Ashford United v Shoreham. FA Vase First Qualifying Round. 10th of September 2011.

Ashford United 2 (Byrne 15, Walsh 90+4)
Shoreham 2 (Green 8, Walker 25)

(2-2 after 90 minutes)
(2-2 after extra time)

From Ashford United’s Milton Keynes Correspondent

My first match report for a year and five months – give or take – and the reasons for the hiatus will be familiar to anyone reading this. My previous effort reported on Ashford Town’s 6-2 defeat away at Fleet Town, towards the end of a relegation campaign that was ultimately successful, thanks to a 2-1 victory at home to Chatham Town in the last game of the season. How things change ! Fleet Town are now back in the Southern League, and my team is now called Ashford United, and we are six games into the season in the new, Step 6 Kent Invicta League.

But this was not about the KIL – nor is this report about chewing the old fat of the past. Today was FA Vase First Qualifying Round day, and we had been drawn at home to Shoreham, of the Sussex League.

Today was a big day – and, as anybody there will know, a very memorable day. For me, it was an occasion to revisit the temple that is Homelands, catch up with friends and see heroes, new and old, for the first time. For a basically very young, still coagulating team, this was always going to be a big occasion. The FA Vase is the one competition this season that provides the opportunity for our boys to play against a team from higher in the football pyramid – and The Musselmen provided us with Step 5 opposition this afternoon.

What made this an intriguing clash was that Shoreham looked far from unbeatable, on paper. They finished 18th in the Sussex League last year, and were technically relegated, before being granted a reprieve. This season, they have fared little better in the league, having so far collected just the one point from three games. In addition to that, they reportedly had seven bells kicked out of them by Three Bridges, in mid-week, so came to Homelands with three of their first-choice back four missing ! In contrast, Shoreham had, unusually, won both of their FA Cup ties, to date – against Holmesdale of the Kent League Premier, and fellow Sussex Leaguers Lancing – so maybe they save their best performances for the cups !

Given the visitors’ profile, it was logical to expect Ashford United, mid-table at Step 6, but with expectations to improve as the season progresses, to have a fair chance of getting a result today. Having said that, the home side was coming here on the back of what was described as a poor performance, at home to Bearsted, on Wednesday, (in spite of the lads actually getting a 1-1 draw from the game).

The pre-match talk had been of Manager Paul Chambers drafting in some new players, to liven the squad up a bit, with maybe a couple being signed up in time for today’s match. As it turned out, the fresh blood consisted of the one new signing – Kieran Byrne – and the promoted U-18s’ captain, Liam Walsh. It must be said that both players made a tremendous impact on their debut – and they would have done even if they had not both got themselves on the score-sheet ! We are lucky to have Kieran Byrne, as he has been pursued by a number of clubs. A left-sided midfielder, who was last seen at Hythe Town, he looked a good player, in spite of not having played for some five months. Liam Walsh, still only 17, looked very competent and composed in central defence, and was probably Ashford’s Man of the Match this afternoon. The lad obviously has a very bright future.

The remainder of the team consisted of fairly familiar names – but most of them were just names to me, at this stage, so I was looking forward to seeing how they would shape up. More familiar figures, of course, were Ashford legends Matt Bower and Lee McRobert. Matt doesn’t look any different to when I last saw him play – although he’s probably worked on his sun tan a little more. I was also surprised and delighted to see that Lee Mac, arguably the best outfield player ever to have worn an Ashford shirt, also hadn’t changed a great deal; he started on the bench, today, but looked pretty much his old self when he eventually came on. Sam Conlon was also not new to me – he was the one survivor of Ashford Town’s 2009-10 season, his four substitute appearances clocking up a total of 81 minutes.

So here was the team, led by Lee Shearer, who was announced as the captain, just prior to the game: -

1. Tony Allen, 2. Kieran Sanger, 3. Richard Quigley, 4. Matt Bower, 5. Liam Walsh, 6. Lee Shearer (capt.), 7. Dan Scorer, 8. Liam Whiting, 9. Gary Lockyer, 10. Sam Conlon, 11. Kieran Byrne.
Subs.: 12. Jack Albin, 14. Tom Scorer, 15. Lee McRobert, 16. Paul Chambers, 18. (GK) Mo Munden.

