Fisher Athletic (London) 1 Ashford Town 2
From Your Milton Keynes Correspondent
Does anyone listen to “Fishermen’s Blues”
on Talk Sport on a Saturday morning ?
I’ve never tried to catch a fish in my life, but I think Keith Arthur’s
brilliant. Anyway, one thing that intrigues me is that the show is punctuated
with commercials put out by Hornchurch FC, advertising who The Urchins are
playing that day. I don’t know if it makes much difference to their gates, but
it might be something for our very own De Sade to think about.
This also gives
me a neat link into today’s match, as this is the day we played The Fish –
Fisher Athletic (London) – at the Surrey Docks Stadium.
We are probably
all fed up with considering every game to be a “vital game”, as this season
we’ve been in more Last Chance Saloons than George Best, but this really was a
game that we couldn’t afford to lose. In case there are still some Ashford Town
fans out there who have yet to wake up and smell the coffee, we need to avoid
finishing in the bottom 15 this season, as this will relegate us to what will
effectively be a glorified Kent League – in other words, the big objective,
regardless of whether we happen to win the Kent Senior Cup, is a top-seven
finish. The reality is that, roughly half way through the season, we are
hanging on to that possibility by our finger nails. A top-six position appears
to be well out of reach, so it’s that last place on the shuttle that we’re
pinning all our hopes on.
So far, we’ve
dropped 39 points (!!) in the league; Burgess Hill Town, the team currently
seventh-best, have dropped 29. It is this ten-point gap that we need to close.
Burgess Hill had a difficult trip to the Isle of Wight today, so all is not yet
totally lost. Of course, regardless of the detail of the mathematics, and of
the fortunes of others, we’ll get nowhere without actually playing like a
top-seven side. So far, after a promising start, our performances have been of
a mid-table standard, at best.
It’s actually a
job to know how we should be feeling, as Ashford Town fans. Whilst we’re snug
in the glow of a sound financial position – and I think that most of us
recognise that The Management has at least created the conditions for
Conference football – things have been going seriously pear-shaped on the
pitch. We’ve had some serious blows this season with departures and long-term
injuries: the prolonged absence of Club Captain Matt Bower; our newly-found
goal-scoring hero breaks a leg; our stand-in skipper breaks a leg; our new,
quality centre-half sustains a serious injury; we lose the likes of Michael
Beale, Lewis Phillips, Lee McRobert and Assistant Manager Gary Anderson.
On the other
hand, The Management has constantly tried to lift spirits and performances by
bringing in new faces: a new driving force in midfield in the shape of Joe
Wade; Michael Azzopardi joins him soon after; Jones, Elliott and Bower make
come-backs from long-term injury; Tony Reynolds is back as Assistant Manager,
and, * STOP PRESS * Simon Glover returns on loan, from Dover.
I think if the
season were to start next week, we could be optimistic about finishing in the
top three, but, unfortunately, we’ve a lot of lost ground to make up. It’s also
true to say that our current form is nothing to write home about, having gained
just five points from the last eight league games, but this sequence was
interrupted by a 4-0 win against Fisher in the Kent Senior Cup, so we had to
consider this game to be “winnable”.
Due to a number
of circumstances, this was only my second game since the first week in
September. It was also the first game I’d been to on my own for some time. It
would be easy to say that, whilst she suffers the misery of going to the likes
of Corby and Burnham, Mrs Milton Keynes Correspondent considers a trip to
Fisher Athletic to be beyond the call of even her marital duties. The truth,
though, is that, as a country boy, I don’t consider a venue in the middle of
London to be drivable – and Mrs Milton Keynes Correspondent doesn’t “do” public
transport.
So MKC (Mrs)
dropped me off at Milton Keynes Central Railway Station (on her way to
somewhere near Doncaster to look at a horsebox), and I became a pale imitation
of the Railway Boys for the day.
Has anyone been
to Milton Keynes Central Station ? What
immediately greets you as you walk through the barrier is a large sign
proclaiming: “Welcome to the home of The Dons”. Pass me the sick bag when
you’ve finished with it ! The other
claim to fame of this magnificent, futuristic, glass-panelled station – apart
from being right next-door to the National Hockey Stadium – is that it was used
as a location for one of the “Superman” films, (“Superman IV”, I think).
So the train it
was, then. A Silverlink County train, with dark blue and lime green livery –
nice !! From Euston it was the Northern
Line, then the Docklands Light Railway, then the East London Line, and then a
short walk from Rotherhithe Tube Station.
For first-time
visitors to Fisher Athletic, like myself, it’s easy to have the expectation
that it will be situated in the midst of a scruffy, dock-side settlement
populated by Neanderthals. Well, Grays IS like that, but Rotherhithe is
actually a very pleasant, residential neighbourhood. Certainly, there are
relics of the area’s commercial and industrial past, but the old dock basin of
Surrey Water is now no more than a large (and very deep) duck pond, surrounded
by new residences, and the place is no more intimidating than Stamford !
