming’s Tajbakhsh was yellow-carded for a similar offence, right in front of the dug-outs, and then his team-mate, Graeme Purdy, was booked for a late tackle in the 69th minute.
Godalming Manager Chuck Martini – and I’ve already done all the Joan Collins and Leonard Rossiter jokes – then sprang a surprise, in the 70th minute, when he replaced star player Phil Williams with Adam Bernard, but this was presumably due to injury.
In the 74th minute, as the sun came out and glistened on what was now a very wet pitch, Ashford put together an excellent passing movement, down the right, which involved Joe Fuller, Mark Lovell and Ross Morley – but the home defences held firm, and put the ball out, for a throw-in. This was taken, long, by Lee Hockey, resulting in a corner on the same side of the pitch, but the attack eventually came to nothing.
Steve Lovell made his own substitutions in the 76th minute, replacing Laurence Harvey and Ross Morley with Dan Scorer and Sam Conlon. This meant that Mitch Sherwood dropped back into the right-back position, Scorer played as an orthodox left-winger and young Sam joined Fuller and Lovell in a three-man attack.
Dan Scorer always looks impressive when he comes on, and he had an impact within two minutes of entering the fray. Scott Chalmers-Stevens had made another good save, this time from a header, in the 78th minute, and, as the ball was cleared from the Ashford defence, centre-half Richard Taylor conceded a free-kick when making an aerial challenge for the ball, just inside his own half. As with most of the visitors’ set pieces this afternoon, it was Chris Borchescu – another impressive young player when he has the ball at his feet – who was entrusted with the delivery. Borchescu’s cross into the Godalming area was headed away as far as Dan Scorer, on the left. Dan whipped the ball in, with his right foot, and goalkeeper Chiweshe somehow squeezed the ball away to safety, with the help of his near post.
Joe Fuller was the next man to be shown a card by the referee, and, depending on your point of view, this was either a harsh yellow, or Joe was lucky that the colour of the card was not red. Certainly, the home crowd did its best to get Joe sent off – giving him the “off–off–off” treatment – but I think the ref got it just about right. What actually happened was that the Godalming goalie pounced on the ball as it was about to trickle out of play for a corner, and Joe Fuller slid in, challenging for a ball that I think he was just about entitled to go for. As usual, this sparked a furore among the defenders, and there was a brief, heated exchange of words – and a yellow card was the result.
In the 82nd minute, it was Russell Pym’s turn to commit a foul when challenging an Ashford player in the air, and Chris Borchescu again prepared to curl the ball into the danger area, from a position just to the right of centre. This time, though, in a move that had probably been rehearsed on the practice pitch, Carl Harrold went charging off on the overlap, and Borchescu switched the ball down the line to him. Still running with pace, Carl sent in a fast cross, and Joe Fuller met the ball with a bullet header that went just inches wide of the angle of post and bar.
In truth, in spite of these opportunities from set-pieces, Ashford did little to bother the home ‘keeper, and Godalming looked very comfortable with their one-goal lead – so, when the visitors equalised, in the 88th minute, it came as a bit of a surprise. After a good move, down the right, Mitch Sherwood whipped in a cross, which resulted in a shot that was blocked by the home side’s defence. The follow-up shot was also blocked, almost on the line, and the referee was certain that this effort was stopped by the hand or arm of James Wade. Mr Neil had no hesitation in awarding a penalty, before showing Wade a yellow card. There were celebratory hugs among some of the Ashford players – which probably reflects their belief that Mitch scoring from the penalty spot is about as much a certainty as death and taxes ! If that’s the case, then they are pretty good judges, as Mitch struck the ball firmly into the back of the net, before trotting off to celebrate, in his sodden shirt, with the Ashford fans behind the goal. This was The Nuts & Bolts’ first ever goal at Weycourt, having been beaten 2-0 and 3-0 in their previous two visits.
Suddenly, the visitors were on fire, and there was quite a finale. As the game entered its final minute, Mitch Sherwood attacked down the right wing, in a manner that has rarely been seen during his three seasons at the Club. He took on, and beat, the first defender, and continued his run into the Godalming penalty area, before delivering a cross, but this was cut out, giving Ashford a corner, on the right. Chris Borchescu’s initial attempt at getting the ball across was charged down, for another corner, but his second attempt was met by the head of Lee Hockey, at the near post, but he put his effort wide. As the game went into the first of four minutes of injury time, Sherwood again attacked down the right, and sent in an inviting cross, but Mark Lovell was unable to make contact as he slid in through the mud, in the middle of the Godalming penalty area. Seconds later, Mark tried to get on the end of another cross, this time from the left, but there was an element of “It’s a Knock-out” as he stooped low, with an attempted header, almost with his nose on the ground, before falling on the ball. His desperate, weary attempt would not have counted, though, as the lino was already flagging for off-side.
Both sides had their moments of going forward, in the closing moments, and Godalming’s Victor Kiri even found time to get himself booked for dissent, before Mr Neil, who had had a pretty good game, blew his whistle to end proceedings.
This was definitely a couple of points dropped by the home side, in their quest to secure a place in the promotion play-offs, and it’s probably fair to say that Ashford burgled a point, with Godalming looking very comfortable with their 1-0 lead before the award of the penalty – but this precious point was certainly not undeserved, as the lads had shown plenty of spirit, in appalling conditions, throughout the 90 minutes. With all four of the other sides involved in the relegation dog-fight losing, Ashford inched a little further away from the precipice – we are now three points ahead of Eastbourne Town, with three games in hand.
After the game, Steve Lovell expressed how proud he was of how his side had performed, playing good, passing football, in spite of the difficult conditions. Steve was also at pains to emphasise how young the side is at present – and it was certainly good to see youngsters like Borchescu, Dolan and Morley holding their own in midfield, against one of the better sides in our division; Laurence Harvey and Carl Harrold also showed great quality, at times, in defence. If Steve can keep these lads together, then they can only improve in the future – but it was the longer-serving players, Mitch Sherwood and Lee Hockey, who really stood out today, with Mitch just shading it as our Man of the Match.
Man of the Match
(to go towards the Milton Keynes Bowl)
Mitchell Sherwood
from Your Milton Keynes Correspondent
The long slog to avoid relegation to the Kent League continued today, but, due to an upturn in form over the past few weeks, which has seen Ashford Town climb into the top half of the current form table, those of us who traveled to Weycourt, Godalming, Surrey, did so with more than a little cause for optimism that our boys would line up in the Ryman League again next season. At the start of the day, we were four points clear of Walton Casuals, with four games in hand of them, and two points clear of Eastbourne Town, with three games in hand – and that’s a whole lot different to the situation a little while back, when we were six points adrift at the bottom, and playing so poorly that it didn’t matter how many games we had in hand of those above us. It’s certainly true to say that we have looked genuinely competitive in recent weeks, and capable of taking points from any team in the division, and it has been this improvement in the level of performance that has been the main source of optimism for those of us of a green & white persuasion. A very telling statistic, I believe, is that Ashford haven’t been beaten by more than one goal for twelve games now, (the 1-4 defeat at the hands of Fleet Town, on the 3rd of February, being the last time that happened).
The warning in my heart, however, is that two points is not much of a cushion between ourselves and Eastbourne Town, the team most likely to overhaul us, and the three games we have in hand of them might count for very little if we say that these three are the fixtures we have coming up against, say, Croydon Athletic, Worthing and FleetTown; (and there’s also a very tough match against Sittingbourne to negotiate). The other thing that is bothering me a little is that the squad is starting to look a bit thin again, and there is a distinct possibility that injuries and fatigue will take their toll as one fixture follows another in quick succession. Manager Steve Lovell is already drawing quite heavily on the Club’s youth to bolster the squad, and it looks likely that he will continue to need to do so in order to get through the remaining ten games of the season.
The most notable absentees for today’s game at Godalming were striker Tom Murphy, still out with a thigh strain, Club Captain Danny Lye, whose hamstring appears to be fraying under the stress of so much football, and Nick Smith, who has recently returned from a four-match suspension. Matt Newman, who was limited to just a ten-minute substitute appearance against Chipstead in mid-week, was also absent. Steve Lovell covered these absences by calling up defender Danny Shearing, winger Dan Scorer and striker Sam Conlon, as substitutes, from the Reserves squad, (alongside sub goalie Darren Ibrahim).
The starting line-up, in an orthodox 4-4-2 formation, consisted of Scott Chalmers-Stevens in goal, with Carl Harrold at right-back, Lee Hockey and Toby Ashmore in the centre of defence, and, in the absence of a specialist left-back in the squad, Laurence Harvey at No.3; we had a pretty young and inexperienced midfield quartet today, with Ross Morley on the right, Chris Borchescu and Ronnie Dolan in the centre, and Mitch Sherwood, the old git of the four, at the age of 23, out on the left; Joe Fuller partnered Mark Lovell in attack.
I don’t know a great deal about today’s opposition, but we are all aware that Godalming Town, in their fourth season at this level, having won the Combined Counties Championship in 2005-6, have been mounting a serious challenge at the top of our division all season, and their two stand-out players have been Phil Williams and Glen Stanley, who have scored 36 goals between them, in all competitions. Williams is certainly one of the outstanding players in the division, and began today’s game as joint third-top scorer in Ryman Division One South, with 18 goals. Godalming went into the match in fifth place, and seemingly well placed to secure a play-off position come May. The news that Stanley was not playing this afternoon was a source of encouragement, but this was nevertheless going to be a tough fixture.
Given that expectations as to what we might get out of the game were at a fairly low ebb, the solution was to proactively console ourselves with a decent lunch before the game – after which any result is that much easier to take. Fortunately, we stumbled upon The Harrow Inn, in the nearby village of Compton. Things got off to a promising start when we were informed that there was waitress service, (most unusual that, for a pub), and the food turned out to be excellent – in the same class as The White Hart, in Chipstead. Mrs Milton Keynes Correspondent had what she definitely considered to be the best fish n chips that she had ever tasted – and my homemade sausages weren’t half bad, either ! I’d definitely say, from a purely selfish, culinary point of view, that the priorities for this season are that Chipstead should avoid relegation, and Godalming should miss out on promotion.
Could anything dampen our spirits, as we arrived at the ground ? Well, there was always the possibility of getting soaking wet, given the BBC forecast of “heavy showers”, coupled with the fact that there’s not a great deal of shelter available at Weycourt. For those unfamiliar with Godalming Town FC’s pleasant little ground, the only cover provided is in the form of a small stand, situated just off-centre on one side of the pitch. Bums are parked on seven rows of wooden benches, painted green, with two half-rows of red, plastic seats in the Directors’ Box. There is a canopy of sorts behind the goal that Scottie Three Names defended during the first half, but this is little bigger than a bus shelter, and thirty people would probably struggle to squeeze themselves under the curved roof, even for a bet ! In fact, there was a stark contrast provided by the dug-outs, situated on the opposite side to the green main stand, which are probably the most spacious that I have seen. Behind the dug-outs was Broadwater Golf Course, where the yellow flags on the nearby greens clashed disconcertingly with the flag of the lino on that side !
The match actually began in bright sunshine, in spite of the presence of much broken cloud, and it was the home side that tried to make hay in the very early stages, with a concerted attack. A throw-in on the left side of the field found Phil Williams, inside the penalty area, and the G’s’ talisman confidently turned and shot, in one movement, causing Scott Chalmers-Stevens to make a good save, diving low to his right. With the ball still in play, Lee Hockey conceded a free-kick, on the right edge of his penalty area, with a trip; this earnt Lee an early lecture from Referee Neil, who was no doubt mindful of the presence of the Referees Assessor in the stand. The resulting free-kick was curled over Ashford’s defensive wall, but was then cleared as far as Chris Wales, who was waiting just outside the “D”; Wales’s shot was blocked, at point blank range, by Mitchell Sherwood, and Mitch was very unlucky to be penalised for hand-ball. The free-kick was in a dangerous, central position, very close to the 18-yard line, but Arjan Tajbakhsh’s attempted chip into the danger area was headed away by the green & white wall, and the ball was eventually put behind, for a corner, on the right. The resulting cross was a good one, and was met by a header that would have given the home side the lead, if the ball had not been cleared off the line, (by Ronnie Dolan, I think, who was stationed by the far post).
Ashford, playing in their home strip, for the quite understandable reason that Godalming’s green & yellow colours à la Norwich City are identical to our away kit, did eventually get into the home side’s half during the first quarter of an hour, but, in spite of a couple of Lee Hockey’s trademark long throws, were unable to create anything resembling a chance. Then the first of a number of heavy showers – the weather forecasters are rarely wrong – arrived, and we decided to abandon our position between the dug-outs, on the open side of the ground, and seek shelter in the stand. We arrived to find that most of the crowd of 155, including a squad of noisily enthusiastic under-11 footballers, was already congregated there. We also arrived in time to discover that, whilst we were walking behind this stand, the home side had put the ball in the back of the net, but the “goal” was disallowed, (for a foul, I think).
In the 14th minute, Ashford had a free-kick, on the half-way line, which Toby Ashmore, (who was skipper this afternoon), floated into the penalty area. Lee Hockey won the ball with a back-header that he deliberately aimed at goal, and, although this attempt did seem a little innocuous, goalkeeper Rodney Chiweshe had to scramble a little to put it out for a corner. This came to nothing, as did a couple of other corners for the visitors during the following five minutes, and the next opportunity fell to Godalming. Unsurprisingly, it was Phil Williams who was the source of the danger. He picked the ball up on the right, in the 22nd minute, cut inside and then beat one Ashford defender, which took him inside the Ashford area, before the ball rather ran away from him, and went out for a goal-kick.
Still the rain fell, intensifying, if anything – and the stand continued to fill, as more and more refugees from the touchline arrived.
In almost every move, the home side tried to feed the ball to Williams. In the 28th minute, he was given possession in the Ashford penalty area. Like any good striker accustomed to scoring goals, his only thought was to stick the ball in the back of the net, and he turned and made several attempts to make room for a shot. His eventual effort hit a defender on the back, and deflected away for a corner, on the right. As the ball was put into the danger area, there was a goalmouth scramble that was probably repeated in any number of non-league matches up and down the country this afternoon. This one resulted in a shot, on target, from the home side, which required an excellent left-handed save from Scott Chalmers-Stevens, low down. It was all Godalming at this stage, and Scottie Three Names, who looked confident and secure throughout the game, certainly deserved credit for keeping the score at 0-0.
