ARCHIVE: Ashford Town (Middx) v Ashford Town. Pre-season Friendly. 2007-8 season.

Ashford Town (Middx)       0       Ashford Town   4

from Your Milton Keynes Correspondent

This is the one pre-season friendly that Mrs Milton Keynes Correspondent and I will be allowing ourselves this year – and a very pleasant afternoon in the sun it was. It also satisfied my curiosity to see where our Ryman Premier Division namesakes play. Short Lane is actually in Stanwell, just a few hundred yards from the Southern perimeter fence of Heathrow Airport. As a further reminder of the proximity of the world’s largest airport, there is a bank of enormous oil containers overlooking one end of the pitch, with only a wire fence and a coiled length of razor wire between the goal and the fuel storage facility. Although our hosts are a division above us, the ground and the facilities here are no grander than those we see at Walton Casuals or Godalming, for example, so it’s to the club’s credit that they’ve managed to maintain a place at Level 3 of the pyramid.

I am also bound to say that, on the pitch, it was difficult to detect which Ashford Town was the Premier Division side, and which Ashford Town was the one that’s been struggling for survival in Division 1 South for the past three seasons. Not only did our boys win this one very comfortably, but there was once again the luxury of having virtually two complete teams to juggle around with. With the home side having the unusual strip of tangerine & white striped shirts, black shorts and tangerine socks ( “i mandarinibianchi” ?), the format this afternoon was for ten of our outfield boys to wear last season’s home kit, and for the remainder to wear last season’s Reserves’ home kit, with both sets of kit being numbered from “2” to “11”.

The traffic on both the M1 and the M25 this afternoon was awful, so, in spite of leaving home at 1.20pm, we managed to miss the first 15 minutes of the game – however, I’m reliably informed that Anthony Allman started the match in midfield, but had to go off shortly before our arrival, with a groin injury, to be replaced by (the pretty impressive) Danny Lye. The starting line-up sent out by Steve Nolan – with Clive Walker apparently away on holiday – was: Graham Hill in goal; a back four of Tony Browne, Rob Gillman, Andy Arnott and Daniel Braithwaite; a midfield quartet of Lee Spiller, Nicky Humphrey (who appeared to be playing in front of the back four – but I could be wrong), Joe Hitchings and Anthony Allman; Rob Denness and a very sharp-looking Joby Thorogood up front. Graham Hill played in goal for the entire 90 minutes, so is yet to concede a goal, having been between the sticks now for three hours !  Having said that, he barely had a shot to save this afternoon, as both teams that we put out easily held the opposition at bay.

The other goalkeeper that we currently have on our books, Jake Whincup, was out injured today, but was at the ground, sporting flip-flops and a bandage on his right ankle. The word on the street (or at least on Short Lane) is that we are to expect the arrival of a high-class goalie, from Dagenham & Redbridge, in the next few days, so logic would suggest that neither Jake nor Graham will be in goal by the time Kingstonian come to The Homelands for the first league game of the season. To complete the roll-call, Walid Matata and Adrianho were also in attendance, but both are still on the injury list. Walid was nursing a sore back, whilst Adrianho’s injury, according to Don Crosbie, is largely in the mind, and it is hoped that our hero will be able to make an appearance in the friendly on Tuesday.

Today’s very comfortable victory came thanks to two goals in each half, and Joby Thorogood “made” both first-half goals. The first came in the 24^th minute – and was really created by some good work by Tony Browne in the right wing position. Tony beat his man and crossed the ball, and Joby’s right-footed effort hit the post – but Rob Denness was there to pop in the rebound. In the 39^th minute, The Tangerines had an opportunity to equalise, when one of their players got clean through on goal. He stabbed the ball past the on-rushing Graham Hill, but Rob Gillman had the trickling ball well under control, and was about to make the clearance. Unfortunately, Hill’s momentum had caused him to clatter into his man, so it was inevitable that a penalty would be awarded. The spot-kick was thumped against the post, so the score remained at 0-1. The green-shirted Ashford took a deserved 0-2 lead two mintes later. A long cross from the left went well beyond the far post, and it appeared to be a lost cause, but Joby Thorogood managed to hook the ball back into the centre, from an acute angle. Danny Lye had the relatively simple task of turning the ball into the net.

Steve Nolan tried a different formation in the second half. In front of Hill there were five across the back, with Tommy “Experience” Adlington playing in the centre between Andy Arnott and Nick Fenwick, with Tony Browne on their right, and Paul O’Brien on the left. Danny Lye continued in midfield, alongside Kevin Lott and Gary Clarke; Barry Gardner was up front with Steve Sodje, who took the skipper’s arm band from Lee Spiller for the second half.

In fairness to the home side, most of the second period was played in our half of the field – but the defence was comfortable, and Graham Hill was largely a spectator. There were just two further substitutions in the second half, with Nicky Humphrey coming (back) on for Andy Arnott in the 65^th minute, and LeRoy John replacing Tony Browne in the 70^th minute, and doing well in an unchanged system. Although we looked secure at the back, we rarely looked likely to turn defence into attack, with Steve Sodje largely failing to perform the task of holding the ball up and keeping possession when required; Barry Gardner was seldom brought into the game.

The third goal was actually a bit of a gift, in the 78^th minute, with the home side making a real Mary in defence. Tangerines’ goalkeeper Ben Lauder-Dykes made the double mistake of both going AWOL from his goal, and giving the ball away when close to his left touchline – Danny Lye merely had to chip the ball into the empty net, for his second goal of the afternoon. Our fourth goal came in the 90^th minute, and originated from a headed goal-line clearance from Tommy Adlington, following a home corner. Danny Lye hoofed a clearance up-field, with what was a towering “up & under”. Steve Sodje chased the ball almost into the home side’s area, as Benny Three Names came out to challenge. The ball broke to Kevin Lott, who smashed the ball into the net in celebratory fashion.

I will leave the last word to the home side’s Manager, who, shaking Steve Nolan’s hand at the end of the game, said: “Well done. You were much better than us”.