ARCHIVE: Corinthian-Casuals v Ashford Town. Ryman League Division 1 South. November 2006.

Corinthian-Casuals   0       Ashford Town   3

from Your Milton Keynes Correspondent

Although we are only in mid-November, this was a must-win game; not just because, with a home league record of eight played, one drawn and seven lost, everyone else seemed to have been taking the points away from King George’s Fields, but also because we were lying in third-bottom position at the start of play, just two points above the relegation zone, having played a game more than Walton Casuals. It was also important for our boys to erase the memory of the sound thrashing they received at the hands of a Dover side that had cruised to a 4-0 victory over us on Saturday. It’s very easy to dismiss that defeat as being against a club that really should be at least a couple of divisions above us, but there was no excuse for not even getting a blow in against our opponents. There was talk, in Dover after the game, of Tim Thorogood sharpening his axe, of probably half a dozen players being shown the door if we were to lose to Corinthian-Casuals, and there were rumours of up to four players being brought in. (A big news story that might have emanated from The Homelands by the time this report is read might have made that last statement redundant, but the players were certainly aware that nothing less than a victory in Tolworth tonight would be tolerated).

So how do we cope with such stress, so early in the season ?  Well, as I always drive to matches, getting anaesthetised with alcohol is not an option, so my answer is the anticipatory action of “comfort eating” before the game. It’s amazing how a decent rib-eye steak, with a nice glass of wine, and a toffee fudge sundae to follow it, can make the world seem that much less fraught. In fact, by the time we left the Beefeater Inn on the A243, even a boring draw wouldn’t have put a complete damper on the evening. Normally, after a particularly good feed, I’m just about prepared to accept a gallant one-goal defeat, but, given the importance of getting a result tonight, the steak wasn’t THAT good. We really needed the three points.

It was very worrying, then, that the hour of our gravest need also coincided with a minor crisis on the personnel front, as our ranks have been decimated just recently, (axe or no axe). With Rossi in Australia, Graham Porter and Peter Mortley still on the long-term injury list, and Drew Watkins clearly unavailable after breaking down with a recurrence of an injury at Dover, Stephen McKentishfootball’s excellent and informative web-site had brought us the news that there were injury doubts relating to Anthony Allman (back), Joby Thorogood (calf) and Tommy Adlington (thigh, groin, influenza and age). Happily, both Joby and Tommy were OK to, not only start, but to actually last the 90 minutes, with Tommy skippering the side this evening.

There was, however, no sign of Anthony, but the glistening, silver lining to this cloud was evident in the announcement of the Ashford team this evening, as it meant that 16 year-old Joe Hitchings at last got his chance to start a game for Ashford Town, having been an almost permanent fixture on the bench so far this season. He was to start in central midfield, alongside Simon Glover, with Matt Carruthers again deployed on the left. We were all dead chuffed for young Joe.

Having delighted in this silver lining, we then got soaking wet when the cloud burst – just minutes before kick-off, Joe went lame, with a knee injury, so had to pull out. That meant a hurried reshuffle of the midfield, with Matt Carruthers moving across as a makeshift central midfielder, and Kenny Three Names starting on the left, when he had originally been named as a substitute. Suddenly, I felt the need for a sandwich – and, of course, we were all dead gutted for young Joe.

As it turned out, we shouldn’t have worried about Matt Carruthers being used in an unfamiliar role, as he was quite brilliant this evening. He was everywhere – strong defensively, and creative when delivering through-balls for the strikers (although it was a pity that his team-mates were not always on the same wavelength). He also whipped in some excellent service from dead-ball situations. The main issue, however, was that we were thin on the ground in terms of numbers, with just Adam O’Neill and Jamie Leggett available as subs. The 4-4-2 starting line-up, then, was (from right to left): Overland; Adlington, Marc Cumberbatch, Nick Fenwick and Dan Tanner; Joby Thorogood, Carruthers, Glover and Jarrett-Elliott; George Fenwick and Coleman. The recuperating Graham Porter was in the dug-out, next to John Cumberbatch, whilst Drew Watkins froze his nuts off in the stand, alongside the banned Tim Thorogood.