In the 33rd minute, however, Three Names was grateful for the assistance of the woodwork – (which I know isn’t really made of wood !). After Laurence Harvey, in his right-back position, had charged down an attempted cross, at the expense of a corner, on the left, the subsequent cross was flicked on at the near post. This found Phil Williams, in the centre, and, although the Godalming No.11 was unable to get very much power into his effort, his looping header hit the bar, near the angle.
The rain had ceased by this time, but the pitch had become very slippery on top. Nevertheless, it was noticeable that, in spite of the home side hogging the majority of possession in the first half, Ashford, at every opportunity, tried to play controlled, passing football. In fact, I could not recognise the side that had been slated by its fans for playing hopeful, up in the air, hoofing football during the previous two home games. It was a joy, at times, to watch young players in an Ashford shirt stroking the ball around – particularly considering the playing surface, which the rain had made extremely difficult. There was a particularly good passing movement put together by the visitors in the 37th minute, during which I swear the ball never went above six inches from the ground. The move ended with Joe Fuller shooting straight at goalkeeper Rodney Chiweshe, from a central position.
The sun came out for the final few minutes of the first half, during which both sides had good situations from set-pieces. In the 42nd minute, Godalming’s Richard Taylor launched a long throw into the visitors’ crowded penalty area. A yellow-socked foot directed the ball goalwards, at the near post, and Scott Chalmers-Stevens again had to be alert, going down to save, low, to his left. The home side then had a free-kick, near the right touchline, after a foul by Mitch Sherwood. Arjan Tajbakhsh – and that’s an Iranian name – crossed the ball into the Ashford area, but the ball was cleared, for a corner, by an Ashford shin. Two minutes later, even deeper into first-half injury time, Lee Hockey launched a long throw into the Godalming area, and the ref blew for half time as the ball was cleared.
So 0-0 it was at the interval. The home side had certainly had the better of the half, and had looked unnervingly dangerous in attack, but the Ashford lads had certainly tried to play football at every opportunity, albeit without carrying much threat up front.
It was the latter thought that immediately sprang to mind in the third minute of the second half – as Godalming Town took the lead, and it was then very difficult to imagine how Ashford were going to get back on terms. The goal was actually very simply constructed. The diminutive Victor Kiri fed the ball down the left flank, for Phil Williams to latch onto. Williams did so in such a casual, languid way, that I assumed that he had seen the lino’s flag go up for offside, or that the ball had gone out of play – but he picked out defender Russell Pym, on the edge of the penalty area, who very calmly side-footed the ball into the corner of the net.
Almost immediately, the sky darkened considerably, and, as the floodlights shone down on Weycourt, the rain returned. This time it was driving rain, which angled in from behind the Ashford players as they attacked the Godalming goal, to our right. By now, the little scaffolding & tin shelter behind this goal was crammed full of Ashford Town’s travelling faithful.
Just after the hour mark, these fans had to watch and hope from a distance, as Carl Harrold was caught in possession, deep inside his own half. Inevitably, the ball was quickly fed forward to Phil Williams, who was soon inside the Ashford area. Williams, faced by Lee Hockey, transferred the ball onto his left foot, and tried to make room for a shot – but the Ashford defender snuffed out the danger with an excellent tackle. This was typical of Lee’s work this afternoon, as he had another outstanding game.
As the game entered its final quarter, there was a rash of yellow cards. Laurence Harvey was the first in Mr Neil’s book, for a trip in the 65th minute – and it’s possible that the ref had simply run out of patience with a succession of Ashford fouls, and thought that a lecture would no longer do. Seconds later, Godalming’s Tajbakhsh was yellow-carded for a similar offence, right in front of the dug-outs, and then his team-mate, Graeme Purdy, was booked for a late tackle in the 69th minute.
Godalming Manager Chuck Martini – and I’ve already done all the Joan Collins and Leonard Rossiter jokes – then sprang a surprise, in the 70th minute, when he replaced star player Phil Williams with Adam Bernard, but this was presumably due to injury.
In the 74th minute, as the sun came out and glistened on what was now a very wet pitch, Ashford put together an excellent passing movement, down the right, which involved Joe Fuller, Mark Lovell and Ross Morley – but the home defences held firm, and put the ball out, for a throw-in. This was taken, long, by Lee Hockey, resulting in a corner on the same side of the pitch, but the attack eventually came to nothing.
Steve Lovell made his own substitutions in the 76th minute, replacing Laurence Harvey and Ross Morley with Dan Scorer and Sam Conlon. This meant that Mitch Sherwood dropped back into the right-back position, Scorer played as an orthodox left-winger and young Sam joined Fuller and Lovell in a three-man attack.
Dan Scorer always looks impressive when he comes on, and he had an impact within two minutes of entering the fray. Scott Chalmers-Stevens had made another good save, this time from a header, in the 78th minute, and, as the ball was cleared from the Ashford defence, centre-half Richard Taylor conceded a free-kick when making an aerial challenge for the ball, just inside his own half. As with most of the visitors’ set pieces this afternoon, it was Chris Borchescu – another impressive young player when he has the ball at his feet – who was entrusted with the delivery. Borchescu’s cross into the Godalming area was headed away as far as Dan Scorer, on the left. Dan whipped the ball in, with his right foot, and goalkeeper Chiweshe somehow squeezed the ball away to safety, with the help of his near post.
Joe Fuller was the next man to be shown a card by the referee, and, depending on your point of view, this was either a harsh yellow, or Joe was lucky that the colour of the card was not red. Certainly, the home crowd did its best to get Joe sent off – giving him the “off–off–off” treatment – but I think the ref got it just about right. What actually happened was that the Godalming goalie pounced on the ball as it was about to trickle out of play for a corner, and Joe Fuller slid in, challenging for a ball that I think he was just about entitled to go for. As usual, this sparked a furore among the defenders, and there was a brief, heated exchange of words – and a yellow card was the result.
In the 82nd minute, it was Russell Pym’s turn to commit a foul when challenging an Ashford player in the air, and Chris Borchescu again prepared to curl the ball into the danger area, from a position just to the right of centre. This time, though, in a move that had probably been rehearsed on the practice pitch, Carl Harrold went charging off on the overlap, and Borchescu switched the ball down the line to him. Still running with pace, Carl sent in a fast cross, and Joe Fuller met the ball with a bullet header that went just inches wide of the angle of post and bar.
In truth, in spite of these opportunities from set-pieces, Ashford did little to bother the home ‘keeper, and Godalming looked very comfortable with their one-goal lead – so, when the visitors equalised, in the 88th minute, it came as a bit of a surprise. After a good move, down the right, Mitch Sherwood whipped in a cross, which resulted in a shot that was blocked by the home side’s defence. The follow-up shot was also blocked, almost on the line, and the referee was certain that this effort was stopped by the hand or arm of James Wade. Mr Neil had no hesitation in awarding a penalty, before showing Wade a yellow card. There were celebratory hugs among some of the Ashford players – which probably reflects their belief that Mitch scoring from the penalty spot is about as much a certainty as death and taxes ! If that’s the case, then they are pretty good judges, as Mitch struck the ball firmly into the back of the net, before trotting off to celebrate, in his sodden shirt, with the Ashford fans behind the goal. This was The Nuts & Bolts’ first ever goal at Weycourt, having been beaten 2-0 and 3-0 in their previous two visits.
Suddenly, the visitors were on fire, and there was quite a finale. As the game entered its final minute, Mitch Sherwood attacked down the right wing, in a manner that has rarely been seen during his three seasons at the Club. He took on, and beat, the first defender, and continued his run into the Godalming penalty area, before delivering a cross, but this was cut out, giving Ashford a corner, on the right. Chris Borchescu’s initial attempt at getting the ball across was charged down, for another corner, but his second attempt was met by the head of Lee Hockey, at the near post, but he put his effort wide. As the game went into the first of four minutes of injury time, Sherwood again attacked down the right, and sent in an inviting cross, but Mark Lovell was unable to make contact as he slid in through the mud, in the middle of the Godalming penalty area. Seconds later, Mark tried to get on the end of another cross, this time from the left, but there was an element of “It’s a Knock-out” as he stooped low, with an attempted header, almost with his nose on the ground, before falling on the ball. His desperate, weary attempt would not have counted, though, as the lino was already flagging for off-side.
Both sides had their moments of going forward, in the closing moments, and Godalming’s Victor Kiri even found time to get himself booked for dissent, before Mr Neil, who had had a pretty good game, blew his whistle to end proceedings.
This was definitely a couple of points dropped by the home side, in their quest to secure a place in the promotion play-offs, and it’s probably fair to say that Ashford burgled a point, with Godalming looking very comfortable with their 1-0 lead before the award of the penalty – but this precious point was certainly not undeserved, as the lads had shown plenty of spirit, in appalling conditions, throughout the 90 minutes. With all four of the other sides involved in the relegation dog-fight losing, Ashford inched a little further away from the precipice – we are now three points ahead of Eastbourne Town, with three games in hand.
After the game, Steve Lovell expressed how proud he was of how his side had performed, playing good, passing football, in spite of the difficult conditions. Steve was also at pains to emphasise how young the side is at present – and it was certainly good to see youngsters like Borchescu, Dolan and Morley holding their own in midfield, against one of the better sides in our division; Laurence Harvey and Carl Harrold also showed great quality, at times, in defence. If Steve can keep these lads together, then they can only improve in the future – but it was the longer-serving players, Mitch Sherwood and Lee Hockey, who really stood out today, with Mitch just shading it as our Man of the Match.
Man of the Match
(to go towards the Milton Keynes Bowl)
Mitchell Sherwood
Saturday 13 March 2010
Walton Casuals v Ashford Town. Ryman Division One South. 13th of March 2010.
Walton Casuals 1 Ashford Town 4
from Your Milton Keynes Correspondent
This was a genuine “six-pointer”. Ashford occupied 21st position at the start of play, with today’s hosts, Walton Casuals (three points ahead of us, having played four more games), representing our current target for safety. Today, the result was everything, and thank goodness that the lads finally managed to come out on the right side of one of these relegation scraps. Previous six-pointers hadn’t gone that well for Ashford. The first of these appeared to be away at Horsham YMCA, in October, but, in fairness to YM, their subsequent surge in form, which elevated them to the top half of the league table, has made a nonsense of referring to this game as a relegation scrap. Horsham won that game 2-1. Then there was the trip to Whitstable, when the home side out-played us, and won 3-0; we then had to rely on a late Mark Lovell goal to salvage a 2-2 draw and a point away at bottom club Eastbourne Town, and this was followed, just a fortnight ago, by that 1-0 defeat at Chipstead.
Today’s 1-4 victory therefore comes as a mighty relief, and is one which, due to Eastbourne Town’s 3-1 home victory over Whitstable, lifts us out of the relegation zone, on goal difference. Walton Casuals, Whitstable Town and Ashford Town are now all level on 26 points – a point ahead of Eastbourne Town – but The Casuals have played three games more than Whitstable, and (still) four games more than Ashford. What is more worrying for the Surrey club is that they find themselves in this predicament on the back of quite a long run of poor form – they came into this afternoon’s match having failed to win their previous twelve games, (drawn four, lost eight), and having scored just one goal in the previous eight games. The latter statistic is probably not unconnected with the recent departure of prolific scorer Martin Grant to neighbours Walton & Hersham.
Ashford, on the other hand, are now enjoying their best run of form of the season, having won four of their last six games, scoring 14 goals in the process – and it is this proven ability to pick up points that turns the four games that they have in hand of both Walton Casuals and Eastbourne Town into hard currency.
There’s little doubt that the 1-4 score-line considerably flattered Ashford this afternoon. The essential difference between the two sides was three goals scored from a combined distance of about four yards, thanks to players in a green & white shirt reacting first to “second ball” situations in The Casuals’ penalty area – but there is equally little doubt that the lads deserved to carry off all three valuable points, after a very solid all-round team performance. This included Scott Chalmers-Stevens looking safe between the sticks, captain Danny Lye having an immense match at the back, and Tom Murphy being a thorn in the side of the home defence all afternoon. Tom’s display showed both tireless energy, and several inspired touches of real class and ability.
With Paul Jones having left the Club in midweek, and Craig Cloke having returned to Dover after his loan spell, Steve Lovell’s squad largely picks itself, but the one slight surprise to the starting line-up was the omission of Chris Borchescu – he was replaced by Joe Fuller, although Joe’s omission from the starting line-up against Ramsgate in mid-week had itself been a bit of a surprise. Steve Lovell started Joe up front today, alongside Tom Murphy, with Mark Lovell “in the hole” behind them. Matt Newman, Ross Morley and Mitchell Sherwood were the three more orthodox midfielders, in front of a back four of Carl Harrold, Laurence Harvey, Lee Hockey and Danny Lye, although Sherwood frequently tucked in in the left-back position, particularly when Ashford didn’t have the ball. On the bench, we had a full set of substitutes, namely Darren Ibrahim, Toby Ashmore, Chris Borchescu, Ronnie Dolan and Nicholas Frederick Smith.
The weather was mercifully dry, but it felt decidedly chillier than the 8ºC that was showing on the car’s temperature gauge when we arrived. The pitch at the Waterside Stadium is fairly undulating in nature, but had a good covering of short grass, and the surface was smooth enough for there to be no excuses for not playing good, passing football. In fairness to Walton Casuals, it has to be said that they were the team that mostly strove to knock the ball around, and create openings by passing the ball on the ground. Before they could do this, however, they had to endure an assertive start from the visitors, who immediately revealed a game plan that focused on hitting balls long, into the corners, for Tom Murphy to chase, and then attempting to over-power the home side from set-pieces, using a combination of Lee Hockey’s long throws and a considerable aerial presence in the form of the likes of Laurence Harvey, Danny Lye and Mark Lovell. [ Quick disclaimer: I’ve no problem at all with these tactics, especially as they appear to have worked beautifully – so well done, Steve and Hugo. ]
Ashford had their first corner of the game, on the right, as early as the second minute, and this resulted in Danny Lye getting a headed effort on target – but this was, in turn, headed clear. The home defence also successfully repelled at least four Lee Hockey long throws during the opening ten minutes, as Ashford, playing in their green & white home strip, applied the pressure early on. Ross Morley also had an early pop at goal, robbing his man in the central midfield area, in the eighth minute, but his low shot from long range went well wide.
