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
Saturday 30 January 2010
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
Wednesday 20 January 2010
VCD Athletic v Ashford Town. Kent Senior Cup, Second Round. 19th of January, 2010.
VCD Athletic 1 Ashford Town 2
from Your Milton Keynes Correspondent
Even the longest, darkest night must come to an end – and that is how it has seemed, waiting for this period of winter weather to come to an end, so that we can at last go and see some footy again. We set off for Oakwood, in Crayford, London, for this Kent Senior Cup tie, on the 19th evening of 2010. Ashford’s previous game was on Boxing Day, and, to extend the analogy of the long period of darkness, this was really not much more than getting out in the middle of the night for a pee, as the previous match to that had been on the 12th of December. So just one game in five and a half weeks for Steve Lovell’s boys, so, whatever your opinion of the importance of the Kent Senior Cup – and I, for one, love the competition, and would like to see us do well in it – the most important thing tonight was that the boys should get in some much-needed match practice, in preparation for the next league game, against Whyteleafe, on Saturday, with anything else being a bonus.
The silver lining to the clouds that have recently waterlogged The Homelands pitch, and then buried it under six inches of snow, is that Steve Lovell has been able to get some key players back from injury. Scott Chalmers-Stevens, who began the season as Ashford’s first-choice goalkeeper, has returned, and went straight back into the side, ahead of Darren Ibrahim, who might count himself as being a little unlucky to be left out, after his Man-of-the-Match performance against Folkestone on Boxing Day. Striker Joe Fuller is also back, but had to be content with a place on the bench this evening; with Paul Jones due to return on Saturday, and goalie Josh Willis reported to have rejoined the Club, Ashford could quite easily put out a side containing five ‘keepers and six strikers – whilst, logically, this might not seem to be a bad idea, it would probably never work !
The shortfall, at the moment, in the Ashford squad appears to be in defence. With Toby Ashmore still on the injury list, and Lee Hockey serving a one-match suspension this evening, The Gaffer was left with just three defenders available, and all of these were youngsters – centre-half Laurence Harvey, and full-backs Carl Harrold and Ryan Norman. This meant that versatile skipper Danny Lye once again had to fill in at the centre of the defence. As it turned out, this was not an issue, as Danny did a solid and tidy job, alongside the again-impressive Laurence Harvey, and Scottie Three Names was rarely troubled by a VCD attack that rarely, if ever, threatened.
There was a familiar look to the midfield, with Ryan Briggs and Ross Morley in the centre, Mitchell Sherwood on the right and Nick Smith on the left. Up front there was a first start for young Tom Murphy, (on loan from Gillingham), alongside Mark Lovell, with attacking options on the bench being strikers Joe Fuller and Kevin Swaisland, and midfielders Ronnie Dolan and Liam Geering, (who is also on loan from The Gills).
The one familiar face in the VCD Athletic line-up was ex-Ashford midfielder Anthony Hogg – but he was almost completely anonymous during the game.
If this was to be something of a warm-up for Saturday’s league game, then it could certainly be described as a dress rehearsal, as VCD, like Whyteleafe, play in the classic Celtic colours of green & white hoops, white shorts and white socks – right down to the detail of players having their number on the thigh of their shorts ! (With the visitors playing in their away strip, it looked like it was Celtic v Norwich City out there – although, if Delia had been here tonight, she would have struggled to make an impression with her “Where are you ?” speech, as it was a disappointing turn-out by the Ashford fans, in an attendance of only 81). It should also have been a fairly stiff test for the boys tonight, with VCD currently lying in eighth place in Ryman Division One North, but I thought our hosts looked a very ordinary side, having reportedly also been poor in their 1-2 defeat here last Saturday.
Vickers, Crayford & Dartford Athletic did, however, have the majority of possession in the opening ten minutes of the game – without being able to piece together anything worthwhile – but it was Ashford who created the first opening. In the ninth minute, the ball broke to Tom Murphy, a few yards inside the VCD half, and he immediately passed it into a wide area of space in front of Mitchell Sherwood, on the right. Mitch latched onto the ball, and curled in a cross which was just a little too far in front of the yellow shirts that were arriving in the centre. (For those who believe that a lack of service from the flanks is a major contributing factor to Ashford’s inability to score goals in recent times, I can state that this was the first of only two crosses that we managed to put in during the course of the 90 minutes).
