ARCHIVE: Banstead Athletic v Ashford Town. Ryman League Division 1 South. 2004-5 season.

Banstead  Athletic   1       Ashford Town   0

from Your Milton Keynes Correspondent

It’s all change, yet again, at Ashford Town FC. One day I’ll do a match report without having to begin with an account of the latest veil of tears – but it is not this day ! 

The latest is that Terry Fenwick has resigned as Manager, after less than three months in charge. It’s a shame, as he showed signs of almost getting it right. There were parts of games where we outplayed teams in the top three in the division – only to end the game with nothing. At home to champions-elect AFC Wimbledon, Terry’s boys deserved to be 1-0 up at half time – unfortunately, we then conceded four in the second half, to lose 1-4, and then went down 0-3 and 0-4 in the next two games. And that was that.

The Gaffer is back in charge again now, and he regains the reins with the utterly unthinkable – relegation to the Kent League (!) – not at all out of the question. Relegation is not a novelty for the Club, of course. During our brief spells in the Southern League Premier Division it was always a constant threat, and I remember going to Stamford during the 2001-02 season feeling distinctly apprehensive about the prospect of the drop. That was a quite different situation. That was a freakish season in which about a dozen teams played Musical Chairs with the relegation places, and there were five or six games left in the season. (On that occasion the lads played a blinder, and won 3-1, with goals from Dave Hassett (2) and Adrian Stone – happy days ! – to effectively secure safety). This time we’re just half-way through the season, and we are one of three seriously poor teams who are already losing touch with the rest of the division.

With two for the drop, it’s tempting to be reassured by the thought that we “only” need to stay ahead of Croydon and Banstead to be safe – the problem is that, with players regularly wandering in and out of the first team squad throughout the season, Tim Thorogood is in some ways now starting from scratch, yet again, with a rag-bag mixture of the remnants of last year’s team, two or three survivors from the Southall influx / exodus and a handful of new recruits. Nobody knows how many will have left by this time next week, and it’s going to be hard to bring players in at this stage of the season.

An even bigger problem is that today’s game, Tim’s first since El Tel’s departure, is away to Banstead – a genuine relegation six-pointer. If we lose this one, we’ll be seven points adrift. If we lose this one, we’re in Shit Alley !

Depressingly, it’s scant consolation that Banstead are a pretty poor side – as we can’t honestly claim to be any better at this point in time. Their 2-1 victory in the New Year was their first home league win of the season, and the first time they’d scored more than one goal in a match since October – and that was against Croydon !  We can probably trump that by mentioning that we’ve won just two games since April – including cup ties and friendlies, but excluding the win on penalties in the Kent Senior Cup tie against Sittingbourne. The sobering thought, though, is that Banstead’s recent 2-1 victory was against Corinthian Casuals, who thrashed us 4-0 last week, having beaten us by the same score-line at The Homelands earlier in the season.

The word about today’s venue was that it would be cold and bleak, and not much of a ground. These warnings proved to be entirely accurate. The cold wind, which caused power cuts at home before we left – which is not much fun when you’ve six adults queueing up for a shower – made it a test of endurance for all concerned. It’s also true to say that Banstead’s ground is the poxiest and most soul-less in the division. The pitch, which looked to be in pretty good condition, is surrounded by steel railings, and then a corrugated steel fence. What passes for the “Main Stand” is a small, open-ended shelter, also made of corrugated steel, with a few plastic bench-seats and low, painted, breeze-block walls enclosing the seats reserved for club directors. There are two other bus shelter-type canopies offering some protection to terracing on the other side of the pitch and also behind one goal - and all this in the midst of posh Surrey commuter belt !  The bar, though, was nice, so that was something !

Tim Thorogood began his second stint in charge with the return of some sort of normality. After a number of new faces had been thrown in for the Corinthians match – a singularly unsuccessful move – The Gaffer sent out some familiar faces in the starting eleven; and all playing in their more familiar roles !  Joby up front with Jonah, in a 4-4-2 formation, rather than out on the right wing; a midfield of (from left to right) Leon Dussard, Matt Bower (capt.), Joffy and Erron Dussard; a back four of O’Brien, Ritrovato, Gardner and Adlington. John Whitehouse, thank goodness, is still in goal for us.

