Fleet Town 6 Ashford Town 2
from Your Milton Keynes Correspondent
Final game of the 2009-10 campaign. This really should have been a relaxing day out in the Spring sunshine – no stress, no strain – especially with the Fleet trip being the shortest one for us in the league calendar. (As it turned out, it took us one hour and eleven minutes to get to the ground, in spite of extensive 50 mph speed limits on the M1, M25 and M3). Unfortunately, Ashford’s season, and their struggle against relegation to the Kent League, is far from over. Last Saturday’s 2-0 victory at home to Sittingbourne gave us a three-point advantage over Walton Casuals, with three games in hand, which enabled many Ashford fans to breathe a large sigh of relief. However, two consecutive 0-1 home defeats during the week have reduced the games-in-hand advantage to just one, and the fact that Walton Casuals were today due to meet a Sittingbourne side playing in its fourth match in five days (!) made that three-point cushion look decidedly precarious.
Probably more worrying has been the manner of the two midweek defeats. In both cases, we went behind to an early goal, and then spent the remainder of each game unable to score, (meaning that we’d drawn a blank in five of our previous six games). So where could we go from here ? No chance any more of recruiting reinforcements. All Steve Lovell could do was to take the same squad of tired players, with several of them carrying injuries, to Hampshire, to take on Fleet Town, the side in sixth place in the table, still with a fair chance of making the promotion play-offs – and hope for the best !
Hope was not something that I had much of, given that today’s opponents are always a strong side, and impressed many observers when beating us 1-4 at The Homelands in February – so it was a good thing that we had had a decent meal in the Heron on the Lake before the game.
There was one surprise in the Ashford Town line-up this afternoon – there was a first start for 18 year-old striker Ben Morley, who had made brief substitute appearances in recent home games against Leatherhead and Whitstable. Ben played in attack, alongside Mark Lovell, who didn’t play against Whitstable on Thursday, (a bruised knee having been given as the reason). Joe Fuller, who played up front alongside Tom Murphy in that Thursday game, was utilised in central midfield this afternoon, as were Ronnie Dolan and Ross Morley, with Mitchell Sherwood wide on the left. Right-back Carl Harrold pushed up to fill the gap on the right side of midfield, whenever possible – Carl was part of a back four that also included Lee Hockey, Laurence Harvey and Danny Lye. Scott Chalmers-Stevens was once again in goal. On the bench we had goalkeeper Darren Ibrahim, plus striker Tom Murphy and midfielders Chris Borchescu, Dan Scorer and Matt Newman – so Lovell Snr was probably praying that he didn’t get an injury to a defender early on ! Those most notable by their absence were Toby Ashmore and Liam Geering.
It was a fairly typical end-of-season pitch at Calthorpe Park – a hard, dry surface, which caused the odd bobble, and barely a blade of grass in either goalmouth. The home side, playing in a rather fetching strip of sky blue shirts with diagonal navy blue stripes on the body, navy blue shorts and sky blue sockies, played down the obvious slope, in the first half, and had the first half-chance of the game, in the opening minute. A Mitch Sherwood hand-ball, near the halfway line, resulted in a free-kick that was pumped deep into the Ashford penalty area. This was nodded into the centre, from where bald central defender Steve Noakes tried a speculative over-head kick, which sailed harmlessly high and wide.
Unsurprisingly, given recent evidence, Ashford offered very little in terms of constructive, creative play. The game plan seemed to be to dig in, compete for everything and hope to get some joy from set-pieces using our aerial and physical presence. It was very much the cult of “get tight to ‘em, and be first to that ‘second ball’”. In the face of superior opposition, this probably wasn’t a bad game plan – although it must be said that Steve Lovell and Hugo Langton haven’t invested much time in trying to blind the opposition with science this season !
To be fair, there was early evidence that these tactics might bear fruit. In fact, Ashford Town actually took the lead, in the twelfth minute, and this opening goal stemmed from a Lee Hockey long throw. Lee’s first effort, from the right side of the field, was easily headed clear by Steve Hemmings, but his second attempt penetrated deep into the Fleet goalmouth. The ball broke to Laurence Harvey, who was first to react, and he poked the ball over the line, for his SIXTH goal of the season.