To further fray our nerves, there was a second last-minute panic before the game – this time it concerned the kit. Now, with Corinthians playing in pink & chocolate halves, and blue shorts and sockies, it was a pretty safe bet that there would be no problem in our lads wearing the new away strip of yellow shirts with black shorts and sockies, (for only the third time this season). The problem was that, instead of the pale blue shorts and sockies they wore last season, our hosts were kitted out in a navy blue shade that could be best described a “Hades Black”. Our boys therefore wandered out onto the pitch in the unlikely combination of yellow shirts, black shorts and pale blue sockies – courtesy of Corinthians lending us part of last year’s kit.

After being part of a crowd of nearly 800 on Saturday, the atmosphere at King George’s Fields was distinctly low-key – with a big night of Champions League footy on the telly, it wasn’t surprising that the attendance was only 70, and several of them had more than one eye on the Celtic v Manchester United game. For the players, though, there was just the one game that mattered, and this was an open and entertaining match, with both teams able to play their football. (That’s probably not the greatest compliment to the defensive qualities of either side, but it made for a good spectacle).

Ashford’s nerves should have been settled by the scoring of an early goal, and, just as at Bourne Park, against Maidstone United, it was Luke Coleman who popped up to give us a flying start. A throw-in from the left, in the second minute, was headed out by the Corinthians defence to Marc Cumberbatch, who lofted the ball back into the area. The ball then broke to Joby Thorogood, on the right, who hit a low shot which might well have been heading for a spot just inside the far post; in the event, it didn’t matter, as The Coleman delivered, turning the ball into the net, from close range.

Whilst this was the ideal start, the goal signaled the beginning of a torrid period of play for Ashford, as The Casuals pressed hard for an equaliser, and, in fairness to them, they never stopped coming at us all game. Jamie Byatt was particularly lively. In the fourth minute, a through-ball sent him beyond the Ashford defence, with a one-on-one with Simon Overland, but Simon made a good save, at the expense of a corner, on the left. This was immediately headed behind for another corner, and the follow-up corner was headed clear by George Fenwick. A minute later, George’s brother, Nick, cut out a cross, to concede another corner, which was headed away at the near post by Tommy Adlington.

There was a brief respite from the pressure, in the tenth minute, when Dan Tanner made a forward run down the left; he was tripped after skipping past Aaron Colt-Bolt (cracking name !), to give Ashford a good chance to sling the ball into the penalty area. This resulted in one of a number of excellent deliveries from Matt Carruthers, almost under the Corinthians’ crossbar, where Dan Tanner got up to challenge ‘keeper Colin Harris; although Dan got his head to the ball first, he could do no more than pop it just over the bar.

It was time for the defence to dig in again, in the 14^th minute, when Nick Fenwick was beaten near the left corner flag; Simon Glover came across to cover, but at the expense of a free-kick. The resulting cross was headed clear. A minute later, Jamie Byatt was tormenting Tommy Adlington, down the left, but Tommy stood firm, and blocked Byatt’s attempted cross, for a corner. It must be said that, having conceded four goals from set-pieces at The Crabble on Saturday, we again looked very vulnerable when defending them, particularly corners. On this occasion, Simon Overland came for a deep cross, and lost it, and, as the ball was turned in towards the goal, Kenny Jarrett Elliott was there to clear off the line. This was possibly a shade fortunate, as Ken had wandered off the post that he had been assigned to guard, so shouldn’t really have been in the middle of the goal.

Nevertheless, Kenny was seen in his left-midfield role, in the 18^th minute, and, after some good work, sent in a cross aimed at Luke Coleman, which was cut out by the home defence, for a corner. Matt Carruthers again took the kick, on the left, whipping the ball in with his right foot; there was a confusion of pink, yellow and chocolate at the near post (which reminded me a bit of my pre-match sundae), but the ball went behind, for a goal-kick.

