ARCHIVE: Dartford v Ashford Town. Ryman League Division 1 South. 2006-7 season.

Dartford    4       Ashford Town   3

from Your Milton Keynes Correspondent

This, Folks, was another sickener. It’s not the first time that I have described a match in that fashion, and this was right up there with the other instances of Ashford Town finishing empty-handed after putting in a cracking performance against a very good side. This time, the sob story revolves around a very debatable penalty awarded to the home side in the 93^rd minute, when the score was 3-3. This provided the climax to a match that was closely fought and passionate throughout, and one between two apparently evenly-matched teams. There was also no shortage of incident, with seven goals (ranging from a brilliant solo effort, to a disasterous goalkeeping misjudgement), two red cards, two penalties, a disallowed goal and a dismissal from the dug-out for John Cumberbatch.

And quite apart from the drama on the field, it was a privilege to visit Dartford’s new home, the 4,100 capacity Princes Park; (not to be confused with Parc des Princes, which is in Paris). I’ve never seen a stadium like this one. The whole crowd is covered by a continuous roof, but the seating and terracing beneath this is fairly shallow, with four rows of black seats on the side of the main stand, and about half a dozen steps of terracing on the remaining three sides. Whereas most stadia with a continuous roof resemble an oval polo mint, the roof at Princes Park has rather the appearance of a picture frame that encloses the pitch; (a pitch providing a very sound playing surface, meeting the approval of our own Lawnmower Man). My only real grouse about the ground concerns the presence of a “sculpture”, roughly hewn from the wood that lines the green-topped roof, on the opposite side to the main stand, which appears to be of a 20-foot tall man (or woman). It stands, like the Angel of the North, at the top of the terracing, seemingly holding up the roof. (I can only assume that the stadium designer went down the pub one lunch-time, and came back pissed).

All in all, though, it’s a very impressive facility, and one built, presumably, to host a higher standard of football than Ryman Division 1 South. The crowd today was 1,470, the third-highest gate in Princes Park’s short history, after the capacity crowd for the opening game and the 1,652 that witnessed the league match here against Dover.

The day didn’t start off too promisingly. After being held up by a stranded coach in the M1 roadworks at Luton, and then having my car show distinct symptoms of having an engine problem approaching Dartford, we arrived at the desired point of the map indicated by Multi-map – only to find that it was a cul-de-sac containing nothing but houses. We quickly obtained directions to the ground from a small group of locals who were obviously off to a footy match - they also advised us that, at this time of day (it was 2.30pm), there would be no chance of being able to park at the stadium, so I parked the (ailing) car in the road, and we completed the last quarter-mile of the journey on foot.

As we did so, it was quite a novelty to be part of a Lowry-like scene of people, converging on the ground like worshippers to a temple; people of all ages, but many of them young, most living within walking distance of the venue. It was actually the first time I have had to queue up to enter a football ground since – well, since the last time I went to the old Wembley Stadium, I suppose.

I might be paranoid, but I couldn’t settle in the ground until I had seen Walid Matata – and there he was, warming up with the other members of what is now a fairly impressive squad that Tim Thorogood has managed to assemble. There has also been a recent addition to this squad – Steve Sodje is a tall, imposing striker, who is another with plenty of experience at Ryman Premier level. He is one of the famous footballing Sodjes – there is a whole nest of them somewhere, with at least five of them playing in English football. Steve is the brother of Sam, who plays for Reading. He started the game today, alongside Walid Matata, having come on as a substitute at Sittingbourne, eleven days earlier. Steve looks tremendously strong, physically, and will be a real handful for defenders when he gets fully fit; today he worked hard up front, but never had a sight of goal, and faded considerably in the second half.

The rest of the line-up was as we have come to expect under John Cumberbatch: Tommy Adlington and Marc Cumberbatch in central defence, in front of Jake Whincup in goal, and with newly-made full-backs Simon Glover and Anthony Allman on either side; the midfield, from right to left, was Luke Coleman, Matt Carruthers, Kevin Lott and Kenny Jarrett-Elliott. Joe Hitchings was back on the bench, having had his first career start against Sittingbourne; he sat alongside Nick Fenwick, Graham Porter, Ian Ross and Lee Ealham.

Of the players on the injury list, George Fenwick watched the game from the stand, whilst Joby Thorogood was able to have a kick-about with the substitutes before kick-off, and also at half time. The most obvious injury, though, was sported by Physio Mo Alvi, who had a face like a pizza, after breaking his nose snowboarding (or doing something equally senseless) in The Alps.