But I’m not going to stop there. These were the personnel available to play, but Ashford United FC is all about the extended Ashford footballing family, these days. There were also legends in the stand, this afternoon. Paul O’Brien was unavailable to play, due to injury, but was there supporting the lads; Scott McRobert is now part of the set-up, and it was also good to see The Great Jeff Ross in attendance. The backroom staff and the team that runs the stadium are made up of stalwarts from eras past, who, between them, have seen more managers and owners come and go than I, or they, would care to think about. After the kin strife and the divisive off-the-field politics of the past couple of years, which had split fans, volunteers and staff down the middle, it was really good to see them all back together again.

I should also mention the man who has mostly been responsible for making this renaissance possible. Tony Betteridge appears to be delighted with the progress that the Club has made so far, and seems to be genuinely taken aback by the sheer volume of support that has come from the fans. Tony’s only problem appears to be that he is fretting over not being able to deliver success on the field in time to meet the fans’ expectations – but none of the faithful that turned out for this cup tie were thinking along those lines, after what was eventually a good performance from the home team sent them home happy.

I say “eventually” because the boys took their time to warm to this one. They started off OK, though, and the opening minutes were fairly even - and I reckon that United were slightly unfortunate to go a goal down, as early as the eighth minute. A long through ball, for Shoreham’s Charlie Walker to chase, easily bisected the two Ashford centre-halves, and it was young Liam Walsh who cleared the danger, putting the ball behind for a corner. This found Gareth Green, on the edge of the penalty area. He was allowed to turn, and his looping shot cannoned off the far post, and into the net. Goalkeeper Tony Allen, about whom I’ve heard glowing reports, but who looked a bit shaky on occasions, had no chance of getting anywhere near it.

During the first quarter of an hour, Ashford struggled to create an opening, with just an optimistic shot from long range, from Kieran Sanger, in the 10th minute, which sailed tamely over the bar, to show for their efforts – until they were awarded a free-kick, on the 15 minute mark. This was for a late tackle by Shoreham’s Kevin Keehan on Dan Scorer. After a period where it seemed that he had been constantly blowing for free-kicks, Referee Freddie Collins finally ran out of patience, and showed Keehan a yellow card. More to the point, this was the opportunity for new-boy Kieran Byrne to formally introduce himself to the Ashford supporters. The kick was from just outside the penalty area, to the right of goal, and Kieran curled the ball beautifully with his left foot, just inside the near post, and just under the bar. This boy looks a handy signing.

Just two minutes later, there was a dodgy moment for Tony Allen. A harmless-looking free-kick was chipped into the Ashford area. Allen hesitated in coming out to collect the ball, enabling a Shoreham forward to nip in ahead of him, and glance a header towards goal. Thankfully, for all those of a green & white persuasion, the ball was cleared off the line.

In the 21st minute, the visitors picked up their second yellow card, when Josh Clayman was late with a tackle on Gary Lockyer. Ashford’s young No.9 was down for some time, receiving treatment from Alan Orsbourne, who is now Ashford’s official physio, having passed his exams and served his apprenticeship with the sponge. Whilst this was never a really dirty game, Alan was to have a busy afternoon, covering almost as many miles as some of the players.

The Mussels, playing in their home strip of all blue, took the lead again, in the 25th minute. Matt Bower had committed a foul, on the far side, having initially lost the ball. The resulting free-kick was floated into the Ashford penalty area, and it needed Kieran Sanger to head the ball behind. The resulting corner found Charlie Walker, in the centre of the goalmouth. His initial right-foot shot hit the post, but he had time to turn in the rebound.

As the half hour mark came and went, Ashford continued to press, and had a couple of corners, and a free-kick in a dangerous position, but no clear-cut chance resulted. There were just a few signs of some nice, neat moves developing – but, generally, Ashford were poor whenever they got into Shoreham’s half of the pitch, with through balls and passes to the forwards rarely coming anywhere near to reaching their target. In fact, it was the visitors who had the next chance to score, in the 34th minute. This came from a cracking, long-range shot from Lee Eastman, which thumped against the post, with the diving Tony Allen well beaten.