A long clearance from Corinthians’ ‘keeper Harris, in the 20^th minute, wasn’t entirely dealt with by Nick Fenwick; his defensive header rather went sideways, instead of forward, and went straight to Jamie Byatt, but the No.10’s first-time volley was sliced well wide. At the other end, a minute later, Joby Thorogood carried the ball through in the inside-right channel, but this effort also ended with a shot that was well wide of the target.

As the half-way point of a lively first half came and went, it was difficult to believe that there was still three-quarters of the game still to play.

In the 28^th minute, Kenny Jarrett-Elliott, wearing the unfamiliar No.6 shirt, was fouled, wide on the left. This provided the opportunity for another quality delivery by Matt C, which the goalkeeper came for, and lost; the ball again broke to Joby Thorogood, but a snap-shot, with his left foot, was always likely to go wide. Two minutes later, there was alarm for the goalie at the other end. After Tommy Adlington had put the ball behind for two successive corners, the second was crossed deep, into the Ashford area, and was met with a great header that almost deserved a goal, but Kenny was there on the line once again, this time saving the day with a great diving header. This resulted in another corner, which Simon again failed to collect, but this time he was fouled.

Still The Casuals pressed forward, and, in the 33^rd minute, our ‘keeper did well to go down to smother a cross that was speared in from the right. A minute later, Craig Dunne played a great ball down the left channel, for Jamie Byatt to run onto, but Byatt’s attempted cross was sliced harmlessly behind, for a goal-kick.

As half-time approached, the play became more even, with chances being created at both ends. In the 39^th minute, the ball was played from the left touchline, to George Fenwick, in the penalty area. George made room and attempted a curling shot with his right foot, which looked, from the stand, to have gone in, but it actually hit the stanchion behind the goal. A minute later, Craig Dunne played an excellent cross-field ball to the right of the Ashford penalty area; this was crossed back in to striker Danny Green, making his début for Corinthians, but his downward header, from close range, was easily gathered by Simon Overland. On the stroke of half-time, a Matt Carruthers cross from a free-kick, yet again on the left, was flicked on by the head of Marc Cumberbatch, but George Fenwick could then do no more than nod the ball just over.

I must confess that I missed the opening five minutes of the second half, as I was nattering to The Boss; this meant that I missed The Coleman’s second delivery – but I know what happened. A Matt Carruthers corner was either shanked, or cleverly played short (I don’t want to get involved in that particular argument), to Luke, who made a darting run to the near post. Luke deftly flicked to ball into the far corner of the net, for his second goal of the match, and his fourth for Ashford Town in all.

With a two-goal cushion, Ashford began to take control, although it was never quite one-way traffic. In the 54^th minute, a good defensive block by Dan Tanner, who was in good form tonight, gave Luke Coleman the opportunity to lead a break. He fed the ball to Matt Carruthers, who cut inside and then unleashed a decent shot that was bound for the far corner of the net, but was well saved by Colin Harris. It looked like George Fenwick had delivered the coup de grace, when he followed up to turn the rebound into the net, but the Ashford players’ celebrations were cut short by the lino’s flag for off-side.

Still 0-2, then, when Corinthians had a free-kick, in the 57^th minute. The resulting cross was headed out by Dan Tanner, and Simon Glover really should have completed the clearance; instead, a Casuals player latched onto the ball and would have made it 1-2 if Simon Overland hadn’t produced the save of the match, diving to his right to turn the ball onto the post.

This was, however, an increasingly isolated scare for Ashford, as we had the majority of the scoring chances in the second half. George Fenwick, surely destined to score at King George’s Fields, had a great chance when put through with a one-on-one with Colin Harris, in the 58^th minute, but the ‘keeper should be given credit for coming out and making a good save. Very soon after, before the home defence had had time to regain its shape or composure, Kenny Jarrett-Elliott had the ball, and plenty of space, on the edge of the Corinthians’ area – with Kenny’s ability to strike the ball cleanly, he should have shot for goal first time, but, instead, he took an extra touch and the chance was gone.