The first attack from Walton Casuals, (tangerine shirts, but with shorts and sockies that were the same shade of black as those of both goalies and all three officials (!!)), came in the ninth minute, and in the form of a free-kick, delivered into the Ashford penalty area by David Lawson. The visiting defence did look a little shaky here, as The Casuals managed to win two successive headers in the area, but Scott Chalmers-Stevens did well to save the shot at goal that eventually came in, diving low, to his right. In the twelfth minute, it was Ashford’s turn to deliver the ball into a dangerous area, and Danny Lye did so, from a free-kick that was just about on the half-way line, just a few feet from the team dug-outs. The ball was competed for by a crowd of players on the far side of the penalty area, and it was Lee Hockey who reacted first to the “second ball”, but his snap shot went straight at ‘keeper Chico Ramos.
Ashford opened the scoring on the quarter-hour mark, and it was again speed of reaction to a loose ball in the penalty area that was the key. Mitchell Sherwood, from what was roughly a left-back position, fed the ball down the left flank for Tom Murphy to chase – and The Casuals’ defence had no choice but to put the ball out for a throw-in. This was the signal for Lee Hockey to loop in one of his Rory Delaps – which Ramos came to claim, before dropping the ball and having to be saved by a defender hoofing the ball vertically into the air. As the ball fell, it broke to Lee Hockey, who won a corner, on the left. Several bodies challenged for the resulting cross, and the ball broke to young Laurence Harvey, at the far post, who hit it home from close range.
This was the perfect start for Ashford, in this crucial game, and, although they never really dominated possession for long periods, they followed this opening goal with a succession of half-chances, which strongly suggested that they were sent out with a shoot-on-sight policy. In the 17th minute, a long-range shot, with the outside of the boot, from Ross Morley was heading for the top corner of the net, before Chico Ramos made a good save. In the 20th minute, a Lee Hockey long throw from the left, aiming at the head of either Laurence Harvey or Danny Lye, broke to the skipper, who shot wide. Then, in the 23rd minute, Matt Newman dinked the ball through to Tom Murphy, who hit the bouncing ball first time, but his long-range effort went wide.
Gradually, whether it was because Ashford sat back a little, or due to the desperate ranting of their Coach on the touchline, the home side got its passing game together, and began to dominate, looking dangerous when coming forward. Casuals had a promising situation in the 27th minute, after being awarded a free-kick just outside the Ashford penalty area. Daniel Lawson was faced by a three-man Ashford wall, which he managed to beat with his curling cross, but Lee Hockey headed clear. A minute later, the home side had a rather better chance – and this came about from a free-kick that was awarded to Ashford, just to the right of the centre circle. Matt Newman’s attempted delivery into the Casuals’ box was charged down by a man who was clearly not ten yards from the ball – but the result was that centre-forward Peter Rapson was now bearing down on the Ashford goal, with only Mitchell Sherwood between him and Scott Chalmers-Stevens. Rapson managed to get in a good, low shot, which was on target, but Three Names did well to save, going down to his right.
The home side continued to dominate possession, worrying Ashford out of the ball in midfield, and passing the ball around purposefully when approaching the visitors’ penalty area – and it was no surprise when they equalised, in the 34th minute. This particular passing movement took Casuals into the area, before a square ball found Peter Rapson. The No.9, faced by Danny Lye, made space for himself, before thumping the ball into the corner of the net. This was an excellent finish, and undoubtedly the goal of the game; but, to quote Gimli, in “The Return of the King”: “That still only counts as one !”.
This was a worrying development for the travelling Ashford fans, as the team had failed to capitalise on the early lead, and the opportunity to boss the game from the front – and it was certainly the home side that was now in the ascendancy. Manager Steve Lovell almost immediately changed the formation, reverting to a more orthodox 4-4-2 set-up. Mark Lovell went up front with Tom Murphy; Joe Fuller came back into central midfield with Matt Newman; Mitchell Sherwood took up a more familiar position on the left side of midfield, with Ross Morley going wide-right; and Danny Lye went into central defence alongside Lee Hockey, with Carl Harrold moving across to left-back and Laurence Harvey becoming a right-back. Scott Chalmers-Stevens stayed more or less where he was, in goal. It was fascinating – like watching one of those “Transformers” films !
It has to be said, however, that it was probably not the change in formation that swung the game back in the visitors’ favour – what swung the game was Ashford’s second goal, which came on the stroke of half-time, so restoring the visitors’ lead, just when Casuals seemed to be getting a grip on the game. Danny Lye, shortly after being booked for dissent, launched an up & under, deep into the home side’s half. Mark Lovell, not for the only time in the afternoon, showed great physical strength, to not only get to the ball, but to turn and shoot – but his effort was deflected wide, for a corner on the left. The resulting cross was met with a downward header, which Chico Ramos saved, but could not hold, and Tom Murphy was there to poke home from close range This was Tom’s fourth goal in Ashford colours, and his third in successive games.
So 1-2 it was to Ashford, at half time, but it certainly seemed like the home side would come at us hard in the second half – the Walton Casuals players were late coming out for the second half, had an on-pitch huddle before the restart and generally looked and sounded like they were up for the challenge. However, I’ve never yet seen a team score a goal direct from a huddle, and, in spite of Casuals’ worthy intentions, it was Ashford who had the football at their feet in the opening minutes of the second half. In the 47th minute, time appeared to stand still as Mark Lovell, again showing good strength, held the ball in a stationary position for what seemed like several seconds, just outside Walton’s penalty area. He eventually slipped the ball through to Joe Fuller, who was inside the area; Joe laid the ball off to Mitch Sherwood, whose looping shot went high and wide of the target.
Two minutes later, Tom Murphy did some good work down the left wing, to win a corner. The initial cross was cleared, but only as far as Joe Fuller, who was stationed just outside the penalty area. The trigger reaction for most footballers would have been to chip the ball back into the penalty area, but Joe brings thought and intelligence to his midfield role, and he looked up and picked out a short pass to Tom Murphy, who was inside the area. Tom turned and jinked and made space for a low shot, which Ramos was again able to save, but not hold, and Laurence Harvey was there to once again stab home, from close range. That’s now four for the season for Laurence, putting him level with both Tom Murphy and Paul Jones – but, more importantly, it was a 1-3 lead for Ashford Town.
The home side continued to try to get back into the game by playing their football, but chances continued to be elusive against a solid-looking Ashford team that did put together flowing passing movements, but only in flashes – and it was the away side that had the next half-chance. This came about in the 53rd minute, and resulted from a lucky rebound that gave Tom Murphy possession, just inside the Walton half. Tom carried the ball a few yards towards goal, before hitting a long-range shot over the bar.
By the 55th minute, Walton Casuals Manager Spencer Collins decided that something had to be done if his team were not to sink further down the division, towards the relegation zone, and he replaced right-back Oliver Hunt with Anthony Gale. There was a moment of farce as Gale walked straight onto the pitch and prepared to take a free-kick, only to be stopped by Referee David Spain, and ordered to leave the field to remove what appeared to be white over-socks, or white tape or bandaging, that he had showing over his black socks. [ OK, so the fact that his black socks very closely match the black socks of both goalkeepers and the three officials ……… oh, never mind! ] Anyway, the free-kick, which had to be taken by somebody else, came to nothing, but there was a chance for Ashford, straight from Scott Three Names’ kick-out. Tom Murphy latched onto the bouncing ball, and sent in a powerful shot, on target – and Chico Ramos did well to stop the ball, which was aimed straight at him.
In the 58th minute, Mark Lovell was fouled by Nick Burton when challenging for a long, high kick-out from Scott Chalmers-Stevens, on the edge of the Walton Casuals penalty area. Joe Fuller floated in the resulting free-kick, and Chico Ramos had to make a good diving save, to foil a header at goal.
By now, Ashford were on top, and looked likely to score again, particularly on the break, and especially down the left flank, where a hole had been left by the substitution of Oliver Hunt. In the 59th minute, Mitch Sherwood attempted to exploit this gap, and attacked the Casuals’ area, through the inside-left position. Mitch sent in a cross, aimed at Tom Murphy, in the centre, and it would have reached him, but for a timely intervention by home skipper Mark Walters.
In the 63rd minute, Spencer Collins replaced Leon Yarnie with Jake Jenkins. In the 65th minute, the sun came out. I wouldn’t normally make a meal of recording such an event – but that’s probably a measure of the miserable winter that we continue to endure !
In the 66th minute, Joe Fuller again showed his quality as a midfielder, when he put Tom Murphy clean through on goal. Again, Tom hit his shot well, but straight at the ‘keeper, who made a good, head-high save. Two minutes later, however, it was the home side that had a chance to get back in the game. The Ashford defence failed to clear the ball from the penalty area, and it eventually fell to Michael Barima, near the corner of the six-yard box – Barima seemed certain to score, but he sliced his shot so horribly that he wasn’t even afforded the dignity of seeing it go out for a goal-kick. In spite of their continued persistence, this was the nearest the home side would come to scoring, as the Ashford defence stood firm.
Walton’s Nick Burton was booked for dissent, by an irritatingly officious ref, in the 70th minute, and Steve Lovell made his one and only substitution, in the 77th minute, when he replaced Matt Newman with Nick Smith. This caused Mitch Sherwood to switch to the right wing, and Ross Morley to take Newman’s place in the middle.
Ashford had another half-chance, in the 78th minute, when a lobbed through-ball into the path of Joe Fuller suddenly provided the visitors with a three on two situation – but Joe rather squandered the opportunity, shooting over the bar, from long range. The home side then made their final, vain substitution, in the 82nd minute, with Rui Martins replacing Daniel Lawson – before Ashford made it 1-4.
The fourth goal was scored in the 88th minute, but the prelude to this was some champagne passing football down the right flank, involving Mitch Sherwood, Tom Murphy and Joe Fuller. This ended with Tom showing some very fancy footwork, well inside the Walton Casuals penalty area, beating two defenders, before the ball broke to Ross Morley. As Ross crossed the ball, Jeffrey Jackson came flying across to block, and was almost on the ground when the ball hit an arm or a hand, or both. The Lino immediately flagged for a penalty, and the referee seemed to have little doubt – and I’m pretty sure that they were correct. Mitch Sherwood, as usual, had little trouble in converting the penalty.
There was a late booking for Lee Hockey, but this in no way detracted from the joy and relief brought by the three precious points. Whilst there is still plenty of work to do, with 13 league games remaining, Ashford fans will now feel more optimistic as to the Club’s survival in the Ryman League, given the team’s recent turnaround in form.
Tom Murphy fully deserved to be named as Man of the Match today – although his one serious rival was Danny Lye, who was a colossus in defence, first at left-back, and then in the centre, after Steve Lovell had changed the formation.
On the subject of Daniel, could that racy-looking black Renault with the registration ‘LYE 1P’, that we passed on leaving Waterside Stadium, have been our skipper’s car ? Seeing that car actually gave a certain symmetry to the day’s trip, as it had begun when we passed the Jaguar of Milton Keynes Dons Chairman Pete Winkelman on the M1, around about Luton – the number plate ‘MK07 DON’ was the initial giveaway !
Man of the Match
(to go towards the Milton Keynes Bowl)
Tom Murphy
from Your Milton Keynes Correspondent
This was a genuine “six-pointer”. Ashford occupied 21st position at the start of play, with today’s hosts, Walton Casuals (three points ahead of us, having played four more games), representing our current target for safety. Today, the result was everything, and thank goodness that the lads finally managed to come out on the right side of one of these relegation scraps. Previous six-pointers hadn’t gone that well for Ashford. The first of these appeared to be away at Horsham YMCA, in October, but, in fairness to YM, their subsequent surge in form, which elevated them to the top half of the league table, has made a nonsense of referring to this game as a relegation scrap. Horsham won that game 2-1. Then there was the trip to Whitstable, when the home side out-played us, and won 3-0; we then had to rely on a late Mark Lovell goal to salvage a 2-2 draw and a point away at bottom club Eastbourne Town, and this was followed, just a fortnight ago, by that 1-0 defeat at Chipstead.
Today’s 1-4 victory therefore comes as a mighty relief, and is one which, due to Eastbourne Town’s 3-1 home victory over Whitstable, lifts us out of the relegation zone, on goal difference. Walton Casuals, Whitstable Town and Ashford Town are now all level on 26 points – a point ahead of Eastbourne Town – but The Casuals have played three games more than Whitstable, and (still) four games more than Ashford. What is more worrying for the Surrey club is that they find themselves in this predicament on the back of quite a long run of poor form – they came into this afternoon’s match having failed to win their previous twelve games, (drawn four, lost eight), and having scored just one goal in the previous eight games. The latter statistic is probably not unconnected with the recent departure of prolific scorer Martin Grant to neighbours Walton & Hersham.
Ashford, on the other hand, are now enjoying their best run of form of the season, having won four of their last six games, scoring 14 goals in the process – and it is this proven ability to pick up points that turns the four games that they have in hand of both Walton Casuals and Eastbourne Town into hard currency.
There’s little doubt that the 1-4 score-line considerably flattered Ashford this afternoon. The essential difference between the two sides was three goals scored from a combined distance of about four yards, thanks to players in a green & white shirt reacting first to “second ball” situations in The Casuals’ penalty area – but there is equally little doubt that the lads deserved to carry off all three valuable points, after a very solid all-round team performance. This included Scott Chalmers-Stevens looking safe between the sticks, captain Danny Lye having an immense match at the back, and Tom Murphy being a thorn in the side of the home defence all afternoon. Tom’s display showed both tireless energy, and several inspired touches of real class and ability.
With Paul Jones having left the Club in midweek, and Craig Cloke having returned to Dover after his loan spell, Steve Lovell’s squad largely picks itself, but the one slight surprise to the starting line-up was the omission of Chris Borchescu – he was replaced by Joe Fuller, although Joe’s omission from the starting line-up against Ramsgate in mid-week had itself been a bit of a surprise. Steve Lovell started Joe up front today, alongside Tom Murphy, with Mark Lovell “in the hole” behind them. Matt Newman, Ross Morley and Mitchell Sherwood were the three more orthodox midfielders, in front of a back four of Carl Harrold, Laurence Harvey, Lee Hockey and Danny Lye, although Sherwood frequently tucked in in the left-back position, particularly when Ashford didn’t have the ball. On the bench, we had a full set of substitutes, namely Darren Ibrahim, Toby Ashmore, Chris Borchescu, Ronnie Dolan and Nicholas Frederick Smith.