Almost immediately, news filtered in, through the aether, that Sittingbourne had taken a 0-1 lead against Walton Casuals, on the banks of the Thames – and, suddenly, we had a vision of salvation, with all of our pain and relegation nightmares erased, beneath the cloudless Hampshire sky. Would the Lee Hockey long throw prove to be the magic silver bullet that was to cure all of our ills ? Had Steve Lovell found the key to Ryman League survival ? Well, we weren’t going to be left wondering, as the visitors persisted with this tactic. Lee launched a low howitzer into the Fleet box, in the 15th minute, and this was headed behind for a corner, at the near post. Debutant Ben Morley delivered the cross, curling the ball in with his right foot, from the left.
I would say that, as the ball was sailing towards the far post, this was the high point of Ashford’s afternoon – because it all went downhill from here. Inexplicably, and unforgivably, Joe Fuller met the ball with a flailing hand, in an action that can only be described as a volleyball smash. (Actually, Joe’s action can be explained – he was trying to get away with a deliberate hand-ball !). Referee Dominic Gregory saw exactly what had happened, and it seemed that he had seen an absolutely nailed-on red card offence, so Joe was extremely fortunate to only receive a yellow card – which is a decision that I certainly can’t explain !
I’d hesitate to describe this as a Hand of God incident, as The Big Man does tend to get blamed for everything, but I reckon that God dealt out his own retribution, as Ashford’s lead was cancelled out just three minutes later. On second thoughts, the home side probably didn’t require the assistance of a twelfth man, as Ashford’s back five did them plenty of favours this afternoon. As a cross came in from the right, the ball was allowed to go all the way through the six-yard box, finding Tyrone Smith at the far post – and the Fleet skipper was easily able to sweep the ball into the net, from close range.
So Ashford’s lead had lasted for all of six minutes – and Fleet Town simply never looked back from here. There is a simple explanation for why this game turned into a 6-2 defeat for the visitors – man for man, Ashford were out-matched ! I saw little evidence of tiredness or lack of effort, but Andy Sinton clearly had better players at his disposal than Steve Lovell. It was very much like watching our lads pitting themselves against a Ryman Premier side – and I don’t think there was much that The Management could have done about it.
The gulf in ability between the two teams was illustrated in the 29th minute, when Fleet went 2-1 up. This was a skilfully created goal, the like of which I cannot imagine any of Ashford’s forwards pulling off. Eddie Smith, with his back to goal, turned Lee Hockey without too much trouble, and fed the ball into the path of his strike partner, Mark Anderson, who calmly and firmly thumped the ball past Scott Chalmers-Stevens, into the corner of the net.
Ashford stuck to their task, and persisted with the plan of peppering the Fleet penalty area from corners, throw-ins and free-kicks, but failed in their efforts to create a clear-cut chance – until a Carl Harrold free-kick, from the edge of the centre circle, found the head of Mark Lovell, in the 38th minute, but Mark headed just wide.
The only time that Ashford heads appeared to drop a little was when Fleet went 3-1 up, with what seemed a fairly soft penalty, in the 42nd minute. A long clearance, down the slope, from Fleet ‘keeper Lyall Beazley, appeared to be going all the way through to Scott Chalmers-Stevens, who came out of his goal to punch clear. Suddenly, Mr Gregory was pointing to the penalty spot, making a gesture that seemed to be indicating that the striker was being pulled back – and Danny Lye got booked, but that’s all that I can tell you ! Eddie Smith easily slotted the ball into the corner of the net – and then we heard that Walton Casuals had equalised against Sittingbourne – and it was all going horribly wrong.
Furthermore, it very nearly got horribly worse, even before half time. Almost straight from the restart, Mark Anderson was put clean through on goal; he stabbed the ball past the advancing Chalmers-Stevens, but also just wide of goal. Then, in first half injury time, there seemed little danger as the ball was crossed from the Fleet left – but Lee Hockey, in the act of intercepting the cross, saw the ball slide off his instep, and straight into the path of Mark Anderson. The home No.9 was probably caught completely by surprise to see the ball at his feet, and he blasted wide, with only the ‘keeper to beat. So it was 3-1 at the interval, but Fleet’s lead might easily have been greater.
It was genuine sunbathing weather during half time, as the sky remained completely cloudless. Volcanic ash cloud ? What volcanic ash cloud ?