In the eleventh minute, there was a sight and sound that Steve Lovell did not want, given the current thinness of our defensive resources, as Ryan Norman went down, with a loud yell, in the centre circle, clutching his right calf. After treatment, Ryan was able to carry on for another 49 minutes, but he must be a doubt for the Whyteleafe game.
Before Ashford opened the scoring, in the 20th minute, attempts on goal from either side were, at best, speculative – and a little pathetic. Athletic’s Kevin Winchcombe tried a snap shot from outside the penalty area, which was well wide, in the 13th minute, and then a long-range attempt from Ross Morley, two minutes later, was also always going to miss the target. Nick Hegley volleyed a long cross high and wide, in the 17th minute, and then Ross Morley pulled a long shot well wide, in the eighteenth. In fact, when VCD goalie Jack Bradshaw picked the ball out of the back of his net, it was the first meaningful act that was required from either ‘keeper. It was a well-taken goal, but I’ve no idea what happened to the VCD defence. Mark Lovell picked the ball up in the centre of the field, and spread it wide to Tom Murphy, on the right. There seemed to be a yawning space where the left-back should have been, and young Tom only had the goalkeeper to beat. As Bradshaw advanced off his line, Tom easily lobbed the ball over his head, and into the far corner of the net.
Four minutes later, Ashford were on the attack again, with Ryan Briggs, (who had a very good game tonight), turning and playing a good through-ball for Nick Smith to chase, in the inside-left channel. I sometimes think that Smudge lacks quality, to go with all his effort and commitment that is never lacking, but he showed good pace and strength, on this occasion, to get to the ball before the defender. Ashford hearts were lifted, as Nick momentarily had a clear sight of goal, but a tackle from a covering VCD player sent the ball spiralling into the air, and it was an easy pick-up for the ‘keeper.
However, our hearts didn’t have to wait too long to be gladdened, as, just two minutes later, Mark Lovell got himself on the score-sheet, for the first time since coming back from a 14-month lay-off through injury – his previous goal having been in the penultimate game of the 2007-8 season, at home to Walton Casuals. Of all the bonuses that Manager Steve Lovell might have wished for from tonight’s game, this must surely have been at the top of the list. The goal came from a free-kick, from wide on the right, after Mark had himself been fouled. Briggo put in a great cross to the far post, where Laurence Harvey got up well, directing a firm header on target. Jack Bradshaw actually made an excellent save, one-handed, but, after he had palmed the ball up into the air, Mark Lovell followed up, to head home from Nat Lofthouse range. This was Mark’s tenth goal for the Club – and it was 0-2 to Ashford in the cup tie.
The two-goal lead didn’t last long, though, since, in a game where all three goals were scored in a period of about ten minutes, the home side equalised in the 30th minute. This goal also came from a set-piece situation, and represented the only time that the Ashford defence really looked vulnerable. Ryan Norman fouled centre-forward Uche Ibemere in the shadow of the right corner flag. The cross to the centre was headed in, from about eight yards out, by left-back Jason Barton. The goal was greeted with almost complete silence from the VCD players, and their smattering of supporters, which momentarily created an atmosphere of suspended belief – but it was indeed 1-2, and Ashford were stopped in their tracks, having briefly looked likely to maybe over-run the home side.
In the 38th minute, Ibemere inexplicably gave the ball straight to Tom Murphy, who was about on the half-way line, and Tom turned to find that Ashford had a three v three situation with the Vickers defence. With several options available, Tom made a rare Horlicks of it, in what was a very impressive display from him on the night, wastefully blasting a shot high and wide, from long range. With a minute of the half remaining, Ashford had an excellent opportunity to score a third goal, when Jack Bradshaw came out of his goal to intercept a through-ball. Unfortunately for him, he found that he was also outside his penalty area as the got to the ball, so had no choice but to head the ball away. The clearance went straight to Mark Lovell, who instinctively attempted to curl the ball into the empty net – his effort was on target, but a defender managed to get back, and calmly controlled the ball on his chest, on the line, before clearing.