The weather was mercifully dry, but it felt decidedly chillier than the 8ºC that was showing on the car’s temperature gauge when we arrived. The pitch at the Waterside Stadium is fairly undulating in nature, but had a good covering of short grass, and the surface was smooth enough for there to be no excuses for not playing good, passing football. In fairness to Walton Casuals, it has to be said that they were the team that mostly strove to knock the ball around, and create openings by passing the ball on the ground. Before they could do this, however, they had to endure an assertive start from the visitors, who immediately revealed a game plan that focused on hitting balls long, into the corners, for Tom Murphy to chase, and then attempting to over-power the home side from set-pieces, using a combination of Lee Hockey’s long throws and a considerable aerial presence in the form of the likes of Laurence Harvey, Danny Lye and Mark Lovell. [ Quick disclaimer: I’ve no problem at all with these tactics, especially as they appear to have worked beautifully – so well done, Steve and Hugo. ]
Ashford had their first corner of the game, on the right, as early as the second minute, and this resulted in Danny Lye getting a headed effort on target – but this was, in turn, headed clear. The home defence also successfully repelled at least four Lee Hockey long throws during the opening ten minutes, as Ashford, playing in their green & white home strip, applied the pressure early on. Ross Morley also had an early pop at goal, robbing his man in the central midfield area, in the eighth minute, but his low shot from long range went well wide.
The first attack from Walton Casuals, (tangerine shirts, but with shorts and sockies that were the same shade of black as those of both goalies and all three officials (!!)), came in the ninth minute, and in the form of a free-kick, delivered into the Ashford penalty area by David Lawson. The visiting defence did look a little shaky here, as The Casuals managed to win two successive headers in the area, but Scott Chalmers-Stevens did well to save the shot at goal that eventually came in, diving low, to his right. In the twelfth minute, it was Ashford’s turn to deliver the ball into a dangerous area, and Danny Lye did so, from a free-kick that was just about on the half-way line, just a few feet from the team dug-outs. The ball was competed for by a crowd of players on the far side of the penalty area, and it was Lee Hockey who reacted first to the “second ball”, but his snap shot went straight at ‘keeper Chico Ramos.
Ashford opened the scoring on the quarter-hour mark, and it was again speed of reaction to a loose ball in the penalty area that was the key. Mitchell Sherwood, from what was roughly a left-back position, fed the ball down the left flank for Tom Murphy to chase – and The Casuals’ defence had no choice but to put the ball out for a throw-in. This was the signal for Lee Hockey to loop in one of his Rory Delaps – which Ramos came to claim, before dropping the ball and having to be saved by a defender hoofing the ball vertically into the air. As the ball fell, it broke to Lee Hockey, who won a corner, on the left. Several bodies challenged for the resulting cross, and the ball broke to young Laurence Harvey, at the far post, who hit it home from close range.
This was the perfect start for Ashford, in this crucial game, and, although they never really dominated possession for long periods, they followed this opening goal with a succession of half-chances, which strongly suggested that they were sent out with a shoot-on-sight policy. In the 17th minute, a long-range shot, with the outside of the boot, from Ross Morley was heading for the top corner of the net, before Chico Ramos made a good save. In the 20th minute, a Lee Hockey long throw from the left, aiming at the head of either Laurence Harvey or Danny Lye, broke to the skipper, who shot wide. Then, in the 23rd minute, Matt Newman dinked the ball through to Tom Murphy, who hit the bouncing ball first time, but his long-range effort went wide.
Gradually, whether it was because Ashford sat back a little, or due to the desperate ranting of their Coach on the touchline, the home side got its passing game together, and began to dominate, looking dangerous when coming forward. Casuals had a promising situation in the 27th minute, after being awarded a free-kick just outside the Ashford penalty area. Daniel Lawson was faced by a three-man Ashford wall, which he managed to beat with his curling cross, but Lee Hockey headed clear. A minute later, the home side had a rather better chance – and this came about from a free-kick that was awarded to Ashford, just to the right of the centre circle. Matt Newman’s attempted delivery into the Casuals’ box was charged down by a man who was clearly not ten yards from the ball – but the result was that centre-forward Peter Rapson was now bearing down on the Ashford goal, with only Mitchell Sherwood between him and Scott Chalmers-Stevens. Rapson managed to get in a good, low shot, which was on target, but Three Names did well to save, going down to his right.
The home side continued to dominate possession, worrying Ashford out of the ball in midfield, and passing the ball around purposefully when approaching the visitors’ penalty area – and it was no surprise when they equalised, in the 34th minute. This particular passing movement took Casuals into the area, before a square ball found Peter Rapson. The No.9, faced by Danny Lye, made space for himself, before thumping the ball into the corner of the net. This was an excellent finish, and undoubtedly the goal of the game; but, to quote Gimli, in “The Return of the King”: “That still only counts as one !”.
This was a worrying development for the travelling Ashford fans, as the team had failed to capitalise on the early lead, and the opportunity to boss the game from the front – and it was certainly the home side that was now in the ascendancy. Manager Steve Lovell almost immediately changed the formation, reverting to a more orthodox 4-4-2 set-up. Mark Lovell went up front with Tom Murphy; Joe Fuller came back into central midfield with Matt Newman; Mitchell Sherwood took up a more familiar position on the left side of midfield, with Ross Morley going wide-right; and Danny Lye went into central defence alongside Lee Hockey, with Carl Harrold moving across to left-back and Laurence Harvey becoming a right-back. Scott Chalmers-Stevens stayed more or less where he was, in goal. It was fascinating – like watching one of those “Transformers” films !
It has to be said, however, that it was probably not the change in formation that swung the game back in the visitors’ favour – what swung the game was Ashford’s second goal, which came on the stroke of half-time, so restoring the visitors’ lead, just when Casuals seemed to be getting a grip on the game. Danny Lye, shortly after being booked for dissent, launched an up & under, deep into the home side’s half. Mark Lovell, not for the only time in the afternoon, showed great physical strength, to not only get to the ball, but to turn and shoot – but his effort was deflected wide, for a corner on the left. The resulting cross was met with a downward header, which Chico Ramos saved, but could not hold, and Tom Murphy was there to poke home from close range This was Tom’s fourth goal in Ashford colours, and his third in successive games.
So 1-2 it was to Ashford, at half time, but it certainly seemed like the home side would come at us hard in the second half – the Walton Casuals players were late coming out for the second half, had an on-pitch huddle before the restart and generally looked and sounded like they were up for the challenge. However, I’ve never yet seen a team score a goal direct from a huddle, and, in spite of Casuals’ worthy intentions, it was Ashford who had the football at their feet in the opening minutes of the second half. In the 47th minute, time appeared to stand still as Mark Lovell, again showing good strength, held the ball in a stationary position for what seemed like several seconds, just outside Walton’s penalty area. He eventually slipped the ball through to Joe Fuller, who was inside the area; Joe laid the ball off to Mitch Sherwood, whose looping shot went high and wide of the target.
Two minutes later, Tom Murphy did some good work down the left wing, to win a corner. The initial cross was cleared, but only as far as Joe Fuller, who was stationed just outside the penalty area. The trigger reaction for most footballers would have been to chip the ball back into the penalty area, but Joe brings thought and intelligence to his midfield role, and he looked up and picked out a short pass to Tom Murphy, who was inside the area. Tom turned and jinked and made space for a low shot, which Ramos was again able to save, but not hold, and Laurence Harvey was there to once again stab home, from close range. That’s now four for the season for Laurence, putting him level with both Tom Murphy and Paul Jones – but, more importantly, it was a 1-3 lead for Ashford Town.
The home side continued to try to get back into the game by playing their football, but chances continued to be elusive against a solid-looking Ashford team that did put together flowing passing movements, but only in flashes – and it was the away side that had the next half-chance. This came about in the 53rd minute, and resulted from a lucky rebound that gave Tom Murphy possession, just inside the Walton half. Tom carried the ball a few yards towards goal, before hitting a long-range shot over the bar.
By the 55th minute, Walton Casuals Manager Spencer Collins decided that something had to be done if his team were not to sink further down the division, towards the relegation zone, and he replaced right-back Oliver Hunt with Anthony Gale. There was a moment of farce as Gale walked straight onto the pitch and prepared to take a free-kick, only to be stopped by Referee David Spain, and ordered to leave the field to remove what appeared to be white over-socks, or white tape or bandaging, that he had showing over his black socks. [ OK, so the fact that his black socks very closely match the black socks of both goalkeepers and the three officials ……… oh, never mind! ] Anyway, the free-kick, which had to be taken by somebody else, came to nothing, but there was a chance for Ashford, straight from Scott Three Names’ kick-out. Tom Murphy latched onto the bouncing ball, and sent in a powerful shot, on target – and Chico Ramos did well to stop the ball, which was aimed straight at him.
In the 58th minute, Mark Lovell was fouled by Nick Burton when challenging for a long, high kick-out from Scott Chalmers-Stevens, on the edge of the Walton Casuals penalty area. Joe Fuller floated in the resulting free-kick, and Chico Ramos had to make a good diving save, to foil a header at goal.
By now, Ashford were on top, and looked likely to score again, particularly on the break, and especially down the left flank, where a hole had been left by the substitution of Oliver Hunt. In the 59th minute, Mitch Sherwood attempted to exploit this gap, and attacked the Casuals’ area, through the inside-left position. Mitch sent in a cross, aimed at Tom Murphy, in the centre, and it would have reached him, but for a timely intervention by home skipper Mark Walters.
In the 63rd minute, Spencer Collins replaced Leon Yarnie with Jake Jenkins. In the 65th minute, the sun came out. I wouldn’t normally make a meal of recording such an event – but that’s probably a measure of the miserable winter that we continue to endure !
In the 66th minute, Joe Fuller again showed his quality as a midfielder, when he put Tom Murphy clean through on goal. Again, Tom hit his shot well, but straight at the ‘keeper, who made a good, head-high save. Two minutes later, however, it was the home side that had a chance to get back in the game. The Ashford defence failed to clear the ball from the penalty area, and it eventually fell to Michael Barima, near the corner of the six-yard box – Barima seemed certain to score, but he sliced his shot so horribly that he wasn’t even afforded the dignity of seeing it go out for a goal-kick. In spite of their continued persistence, this was the nearest the home side would come to scoring, as the Ashford defence stood firm.
Walton’s Nick Burton was booked for dissent, by an irritatingly officious ref, in the 70th minute, and Steve Lovell made his one and only substitution, in the 77th minute, when he replaced Matt Newman with Nick Smith. This caused Mitch Sherwood to switch to the right wing, and Ross Morley to take Newman’s place in the middle.
Ashford had another half-chance, in the 78th minute, when a lobbed through-ball into the path of Joe Fuller suddenly provided the visitors with a three on two situation – but Joe rather squandered the opportunity, shooting over the bar, from long range. The home side then made their final, vain substitution, in the 82nd minute, with Rui Martins replacing Daniel Lawson – before Ashford made it 1-4.
The fourth goal was scored in the 88th minute, but the prelude to this was some champagne passing football down the right flank, involving Mitch Sherwood, Tom Murphy and Joe Fuller. This ended with Tom showing some very fancy footwork, well inside the Walton Casuals penalty area, beating two defenders, before the ball broke to Ross Morley. As Ross crossed the ball, Jeffrey Jackson came flying across to block, and was almost on the ground when the ball hit an arm or a hand, or both. The Lino immediately flagged for a penalty, and the referee seemed to have little doubt – and I’m pretty sure that they were correct. Mitch Sherwood, as usual, had little trouble in converting the penalty.
There was a late booking for Lee Hockey, but this in no way detracted from the joy and relief brought by the three precious points. Whilst there is still plenty of work to do, with 13 league games remaining, Ashford fans will now feel more optimistic as to the Club’s survival in the Ryman League, given the team’s recent turnaround in form.
Tom Murphy fully deserved to be named as Man of the Match today – although his one serious rival was Danny Lye, who was a colossus in defence, first at left-back, and then in the centre, after Steve Lovell had changed the formation.
On the subject of Daniel, could that racy-looking black Renault with the registration ‘LYE 1P’, that we passed on leaving Waterside Stadium, have been our skipper’s car ? Seeing that car actually gave a certain symmetry to the day’s trip, as it had begun when we passed the Jaguar of Milton Keynes Dons Chairman Pete Winkelman on the M1, around about Luton – the number plate ‘MK07 DON’ was the initial giveaway !
Man of the Match
(to go towards the Milton Keynes Bowl)
Tom Murphy
Saturday 30 January 2010
Eastbourne Town v Ashford Town. Ryman Division One South. 30th of January 2010.
Eastbourne Town 2 Ashford Town 2
from Your Milton Keynes Correspondent
It seems slightly strange to be talking about “six-pointers” when Ashford haven’t even played half of their league games, but this clash at The Saffrons between the bottom, and second-bottom, teams in the division was nevertheless a vitally important game for both. The visitors entered the game as the team in 22nd place, out of 22, with Eastbourne Town four points ahead of us, but three points behind Whitstable, who started the day a place above them. However, with Ashford having four games in hand, it was arguably the home side that needed all three points the most. As it turned out, the points were shared, so the situation in the basement of Ryman Division One remains pretty much the same – but that doesn’t begin to tell all the tales that need to be told.
For a start, after just three games since The Big Freeze, (during which Ashford Town played just one game in five and a half weeks), Steve Lovell already appears to have an injury crisis on his hands, particular in defence. For today’s vital game, he was without a recognised first-team defender. Toby Ashmore, Lee Hockey, Laurence Harvey and Carl Harrold were all missing, with Ryan Norman only fit enough to occupy a place on the bench. Steve therefore used the three-at-the-back formation, which has, admittedly, recently stood us in good stead in recent games – but the personnel had an unfamiliar look. Danny Lye, the captain, stood at the heart of the back three, with Mitchell Sherwood on his right and 19 year-old Danny Shearing, who we’ve seen progressing through the Club’s youth set-up, drafted in to make his First Team début, on the left side of the defence.
It was, once again, a 3-5-2 set-up, with the two wide midfield players dropping back to form a back five when necessary. These were Nick Smith, on the right, and the talented Dan Scorer, making his fifth appearance for the First XI, (although this was to be the first time he’s completed all 90 minutes), on the left. Ryan Briggs and Ross Morley occupied the centre of midfield, with Joe Fuller and Kevin Swaisland up front, and Mark Lovell “in the hole” behind them. With Josh Willis hopping around The Saffrons on crutches, after sustaining what is feared to be a serious knee injury during his return match on Wednesday, and with Seb Barton already on the long-term injury list, it was Scott Chalmers-Stevens who took over between the sticks. Ashford’s other goalie, Darren Ibrahim, is also on the list of the sick and infirm, but he was fit enough to be on the bench this afternoon.
