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
Saturday 27 March 2010
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
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