So Ashford went in at half time 1-2 to the good – and we had beaten the home side 6-0 in terms of the number of supporters behind each goal.
Lee Hockey was one of the few spectators at Oaklands this evening. He had a kick-about with the subs during the interval. The meagre crowd was also supplemented by the rare sight of two uniformed policemen. As usual, I became a little nervous as they approached where I was standing, and was preparing to utter the usual phrases, such as “I’m clean now, Guv – honest !”, and “No, not the face, Officer ! Not the face again !” – but I was then delighted to see that one of the on-duty coppers was one PC Charlie Glyde, fully kitted out with his helmet, whistle and knuckle-dusters. The ground is just about within Charlie’s beat, and he was given a warm welcome from both Ashford supporters and the Ashford bench. Folkestone fans with nothing better to do than to read this report will probably be pleased to learn that, in spite of not having time to play any serious footy, Charlie appears to be very happy in his new career.
The second half was a fairly quiet affair, with Ashford holding onto the one-goal lead fairly comfortably, against a home side who didn’t really put the visiting defence under real pressure until the final ten minutes. Steve Lovell was forced into making a change in both personnel and formation on the hour mark, when Ryan Norman could continue no longer, and was replaced by Ronnie Dolan. This meant a switch to 3-5-2 – purely on the grounds of the players that were now available, with Ronnie slotting into central midfield – but Mitchell Sherwood dropped back into what was effectively a right-back’s role whenever VCD came forward with the ball.
[ Memo to Steve and Hugo: When are you going to convert Mitch to a full-back ? He hasn’t had the confidence to pose an attacking threat for approximately 18 months now, and his best performances for Ashford have been when he has shone in his defensive duties. He’s brave, he’s a good tackler and quite competitive in the air – and I can count the number of meaningful crosses he’s put in this season on the digits of one hand and a groin. ]
The defensive alterations made little difference to the pattern of the game, as Scott Chalmers-Stevens – whose handling was confident, but whose kicking was generally poor – had just token saves to make, fielding a weak, long-range shot from Nick Hegley, in the 68th minute, and then comfortably taking an effort, from a similar distance, from Aaron Firth, in the 72nd minute.
Steve Lovell made a double-substitution in the 76th minute, giving Mark Lovell and Nick Smith a breather, replacing them with loanee Liam Geering and this season’s top scorer, with seven goals, Joe Fuller. The one blot on a very satisfactory evening for Steve L, apart from the injury to Ryan Norman, was the rather harsh yellow card that Ross Morley picked up for bundling over VCD substitute Meshach Nugent, in the 82nd minute.
During their late rally, the home side did actually start to knock the ball around, and Ashford had to do some defending – and for rather longer than they were expecting, as Referee Stuart Butler, for some reason, allowed the game to drag on into the seventh minute of injury time, when the announcement stated that there would be just four extra minutes. Meshach Nugent got in a curling shot, which went just over the bar, in the 83rd minute, and the much-travelled Leroy Huggins got his shaven head to a 90th-minute corner, but could do no more than steer the ball away from goal, at the near post. Stephen Hogg, another second-half substitute, volleyed the ball well over the bar, in the 93rd minute – but Ashford held on for a well-deserved victory, which puts them into the last eight of a competition that they have won, in various guises, five times, the most recent being in 1996. (Don’t knock it – Arsenal have only won the Kent Senior Cup three times !).
So plenty of positives to take away from Oakwood this evening – not the least of them being Mark Lovell’s first goal for the thick end of two years, and the team’s first away victory of any sort this season – before the rather more serious business of the league match at Whyteleafe, on Saturday, (the importance of which has been re-emphasised by the fact that Eastbourne Town picked up a point, away to Walton & Hersham, tonight, leaving Ashford six points adrift at the bottom of the table, albeit with five games and three games in hand of Eastbourne and Whitstable, respectively). Another thoroughly encouraging sign was the performance of young Tom Murphy, who was easily the brightest and most mobile player on the park for Ashford. Whilst Paul Jones is expected to make a very welcome return to the squad at the week-end, and Mark Lovell also played well tonight, I feel that Tom simply has to start against Whyteleafe.