Other subs this afternoon were – well, they were the other three men in the squad that are currently standing: midfielders Matt Newman and Ronnie Dolan, plus full-back Matt Newman.
In other words, Steve Lovell and Hugo Langton are currently wading against a tide of incredible adversity – but I’m pleased to report that the squad appears to be forging a tremendous spirit of togetherness and determination as a result, and today we witnessed a creditable fighting performance. All of the senior men playing out of position did well, as did the relative newcomers, including debutant Danny Shearing, who looks an accomplished footballer, in spite of one or two little slip-ups.
This was probably very much a point gained, but, as in the game at home to Walton Casuals on Wednesday, the boys really should have taken all three points. Whilst we were undone in mid-week by the conceding of a penalty in first half injury-time, and then of another one in the 92nd minute, today the lads’ downfall was caused by the giving away of the softest of gift goals, early on in each half.
The first of these, in the second minute of the game, was the work of Scott Chalmers-Stevens, with no assistance or hindrance from any of the other 21 players on the pitch. Eastbourne Town had a corner, on the right, as a reward for the first attack of the match from either side. Scottie Three Thumbs, under no pressure from an opponent, appeared to catch the ball comfortably, but then dropped it at the feet of centre-forward Scott McDonald, who knocked the ball in, from two yards out, for the easiest goal he’s ever likely to score. So not the start that Ashford were looking for, with such a makeshift defence, and in such an important game.
Maybe it was frustration at finding themselves behind the eight ball yet again, as much as the performance of the referee, but Ashford immediately became very argumentative, regularly showing dissent at the ref’s decisions. As early as the fourth minute, Nick Smith was given a lengthy reminder about who was actually in charge of the whistle, and, just three minutes later, Manager Steve Lovell was given a similar lecture. On ten minutes, it was Skipper Danny Lye and Ryan Briggs who had a joint telling-off – but neither was cautioned. The Manager wasn’t so fortunate, however, as he got himself “sent off” during the half time interval.
In contrast to the home side being gifted their two goals this afternoon, it must be said that Ashford replied with two beauties – Mark Lovell’s eventual late equaliser was a classic centre-forward’s headed goal, and the first, scored by Joe Fuller in the 17th minute, was the result of some classical wing play from Dan Scorer. Danny Lye lofted a high ball over the Eastbourne defence, for Dan to run on to, into the penalty area. The 18 year-old, who cunningly confused the opposition by wearing a No.5 shirt, took the ball to the by-line, before pulling it back to give Joe Fuller a tap-in from a similar distance to McDonald’s opener. This was Joe’s ninth goal of the season.
On a pitch that was soft and bumpy, the home side possibly had marginally the better of the first half, but didn’t trouble Scott Chalmers-Stevens unduly before the half-time interval. The nearest they came to retaking the lead in the first half was in the 24th minute, when centre-half Rhys Whybourne got up well, in a central position, to meet a free-kick taken from the left corner of the penalty area, but he headed wide. Ollie Rowe had a similar opportunity on about the half hour mark – the Town Hall clock which overlooks the ground chimed, just seconds later – after a corner, from the right, went all the way through to him at the far post, but he also put his header wide.
Ashford’s main direction of attack was down the left flank, with Dan Scorer looking particularly dangerous, and Danny Shearing lobbing in some long throw-ins from that side, but the closest the team playing in green & white came to scoring a second goal was when Ross Morley shot wide, across the face of goal, in the 37th minute.
Danny Lye was in inspirational form at the back, throwing himself into blocking shots and crosses, just as he had done at Whyteleafe the previous Saturday. He did particularly well in the 40th minute, when getting back to snuff out an Eastbourne break, with a well-timed interception.
It was particularly galling, therefore, when Assistant Manager Hugo Langton emerged from the dressing room after the half-time interval minus Steve Lovell and with Danny following him in a track-suit, clearly indicating that the skipper’s game was over. Another injury to add to the list ! Hugo replaced Lyesy with left-back Ryan Norman; Ryan took up a position on the left of the back three, with centre-forward Joe Fuller filling in at the centre of the defence.
Joe had some involvement in Eastbourne Town’s second goal, which came in the second minute of the second half. He let a harmless-looking ball from midfield go over his head, with his new defensive partner, Danny Shearing, seemingly in full control, and able to deal with the situation – which, no doubt, he was, until he completely lost his footing on the soft surface. With Danny flat on his back, Scott McDonald was left clean through on goal, with only Scott Chalmers-Stevens to beat, and he did so, easily, side-footing the ball into the net.
Ryan Briggs hit a long-range shot, in the 51st minute, which was dipping, but still went over the bar. Then, a minute later, Eastbourne Town Skipper Danny Simmonds, who played eight games for Ashford Town at the end of the 2005-6 season, picked the ball up in midfield, after Nick Smith had given it away, but his shot from outside the area also went over the bar. Smudger redeemed himself for this mistake, in the 69th minute, when he got back to head a dangerous cross behind for a corner. This was the culmination of a good move, down the right, by the home side, who showed on a few occasions that they could pass the ball around a bit. As the ball was swung towards the far post, it seemed that the Eastbourne player closing in had a simple task to head the ball home, to make it 3-1 – but Nick courageously got in before him.
In spite of being banished from the dug-out, Steve Lovell maintained sporadic contact with Hugo Langton by mobile ‘phone – and there was a familiar voice, with a Swansea lilt, to be heard from the terracing on the far side – but it is anybody’s guess as to how much Steve was actually influencing things by remote control. Anyway, the main tactical change for Ashford came in the 73rd minute, when Ronnie Dolan and Matt Newman replaced the battling Kevin Swaisland and the gallant Ross Morley, who had come into this game carrying an injury, and limped away very feelingly afterwards. This meant that Nick Smith joined Mark Lovell up front, in what was, by now, a more orthodox 4-4-2 system.
There was one more real scare for Ashford, in the 84th minute, but Rhys Whybourne blasted wide, from close range, after a goalmouth scramble. The visitors then got the equaliser they deserved, with just three minutes of normal time remaining. After a short period of sustained and determined pressure, during which Ashford had two throw-ins and a corner in the right corner of the ground, over by the cricket nets, substitute Matt Newman carried the ball towards the corner flag on the opposite side. He checked onto his right foot, and then delivered a curling cross into the Eastbourne penalty box, where Mark Lovell rose to head the ball powerfully downwards, past goalkeeper Russell Tanner, and into the net.
So it’s three 2-2 draws in succession for Ashford Town, which have enabled them to inch ever so slightly closer to Ryman League safety – with Chipstead losing this afternoon, they are now just seven points ahead of us, having played four games more. We are still rooted firmly to the bottom of the table, but remain unbeaten in 2010. More importantly, perhaps, the boys have shown that they are more than capable of picking up points against both the teams around us, and those in mid-table, so, with half of our league games still to play, (15 of the 21 being at home), there’s still all to play for.
There were two outstanding candidates for Man of the Match. Dan Scorer looks to be a player who has the ability to be a match-winner, with the ability to take defenders on, and supply a quality service to the strikers. His presence, on the left, today made a tremendous difference, but he did seem to drift out of the game for long periods, so the nod went to Joe Fuller, who showed great movement, with and without the ball, in his first-half striking role, and then did a solid job when replacing Danny Lye at the back, after the interval.
Man of the Match
(to go towards the Milton Keynes Bowl)
Joe Fuller
from Your Milton Keynes Correspondent
It seems slightly strange to be talking about “six-pointers” when Ashford haven’t even played half of their league games, but this clash at The Saffrons between the bottom, and second-bottom, teams in the division was nevertheless a vitally important game for both. The visitors entered the game as the team in 22nd place, out of 22, with Eastbourne Town four points ahead of us, but three points behind Whitstable, who started the day a place above them. However, with Ashford having four games in hand, it was arguably the home side that needed all three points the most. As it turned out, the points were shared, so the situation in the basement of Ryman Division One remains pretty much the same – but that doesn’t begin to tell all the tales that need to be told.
For a start, after just three games since The Big Freeze, (during which Ashford Town played just one game in five and a half weeks), Steve Lovell already appears to have an injury crisis on his hands, particular in defence. For today’s vital game, he was without a recognised first-team defender. Toby Ashmore, Lee Hockey, Laurence Harvey and Carl Harrold were all missing, with Ryan Norman only fit enough to occupy a place on the bench. Steve therefore used the three-at-the-back formation, which has, admittedly, recently stood us in good stead in recent games – but the personnel had an unfamiliar look. Danny Lye, the captain, stood at the heart of the back three, with Mitchell Sherwood on his right and 19 year-old Danny Shearing, who we’ve seen progressing through the Club’s youth set-up, drafted in to make his First Team début, on the left side of the defence.
It was, once again, a 3-5-2 set-up, with the two wide midfield players dropping back to form a back five when necessary. These were Nick Smith, on the right, and the talented Dan Scorer, making his fifth appearance for the First XI, (although this was to be the first time he’s completed all 90 minutes), on the left. Ryan Briggs and Ross Morley occupied the centre of midfield, with Joe Fuller and Kevin Swaisland up front, and Mark Lovell “in the hole” behind them. With Josh Willis hopping around The Saffrons on crutches, after sustaining what is feared to be a serious knee injury during his return match on Wednesday, and with Seb Barton already on the long-term injury list, it was Scott Chalmers-Stevens who took over between the sticks. Ashford’s other goalie, Darren Ibrahim, is also on the list of the sick and infirm, but he was fit enough to be on the bench this afternoon.
Other subs this afternoon were – well, they were the other three men in the squad that are currently standing: midfielders Matt Newman and Ronnie Dolan, plus full-back Matt Newman.
In other words, Steve Lovell and Hugo Langton are currently wading against a tide of incredible adversity – but I’m pleased to report that the squad appears to be forging a tremendous spirit of togetherness and determination as a result, and today we witnessed a creditable fighting performance. All of the senior men playing out of position did well, as did the relative newcomers, including debutant Danny Shearing, who looks an accomplished footballer, in spite of one or two little slip-ups.
This was probably very much a point gained, but, as in the game at home to Walton Casuals on Wednesday, the boys really should have taken all three points. Whilst we were undone in mid-week by the conceding of a penalty in first half injury-time, and then of another one in the 92nd minute, today the lads’ downfall was caused by the giving away of the softest of gift goals, early on in each half.
The first of these, in the second minute of the game, was the work of Scott Chalmers-Stevens, with no assistance or hindrance from any of the other 21 players on the pitch. Eastbourne Town had a corner, on the right, as a reward for the first attack of the match from either side. Scottie Three Thumbs, under no pressure from an opponent, appeared to catch the ball comfortably, but then dropped it at the feet of centre-forward Scott McDonald, who knocked the ball in, from two yards out, for the easiest goal he’s ever likely to score. So not the start that Ashford were looking for, with such a makeshift defence, and in such an important game.
Maybe it was frustration at finding themselves behind the eight ball yet again, as much as the performance of the referee, but Ashford immediately became very argumentative, regularly showing dissent at the ref’s decisions. As early as the fourth minute, Nick Smith was given a lengthy reminder about who was actually in charge of the whistle, and, just three minutes later, Manager Steve Lovell was given a similar lecture. On ten minutes, it was Skipper Danny Lye and Ryan Briggs who had a joint telling-off – but neither was cautioned. The Manager wasn’t so fortunate, however, as he got himself “sent off” during the half time interval.
In contrast to the home side being gifted their two goals this afternoon, it must be said that Ashford replied with two beauties – Mark Lovell’s eventual late equaliser was a classic centre-forward’s headed goal, and the first, scored by Joe Fuller in the 17th minute, was the result of some classical wing play from Dan Scorer. Danny Lye lofted a high ball over the Eastbourne defence, for Dan to run on to, into the penalty area. The 18 year-old, who cunningly confused the opposition by wearing a No.5 shirt, took the ball to the by-line, before pulling it back to give Joe Fuller a tap-in from a similar distance to McDonald’s opener. This was Joe’s ninth goal of the season.
On a pitch that was soft and bumpy, the home side possibly had marginally the better of the first half, but didn’t trouble Scott Chalmers-Stevens unduly before the half-time interval. The nearest they came to retaking the lead in the first half was in the 24th minute, when centre-half Rhys Whybourne got up well, in a central position, to meet a free-kick taken from the left corner of the penalty area, but he headed wide. Ollie Rowe had a similar opportunity on about the half hour mark – the Town Hall clock which overlooks the ground chimed, just seconds later – after a corner, from the right, went all the way through to him at the far post, but he also put his header wide.
Ashford’s main direction of attack was down the left flank, with Dan Scorer looking particularly dangerous, and Danny Shearing lobbing in some long throw-ins from that side, but the closest the team playing in green & white came to scoring a second goal was when Ross Morley shot wide, across the face of goal, in the 37th minute.
Danny Lye was in inspirational form at the back, throwing himself into blocking shots and crosses, just as he had done at Whyteleafe the previous Saturday. He did particularly well in the 40th minute, when getting back to snuff out an Eastbourne break, with a well-timed interception.
It was particularly galling, therefore, when Assistant Manager Hugo Langton emerged from the dressing room after the half-time interval minus Steve Lovell and with Danny following him in a track-suit, clearly indicating that the skipper’s game was over. Another injury to add to the list ! Hugo replaced Lyesy with left-back Ryan Norman; Ryan took up a position on the left of the back three, with centre-forward Joe Fuller filling in at the centre of the defence.
Joe had some involvement in Eastbourne Town’s second goal, which came in the second minute of the second half. He let a harmless-looking ball from midfield go over his head, with his new defensive partner, Danny Shearing, seemingly in full control, and able to deal with the situation – which, no doubt, he was, until he completely lost his footing on the soft surface. With Danny flat on his back, Scott McDonald was left clean through on goal, with only Scott Chalmers-Stevens to beat, and he did so, easily, side-footing the ball into the net.
Ryan Briggs hit a long-range shot, in the 51st minute, which was dipping, but still went over the bar. Then, a minute later, Eastbourne Town Skipper Danny Simmonds, who played eight games for Ashford Town at the end of the 2005-6 season, picked the ball up in midfield, after Nick Smith had given it away, but his shot from outside the area also went over the bar. Smudger redeemed himself for this mistake, in the 69th minute, when he got back to head a dangerous cross behind for a corner. This was the culmination of a good move, down the right, by the home side, who showed on a few occasions that they could pass the ball around a bit. As the ball was swung towards the far post, it seemed that the Eastbourne player closing in had a simple task to head the ball home, to make it 3-1 – but Nick courageously got in before him.