Although the horror storms of mid-week had abated, there was still a fairly stiff breeze blowing, and Ashford elected to play with this behind them in the first half. This meant that the teams had to swap ends, and it was somehow reassuring that, in spite of the size of the crowd, the home fans still honoured the non-league tradition of changing ends with the team.

The home side, playing in white shirts, black shorts and black sockies – just like Dover and Molesey, in fact – looked the shakier, defensively, in the opening minutes. After Simon Glover and Steve Sodje had combined well down the left, which ended with Sodje’s unsuccessful attempt to bulldoze his way to the by-line, the Dartford defence, deep in their own half, needlessly gifted Ashford a throw-in. From the throw, Matt Carruthers attempted a shot from well outside the area, which was deflected high over the bar, for a corner. This was taken by Anthony Allman, whose cross from the right was too long, and went harmlessly through the Dartford area.

The first real threat from The Darts came in the seventh minute. Tommy Adlington attempted to let the ball run behind for a goal-kick, but instead conceded a corner. The resulting corner was confidently caught by Jake Whincup. (Famous last words, I’m afraid). Dartford threatened with another corner, two minutes later, but, although John Guest came flying in to meet the cross, his header was wide.

The play then became rather attritional for a time, with Ashford manufacturing a succession of throw-ins, gaining yards up the right touchline like a Rugby Union team might do on a muddy pitch. The pattern was eventually broken in the 19^th minute, when Anthony Allman cut in from the right, and squared the ball to Matt Carruthers, only for Matt to aim his side-footed shot straight at goalkeeper Kevin Hudson.

A minute later, Steve Sodje was fouled by John Guest, as both men challenged for the ball in the air. This gave Ashford a free-kick in a dangerous position, just outside the penalty area. Matt Carruthers has become the chief free-kick taker of late, and, after his “goal” from a similar position in the abandoned game against Cray Wanderers, he was right on the mark again. His shot was destined for the top corner of the goal, and Hudson did really well to tip the ball onto the crossbar, but Kenny Jarrett-Elliott was first to the rebound, and turned the ball into the net from about six yards, for his second goal of the season.

The goal appeared to inspire Kenny, and, in the 23^rd minute, he launched a ball up the left wing, for Walid Matata. Walid knocked the ball down for Steve Sodje, who looked like he was about to go through on goal, before being brought down. This presented Matt Carruthers with a second free-kick opportunity, a little closer than the one that had led to the goal, but this time Matt’s curling shot was comfortably saved by Kevin Hudson, low, at the foot of his right-hand post.

The first card of the match shown by Referee Warren Atkin was a yellow one, which Steve Sodje earnt, in the 24^th minute. This appeared to be a little harsh; Steve went in with a full-blooded challenge, intending to win the ball – but his studs were showing, and he went over the top of the ball a little, which was enough to make the ref’s mind up. Mr Atkin also took time out to have a stern word with John Cumberbatch, for barracking on the touchline.

Dartford gradually came into the game more, as the half wore on, and, in the 29^th minute, Luke Coleman did well, in his own penalty area, to clear a cross that was whipped in from the right, at pace. Then, in the 31^st minute, Eddie McClements produced a good turn, near the edge of the Ashford penalty area, to make room for a shot, but this was straight at Jake Whincup. Two minutes later, more Dartford pressure resulted in a corner, on the left, but this was cleared, not for the only time this afternoon, by Marc Cumberbatch. Marc was, however, beaten in the 35^th minute, when he was turned by the impressive Jay May, who managed to get a shot off in the same movement, but it whistled just past the angle of post and bar.

There were then two goals in quick succession. First, in the 36^th minute, an Ashford raid down the left ended up with Walid Matata. With little seeming to be on, Walid managed to wriggle his way into the area, carried the ball into the centre of the Dartford penalty area, and, showing good strength to hold off a couple of defenders, made room for a shot and stuck the ball in the net. This was the third high-quality solo “goal” that Matata has scored in the past four matches, but this time there was to be no abandonment, and the goal stands.

