ARCHIVE: Bashley v Ashford Town. Ryman League Division 1 South. 2005-6 season.

Bashley    1       Ashford Town   1

from Your Milton Keynes Correspondent

This is the longest journey that Your Milton Keynes Correspondent has made to see his beloved team since 1973, when a little boy went with his Dad on a coach from Ashford to Peterborough, to see us lose 0-1 to Scarborough in the Semi-Final of the FA Trophy. All together now: “We woz robbed !!”. Sorry, but I still have to find an excuse to get that off my chest occasionally.

Our journey today took us through the New Forest, beyond Lyndhurst, to the small village of Bashley, which is on the outskirts of New Milton, near Lymington. So there are no prizes for guessing which game will be the big local derby for Bashley this season !  Fans of The Bash are no doubt quite peeved that newly-promoted Lymington & New Milton are currently five places above them in the league. Bashley were actually just one place above us this morning – 17^th against 18^th, with both teams on eight points, but with Ashford having played two games more. Every prospect of there being an evenly-matched game, then, in spite of us having beaten them 4-1 late last season, when the dog fight to avoid relegation was really on – although they went to The Homelands with a very weakened side. (Talking of dogs, there was proof in that match that every one of them does indeed have its day, as Joffy scored twice that night).

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ANORAK’S CORNER. Pride of place in this inaugural Anorak’s Corner must go to Lynval Duncan – Lynval is the only player to have played in every minute of every game so far in this traumatic season, in which no fewer than 26 players have played for the First Team so far. RJ Boorman isn’t far behind him, having been on the field for all but 20 minutes of the season to date.

Goalkeeping statistics: Former goalie Jani Seitsonen was slightly ahead of current No.1 Sean Glover, statistically, this morning; Jani let one in once every 54 minutes, whilst Sean has conceded once every 49 minutes.

Striker statistics: Jazhel Bonaparte has the best strike rate, with a goal every 121 minutes, but that’s based on just a single goal in very few appearances. Of the more regular strikers, the order of merit is as follows: Steve Humphrey, a goal every 133 minutes; Joby, every 219 minutes; Shaun Bradshaw, every 309 minutes. Midfielder Richard Boorman is not far behind, with a goal every 383 minutes.

(I must get out more often !).

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Bashley FC isn’t a huge club, not unnaturally, given the size of the village. They were in the Wessex League until they became champions in the 1988-9 season, after which they promptly won the Southern League South, at their first attempt, in 1989-90. They’ve made little impact since, and are currently struggling with gates barely reaching the 100 mark. (Today’s attendance was 59, but a poor turn-out was always going to be likely, given that the England game was being shown on the BBC this afternoon).

Bashley Road is a fairly modest, but attractive, ground. All of the seating is on one side of the pitch. Up to the half-way line there is a tidy little stand with yellow seats; beyond this there is covered terracing. Behind one goal is the clubhouse / bar and the Village Hall. I’m sure there will come a time when I describe a ground we play at that has banks of terracing and hordes of fans behind the goal, but for now we are playing to the back-drop of the Village Hall. On the other two sides of the pitch were trees, just starting to submit to their Autumn colours.

First task was to find The Orsbournes, to get the official team news, and there were no real surprises. Joby Thorogood started on the bench, having missed Tuesday’s game due to taking a short holiday with his paramour. (If he kept a clean sheet he will have been the first Ashford player to do so this season !). That meant that the strike partnership of Steve Humphrey and Shaun Bradshaw, who both scored in Tuesday’s 3-1 victory over Corinthian Casuals, had another run out. Gary Clarke once again started in central midfield alongside Richard Boorman, with Terry McCann this time pushed out to the right of midfield, and the improving Sol Henry wide on the left, as usual. Marc Cumberbatch was back to partner Lynval Duncan in the centre of defence, having missed the Corinthians through injury, with Tom Adlington at right-back and skipper Ian Ross on the other side, now seemingly our first-choice left-back. Sean Glover (“Shaggy”) continued in goal.

Bashley, playing in yellow (officially gold) shirts, black shorts and black socks – meaning that Ashford turned out in their home strip - had the better of the opening ten minutes, but the visitors’ defence stood firm. The real threat came in the 10^th minute, when Terry McCann slightly mistimed a tackle, and conceded a free-kick on the edge of the area. This was easily dealt with, and the boys came back with a copybook move, from defence. Tom Adlington squared the ball to Rossi; Rossi fed the ball along the line to Sol Henry; Sol dribbled the ball down the left wing, and crossed the ball in to Shaun Bradshaw, whose shot brought out a good save from Stacey Harper, playing only his third match this season in the Bashley goal.