Man of the Match
(to go towards the Milton Keynes Bowl)
Tom Murphy
from Your Milton Keynes Correspondent
Even the longest, darkest night must come to an end – and that is how it has seemed, waiting for this period of winter weather to come to an end, so that we can at last go and see some footy again. We set off for Oakwood, in Crayford, London, for this Kent Senior Cup tie, on the 19th evening of 2010. Ashford’s previous game was on Boxing Day, and, to extend the analogy of the long period of darkness, this was really not much more than getting out in the middle of the night for a pee, as the previous match to that had been on the 12th of December. So just one game in five and a half weeks for Steve Lovell’s boys, so, whatever your opinion of the importance of the Kent Senior Cup – and I, for one, love the competition, and would like to see us do well in it – the most important thing tonight was that the boys should get in some much-needed match practice, in preparation for the next league game, against Whyteleafe, on Saturday, with anything else being a bonus.
The silver lining to the clouds that have recently waterlogged The Homelands pitch, and then buried it under six inches of snow, is that Steve Lovell has been able to get some key players back from injury. Scott Chalmers-Stevens, who began the season as Ashford’s first-choice goalkeeper, has returned, and went straight back into the side, ahead of Darren Ibrahim, who might count himself as being a little unlucky to be left out, after his Man-of-the-Match performance against Folkestone on Boxing Day. Striker Joe Fuller is also back, but had to be content with a place on the bench this evening; with Paul Jones due to return on Saturday, and goalie Josh Willis reported to have rejoined the Club, Ashford could quite easily put out a side containing five ‘keepers and six strikers – whilst, logically, this might not seem to be a bad idea, it would probably never work !
The shortfall, at the moment, in the Ashford squad appears to be in defence. With Toby Ashmore still on the injury list, and Lee Hockey serving a one-match suspension this evening, The Gaffer was left with just three defenders available, and all of these were youngsters – centre-half Laurence Harvey, and full-backs Carl Harrold and Ryan Norman. This meant that versatile skipper Danny Lye once again had to fill in at the centre of the defence. As it turned out, this was not an issue, as Danny did a solid and tidy job, alongside the again-impressive Laurence Harvey, and Scottie Three Names was rarely troubled by a VCD attack that rarely, if ever, threatened.
There was a familiar look to the midfield, with Ryan Briggs and Ross Morley in the centre, Mitchell Sherwood on the right and Nick Smith on the left. Up front there was a first start for young Tom Murphy, (on loan from Gillingham), alongside Mark Lovell, with attacking options on the bench being strikers Joe Fuller and Kevin Swaisland, and midfielders Ronnie Dolan and Liam Geering, (who is also on loan from The Gills).
The one familiar face in the VCD Athletic line-up was ex-Ashford midfielder Anthony Hogg – but he was almost completely anonymous during the game.
If this was to be something of a warm-up for Saturday’s league game, then it could certainly be described as a dress rehearsal, as VCD, like Whyteleafe, play in the classic Celtic colours of green & white hoops, white shorts and white socks – right down to the detail of players having their number on the thigh of their shorts ! (With the visitors playing in their away strip, it looked like it was Celtic v Norwich City out there – although, if Delia had been here tonight, she would have struggled to make an impression with her “Where are you ?” speech, as it was a disappointing turn-out by the Ashford fans, in an attendance of only 81). It should also have been a fairly stiff test for the boys tonight, with VCD currently lying in eighth place in Ryman Division One North, but I thought our hosts looked a very ordinary side, having reportedly also been poor in their 1-2 defeat here last Saturday.
Vickers, Crayford & Dartford Athletic did, however, have the majority of possession in the opening ten minutes of the game – without being able to piece together anything worthwhile – but it was Ashford who created the first opening. In the ninth minute, the ball broke to Tom Murphy, a few yards inside the VCD half, and he immediately passed it into a wide area of space in front of Mitchell Sherwood, on the right. Mitch latched onto the ball, and curled in a cross which was just a little too far in front of the yellow shirts that were arriving in the centre. (For those who believe that a lack of service from the flanks is a major contributing factor to Ashford’s inability to score goals in recent times, I can state that this was the first of only two crosses that we managed to put in during the course of the 90 minutes).