Neutrals might have thought that a shock result (at least on paper) might be on the cards, with the team second from bottom of the league leading the team second from top, 0-2, but the two-goal advantage was to last for a mere two minutes. In the 38^th minute, the home side equalised, and this appeared, to my admittedly biased eyes, to be a slightly fortunate goal. Jay May let fly with a firm shot from outside the Ashford area, and it was deflected into the net, with Jake Whincup wrong-footed, and rooted to the spot. Well, it’s not “how”, it’s “how many”, and Dartford were back in it, at 1-2.

For the rest of the half, Ashford found themselves largely on the back foot, and they really needed the half-time whistle. Around about the 40^th minute, Ryan Briggs had two free-kicks in quick succession; the first of these was cleared by the Ashford defence, but the second was met by John Guest with a flicked header, but his effort went just over the bar. In the 42^nd minute, Simon Glover was forced to trip Ryan Hayes, near the corner flag, after The Darts’ No.6 had skipped past him; the curling, in-swinging free-kick was crossed long, beyond the far post, but was too long, and went out for a goal-kick. With 44 minutes on the watch, Steve Norman launched an even longer free-kick into the Ashford penalty area. Jake Whincup decided to come out to collect the ball, but got nowhere near it, as it fell to Eddie McClements, but the Dartford striker blasted his shot well over the bar.

In between these opportunities for the home side, Ashford did have one half-chance at the other end, in the 43^rd minute. A corner, on the right, was crossed by Kenny Jarrett-Elliott beyond the far post, to Marc Cumberbatch, who was taking up his familiar position at the back of the crowd of players. Marc’s header into the six-yard box was not cleared by the Dartford defence, and the ball found its way back to the professional Thierry Henry body-double, but his shot was straight at the ‘keeper. (There were several members of the Cumberbatch clan present at the match today, and, curiously, Marc has a brother who is, facially, very like the Arsenal striker).

The final chance of the half, unsurprisingly, fell to the home side. Matt Carruthers, who otherwise had a good game, got caught in possession, just outside his own penalty area; the ball fell to Eddie McClements, whose first-time shot was deflected just wide, for a corner. Once again, Marc Cumberbatch was on hand at the near post, to head the corner clear.

There was a surprise at the start of the second half. Manager John Cumberbatch came and joined us in the stand. Apparently, one of the linesmen had complained to the referee about John’s conduct throughout the first half, so the ref decided to ban John from the dug-out in the second half. That meant that he could join in with the Cumberbatch family day out – but that’s not the point. The point is that he was “sent off”. This came as a major surprise. We get used to management teams chuntering at the officials throughout the game, and John usually adopts an intelligent strategy of “constructive sledging”, to ensure that we get at least our fair share of decisions, but he’s also about the most mild-mannered manager on the circuit, and I heard nothing foul-mouthed, and no accusations aimed at the lino during the first half. I understand that John will be appealing against this.

Not surprisingly, with Dartford having had the momentum at the end of the first period, and with a large, vociferous crowd urging them on – and with Ashford managerless in the dug-out – it was the home side that took the initiative early on. With Lee Ealham and Graham Porter filling the role of stand-in Managers on the touchline, the pressure on the Ashford defence told, in the 52^nd minute, when Matt Carruthers came flying in with a very late tackle on Steve Norman, just inside the “D”. This was nothing malicious, but it’s the sort of tackle that tends to draw an automatic yellow card – and out it came. It was also a very reckless tackle, as it gave The Darts a free-kick in a very dangerous position. This was taken by Ryan Hayes, who fired the ball over the bar; but there must have been a touch from the Ashford wall, as a corner was awarded. This was swung in, from the right, and Jay May rose and effected a deft glancing header, which planted the ball just inside the far post – the goal was timed at 54 minutes – and Dartford were level, at 2-2.

Ashford now looked very rocky, and the lads’ belief appeared to be draining away from them. As Dartford continued to press forward, Kevin Lott fouled the very impressive winger Dave Martin, who is currently being linked with a move to Crystal Palace, Millwall or Ipswich, and who was a threat on the left side throughout the game. The resulting free-kick, in the 56^th minute, was curled into the Ashford area, and was allowed to go all the way through to Brendon Cass, at the far post, but the man who has scored 23 goals in 30 games so far this season (including FOUR hat-tricks) was unable to apply the vital touch. This was just about Cass’s only noteworthy contribution in the match, which is surprising, given the form he’s been in this season.