Unusually, the visitors emerged from the second half a few minutes before the home side. Was this a sign that Steve Lovell’s team talk had been fairly brief ? Apparently, his instructions had been “Just go for it”, which, under the circumstances, was probably as good a speech as any.
Whatever Steve had said, the home side went into a 4-1 lead in the 49th minute. Carl Harrold was unable to prevent Darren Wheeler from getting to the by-line and delivering a cross, from the left – but The Management’s wrath was directed at goalkeeper Chalmers-Stevens, as the ball was once again allowed to travel all the way through the Ashford six-yard box, before Nathan Smart, arriving at the far post, hit the ball firmly into the roof of the net.
Ashford reduced the deficit just two minutes later. The otherwise impressive young ‘keeper, Lyall Beazley, failed to hang on to a cross which came in from the Ashford right, and the ball was dinked back across goal, to Mark Lovell. Mark’s initial right-footed attempt at goal was blocked – but he hit the ball into the net at the second attempt, for his eighth goal of the season. Laurence Harvey and Mark Lovell have, between them, scored all five of Ashford’s goals that have been scored from open play in the past ten games.
Just prior to Ashford’s second goal, Danny Lye had been discussing with The Management whether or not he should continue to play, which suggests that Danny was clearly not 100% fit – and the Ashford Club Captain was replaced by Tom Murphy, in the 53rd minute, as the visitors switched to a 3-4-3 formation, with Ben Morley taking up a wide-left position. With the score at 4-2, this was clearly a nothing-to-lose tactical change, but having only three at the back might have contributed to Fleet’s fifth goal, which originated from a cross from the Fleet right, in the 54th minute. This was a cross that was fairly hammered across the face of Scott Chalmers-Stevens’ goal, and a diving Scott was unable to intercept it. The ball simply hit the deepest of the three Fleet forwards who were waiting in the penalty area, and rebounded to Leigh Rumbold, who hit the ball home, with the ‘keeper still stranded.
As well as scoring Ashford’s second goal, Mark Lovell looked as effective as anyone in a yellow shirt this afternoon. He battled away tirelessly, being one of the few Ashford players to have the physical presence to compete with a generally bigger and stronger team, and he also showed his experience when winning a few cheap free-kicks – like he did in the 58th minute, when Fleet left-back Bernard Asante also got yellow carded for his efforts. Mark also showed a deft touch, on the hour mark, when he beautifully deflected a Ronnie Dolan pass into the path of Tom Murphy – but Tom rather selfishly hammered the ball into the side netting. Three minutes later, Lee Hockey, who was getting excellent distance on his throws this afternoon, managed to launch the ball right into the home side’s goalmouth, but Mark, who might have been a little unsighted, headed wide.
Most of the good football, however, came from the home side, and Nathan Smart and Mark Anderson left the Ashford defence trailing, with a fast one-two down the right flank, in the 64th minute. Eddie Smith went diving in, trying to get a foot to the inevitable cross, but could only divert the ball wide, ending up in a cloud of dust in the goalmouth. A minute later, Ashford pieced together a rare good passing movement, which ended with Mark Lovell buying another cheap free-kick at the expense of Bernard Asante. Referee Gregory ignored the advice of the Ashford faithful behind the goal to show Bernard a second yellow card – which would have been totally unjustified – but had a long chat with the Fleet No.3, just to keep him on his toes. Tom Murphy took the resulting free-kick, hitting a low, hard shot which Lyall Beazley spilt, and a Fleet defender was injured in the ensuing scramble, as an Ashford player, (Lee Hockey, I think), tried to poke the ball over the line. This caused the only real flashpoint in the game, but the ref soon had the situation firmly under control – and Lee H was certainly one of the four players that Mr Gregory spoke to.