It was at about this time that concerns were raised by an injury to Ashford’s only goalkeeper – Simon did manage to struggle on, but his goal-kicks were taken by a defender for the remainder of the game.

In the 62^nd minute, George did get his goal – number 12 for the season. Luke Coleman crossed the ball in from the right touchline, and the Corinthians’ back line appeared to be nowhere, as George stroked the ball past Colin Harris, for 0-3.

Casual’s Manager Brian Adamson reacted by replacing Alfie Amponsa-Bonsu (I’m glad that he‘d had a quiet game) with Izedine Harusha (who’s name is only marginally more straightforward); but it did little to alter the direction of the game. In the 64^th minute, Ashford set off on a break, when KJ-E picked the ball up on the halfway line; Kenny carried the ball to the edge of the Corinthians’ area, through the inside-left channel, and this time did get a shot in, but it was always going just too high and wide. The man from Freetown was on the ball again, in the 75^th minute, but was hacked down in very uncomplicated fashion – this is because the Corinthians players had just been incensed that Referee Tincknell had failed to spot an obvious foul by Matt Carruthers, and this gave Ashford a free-kick in a very dangerous position. Matt himself went for goal, curling the ball over a three-man wall, but also out of the ground – for once this evening, this wasn’t a touch of particularly high quality from Matt.

There was some good football from both sides, in the 78^th and 79^th minutes. First, a flowing move from Casuals put substitute Harusha clean through on goal; he dinked the ball past the advancing Simon Overland, but also just wide of the post. A minute later, Joby Thorogood did well to win the ball near the right touchline, and fed it inside to Luke Coleman; Luke returned the ball to Joby, who had continued his run into the penalty area, but he also managed to stab the ball past both the ‘keeper and the post. Then, in the 81^st minute, Matt Carruthers gave Luke the opportunity for a hat-trick, with a slick through-ball, but Luke’s first-time shot was well caught by ‘keeper Harris.

With eight minutes left of normal time, (but with the expectation of a few minutes of injury time, as a result of treatment to Simon Overland), Ashford had a free-kick, for a foul on Simon Glover. This was taken quickly to Joby Thorogood, in space, wide on the right. The Halfling cut inside, and again tried to dink the ball past the goalkeeper, but Harris made a good save; the ball popped up, and the pink & chocolate defence failed to properly clear the ball, getting it only as far as George Fenwick, on the edge of the area. George attempted a dipping volley, which went just over the bar.

Whilst the elder of the Fenwicks is now comfortably into double figures, Simon Glover, who scored twice in a previous spell with the Club, is still yet to open his account for the season. He made a promising run through the centre of the field, in the 89^th minute, and laid the ball off to Luke Coleman, to his left, but Luke’s renewed bid for the hat-trick was again curled straight at Colin Harris.

Nevertheless, the fact that Luke had scored two and made the other was enough to win him the Man of the Match award – the tenth medal to be given out this season, and the first to a striker. It was, however, a very close-run thing between Luke and Matt Carruthers, as Matt was superb in central midfield throughout the whole game.

Inevitably, the question will be raised as to the merit of the performance this evening – was it Ashford being good, or was it Corinthian-Casuals being poor?  Inevitably, it was probably a bit of both – our boys played some really good football at times, but, as the Late Great Brian Clough used to say, teams play as well as they are allowed to play. An uncharitable observer would point out that tonight’s opponents had let in 24 goals in their eight previous home league games, so suggesting that the lads had done no more than achieve par for the course.

The important thing, though, was that we secured the three points, and deserved to do so. Walton Casuals, just one place below us, (and who are the latest port of call for the much-travelled Kevin Cooper), also won tonight, as did Hastings, who were one place above us; we actually moved up just the one position, with Whyteleafe, who were Hastings’ victims, 2-3, dropping to third-bottom, level with Ashford on points, but having played two games more. Unfortunately, it’s starting to look fairly ominous for Corinthians, who are now six points adrift at the bottom, having finished bottom last season.

Man of the Match

(to go towards the Milton Keynes Bowl)

Luke Coleman