The home side’s best player appeared to be their No.10, Richard Gillespie, who is their top scorer so far, with five goals. He had a couple of half-chances early on. In the 16^th minute, he pulled a shot well wide of goal, from outside the area, and then, a minute later, he was almost in on goal after Sean Glover fluffed a clearance and gave the ball straight to a yellow shirt – Tommy Adlington managed to get across with a saving tackle and put the ball behind for a corner. From the resulting set piece, Player-Coach Andy Darnton headed wide.

Tommy was in action at the other end, in the 19^th minute, combining with RJ Boorman, near the corner flag. They managed to get a cross in between them, and this was nodded on by Shaun Bradshaw to Steve Humphrey. Humphrey turned and shot just wide, but the referee (who had a good match) had already blown for a foul, with the striker having had a handful of the defender’s shirt. Two minutes later, there was more evidence of Ashford’s growing presence in the air up front, when RJ Boorman launched a free-kick high into the penalty area – Steve Humphrey got up well, to win the ball, but headed wide of goal.

In the 27^th minute, Tom Adlington had the ball on the right, cut infield and floated in a cross with his left (!!) foot. Sol Henry headed the ball down, but Shaun Bradshaw’s instinctive, toe-poked shot went just over the bar. A minute later, another cross from Tommy – with his right foot this time – was slightly fumbled, and dropped by the young Bashley ‘keeper, but he recovered well.

Ashford were now beginning to exert some pressure, and exercise some control, with Steve Humphrey catching the eye by working particularly hard when we didn’t have the ball, harrying and closing down defenders. It was good pressure from Humphrey that won Ashford a corner in the 31^st minute. As the cross came in from the left, it appeared that an Ashford player had been fouled in the area, but, with most eyes turned momentarily to the ref, the ball fell to Steve at the far post, but the former Sittingbourne man hit the ball straight at Harper, who saved.

On 32 minutes, Ashford took a deserved lead. Shaun Bradshaw did some good work in the left corner, and sent over a good cross. Humphrey was unchallenged as he headed his third goal of the season, from close range, past an exposed Stacey Harper.

Was it George Bernard Shaw or Shakespeare who said that teams are most vulnerable when they’ve just scored ?  Either way, the old adage came true yet again, as Ashford conceded a free-kick in a dangerous position, just a minute later. Steele Saunders crossed the ball into the box, and after a goalmouth scramble, during which the Ashford defence failed to clear, Andy Culliford stuck the ball away with an angled shot. So once again, as at Tonbridge, Horsham and Wembley, we had taken the lead away from home, only to let our opponents equalise – and we’re still waiting for our first away win of the season.

Ashford’s next glimmer of a chance came in the 39^th minute, with a good, long ball from Ian Ross in the left-back position. This found Shaun Bradshaw in the area, and resulted in another corner for the visitors. Rossi took this himself, on the left, and Harper managed to get the ball away, but with a far-from-confident punch. Harper was put under pressure again, four minutes later, at yet another Ashford corner. Sol Henry floated the ball in, and, possibly sensing a certain vulnerability in the young ‘keeper, Lynval Duncan went in fairly hard, but the referee inevitably blew up for a foul.

A minute into injury time in the first half, Matt Parnell had to deal with what should have been a harmless through-ball, but he gave away a corner, under pressure from Sol Henry. This was taken by Ian Ross, and this time Harper dropped the ball, and another corner was conceded, on the other side. (I wish now that I had kept count of these corners !). This one was taken short by Sol, who got the return and put in a cross to the far post, but the ball went harmlessly through the area, for a goal-kick. Half-time score: 1-1.

The second half began with a scare. Almost from the kick-off, Lynval Duncan had an aberration, and gave the ball straight to Bashley’s bald No.9, Dave Wakefield, their Player-Manager, but Ian Ross came to the rescue with a saving tackle. The corner was crossed deep into the Ashford area, and was met by centre-half Steve Riley – just as bald – but he could do no more than head over the bar.

By the 3^rd minute of the second half, just as rain started to fall from a grey sky, Ashford had begun to play in Bashley’s half once again, and had three throw-ins in quick succession close to the corner flag. This pressure eventually forced a foul on Ian Ross, but the resulting free-kick by RJ Boorman led to a quick break-away by the home side. This ended with a shot coming in from the left edge of the penalty area, which needed Sean Glover to make his first real save of the match. Bashley also had an opportunity in the 56^th minute, with another free-kick on the edge of the area. This was taken quickly, with the ball going just wide of the far post, but Shaggy was alert and appeared to have the shot covered.

Bashley’s No.5, Steve Riley, looked a good player, and probably deserved to be named Man of the Match for the home side, but he was caught in possession in the 61^st minute by Sol Henry; Sol played the ball wide to Shaun Bradshaw, whose speculative, lobbed effort actually went just over the bar, but never looked likely to trouble the ‘keeper.