In the eleventh minute, there was a sight and sound that Steve Lovell did not want, given the current thinness of our defensive resources, as Ryan Norman went down, with a loud yell, in the centre circle, clutching his right calf. After treatment, Ryan was able to carry on for another 49 minutes, but he must be a doubt for the Whyteleafe game.
Before Ashford opened the scoring, in the 20th minute, attempts on goal from either side were, at best, speculative – and a little pathetic. Athletic’s Kevin Winchcombe tried a snap shot from outside the penalty area, which was well wide, in the 13th minute, and then a long-range attempt from Ross Morley, two minutes later, was also always going to miss the target. Nick Hegley volleyed a long cross high and wide, in the 17th minute, and then Ross Morley pulled a long shot well wide, in the eighteenth. In fact, when VCD goalie Jack Bradshaw picked the ball out of the back of his net, it was the first meaningful act that was required from either ‘keeper. It was a well-taken goal, but I’ve no idea what happened to the VCD defence. Mark Lovell picked the ball up in the centre of the field, and spread it wide to Tom Murphy, on the right. There seemed to be a yawning space where the left-back should have been, and young Tom only had the goalkeeper to beat. As Bradshaw advanced off his line, Tom easily lobbed the ball over his head, and into the far corner of the net.
Four minutes later, Ashford were on the attack again, with Ryan Briggs, (who had a very good game tonight), turning and playing a good through-ball for Nick Smith to chase, in the inside-left channel. I sometimes think that Smudge lacks quality, to go with all his effort and commitment that is never lacking, but he showed good pace and strength, on this occasion, to get to the ball before the defender. Ashford hearts were lifted, as Nick momentarily had a clear sight of goal, but a tackle from a covering VCD player sent the ball spiralling into the air, and it was an easy pick-up for the ‘keeper.
However, our hearts didn’t have to wait too long to be gladdened, as, just two minutes later, Mark Lovell got himself on the score-sheet, for the first time since coming back from a 14-month lay-off through injury – his previous goal having been in the penultimate game of the 2007-8 season, at home to Walton Casuals. Of all the bonuses that Manager Steve Lovell might have wished for from tonight’s game, this must surely have been at the top of the list. The goal came from a free-kick, from wide on the right, after Mark had himself been fouled. Briggo put in a great cross to the far post, where Laurence Harvey got up well, directing a firm header on target. Jack Bradshaw actually made an excellent save, one-handed, but, after he had palmed the ball up into the air, Mark Lovell followed up, to head home from Nat Lofthouse range. This was Mark’s tenth goal for the Club – and it was 0-2 to Ashford in the cup tie.
The two-goal lead didn’t last long, though, since, in a game where all three goals were scored in a period of about ten minutes, the home side equalised in the 30th minute. This goal also came from a set-piece situation, and represented the only time that the Ashford defence really looked vulnerable. Ryan Norman fouled centre-forward Uche Ibemere in the shadow of the right corner flag. The cross to the centre was headed in, from about eight yards out, by left-back Jason Barton. The goal was greeted with almost complete silence from the VCD players, and their smattering of supporters, which momentarily created an atmosphere of suspended belief – but it was indeed 1-2, and Ashford were stopped in their tracks, having briefly looked likely to maybe over-run the home side.
In the 38th minute, Ibemere inexplicably gave the ball straight to Tom Murphy, who was about on the half-way line, and Tom turned to find that Ashford had a three v three situation with the Vickers defence. With several options available, Tom made a rare Horlicks of it, in what was a very impressive display from him on the night, wastefully blasting a shot high and wide, from long range. With a minute of the half remaining, Ashford had an excellent opportunity to score a third goal, when Jack Bradshaw came out of his goal to intercept a through-ball. Unfortunately for him, he found that he was also outside his penalty area as the got to the ball, so had no choice but to head the ball away. The clearance went straight to Mark Lovell, who instinctively attempted to curl the ball into the empty net – his effort was on target, but a defender managed to get back, and calmly controlled the ball on his chest, on the line, before clearing.
So Ashford went in at half time 1-2 to the good – and we had beaten the home side 6-0 in terms of the number of supporters behind each goal.