In spite of being banished from the dug-out, Steve Lovell maintained sporadic contact with Hugo Langton by mobile ‘phone – and there was a familiar voice, with a Swansea lilt, to be heard from the terracing on the far side – but it is anybody’s guess as to how much Steve was actually influencing things by remote control. Anyway, the main tactical change for Ashford came in the 73rd minute, when Ronnie Dolan and Matt Newman replaced the battling Kevin Swaisland and the gallant Ross Morley, who had come into this game carrying an injury, and limped away very feelingly afterwards. This meant that Nick Smith joined Mark Lovell up front, in what was, by now, a more orthodox 4-4-2 system.
There was one more real scare for Ashford, in the 84th minute, but Rhys Whybourne blasted wide, from close range, after a goalmouth scramble. The visitors then got the equaliser they deserved, with just three minutes of normal time remaining. After a short period of sustained and determined pressure, during which Ashford had two throw-ins and a corner in the right corner of the ground, over by the cricket nets, substitute Matt Newman carried the ball towards the corner flag on the opposite side. He checked onto his right foot, and then delivered a curling cross into the Eastbourne penalty box, where Mark Lovell rose to head the ball powerfully downwards, past goalkeeper Russell Tanner, and into the net.
So it’s three 2-2 draws in succession for Ashford Town, which have enabled them to inch ever so slightly closer to Ryman League safety – with Chipstead losing this afternoon, they are now just seven points ahead of us, having played four games more. We are still rooted firmly to the bottom of the table, but remain unbeaten in 2010. More importantly, perhaps, the boys have shown that they are more than capable of picking up points against both the teams around us, and those in mid-table, so, with half of our league games still to play, (15 of the 21 being at home), there’s still all to play for.
There were two outstanding candidates for Man of the Match. Dan Scorer looks to be a player who has the ability to be a match-winner, with the ability to take defenders on, and supply a quality service to the strikers. His presence, on the left, today made a tremendous difference, but he did seem to drift out of the game for long periods, so the nod went to Joe Fuller, who showed great movement, with and without the ball, in his first-half striking role, and then did a solid job when replacing Danny Lye at the back, after the interval.
Man of the Match
(to go towards the Milton Keynes Bowl)
Joe Fuller
Saturday 23 January 2010
Whyteleafe v Ashford Town. Ryman Division One South. 23rd of January 2010.
Whyteleafe 2 Ashford Town 2
from Your Milton Keynes Correspondent
After the thoroughly uplifting victory at VCD – our first away win of the season - on Tuesday night, in the Kent Senior Cup, attention turned to the more serious business of pursuing valuable points in the league; and, given that we started the day bottom of the table, six points adrift of both Eastbourne Town and Whitstable Town, league football is indeed becoming a very serious business. I would venture to say that, satisfying as it is to be in the last eight of the Kent Senior Cup – that quaint grandmother of a tournament – the lads’ efforts in Crayford in midweek would have been worth very little if they had followed them with a defeat, here in leafy, suburban Surrey. As it turned out, we drove away from Church Road with a precious away point, and, just as importantly, some continuity was maintained, with the lads remaining unbeaten in the two matches that we have had so far in 2010.
Some of us still left the ground with mixed feelings, though, as there had been real hope for a victory at half time. We had ended the first half with a deserved 1-2 lead, and looked capable of scoring further goals; however, a spirited performance after the break from The ‘Leafe enabled them to largely dominate the second half, and, after Nick Smith had got himself sent off, in the 56th minute, Ashford had to dig in, to hang on to the point.
Honours have been fairly even between the two sides in recent seasons, during which we have both usually inhabited the bottom half of the table. The previous five seasons had yielded one win for Ashford, two for our hosts and two draws – with neither side managing to score a goal in our two league meetings last season. One of the more picturesque grounds in the division, Church Road wasn’t looking at her absolute best for today’s encounter. None of the trees that surround the ground had a leaf on them, and the game was played beneath sullen, ash grey clouds. The sloping pitch looked to be in a pretty reasonable state, apart from some bare, muddy patches on one side, but a few small, lingering patches of snow, in tiny hollows a few feet beyond the touchline, served as a reminder of the recent spell of wintry weather which has made life so difficult for groundsmen up and down the country. Temperatures were well down in single figures, hovering around 4ºC and 5ºC, which is pretty much what we might have expected for mid-January – but the great thing was that it was DRY, and we’re going to need an awful lot of dry between now and the end of April if we’re going to fulfil our fixtures this season.
We’re also going to need a bit of luck with injuries, (or a very large squad, or both), and the news on that front was not encouraging, with Steve Lovell having to cope with what is fast becoming a crisis in terms of defensive personnel. Ashford went into the VCD match with just three defenders available – youngsters Laurence Harvey, Carl Harrold and Ryan Newman – meaning that skipper Danny Lye had to fill in as a centre-back. Well, the downside to the victory in mid-week was that Carl and Ryan both picked up a knock, and were unavailable for selection, but that was mitigated to some extent by the return, after a one-match suspension, of Lee Hockey.
Steve Lovell did what he often appears to do, which is to select the formation of the team according to who is available, and his reaction today was to go for a 3-4-1-2 set-up, with Lee Hockey playing as the most central of three centre-backs, with Harvey on his right and Lye on his left. The midfield quartet consisted of Ryan Briggs and Ross Morley in the centre, with Nick Smith on the left, Mitch Sherwood on the right and Mark Lovell playing in “The Hole” behind the two strikers, Joe Fuller and Tom Murphy. When Whyteleafe had the ball and we were defending, the unit retreated to something more akin to 5-3-2, with the two wide midfielders acting as full-backs, and Mark Lovell dropping back into midfield. I’ve no intention of offering a critique of The Manager’s tactics, as that would be a bit like me trying to tell SuBo how to sing, but the dreaded three-at-the-back tactic did appear to work pretty well – at least it did until Lovell Snr’s plans were sent into disarray by the sending-off of Nicholas Frederick Smith.
The most disappointing team news was that Paul Jones, who has been out for several weeks now, with that troublesome under-side to his groin, broke down in training, with a recurrence of the injury, on Thursday. This is in spite of Jonah reportedly looking lean and fit, and raring to go, and also in spite of the recent arrival of baby Evie meaning that there has been less time for stress to have been put on that long-suffering under-carriage. Kevin Swaisland once again stepped in as striking cover on the bench. Returning goalkeeper Josh Willis also had to make do with a place on the subs’ bench this afternoon. By his own admission, Josh is still some way from being match fit, and with Scott Chalmers-Stevens, who made his own come-back from injury on Tuesday night, also having not yet achieved full match fitness, Steve Lovell kept faith with the improving Darren Ibrahim.
In keeping with the reality of having to draw upon a large squad for the remainder of the season, Steve Lovell drafted in Danny Shearing, (Paul Shearing’s boy), as full-back cover. A local boy, Danny has worked his way through the youth structure at Ashford, and is now part of Lee Ealham’s Reserves set-up. He played at right-back in the first pre-season game, back in August, away at Tunbridge Wells. Ronnie Dolan was also on the bench, and, when he was sent on in the second half, he was made his third appearance in an Ashford shirt in five days, having come on as sub against VCD, and played for the Reserves against Margit Reserves on Wednesday. Liam Geering, a midfielder on loan from Gillingham, completed the bench line-up.
Just as they had on Tuesday, Ashford made a bright, incisive start, and took an early lead. As early as the fifth minute, Lee Sidwell fouled Nick Smith, in a central position, half-way into the Whyteleafe half. Ryan Briggs touched the free-kick short, to Ross Morley, whose rather ambitious, long-range attempt at goal was deflected away for a corner, on the right. This was swung into the home side’s penalty area, and, after a brief melée, with the Whyteleafe defence failing to clear their lines, centre-back Laurence Harvey was there to thump the ball home, from close range, for his first goal for Ashford.
Unfortunately, this lead was short-lived, as The ‘Leafe were on level terms by the eighth minute – and this was a goal that appeared to be avoidable. A break down the left resulted in a cross-field ball which found Leon McDowall in behind the Ashford defence – and not off-side ! McDowall rounded ‘keeper Darren Ibrahim, who, quite rightly, resisted the temptation to make contact with the striker. What happened next appeared to take place in slow motion, and it’s hard to figure out why the Ashford defence was unable to come back to cover in the time that elapsed. McDowall’s touch seemed to have pushed the ball too far past Ibrahim, but he had time to pursue it to the by-line, prevent it from going out for a goal-kick, turn, come back a few yards to give himself an angle for a shot, and then hammer the ball past Darren, who had, by now, got back between the sticks.
Suddenly, from joyously attacking, and looking to build upon their early lead, Ashford found themselves having to defend, as the home side went very much onto the front foot. As well as having a distinct territorial advantage for a period after equalising, Whyteleafe came close to taking the lead, when McDowall hit the post with a left-footed shot that he curled around the diving Darren Ibrahim, in the 21st minute. Generally, though, the first half was fairly end-to-end, and was entertaining, as a result; and, after rebounding from Ibrahim’s right-hand post, the ball was immediately heading towards the Whyteleafe goal. Tom Murphy, whose pace caused more than enough problems for the home defence, latched onto a high ball that had enabled him to beat the ‘Leafe off-side trap. With Joe Fuller arriving in the centre, Tom instead cut inside, and laid the ball back to Ryan Briggs, whose shot was deflected for a corner on the right. As usual, Briggo took the corner himself, and it appeared that the defence had cleared the danger with little trouble – until Referee Knight, (who was the spitting image of Kev, and is almost certainly his love child), blew up for a penalty, indicating, with a movement of his arms, that he had spotted a defender pushing down on an Ashford player.
One certain asset that Ashford Town has is a player who doesn’t know the meaning of doubt when it comes to taking penalties, in Mitchell Sherwood. Although he appears to lack confidence and inspiration when going forward with the ball at his feet, Mitch is as reliable a penalty taker as you will see at any level of the game, (and is reputed to have never missed one), and it was no surprise at all when he stepped up and side-footed the ball firmly past Robert O’Hara. 1-2 to Ashford !
I was in no position to comment on Mr Knight’s decision to award the penalty, but I must say that there were some very strange decisions made by all three officials this afternoon. Probably the most peculiar, if least important, decision by the ref was to change the yellow ball for a white and red one, in the 26th minute. This was because it exactly matched the yellow of Ashford’s away shirts – which is fair enough, but it struck everyone concerned as being strange that it had taken him 26 minutes to come to this conclusion. For the record, I thought it was strange that the black shorts and black socks of the Whyteleafe team exactly matched the shorts and sockies of the officials and our goalkeeper - but that didn’t seem to bother Mr Knight, just as it doesn’t bother many other referees, given that approximately half of our opponents in this division play in black, or navy blue, shorts and socks when they’re at home. [ Cue: the sound of a hobby-horse, galloping off into the distance. ]
In the 28th minute, Mitch Sherwood fouled Sam Butler, who was a constant threat to Ashford on the left wing. Whilst the free-kick, just to the left of centre, was dealt with by the visitors’ defence, Whyteleafe kept up the pressure, and, seconds later, were gifted a corner by a decision that brought howls of derision from nearby eye-witnesses. After the corner had been taken short, the cries we heard were those of Whyteleafe players, appealing for hand-ball, but nothing was given. In the 30th minute, Lee Hockey committed a foul right on the edge of the penalty area, almost on the by-line; Referee Knight could so easily have awarded the second penalty of the game, but a free-kick it was – very much like a short corner in hockey, (no pun intended). Sam Butler came across to whip the ball in with his left foot, and this resulted in what looked to be a fairly obvious hand-ball by a green-shirted striker – but this was missed by the officials, and it was becoming clear that both teams would need a bit of luck with what appeared to be some very random decision-making.
Tom Murphy’s pace was once again seen to good effect, in the 35th minute, when he ran onto a ball over the top of the Whyteleafe back line, racing clear of the home defence – but his shot, across the face of goal, missed the target, almost going out for a throw-in. Then, in the 38th minute, Mitch Sherwood played a one-two with Mark Lovell, which resulted in him hitting a firm shot with his LEFT foot – giant goalie Robert O’Hara caught the ball well, head-high, but let’s celebrate the fact that we have a footballer who can hit a ball well with either foot, which is a rare and beautiful thing at this level of the game !
In spite of these efforts, it was the home side that finished the half the stronger. In the 40th minute, a left-footed shot by Sam Butler was deflected for one of seven Whyteleafe corners – (Ashford had five) – this one being on the left side of the field. The resulting cross was cleared by the Ashford defence, and then a follow-up shot was blocked. A minute later, the ball was chipped forward, into the path of Leon McDowall, but Danny Lye did well in coming across to cover; this was at the expense of another corner on the left, but Darren Ibrahim made a good job of catching Sam Butler’s cross. In the 44th minute, with half time approaching, Whyteleafe had a free-kick just a few feet inside the Ashford half, almost on the touchline. This was taken by big centre-half Rhys Coleman, who pumped the ball towards the Ashford area. This was nodded down, into the path of Danny Oakins, providing the striker with a sight of goal – although his firm shot was straight at Darren Ibrahim, the ‘keeper did well to parry the ball, and it was cleared to safety by the defence.
So Ashford went into the half-time interval a goal up, after 45 minutes during which they had played up the Church Road slope, so that Ibrahim’s excellent kicking had been seen to good effect. It had been a very good half of open football, with both sides looking capable of scoring a goal. The home side had probably had a slight edge in terms of possession and territorial advantage, but Ashford had looked the part, with what was probably a better performance than the one that we had seen on Tuesday night, and Murphy and Fuller looked to provide us with a lively and mobile strike-force. What was particularly encouraging was that we looked capable of scoring more goals, so that the feeling that we would never be able to get back on terms if the opposition were to score, which has haunted our season to date, was simply not there this afternoon.
So those were the grounds for optimism during the interval – but the second half took a very different course, and this was because of a lack of discipline from the visitors’ No.11, soon after the break. Nick Smith is one of the most wholehearted and feisty members of Ashford’s squad, and the 100% effort that he puts into his game was exemplified when he led a break down the left flank, in the 48th minute, and won a corner. Unfortunately, his admirable aggression is applied with all the self-control of a five year-old, so, when he and Whyteleafe No.4 Lee Sidwell had a little altercation over who was going to pick the ball up and take a throw-in, in the 52nd minute, it was no surprise to see Smudger quickly get involved in an angry session of push & shove. This was an ugly little incident, and The Black Knight was quite right to book the pair of them.