Michael Beale, one of the more talented individuals to play for Ashford during the Thorogood era, was playing for Banstead – but as a front target-man, as opposed to a right-sided midfielder, which he was when he played for us. I note from the match-day programme that Mike Azzopardi, another Ashford Old Boy, has also been turning out for Banstead, but he was absent on this occasion.

Ashford kicked off, playing into the strong breeze; the windy conditions came as no surprise, given that the ground is located up on The Downs, just a few hundred yards from Epsom racecourse. Ashford, playing in their home strip of Kermit green and navy blue – Banstead are billed as having an all “amber” kit, but it’s really a cheesy yellow, not much different to our away colours – took the initiative from the off. The opening salvo was a long-range shot from Paul Jones, in the first minute, which went well over the bar, but the golden opportunity came after seven minutes of play. The ball, ping-ponging around in the Banstead area, was touched on by Leon Dussard, which caused a home defender’s tackle to contact the man, rather than the ball. Penalty !  Well done, Ref. This was the chance for Joby to get the Thorogoods off to a great new start. Unfortunately ……….. you can probably guess the rest. Poor Joby side-footed the ball wide of goal, and the opportunity was lost. The older of the two Thorogoods has knocked in plenty of penalties this season, but this was the shot of a lad who hasn’t found the net for several weeks now.

Joffy, the younger hobbit, is less of a goal-scorer and more of a yellow card collector. He did his best to open his account for the afternoon in the 15^th minute, when he was guilty of a late and obvious trip, right in front of the referee (who I thought had an excellent game). Again, the chance went begging, and Joff had to settle for a telling off from Mr Faulkner.

Ashford were certainly the dominant force for the first 25 minutes or so, and it was nice to see us getting the rub of the officials’ decisions. This frustrated the Banstead players, and led to Neil John, their liveliest player, getting himself booked.

There then followed a succession of chances, all falling to the visitors. In the 26^th minute, Leon Dussard, who looks an improved player every time I see him, put Paul Jones through with a deft little pass. Jonah was now through on goal, with just the ‘keeper to beat. Was this going to be that “Dave Hassett moment” ?  Answer: No. Paul Borg came out to save, as Jones attempted to slot the ball home. Borg should definitely be given credit for making an excellent save, but when your star striker has a one-on-one with the goalie in a crucial six-pointer, you sort of hope, and expect, that he’ll stick it away.

Two minutes later, Leon was again the provider on the left, with a long, curling cross to the far post. Joby attacked the ball and met it on the full, but he fluffed his attempted volley. Shortly afterwards, Tommy Adlington carried the ball into the enemy’s half; as there was nothing on, he tried a long-range shot, but it was always going too high. (Statistics will tell you that 99.5% of all full-backs’ shots on goal go too high – their Mother always told them to SHOOT LOW, but do they listen ?!). Another minute later, Matt Bower tried lashing a volley from a similar distance, but also sliced it high and wide.

So plenty of Ashford pressure, and some spirited attempts on goal, but no end-product.

In the 36^th minute, deep in the Banstead half, skipper Matt Bower was fouled with a nasty-looking challenge. Incredibly, the referee failed to blow for a free-kick. Sheriff Joby, bristling with a sense of injustice, immediately upended the “offender” – this was as brainless as it was unnecessary, and unsurprisingly he got a yellow card for his actions. This was Joby’s last game before a three-game suspension for his two-footed challenge on the Corinthians ‘keeper last week, so those disciplinary points must be mounting up.

Worse news was to follow. Physio Owen De Sade quickly realised that Matt’s game was over, and signaled as such to the bench. As Matty was helped back to the dressing-room by Owen and substitute Tom Evans (and this turned out to be Tom’s only contribution to the cause this afternoon), Tim put on Eddie Achoko, who thus made his debut, as a replacement. Eddie is a big lad, who is built like a center-half but played in midfield for the remainder of the game. I don’t know what his usual position is, but he looked a decent footballer.

Although it was very much Ashford’s half, the home side did have a couple of chances just before half-time. In the 41^st minute, Tom Adlington did well with a saving tackle, deep in his own area, to thwart Neil John, and a minute later they had an even better chance. A high, floated corner was met by big centre-half Simon Huckle from about six yards out, but John Whitehouse was there to make a good save. Thank goodness for John Whitehouse !