In the 71st minute, another Lee Hockey long throw, from the right, was headed behind for a corner. Before the kick was taken, Chris Borchescu replaced Joe Fuller, who had clearly been struggling, physically; Andy Sinton also made a substitution, sending on James Field in place of the bruised Bernard Asante, who had felt the weight of a Mark Lovell foul just seconds earlier. Borchescu took the corner himself, but his cross was headed clear, and the home side was immediately off on a break. With the three-man Ashford defence struggling to get back, up the slope, a brilliantly accurate ball was swept into the path of Darren Wheeler, but Wheeler failed to do the pass justice, and steered the ball wide. Three minutes later, the No.11 tried to make amends, attacking the Ashford defence down the left, and was about to get the better of Laurence Harvey when Laurence blatantly clung onto his opponent’s arm. (Good boy ! You’re learning !). Scottie Three Names punched the resulting free-kick clear, being fouled in the process. In the 76th minute, Wheeler was on the ball again, on the left wing, teasing Mitchell Sherwood, who was facing him down. In spite of Mitch standing his ground, Wheeler got in a good cross, but Leigh Rumbold headed over at the far post.
In the 79th minute, Andy Sinton replaced Mark Anderson with Paul Harkness, and his team took a 6-2 lead, just two minutes later, with what I think was the goal of the game. Fleet Town simply passed the ball around our lads. It was something that the home side had looked capable of doing all game, and it was almost as if they did so merely to prove the point. The last of several passes found substitute James Field on the edge of the Ashford penalty area – and, come to think of it, he also passed the ball, right into the corner of Scottie’s net, giving the ‘keeper no chance. This was the third time that Chalmers-Stevens had conceded six or more goals in a game this season; he has now let in 56, which is more than any other Ashford goalkeeper over the past five seasons, with the exception of Jake Whincup, who let in the same number. The difference, however, is that Jake kept goal for a total of 3,420 minutes during the 2006-7 and 2007-8 seasons, whilst Scott has charged to this total in just 2,546 minutes; (not that I’m suggesting for a moment that either ‘keeper was responsible for all of those goals).
There were optimistic Ashford appeals for a penalty, in the 83rd minute, after a Mark Lovell shot, from just inside the area, hit a Fleet defender’s hand, and then, with just two minutes of normal time remaining, Chris Borchescu showed some fancy footwork when trying to dance between three Fleet players – but his showy cameo was ended with a foul. Tom Murphy, who often appears to have graduated from the Greta Garbo School of Teamwork, went for goal with the free-kick, hitting the ball low and hard towards the Fleet goal. Lee Hockey intercepted his effort, and very nearly poked the ball into the net, but earnt nothing more than a corner. Worse still, the corner came to nothing, and the home side quickly turned the situation into a counter-attack. In fact, this really should have been a seventh goal for Fleet Town, as Eddie Smith was soon racing clear of the pursuing Ashford defence – but Scott Chalmers-Stevens did well, making a good save.
With Leatherhead only drawing at Merstham this afternoon, the home side is now just a point outside the play-off zone, and so still has a live chance of what would be a thoroughly well-deserved promotion, having been one of the best footballing sides at this level for four or five years now. As for Ashford’s predicament, well, The Brickies did us a huge favour in holding Walton Casuals to a draw; with their one remaining game of the season being away to in-form Leatherhead, this was Walton’s big chance to really put pressure on Ashford. As it is, the situation is very simple now – assuming that we get nothing from Wednesday’s home game against third-placed Worthing, (who will be motivated by the fact that they are still not sure of a play-off place), then we’ll finish in the bottom two if Casuals win next Saturday and we don’t. If we somehow get a point against Worthing, then a point at home to Chatham will be enough to see us finish clear of the relegation zone.
If the unthinkable happens, and we do end up in the relegation places, then it will be as the 21st-placed team, and then relegation will, or won’t, become a reality depending on how reprieves are handed out as a result of clubs from higher up in the pyramid going out of business, etc. My understanding from sources of unknown reliability – in the absence of the late, and much missed, Tony Kempster – is that the earlier demise of King’s Lynn FC and Newcastle Blue Star FC will result in a reprieve for the teams finishing in 21st position in Unibond Division One North and Unibond Division One South. (This is something to do with a prior agreement to maintain numbers in the Unibond League). Priority for any further reprieves will be assessed on the basis of the team(s) finishing 21st with the best points total in the four remaining Step 4 divisions – which will be Ashford Town, by a considerable distance, indicating that the bottom of Ryman Division One South has been fairly competitive this season.
Let’s hope that it doesn’t come to that !
Man of the Match
(to go towards the Milton Keynes Bowl)
Mark Lovell
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