As half time approached, Shoreham began to look well in control, and Ashford’s frustration began to show, with a few heads dropping, and the odd spat breaking out between the players. Whilst the home side had reached the interval a goal down, there were several performances that indicated that there are some talented players in this squad. Apart from Liam Walsh and Kieran Byrne, who have already been mentioned, I was impressed by Richard Quigley, who looked solid at left-back in what was his first start for Ashford. Kieran Sanger also did a lot of good things, and I thought that Liam Whiting looked good, in midfield.

The news at the start of the second half was that Lee Shearer had decided that he wasn’t feeling 100%, physically, and his place in central defence, and the captain’s armband, were taken by Matt Bower. Jack Albin came on and went into central midfield. The team looked better as a result of this change, and Matt looked happier at the back.

The first attack of the half was launched by Liam Whiting, when he went on a good run through the midfield – but his attempted ball through to Sam Conlon hit Sam on the heel. Later, Whiting did well to win the ball in the centre of the pitch, and he and Gary Lockyer suddenly had a two against two situation with an exposed Shoreham defence – but Liam was unable to supply the required pass, and that just about summed up Ashford’s attacking efforts in the first 90 minutes.

The brightest piece of skill in the entire game came from Shoreham, in the 55th minute. Richard Quigley had put a stop to a well-constructed attack by the visitors, when his intercepting header went behind for a corner. Gareth Green went short, to meet the corner taker; then, he beat his man with a brilliant turn on the by-line, but wastefully blasted the ball across the face of goal.

The tide started to turn with just over an hour gone, when Manager Paul Chambers made one of two inspired substitutions. He threw on Lee McRobert, for Liam Whiting, in the 61st minute. Lee was to show his class almost every time he touched the ball, but his first significant act was to talk Referee Fred into showing him a yellow card. This followed an incident, in the 66th minute, where Gary Lockyer reportedly received an elbow in the face, and again needed lengthy attention from Alan Orsbourne. After consulting his Lino on the far side, Fred showed a yellow card to Shoreham’s Lee Eastman – and also gave Matt Bower a thorough lecture, for his part in the debate.

Part 2 of the masterstroke came in the 73rd minute, when Paul Chambers surprised everyone by bringing himself on, in place of Richard Quigley, in what was a purely tactical substitution. Now I have to be careful with what I say here. When Lee Ealham came on as a late substitute for Ashford Town at Folkestone, in a Kent Senior Cup game, I described him as looking like the chubbier of the two Mitchell brothers – and I didn’t have the foresight to write a suicide note ! Well, Mr Chambers looks to be in the sort of shape that you’d expect of a man of his age who no longer plays any football – and the rumour in the stand was that he’s 48. And I’m sorry, but he reminded me very much of the comedian, Al Murray. Having said all that, he barely put a foot wrong, and was cheered by the Ashford fans every time he got near the ball. I suspect that his main intended role on the pitch was supervisory, trying to gee the lads up, and get some spark into the performance – but he played a full part in a three-man attack, sitting just behind the ineffective Gary Lockyer and Sam Conlon, and his appearance created a real buzz throughout the ground.

Within a minute of this third Ashford substitution, Dan Scorer picked up the ball to the right of the visitors’ penalty area, and crossed the ball beyond the far post. Gary Lockyer headed the ball into the goal mouth, and Chambo came steaming in with an attempted header, but the ball was cleared. The big man’s introduction sparked a period of Ashford pressure, and, in the 79th minute, the home side had a corner, on the right. This was taken by Dan Scorer, with his left foot, sending the ball looping beyond the far post. This time, the now player-manager met the ball with his head, but straight to goalkeeper Rowan Callaghan.

In spite of all the urgency, Ashford were still unable to create a clear-cut chance, and Shoreham appeared to be coasting to what looked to be a very comfortable victory, and a Second Qualifying Round tie at Deal Town, (which I am sure that many Ashford United fans would covet). In fact, the visitors looked like putting the game to bed, in the third of the five minutes of injury time, when a tiring Kieran Sanger was, for once, shrugged off the ball, in the penalty area – but Tony Allen did well to come out and block the shot. Shoreham’s sole ambition, from the corner, was to run down the clock, but there was still time for one more Ashford attack.