The niggly mood soon spread to others in the Ashford team, and, in the 50th minute, Mark Lovell was penalised for the blatant up-ending of Chris Head – although it must be said that this act appeared to be at least partially due to Mark’s frustration at the officials’ failure to spot an obvious foul on an Ashford player, just seconds earlier. The extent of the damage, on this occasion, was the concession of a free-kick, about 15 yards inside the Ashford half – the resulting chip into the Ashford penalty area was cleared, whereupon Rhys Coleman hit a low shot wide of Darren Ibrahim’s left-hand post – but Smith’s indiscretion, just one minute later, had more far-reaching consequences. With the ball in the centre circle, and with no immediate danger to the Ashford goal, Nick felled an opponent with a late tackle that was always going to be a stone-cold yellow card offence. Two yellow cards in four minutes for Smith – and Ashford were suddenly down to ten men, against a side that had shown great desire throughout the game, and had already looked more than capable of scoring.
The immediate danger was dealt with – the ball was played forward to Danny Oakins, on the edge of the Ashford area, who did well to get a shot in at all, but this was rather a weak one, and straight at Ibrahim. There was, however, some reorganisation to be done, and Steve Lovell instructed Mitchell Sherwood to drop in at right-back, to form a more orthodox back four, with Mark Lovell dropping back to boost numbers in midfield.
So it was rather a case of “all hands on deck” for the visitors, and Joe Fuller was seen to good effect, on the hour mark, helping out in defence, conceding a corner, on the right. The resulting cross was headed clear by Lee Hockey, but the ball was slung back into the danger zone, only to be headed clear again. Whyteleafe immediately attacked again, down the right flank, and Lee Hockey was again there to head clear. A minute later, a ‘Leafe shot was deflected wide for another corner on the right. This was hit long, to Danny Oakins, who attempted an ambitious volley, which he miss-hit high and wide, the ball almost sailing back to the corner flag from which it had come. This gave the Ashford defence some respite, but there was no doubt that they were considerably under siege.
One thing that the ten men of Ashford really didn’t need at this point was for one of the back four to be caught in possession of the ball as the last man – but this is what the normally consistent Lee Hockey inflicted on his team-mates, and an increasingly anxious Ashford bench, in the 63rd minute. Lee was robbed by Jason Goodchild, who laid the ball square, to Leon McDowall, but the Whyteleafe No.9 blasted the ball high and wide.
The first substitution of the game was made by ‘Leafe Manager Stuart Massey, who replaced Chris Head with Chris O’Flaherty, in the 64th minute. Then, just three minutes later, there were three more changes; two of these were made by Steve Lovell, with Liam Geering and Ronnie Dolan going on in place of Mark Lovell and Joe Fuller, with Massey replacing Danny Oakins with big Darren Watson. Both of the Ashford substitutions were one-for-one swaps, with Liam Geering joining his Gillingham club-mate in attack, and Ronnie Dolan taking over Mark Lovell’s midfield duties – but it was the home side’s replacement of big, burly Danny Oakins, with a bigger, burlier unit, that almost paid an immediate dividend. A cross from the right wing to the far post, in the 68th minute, was headed back across the face of goal, and Watson just failed to connect with the ball, from close range. This led to an almighty scramble in the Ashford penalty area, during which most of the players currently involved in the game had a touch – which included a fumbling and unsuccessful attempt at catching the ball from Darren Ibrahim – but the ball was eventually hacked away.
In the 70th minute, Jason Goodchild was well wide with a long-range shot that has to be a candidate for worst shot of the season, and Sam Butler pushed a weak shot wide of the target, in the 77th minute, but it was now all Whyteleafe, and Ashford were hanging onto the lead with what seemed to be increasing desperation. It was no surprise, therefore, when the home side scored, in the 78th minute. A minute earlier, Stuart Massey had sent Daniel Platel, who has scored against us here in the past, on in place of Lee Sidwell, with instructions to “be creative”, but it was one of the previous subs, Darren Watson, who did the trick for the ‘Leafe Gaffer. In spite of being closely monitored by Mitch Sherwood, Sam Butler managed to cross the ball to the edge of the Ashford area; this was nodded forward, into the goalmouth. Darren Ibrahim came out to collect the ball, and looked confident enough, but he had not reckoned on Watson intercepting the ball, and nodding it past him, into the net.
So it was all square, with twelve minutes remaining, and, judging by what had preceded Whyteleafe’s second goal, this seemed a long time for Ashford to hang on for the draw.
In the 79th minute, Lee Hockey showed the spirit that was required, when he blocked the ball with his face. This resulted in a corner, on the right, which was swung in by Sam Butler. Full-back Fred Fleming flew in – (alliteration) – with a header, from close range, but this went wide. A minute later, the hard-pressed Ashford defence was afforded the luxury of watching as young Tom Murphy did a good job of holding the ball up, deep inside the Whyteleafe area, before spreading the ball wide, to Ross Morley. Ross is often quite effective in wide positions, and he sent in a good cross, which found Liam Geering on the left side of the penalty area. The substitute hit a firm shot, which would have been a dream first goal for the Club for the loanee, but for a good save by Robert O’Hara. In the 83rd minute, the home side was on the attack, down the right flank, and Danny Lye, who had done a sterling job in defence all afternoon, was clearly in a spot of bother, and had no choice but to foul his opponent, who was in the process of beating him on his outside. This resulted in a free-kick, very near to the corner flag, but the resulting cross was headed clear.
Tom Murphy’s tireless efforts were brought to an end in the 84th minute, when Steve Lovell called him off, and replaced him with the fresh, and considerably sturdier, legs of Kevin Swaisland. Rhino immediately announced his arrival with a crunching tackle, deep inside the Whyteleafe half, which delighted the travelling Ashford fans behind Robert O’Hara’s goal, but, generally, the action was confined to the other half of the pitch during the closing minutes. In the 86th minute, a Whyteleafe corner on the left was swung in, left-footed, by Sam Butler. Lee Hockey was again there to head the ball to relative safety, behind for a corner on the other side of the pitch. This time, Chris O’Flaherty rose above everyone in the goalmouth, but headed the resulting cross over the bar, from about six yards out. Two minutes later, Danny Lye made sure that he blocked an attempted cross, from near the right corner flag, at the expense of another corner. Sensing that there was only likely to be one winner of this match, Stuart Massey urged his defenders forward, into the penalty area, leaving just one defender to mark the lone Ashford striker who was stationed on the half-way line. The initial corner was headed behind again, by Ryan Briggs, at the near post. The second attempt eluded everyone, and went all the way through the penalty area, and out for a goal-kick.
The amount of time that Darren Ibrahim took, (i.e. wasted), in taking the goal-kick just about summed up the balance of power during the closing minutes of the game, but Ashford’s ten men hung on to the end of the 90 minutes, and then through the four minutes of injury time that Referee Knight added.
So, in the end, this turned out to be a hard-fought point gained, after it had seemed, at half time, that this was a game that Ashford might well win.
Elsewhere, there were defeats for both Chipstead and Eastbourne Town, but Whitstable came back from a goal down, to win 2-1 at home to Walton & Hersham. That means that The Oystermen have a slight advantage over their immediate rivals in the relegation zone, so Chipstead and Eastbourne now appear to be the two teams that Ashford are most likely to overhaul – we have five games in hand of both of those teams, but trail them by nine points and five points, respectively. With nine of our last ten games having been at home, the spotlight now falls on the home match against Walton Casuals on Wednesday; the game after that will be the six-pointer against Eastbourne Town, at The Saffrons.
There were several candidates for Man of the Match today, and it was one of those games in which it was difficult to pick out one hero, but Ross Morley caught our eye. He worked tirelessly all over the pitch. A special mention should, however, be made of the Ashford defence, particularly Danny Lye and Mitch Sherwood, who did a good job in positions that are not particularly familiar to them. It should also be said that Laurence Harvey was once again superb at the back; he’s getting better with every game, and is showing remarkable consistency for one so young – and I’m developing a guilt complex for not yet having named him as a Man of the Match.
Finally, this was a very good turn-out by the Ashford faithful, who out-numbered and out-voiced the home supporters, in a crowd of 129, after a week that hasn’t been particularly clever for the Club off the pitch.
Man of the Match
(to go towards the Milton Keynes Bowl)
Ross Morley
from Your Milton Keynes Correspondent
After the thoroughly uplifting victory at VCD – our first away win of the season - on Tuesday night, in the Kent Senior Cup, attention turned to the more serious business of pursuing valuable points in the league; and, given that we started the day bottom of the table, six points adrift of both Eastbourne Town and Whitstable Town, league football is indeed becoming a very serious business. I would venture to say that, satisfying as it is to be in the last eight of the Kent Senior Cup – that quaint grandmother of a tournament – the lads’ efforts in Crayford in midweek would have been worth very little if they had followed them with a defeat, here in leafy, suburban Surrey. As it turned out, we drove away from Church Road with a precious away point, and, just as importantly, some continuity was maintained, with the lads remaining unbeaten in the two matches that we have had so far in 2010.
Some of us still left the ground with mixed feelings, though, as there had been real hope for a victory at half time. We had ended the first half with a deserved 1-2 lead, and looked capable of scoring further goals; however, a spirited performance after the break from The ‘Leafe enabled them to largely dominate the second half, and, after Nick Smith had got himself sent off, in the 56th minute, Ashford had to dig in, to hang on to the point.
Honours have been fairly even between the two sides in recent seasons, during which we have both usually inhabited the bottom half of the table. The previous five seasons had yielded one win for Ashford, two for our hosts and two draws – with neither side managing to score a goal in our two league meetings last season. One of the more picturesque grounds in the division, Church Road wasn’t looking at her absolute best for today’s encounter. None of the trees that surround the ground had a leaf on them, and the game was played beneath sullen, ash grey clouds. The sloping pitch looked to be in a pretty reasonable state, apart from some bare, muddy patches on one side, but a few small, lingering patches of snow, in tiny hollows a few feet beyond the touchline, served as a reminder of the recent spell of wintry weather which has made life so difficult for groundsmen up and down the country. Temperatures were well down in single figures, hovering around 4ºC and 5ºC, which is pretty much what we might have expected for mid-January – but the great thing was that it was DRY, and we’re going to need an awful lot of dry between now and the end of April if we’re going to fulfil our fixtures this season.
We’re also going to need a bit of luck with injuries, (or a very large squad, or both), and the news on that front was not encouraging, with Steve Lovell having to cope with what is fast becoming a crisis in terms of defensive personnel. Ashford went into the VCD match with just three defenders available – youngsters Laurence Harvey, Carl Harrold and Ryan Newman – meaning that skipper Danny Lye had to fill in as a centre-back. Well, the downside to the victory in mid-week was that Carl and Ryan both picked up a knock, and were unavailable for selection, but that was mitigated to some extent by the return, after a one-match suspension, of Lee Hockey.
Steve Lovell did what he often appears to do, which is to select the formation of the team according to who is available, and his reaction today was to go for a 3-4-1-2 set-up, with Lee Hockey playing as the most central of three centre-backs, with Harvey on his right and Lye on his left. The midfield quartet consisted of Ryan Briggs and Ross Morley in the centre, with Nick Smith on the left, Mitch Sherwood on the right and Mark Lovell playing in “The Hole” behind the two strikers, Joe Fuller and Tom Murphy. When Whyteleafe had the ball and we were defending, the unit retreated to something more akin to 5-3-2, with the two wide midfielders acting as full-backs, and Mark Lovell dropping back into midfield. I’ve no intention of offering a critique of The Manager’s tactics, as that would be a bit like me trying to tell SuBo how to sing, but the dreaded three-at-the-back tactic did appear to work pretty well – at least it did until Lovell Snr’s plans were sent into disarray by the sending-off of Nicholas Frederick Smith.
The most disappointing team news was that Paul Jones, who has been out for several weeks now, with that troublesome under-side to his groin, broke down in training, with a recurrence of the injury, on Thursday. This is in spite of Jonah reportedly looking lean and fit, and raring to go, and also in spite of the recent arrival of baby Evie meaning that there has been less time for stress to have been put on that long-suffering under-carriage. Kevin Swaisland once again stepped in as striking cover on the bench. Returning goalkeeper Josh Willis also had to make do with a place on the subs’ bench this afternoon. By his own admission, Josh is still some way from being match fit, and with Scott Chalmers-Stevens, who made his own come-back from injury on Tuesday night, also having not yet achieved full match fitness, Steve Lovell kept faith with the improving Darren Ibrahim.
In keeping with the reality of having to draw upon a large squad for the remainder of the season, Steve Lovell drafted in Danny Shearing, (Paul Shearing’s boy), as full-back cover. A local boy, Danny has worked his way through the youth structure at Ashford, and is now part of Lee Ealham’s Reserves set-up. He played at right-back in the first pre-season game, back in August, away at Tunbridge Wells. Ronnie Dolan was also on the bench, and, when he was sent on in the second half, he was made his third appearance in an Ashford shirt in five days, having come on as sub against VCD, and played for the Reserves against Margit Reserves on Wednesday. Liam Geering, a midfielder on loan from Gillingham, completed the bench line-up.
Just as they had on Tuesday, Ashford made a bright, incisive start, and took an early lead. As early as the fifth minute, Lee Sidwell fouled Nick Smith, in a central position, half-way into the Whyteleafe half. Ryan Briggs touched the free-kick short, to Ross Morley, whose rather ambitious, long-range attempt at goal was deflected away for a corner, on the right. This was swung into the home side’s penalty area, and, after a brief melée, with the Whyteleafe defence failing to clear their lines, centre-back Laurence Harvey was there to thump the ball home, from close range, for his first goal for Ashford.
Unfortunately, this lead was short-lived, as The ‘Leafe were on level terms by the eighth minute – and this was a goal that appeared to be avoidable. A break down the left resulted in a cross-field ball which found Leon McDowall in behind the Ashford defence – and not off-side ! McDowall rounded ‘keeper Darren Ibrahim, who, quite rightly, resisted the temptation to make contact with the striker. What happened next appeared to take place in slow motion, and it’s hard to figure out why the Ashford defence was unable to come back to cover in the time that elapsed. McDowall’s touch seemed to have pushed the ball too far past Ibrahim, but he had time to pursue it to the by-line, prevent it from going out for a goal-kick, turn, come back a few yards to give himself an angle for a shot, and then hammer the ball past Darren, who had, by now, got back between the sticks.