Ashford were desperate for something to stop Dartford’s momentum, and they got it in the 59^th minute – with a goal !  A free-kick on the left – in the corner of the pitch that was invisible from my seat – was swung into the penalty area, and Marc Cumberbatch went down after a push in the back. Fortunately, the ref saw the push, and had no hesitation in pointing to the penalty spot. Instinctively, George Fenwick stepped forward, anticipating scoring his 14^th goal of the season – then realised that he wasn’t playing, and sat down again. This is the first penalty that we’ve been awarded in the league this season – and it’s about bloody time, given that we’re into the second half of January !  The only two previous penalties have been in the Kent Senior Cup tie at Folkestone, which were both converted by George.

With Fenwick on the sidelines, it was Walid Matata who grabbed the ball; he approached the ball slowly, and calmly slotted the ball into the net, for what was his second “proper” goal for the Club.

With fully half an hour remaining, it was very much “game on”, and Ashford set about defending their lead tenaciously – in fact, Luke Coleman was a little too tenacious with a tackle, on the 60 minute mark, and got himself a yellow card, (although Mr Atkin had spoken to him several times before in the match).

Unfortunately, the 2-3 lead only lasted until the 61^st minute, as young Jake Whincup endured a minute that nightmares are made of. First, he came out for a cross, which he missed by a mile, but the ball went harmlessly through the penalty area. Almost immediately, after the Ashford defence had cleared the ball upfield, Darts’ centre-half Lew Watts lobbed a speculative ball forward, from just inside his own half. In truth, this was over-hit, as it was too far in front of the Dartford forward-line. It was the sort of through-ball that nobody chases, and the ‘keeper takes the ball on his cheat, dribbles it to the edge of his area, and then clears upfield. I don’t know what was in Jake’s mind, but he came out, hesitated, then stopped, and there was this horrible realisation that the first bounce of the ball was going to take the ball over his head, and then …… and then …… It was like watching a road accident in slow motion as the ball followed its inevitable trajectory, into the net. I can only imagine what this must have done to the young man’s confidence, but I’ve been onto The Samaritans all night, and I was only watching. I don’t know if Jake can take any comfort from numbers, but, prior to this game, he had, statistically, been our safest ‘keeper in recent times, having only conceded four goals in four games, half of these resulting in a clean sheet.

With the score standing at 3-3, and the game’s passion being at its height, things spilt over, with a 20-man ruck, in the 63^rd minute. In terms of the state of the game, this was probably to Ashford’s advantage, as it stalled the rhythm of the game at a time when, mentally, the lads might have capitulated – but it did result in the sending-off of Skipper Tom Adlington. The whole incident was sparked by what was actually an excellent tackle by Tommy, on Ryan Hayes. He got the ball, but it was a Tommy Tackle, so his momentum took him through his opponent. As the ball went into touch, the two players ended up in a heap, with Tommy’s head ending up in the vicinity of Ryan Hayes’s boots – now, I’m not going to libel Hayes by suggesting that he “left his feet there”, as I’m not a mind-reader, but he didn’t appear to go out of his way to keep them out of harm’s way, either.

Anyway, to the Adlington cranium, it appeared that he had been kicked in the head, and he reacted in the way that he will always react, and retaliated by lashing out at the part of his assailant’s anatomy that was nearest at hand. Unfortunately for Mr & Mrs Hayes, this “part” was a collection of organs that are collectively referred to as the genitalia, and Tommy’s swift right upper-cut unerringly hit all three !  (For those of you who have seen Casino Royale, I can tell you that Ryan Hayes was introduced to the “James Bond Experience”). Hayes was, of course, out for the count for several minutes – (girls, you have really no idea !) – and the usual pushing & shoving went on around him, whilst the Dartford Physio picked the shattered pieces up from the grass. The only question was whether the ref had seen the incident, as Tommy had to go, if he had. This is going to cause Tommy to have some time off, as he’ll get a three-match ban for violent conduct, to add to the one-match ban that is coming up as a result of totting up five bookings. It should be stressed, of course, that what Tommy did was actually very dangerous – he could have sprained his wrist, bent his thumb back, or anything like that.

It took all three officials quite some time to sort everything out, but the result of their deliberations was that two-goal hero Jay May also received a red card for his part in the ruck, and Walid Matata was shown a yellow, apparently for sprinting 40 yards in order to get involved in the incident. (He was probably a victim of his own talent, as nobody else in the side would have had the pace to get there in time).