Lee Hockey was one of the few spectators at Oaklands this evening. He had a kick-about with the subs during the interval. The meagre crowd was also supplemented by the rare sight of two uniformed policemen. As usual, I became a little nervous as they approached where I was standing, and was preparing to utter the usual phrases, such as “I’m clean now, Guv – honest !”, and “No, not the face, Officer ! Not the face again !” – but I was then delighted to see that one of the on-duty coppers was one PC Charlie Glyde, fully kitted out with his helmet, whistle and knuckle-dusters. The ground is just about within Charlie’s beat, and he was given a warm welcome from both Ashford supporters and the Ashford bench. Folkestone fans with nothing better to do than to read this report will probably be pleased to learn that, in spite of not having time to play any serious footy, Charlie appears to be very happy in his new career.
The second half was a fairly quiet affair, with Ashford holding onto the one-goal lead fairly comfortably, against a home side who didn’t really put the visiting defence under real pressure until the final ten minutes. Steve Lovell was forced into making a change in both personnel and formation on the hour mark, when Ryan Norman could continue no longer, and was replaced by Ronnie Dolan. This meant a switch to 3-5-2 – purely on the grounds of the players that were now available, with Ronnie slotting into central midfield – but Mitchell Sherwood dropped back into what was effectively a right-back’s role whenever VCD came forward with the ball.
[ Memo to Steve and Hugo: When are you going to convert Mitch to a full-back ? He hasn’t had the confidence to pose an attacking threat for approximately 18 months now, and his best performances for Ashford have been when he has shone in his defensive duties. He’s brave, he’s a good tackler and quite competitive in the air – and I can count the number of meaningful crosses he’s put in this season on the digits of one hand and a groin. ]
The defensive alterations made little difference to the pattern of the game, as Scott Chalmers-Stevens – whose handling was confident, but whose kicking was generally poor – had just token saves to make, fielding a weak, long-range shot from Nick Hegley, in the 68th minute, and then comfortably taking an effort, from a similar distance, from Aaron Firth, in the 72nd minute.
Steve Lovell made a double-substitution in the 76th minute, giving Mark Lovell and Nick Smith a breather, replacing them with loanee Liam Geering and this season’s top scorer, with seven goals, Joe Fuller. The one blot on a very satisfactory evening for Steve L, apart from the injury to Ryan Norman, was the rather harsh yellow card that Ross Morley picked up for bundling over VCD substitute Meshach Nugent, in the 82nd minute.
During their late rally, the home side did actually start to knock the ball around, and Ashford had to do some defending – and for rather longer than they were expecting, as Referee Stuart Butler, for some reason, allowed the game to drag on into the seventh minute of injury time, when the announcement stated that there would be just four extra minutes. Meshach Nugent got in a curling shot, which went just over the bar, in the 83rd minute, and the much-travelled Leroy Huggins got his shaven head to a 90th-minute corner, but could do no more than steer the ball away from goal, at the near post. Stephen Hogg, another second-half substitute, volleyed the ball well over the bar, in the 93rd minute – but Ashford held on for a well-deserved victory, which puts them into the last eight of a competition that they have won, in various guises, five times, the most recent being in 1996. (Don’t knock it – Arsenal have only won the Kent Senior Cup three times !).
So plenty of positives to take away from Oakwood this evening – not the least of them being Mark Lovell’s first goal for the thick end of two years, and the team’s first away victory of any sort this season – before the rather more serious business of the league match at Whyteleafe, on Saturday, (the importance of which has been re-emphasised by the fact that Eastbourne Town picked up a point, away to Walton & Hersham, tonight, leaving Ashford six points adrift at the bottom of the table, albeit with five games and three games in hand of Eastbourne and Whitstable, respectively). Another thoroughly encouraging sign was the performance of young Tom Murphy, who was easily the brightest and most mobile player on the park for Ashford. Whilst Paul Jones is expected to make a very welcome return to the squad at the week-end, and Mark Lovell also played well tonight, I feel that Tom simply has to start against Whyteleafe.
Man of the Match
(to go towards the Milton Keynes Bowl)
Tom Murphy
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