Suddenly, from joyously attacking, and looking to build upon their early lead, Ashford found themselves having to defend, as the home side went very much onto the front foot. As well as having a distinct territorial advantage for a period after equalising, Whyteleafe came close to taking the lead, when McDowall hit the post with a left-footed shot that he curled around the diving Darren Ibrahim, in the 21st minute. Generally, though, the first half was fairly end-to-end, and was entertaining, as a result; and, after rebounding from Ibrahim’s right-hand post, the ball was immediately heading towards the Whyteleafe goal. Tom Murphy, whose pace caused more than enough problems for the home defence, latched onto a high ball that had enabled him to beat the ‘Leafe off-side trap. With Joe Fuller arriving in the centre, Tom instead cut inside, and laid the ball back to Ryan Briggs, whose shot was deflected for a corner on the right. As usual, Briggo took the corner himself, and it appeared that the defence had cleared the danger with little trouble – until Referee Knight, (who was the spitting image of Kev, and is almost certainly his love child), blew up for a penalty, indicating, with a movement of his arms, that he had spotted a defender pushing down on an Ashford player.
One certain asset that Ashford Town has is a player who doesn’t know the meaning of doubt when it comes to taking penalties, in Mitchell Sherwood. Although he appears to lack confidence and inspiration when going forward with the ball at his feet, Mitch is as reliable a penalty taker as you will see at any level of the game, (and is reputed to have never missed one), and it was no surprise at all when he stepped up and side-footed the ball firmly past Robert O’Hara. 1-2 to Ashford !
I was in no position to comment on Mr Knight’s decision to award the penalty, but I must say that there were some very strange decisions made by all three officials this afternoon. Probably the most peculiar, if least important, decision by the ref was to change the yellow ball for a white and red one, in the 26th minute. This was because it exactly matched the yellow of Ashford’s away shirts – which is fair enough, but it struck everyone concerned as being strange that it had taken him 26 minutes to come to this conclusion. For the record, I thought it was strange that the black shorts and black socks of the Whyteleafe team exactly matched the shorts and sockies of the officials and our goalkeeper - but that didn’t seem to bother Mr Knight, just as it doesn’t bother many other referees, given that approximately half of our opponents in this division play in black, or navy blue, shorts and socks when they’re at home. [ Cue: the sound of a hobby-horse, galloping off into the distance. ]
In the 28th minute, Mitch Sherwood fouled Sam Butler, who was a constant threat to Ashford on the left wing. Whilst the free-kick, just to the left of centre, was dealt with by the visitors’ defence, Whyteleafe kept up the pressure, and, seconds later, were gifted a corner by a decision that brought howls of derision from nearby eye-witnesses. After the corner had been taken short, the cries we heard were those of Whyteleafe players, appealing for hand-ball, but nothing was given. In the 30th minute, Lee Hockey committed a foul right on the edge of the penalty area, almost on the by-line; Referee Knight could so easily have awarded the second penalty of the game, but a free-kick it was – very much like a short corner in hockey, (no pun intended). Sam Butler came across to whip the ball in with his left foot, and this resulted in what looked to be a fairly obvious hand-ball by a green-shirted striker – but this was missed by the officials, and it was becoming clear that both teams would need a bit of luck with what appeared to be some very random decision-making.
Tom Murphy’s pace was once again seen to good effect, in the 35th minute, when he ran onto a ball over the top of the Whyteleafe back line, racing clear of the home defence – but his shot, across the face of goal, missed the target, almost going out for a throw-in. Then, in the 38th minute, Mitch Sherwood played a one-two with Mark Lovell, which resulted in him hitting a firm shot with his LEFT foot – giant goalie Robert O’Hara caught the ball well, head-high, but let’s celebrate the fact that we have a footballer who can hit a ball well with either foot, which is a rare and beautiful thing at this level of the game !
In spite of these efforts, it was the home side that finished the half the stronger. In the 40th minute, a left-footed shot by Sam Butler was deflected for one of seven Whyteleafe corners – (Ashford had five) – this one being on the left side of the field. The resulting cross was cleared by the Ashford defence, and then a follow-up shot was blocked. A minute later, the ball was chipped forward, into the path of Leon McDowall, but Danny Lye did well in coming across to cover; this was at the expense of another corner on the left, but Darren Ibrahim made a good job of catching Sam Butler’s cross. In the 44th minute, with half time approaching, Whyteleafe had a free-kick just a few feet inside the Ashford half, almost on the touchline. This was taken by big centre-half Rhys Coleman, who pumped the ball towards the Ashford area. This was nodded down, into the path of Danny Oakins, providing the striker with a sight of goal – although his firm shot was straight at Darren Ibrahim, the ‘keeper did well to parry the ball, and it was cleared to safety by the defence.
So Ashford went into the half-time interval a goal up, after 45 minutes during which they had played up the Church Road slope, so that Ibrahim’s excellent kicking had been seen to good effect. It had been a very good half of open football, with both sides looking capable of scoring a goal. The home side had probably had a slight edge in terms of possession and territorial advantage, but Ashford had looked the part, with what was probably a better performance than the one that we had seen on Tuesday night, and Murphy and Fuller looked to provide us with a lively and mobile strike-force. What was particularly encouraging was that we looked capable of scoring more goals, so that the feeling that we would never be able to get back on terms if the opposition were to score, which has haunted our season to date, was simply not there this afternoon.
So those were the grounds for optimism during the interval – but the second half took a very different course, and this was because of a lack of discipline from the visitors’ No.11, soon after the break. Nick Smith is one of the most wholehearted and feisty members of Ashford’s squad, and the 100% effort that he puts into his game was exemplified when he led a break down the left flank, in the 48th minute, and won a corner. Unfortunately, his admirable aggression is applied with all the self-control of a five year-old, so, when he and Whyteleafe No.4 Lee Sidwell had a little altercation over who was going to pick the ball up and take a throw-in, in the 52nd minute, it was no surprise to see Smudger quickly get involved in an angry session of push & shove. This was an ugly little incident, and The Black Knight was quite right to book the pair of them.
The niggly mood soon spread to others in the Ashford team, and, in the 50th minute, Mark Lovell was penalised for the blatant up-ending of Chris Head – although it must be said that this act appeared to be at least partially due to Mark’s frustration at the officials’ failure to spot an obvious foul on an Ashford player, just seconds earlier. The extent of the damage, on this occasion, was the concession of a free-kick, about 15 yards inside the Ashford half – the resulting chip into the Ashford penalty area was cleared, whereupon Rhys Coleman hit a low shot wide of Darren Ibrahim’s left-hand post – but Smith’s indiscretion, just one minute later, had more far-reaching consequences. With the ball in the centre circle, and with no immediate danger to the Ashford goal, Nick felled an opponent with a late tackle that was always going to be a stone-cold yellow card offence. Two yellow cards in four minutes for Smith – and Ashford were suddenly down to ten men, against a side that had shown great desire throughout the game, and had already looked more than capable of scoring.
The immediate danger was dealt with – the ball was played forward to Danny Oakins, on the edge of the Ashford area, who did well to get a shot in at all, but this was rather a weak one, and straight at Ibrahim. There was, however, some reorganisation to be done, and Steve Lovell instructed Mitchell Sherwood to drop in at right-back, to form a more orthodox back four, with Mark Lovell dropping back to boost numbers in midfield.
So it was rather a case of “all hands on deck” for the visitors, and Joe Fuller was seen to good effect, on the hour mark, helping out in defence, conceding a corner, on the right. The resulting cross was headed clear by Lee Hockey, but the ball was slung back into the danger zone, only to be headed clear again. Whyteleafe immediately attacked again, down the right flank, and Lee Hockey was again there to head clear. A minute later, a ‘Leafe shot was deflected wide for another corner on the right. This was hit long, to Danny Oakins, who attempted an ambitious volley, which he miss-hit high and wide, the ball almost sailing back to the corner flag from which it had come. This gave the Ashford defence some respite, but there was no doubt that they were considerably under siege.
One thing that the ten men of Ashford really didn’t need at this point was for one of the back four to be caught in possession of the ball as the last man – but this is what the normally consistent Lee Hockey inflicted on his team-mates, and an increasingly anxious Ashford bench, in the 63rd minute. Lee was robbed by Jason Goodchild, who laid the ball square, to Leon McDowall, but the Whyteleafe No.9 blasted the ball high and wide.
The first substitution of the game was made by ‘Leafe Manager Stuart Massey, who replaced Chris Head with Chris O’Flaherty, in the 64th minute. Then, just three minutes later, there were three more changes; two of these were made by Steve Lovell, with Liam Geering and Ronnie Dolan going on in place of Mark Lovell and Joe Fuller, with Massey replacing Danny Oakins with big Darren Watson. Both of the Ashford substitutions were one-for-one swaps, with Liam Geering joining his Gillingham club-mate in attack, and Ronnie Dolan taking over Mark Lovell’s midfield duties – but it was the home side’s replacement of big, burly Danny Oakins, with a bigger, burlier unit, that almost paid an immediate dividend. A cross from the right wing to the far post, in the 68th minute, was headed back across the face of goal, and Watson just failed to connect with the ball, from close range. This led to an almighty scramble in the Ashford penalty area, during which most of the players currently involved in the game had a touch – which included a fumbling and unsuccessful attempt at catching the ball from Darren Ibrahim – but the ball was eventually hacked away.
In the 70th minute, Jason Goodchild was well wide with a long-range shot that has to be a candidate for worst shot of the season, and Sam Butler pushed a weak shot wide of the target, in the 77th minute, but it was now all Whyteleafe, and Ashford were hanging onto the lead with what seemed to be increasing desperation. It was no surprise, therefore, when the home side scored, in the 78th minute. A minute earlier, Stuart Massey had sent Daniel Platel, who has scored against us here in the past, on in place of Lee Sidwell, with instructions to “be creative”, but it was one of the previous subs, Darren Watson, who did the trick for the ‘Leafe Gaffer. In spite of being closely monitored by Mitch Sherwood, Sam Butler managed to cross the ball to the edge of the Ashford area; this was nodded forward, into the goalmouth. Darren Ibrahim came out to collect the ball, and looked confident enough, but he had not reckoned on Watson intercepting the ball, and nodding it past him, into the net.
So it was all square, with twelve minutes remaining, and, judging by what had preceded Whyteleafe’s second goal, this seemed a long time for Ashford to hang on for the draw.
In the 79th minute, Lee Hockey showed the spirit that was required, when he blocked the ball with his face. This resulted in a corner, on the right, which was swung in by Sam Butler. Full-back Fred Fleming flew in – (alliteration) – with a header, from close range, but this went wide. A minute later, the hard-pressed Ashford defence was afforded the luxury of watching as young Tom Murphy did a good job of holding the ball up, deep inside the Whyteleafe area, before spreading the ball wide, to Ross Morley. Ross is often quite effective in wide positions, and he sent in a good cross, which found Liam Geering on the left side of the penalty area. The substitute hit a firm shot, which would have been a dream first goal for the Club for the loanee, but for a good save by Robert O’Hara. In the 83rd minute, the home side was on the attack, down the right flank, and Danny Lye, who had done a sterling job in defence all afternoon, was clearly in a spot of bother, and had no choice but to foul his opponent, who was in the process of beating him on his outside. This resulted in a free-kick, very near to the corner flag, but the resulting cross was headed clear.
Tom Murphy’s tireless efforts were brought to an end in the 84th minute, when Steve Lovell called him off, and replaced him with the fresh, and considerably sturdier, legs of Kevin Swaisland. Rhino immediately announced his arrival with a crunching tackle, deep inside the Whyteleafe half, which delighted the travelling Ashford fans behind Robert O’Hara’s goal, but, generally, the action was confined to the other half of the pitch during the closing minutes. In the 86th minute, a Whyteleafe corner on the left was swung in, left-footed, by Sam Butler. Lee Hockey was again there to head the ball to relative safety, behind for a corner on the other side of the pitch. This time, Chris O’Flaherty rose above everyone in the goalmouth, but headed the resulting cross over the bar, from about six yards out. Two minutes later, Danny Lye made sure that he blocked an attempted cross, from near the right corner flag, at the expense of another corner. Sensing that there was only likely to be one winner of this match, Stuart Massey urged his defenders forward, into the penalty area, leaving just one defender to mark the lone Ashford striker who was stationed on the half-way line. The initial corner was headed behind again, by Ryan Briggs, at the near post. The second attempt eluded everyone, and went all the way through the penalty area, and out for a goal-kick.
The amount of time that Darren Ibrahim took, (i.e. wasted), in taking the goal-kick just about summed up the balance of power during the closing minutes of the game, but Ashford’s ten men hung on to the end of the 90 minutes, and then through the four minutes of injury time that Referee Knight added.
So, in the end, this turned out to be a hard-fought point gained, after it had seemed, at half time, that this was a game that Ashford might well win.
Elsewhere, there were defeats for both Chipstead and Eastbourne Town, but Whitstable came back from a goal down, to win 2-1 at home to Walton & Hersham. That means that The Oystermen have a slight advantage over their immediate rivals in the relegation zone, so Chipstead and Eastbourne now appear to be the two teams that Ashford are most likely to overhaul – we have five games in hand of both of those teams, but trail them by nine points and five points, respectively. With nine of our last ten games having been at home, the spotlight now falls on the home match against Walton Casuals on Wednesday; the game after that will be the six-pointer against Eastbourne Town, at The Saffrons.
There were several candidates for Man of the Match today, and it was one of those games in which it was difficult to pick out one hero, but Ross Morley caught our eye. He worked tirelessly all over the pitch. A special mention should, however, be made of the Ashford defence, particularly Danny Lye and Mitch Sherwood, who did a good job in positions that are not particularly familiar to them. It should also be said that Laurence Harvey was once again superb at the back; he’s getting better with every game, and is showing remarkable consistency for one so young – and I’m developing a guilt complex for not yet having named him as a Man of the Match.
Finally, this was a very good turn-out by the Ashford faithful, who out-numbered and out-voiced the home supporters, in a crowd of 129, after a week that hasn’t been particularly clever for the Club off the pitch.
Man of the Match
(to go towards the Milton Keynes Bowl)
Ross Morley
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