In the 94th minute, Lee McRobert did some good work, wide on the right, sending his cross long, into the centre of the Shoreham box. Big Chambo went up to challenge for the ball with the goalkeeper. The ball broke to Kieran Walsh, who had the composure to take a touch, before slamming the ball into the back of the net. The scenes of celebration on and off the pitch were something to behold ! That joyous knot of green and white, just in front of the stands, had so much Ashford football about it, past, present and future, from young Kieran who had scored the equaliser, through the legend that is Lee McRobert, to the old man whose inspired gamble had paid off handsomely. This was more than just an equaliser in the last minute of a cup tie. This was a bunch of men and boys who had collectively pulled together to overcome all manner of self-doubt. For me, it was the moment that confirmed, as if I didn’t already know, that football, at Homelands, IS BACK !!

It was indeed a euphoric moment – but then reality slowly crept in. As Fred blew his whistle for full time, there was the prospect of 30 minutes of extra time. How would our youngsters’ fitness levels cope with this ? How would the oldsters’ fitness cope with this ?! With all the substitutions having been made, Chambo would have to soldier on until the final whistle, and Lee McRobert, after an impressive cameo, was visibly shot.

As it turned out, these fears were unfounded, as there was frankly only one team in this from the 91st minute onwards – and I’m reliably informed that, in spite of appearances, the Manager is one of the fittest blokes in the squad !

In the second minute of extra time, Gary Lockyer won what looked like a very soft free-kick, on the edge of the Shoreham area. (Oh, Fred !). Dan Scorer went for goal, but his curling effort went just wide of the angle of post and bar. Two minutes later, Lee McRobert almost put Kieran Byrne in on goal with a glorious, diagonal through ball with the outside of his left boot – but Rowan Callaghan came out to beat the Ashford No.11 to the ball. Shortly afterwards, that man Chambers was there again, with a headed flick-on that put Gary Lockyer in on goal. This time, the Ashford man got to the ball ahead of the ‘keeper, but dinked the ball just wide of the post, when it looked like he was going to score his first competitive goal for the Club. Gary had looked a bit of a blunt instrument throughout the first 90 minutes of the game, but he was now coming into his own. In the 100th minute, he used his undoubted strength to turn his marker, on the edge of the area, and fed the ball through to Sam Conlon – but Callaghan was alert to the danger on this occasion.

In the interval between the two periods of extra time, there were, ominously, a couple of Ashford lads down having treatment for cramp – but there was no change in the momentum of the game, with Shoreham now showing very little. The visitors did have the ball in the Ashford area in the first minute of the second extra period, with Josh Clayman, but Kieran Sanger came across with a great saving tackle, and the home side immediately launched a good, end-to-end move, which found Sam Conlon on the right flank. Sam’s cross found Gary Lockyer, in the centre, but the centre-forward’s awkward volley went high, and over the bar.

In the 110th minute, Dan Scorer pushed the ball past a defender, and was then fouled. His free-kick again found – who else ? – Paul Chambers, beyond the far post, but the spritely striker, who was now looking more and more like Bobby Zamora, headed the ball straight at the ‘keeper.

The moment when the earth appeared to stand still, and the angels held their breath, as Chambo came within a few inches of his Golden Moment, came with 112 minutes on the clock. He ran onto the ball in the centre of the Shoreham half, and, utterly ridiculously, glided past three players, before launching a dipping, left-footed shot at goal. If Walt Disney were telling this story, the ball would have dropped into the top corner of the net – but, alas, it went just wide of the angle.

So the game ended 2-2, meaning that the two teams will contest a replay, on Tuesday night. In many ways, although a cup tie away to Deal would be a wonderful fixture for us, it doesn’t matter much who wins the replay, as today was all about today. It was a memorable match that I’m sure will be talked about for a long time to come, and I’m really pleased that I was there. Above all, it was a personal triumph for Paul Chambers. As the rest of the team did their warm-down on the far side of the pitch, Chambo trudged off alone, and received one of the loudest, and most heart-felt, ovations that I’ve witnessed at Homelands. Hats off to him.