Play eventually got under way again in the 67^th minute, with a free-kick to Dartford; Ryan Briggs floated this into the Ashford area, and Ryan Hayes, now a gelding, shot over the bar.

Whilst the scuffling was going on, Kenny Jarrett-Elliott was actually having an injury attended to, on the touchline, by Mo Alvi. As there was obviously something troubling him, it was therefore logical that Kenny would be the player to be replaced, in the Porter & Ealham reshuffle, in the 70^th minute – Ian Ross was thrown on, as a straight replacement for Kenny on the left side of midfield, and it was Matt Carruthers who dropped back into central defence.

Of course, the immediate impact of Jake’s earlier gaff was to make him fair game to be tested with high balls for the remainder of the match, and Ryan Hayes duly pumped a long ball into a crowded penalty area, in the 71^st minute. This was glanced into the net, by either an Ashford or a Dartford head, but the flag was up for offside, so this minor detail is irrelevant. A minute later, the visitors counter-attacked swiftly, with Matt Carruthers careering through central midfield. He swept the ball out to Walid Matata, on the left, who then cut inside and shot just wide of the post. Then, in the 75^th minute, Jake was again tested, with a long cross from the far left, but, on this occasion, he did well to catch the ball cleanly.

In the 78^th minute, Anthony Allman rather carelessly gave the ball away to Dave Martin, who then went on a pacy run that took him from the half-way line to the edge of the Ashford area, but his shot was always going to sail well over the bar. A minute later, Ashford were awarded a free-kick, for a foul on Kevin Lott, which was one of a number of very fussy free-kicks given by the ref this afternoon. This was again in Matt Carruthers territory, but this time, by his standards, the result was disappointing, as his curling shot went straight to the ‘keeper. Soon after, Eddie McClements was booked for a foul on Kevin Lott, which was another one of those late tackles that provides an easy decision for the referee.

By this time, the visitors’ main tactic appeared to be to get the ball forward to Matata and Sodje, up front, as quickly as possible, to relieve the pressure on the defence. This didn’t really stop the attacks from coming, though, as Dartford continued to press forward. In the 83^rd minute, Dave Martin teed the ball up for Ryan Briggs to have a shot at goal, but Briggs’s long-range effort went just over. The beleaguered Jake Whincup then fluffed the goal-kick straight into touch, before the Ashford defence conceded a free-kick in a central position, just outside the penalty area – another fussy little decision by the ref, for I know not what. Again, the tactic was to put pressure on the 21 year-old goalie, but Ryan Hayes’s chip went straight to Jake.

Ashford did launch an attack in the 88^th minute – Kevin Lott combined well with Steve Sodje, with a one-two down the right, and his long cross was headed wide by Walid Matata – but the main question concerned whether we could hang on to what would have been a well-deserved point. In the 89^th minute, Dartford Manager Tony Burman put on James Carter, in place of the largely anonymous Brendon Cass, in an effort to grab a winner. Almost immediately, and with normal time up, on my watch, Dave Martin went on another flying raid down the left wing, and crossed the ball, on the run; this hit Marc Cumberbatch on the back, and went out for a corner. The ball was then curled into a crowd of players at the near post, bounced up in the air, and was patted behind to safety by Jake Whincup, for another corner. The second kick did find its way into the centre of the Ashford penalty area, and the Ashford defence failed to clear it. Martin then had a golden opportunity to wrap up a valuable three points, from six yards out, for his promotion-seeking side, but Jake made a fantastic diving save to block his shot.

Jake was congratulated for the save by his team-mates as if he had actually scored, and it would have been great for the lad’s rehabilitation if that had been the save that earnt his team a share of the points, but everything was lost when the referee cruelly awarded The Darts a penalty in the third minute of injury time. The decision was for hand-ball, after a goal-bound shot, from a distance of a few yards, struck Marc Cumberbatch on the arm. My biased opinion counts for nothing, but I don’t think it was a penalty, and I think that at least eight referees out of ten, let alone cats, would have given the defender the benefit of the doubt. Of course, in the circumstances, with a hard-fought game standing at 3-3, this was a real body blow for the ten remaining Ashford players, who had played so well for 93 minutes.

On the subject of blows to the body, it was probably appropriate that Ryan Hayes was the man to step up and take the penalty, and he readily stuck the ball into the corner of the net, to keep Dartford on course for promotion.

Man of the Match

(to go towards the Milton Keynes Bowl)

Marc Cumberbatch