In truth, the game started to resemble a stalemate in the second half, with a draw written all over it. The most noteworthy events, in a half of little momentum and few chances, were the substitutions – the first of these came in the 62^nd minute, when Denver Birmingham replaced Gary Clarke. This came as no surprise as, whilst RJ and Terry Mac also had quiet a game, Gary seemed to struggle a little throughout, and didn’t win many one-on-one battles.

The greater urgency now came from the home side, and they had another free-kick in a dangerous position, after Lynval had been late on Bash skipper Paul Gazzard (also bald). Steele Saunders took the kick, which rebounded off the wall and fell to bald Dave Wakefield, who hooked the ball just wide. Two minutes later, Gazzard blasted the ball over the bar, after some good Bashley pressure on the edge of the Ashford area.

Ashford’s next substitution came in the 72^nd minute, when Tom Adlington went off with a slight groin strain. He was replaced by 20 year-old Gary Croxton, who slotted into central defence, with Marc Cumberbatch moving to right-back.

Our main attacking threat during the second half was in the form of long balls from RJ Boorman, looking for Shaun Bradshaw, but none reached the intended target. Bashley were themselves not shy about playing the long ball, and one of these found Richard Gillespie running through the left channel. He cut inside Gary Croxton, and shot across the face of goal, but wide. There must have been some contact by an Ashford player, as a corner was given, but this was cleared.

Ashford’s third and final substitution came in the 78^th minute, when Joby Thorogood replaced Steve Humphrey. (Strangely, Bash made no substitutions at all, which, with the Manager and Coach both playing in the starting eleven, rather suggests that they were a bit short on fit personnel).

Joby certainly injected a little life into the side, and was in action within two minutes of coming on. Gary Croxton did well to win the ball, with a good tackle, and Joby set Sol Henry off down the left wing. Solly squared a return pass to Joby, but The Hobbit’s right-foot shot was sliced well wide. In the 83^rd minute, it was Ian Ross who sent Sol off down the left; Sol again passed the ball square to Joby, but his shot – and Joby is always prepared to have a pop from outside the area – was blocked. The ball was channeled out to Marc Cumberbatch – our new right-back – who sent in a good cross, only for Joby to glance a header just wide of goal.

In spite of these chances, Bashley still continued to show the greater urgency, and this was demonstrated again as centre-half Steve Riley galloped into the penalty area for a free-kick just inside the Ashford half. The ball was floated long, in search of Riley’s bald head – there must be a joke about billiard balls here somewhere, given that Rileys are a leading supplier of snooker and billiards equipment – but he could do no more than head wide.

It was one of those games where a draw would have been a fair result, and it would have been a bit of an injustice if either side had nicked the points, but Ashford had a great chance to do just that in the 86^th minute. Again, Joby was in the thick of it. He carried the ball towards the Bashley defence, with Shaun Bradshaw making a run to his right, and Sol Henry free on the left. Joby switched the ball left, leaving Solly with just the ‘keeper to beat, but still quite a long way out from goal. A chip might have been the best bet, but Sol tried to place the ball firmly past the ‘keeper, who saved comfortably.

Bash also had a chance to nick it at the other end, a minute later. A long, cross-field ball – probably the ball of the match – found Player-Manager Dave Wakefield on the left. The No.9 – did I mention that he’s got no hair ? – cut inside and shot, but Sean Glover managed to save with his feet, conceding a corner in the process. Shaggy dropped the resulting cross, but was fouled.

Ashford’s final chance came with 90 minutes of normal time played. Sol Henry curled the ball, in the swirling wind, to the far post, where Terry McCann could have been an unlikely goal-scoring hero, but he was just unable to get an eyebrow onto the ball. Bashley had their last chance five minutes into injury time. A long throw into the penalty area glanced off Marc Cumberbatch’s head, and Glover had to go down and save at the foot of his near post.

An easily forgettable game between two sides who looked what they were – teams hovering just above the relegation zone – but it’s another point in the bank, from a solid performance, and a point away from home is always a point gained. It’s also another step forward along the learning curve for what is a very young squad. We have to remember that, with the exception of Rossi, Cumber and Tom Adlington (who all played well, in defence), most of the lads have had no experience of this level of football, and the likes of McCann, Henry, Bradshaw and Boorman etc still need games under their belt, to build their confidence at the level.

We’re also on a little bit of a run, having lost just one of the last six games – and that was against Tooting & Mitcham, who ended Dover’s 100% record today, with a 2-0 win, and are now in sixth place. I’m sure that, having lost our first five league matches, we would have settled for nine points from the next six. The fixture list shows that there are no desperately daunting league fixtures this side of Christmas, so we should be able to look forward to some further improvement.