After a goal-less first half, Ashford came out for the second with relative newcomer Tony Ritrovato wearing the skipper’s arm band. This, I thought, was a good move, as Ritrovato is a strong, towering presence in the Ashford defence, and can obviously play a bit. He was soon in action in the 49^th minute, during a period of early second-half pressure from the home side, when he upended Neil John with a gentle, but late, trip. This was his second foul in quick succession, so it was enough to earn him a slightly harsh yellow card. Michael Beale floated the free-kick across, but it was comfortably headed clear.

The action was soon at the other end again, and, in the 54^th minute, Ashford won a corner. This was taken by Leon Dussard, who tends to take all of our corners; his left-footed in-swinger was delivered into a crowded six-yard box. A goal-mouth scramble ensued, and the ball was cleared off the line, for a corner. The reaction of the Banstead defenders afterwards suggested that they thought that ‘keeper Borg was given a rough time; after a brief session of “hand bags”, the ref sorted out the situation with a brief lecture, and no more cards were issued. The corner was then wasted.

Three minutes later, we had another corner; Leon floated this one to the far post, but Tony Ritrovato headed tamely behind. Ashford were now pressing hard for an opening goal, and, on the hour mark, had an optimistic appeal for hand-ball turned down. (In fairness, it looked like ball-against-arm, so the decision was probably correct). A minute later, our boys finally almost got the corner routine right – Leon curled an inswinging corner in from the right; Ritrovato met it well, but his header hit the bar.

Disaster struck after 65 minutes – and the fact that this was against the run of play is of no relevance whatsoever !  A cross from Neil John, from close to the by-line, found Michael Beale in the centre; although John Whitehouse got half a palm to Beale’s shot, the ball rolled agonisingly into the net. It wasn’t agonising for Michael, of course, who showed the joy that is only experienced by players who score against their former team-mates (and, of course, their former boss !). The fact that this was the opening goal in a relegation dog-fight that had had 1-0, either way, written all over it for some time might also have had something to do with the tone of his celebration.

Although there were still 25 minutes of the match remaining, Ashford never showed the ideas or the inspiration necessary to get them back into the game, once they’d gone behind. This was in spite of the fact that heads never went down, and they persevered to the end. It’s also true to say that a pretty poor Banstead side probably got just enough lift from the goal to enable them to raise their game and hang on.

One exception to this general lack of belief was a flash of brilliance from Leon Dussard. Three minutes after Beale’s hammer blow, Leon picked the ball up inside the Banstead half, jinked past two players and unleashed a shot from outside the area, which cannoned off the angle of post and bar. It was a moment that deserved a goal, but …….

There are times when Leon looks a bit like a lankier version of Adrian Stone, and Adrianho might have been proud of that effort.

By the 80^th minute, the home side was already starting to look to run down the clock, and Marcel Dennis’s main mission in life was now to take the ball to the corner flag and waste a few seconds. This ploy worked pretty well, and most of the last ten minutes of the game were played in our half.

There was one final chance for Ashford, though, when we were awarded a free-kick on the edge of the Banstead box, with about a minute of normal time remaining. Joby stood over the ball, faced by a wall of seven cheesy yellow shirts. It was a final opportunity for Joby to redeem himself for the missed penalty in the seventh minute, and for a fairly below-par performance throughout the game. Unfortunately, he sliced the free-kick high and wide – he missed by as far as David Beckham missed that penalty, in the shoot-out against Portugal, but without the excuse of losing his footing. That’s it from Joby for a few games now – let’s hope he comes back from his holiday refreshed, as we’re going to miss his energy and effort.

The final chance of the game fell to Banstead, and it would have flattered them if they had scored from it. Neil John had a one-on-one with Tony Ritrovato, and beat the big centre-half; unhappily for the Banstead No.10, his side-footed effort went across the face of goal.

The news when I got home was that Croydon had lost, so we didn’t return to the bottom of the division. More to the point, however, we’re now seven points adrift of Banstead (with one game in hand, but that’s no good unless we start winning a few), and nine points behind anybody else. We’ve another 19 league games left in the season, so it’s a bit early to press the panic buttons, but Tim’s got a big hole to climb out of now.

The hope – and there’s always hope ! – lies in the fact that seven of our next eight league games should be quite winnable, provided that the boys can get some confidence and get into the habit of winning a few games. I notice that Banstead’s next eight games are ALL toughies, but the key to our survival will be in getting some results ourselves, and we’ll need to start with the home game against Fleet on the 15^th.