Surrey Docks
Stadium is no mean place, with a capacity of 5,300 – remember that Fisher were
once in the Conference – although the average gate here this season is 114,
beating only Corby’s average of 80, in the Doc Martens Eastern Division. Seated
accommodation for 400 is provided in a modest-sized stand – I can’t comment on
the comfort-level of the seating, as it was an extra £1 for the privilege of
entering this stand, which I thought was a bit off. On the “popular side”,
opposite, is the Dockers’ Stand, which is covered terracing for almost the
length of the pitch, behind the dug-outs. But the dominant feature of the
ground is the old clubhouse, now disused, which stands at one corner. It’s a
brown, wooden structure with a clock tower (on which none of the clocks work),
which looks like a large, square dove cot. All of this is to the spectacular
back-drop of Canary Wharf, with the clock tower’s triangular dome echoing the
shape of Canada One Tower, behind it.
The pitch
looked in pretty good condition, being level and flat, but with plenty of sand
in the goal mouths.
The team news
was that we had a very “new look” midfield foursome, of (from left to right)
Elliott, Bower, Wade (captain) and Azzopardi. There are a couple of stalwarts
in there, but none of the four were in the team until a couple of weeks ago.
Martin Anderson once again partnered Rob Gillman at the back – and I’ve long
thought that this will be his best position – with Aaron O’Leary and Tom
Adlington the full-backs. John Whitehouse was in goal, as usual, with Adrian
Stone and Joby Thorogood (well, when you’re in the Last Chance Saloon, you
might as well start off with the shorts !) up front, in the continued absence
of Paul Jones. Jonah wasn’t even on the bench, and there was no sign of Simon
Glover; the three substitutes were Sam Saunders, Barry Gardener and Mark
Cumberbatch. It was a little strange to see a loanee of the quality of
Cumberbatch on the bench, but Our Mart’n justified his selection by forming
what looked a fairly accomplished defensive partnership with Rob Gillman.
The first
opportunity to score went Ashford’s way, after five minutes, with Joby
Thorogood, running onto a through-ball, appearing to be bowled over right on
the edge of the penalty area. Whether Joby was actually knocked over is a
matter for debate, but the ability to win free-kicks in dangerous positions is
not a bad skill for a striker to have !
There was no free-kick specialist available – Sammy was on the bench –
so Joe Wade touched the ball to Aaron O’Leary, who blasted it straight into the
wall.
Fisher, playing
in their customary Newcastle United shirts, with black shorts and socks,
offered very little threat in the early stages, but had a corner after ten
minutes when Aaron O’Leary put the ball behind. The Fish made a complete mess
of this, and the visitors broke away, which immediately resulted in a corner at
the other end. As usual, on the right, this was taken by Aaron, swinging the
ball in with his left foot. He picked up the clearance and drilled the ball
hard back into the box. This second cross rather hit Rob Gillman, who had gone
up for the corner, in the chest, and Rob was the first to react to the loose
ball, hammering it just inside the far post. One-nil to the boys, with Rob’s
first goal for the Club.
There was very
little to report, in terms of either quality or chances created, for quite a
while after this. This certainly cannot be blamed on the elements, as the game
was played in beautifully mild conditions, with hardly a breath of wind. Both
teams struggled to play anything approaching good football; for Ashford, Simon
Elliott and Matt Bower appeared to be particularly short of match practice,
with Bower showing some poor touches, and often being slow to react to
situations.
After 27
minutes, Joby again took a tumble on the edge of the penalty area, in almost precisely
the same position that the previous free-kick had been. This time, Aaron
O’Leary tried something a little more cultured, and bent his kick around the
wall, forcing Robert O’Hara in the Fish goal to save, diving to his right.
The home side
posed a negligible threat throughout the first half, but on the half hour mark
they were level, with what I would suggest was a fluky goal. Centre-forward
Gary Abbott had the ball wide on the right, and his cross, or shot, whatever it
was, sailed over John Whitehouse’s head and into the far, top corner of the
net. Now when Ronaldinho does that sort of thing, I might be prepared to give
him the benefit of the doubt, but at this level I’ll assume it was a sliced
cross (although I stand to be corrected on that one). Anyway, the worry was
that we were back to 1-1, and the lads still hadn’t created a chance in open
play.
Towards the end
of the half, both teams at last started to warm to the task, and in the 39th
minute Fisher actually put together a good move – this resulted in a cross, and
a header by Abbott from close range, which was well saved by John Whitehouse.
Three minutes later, Ashford replied with a decent move of their own. For once,
the hard-working Joby Thorogood managed to retain possession of the ball during
a break, and laid it off to Joe Wade. The current skipper found Azzopardi on
the right, with clear space to run into. Azza rather optimistically decided to
shoot, from just outside the area, but at least his shot was on target, and
forced O’Hara into making a save.
At the start of
the second half, with the lights of the Canary Wharf skyscrapers beginning to
stand out in the gathering gloom – the floodlights at the Surrey Docks Stadium
aren’t the best ! – Ashford pressed forward, forcing a couple of early corners,
which came to nothing. The first chance of the second period fell to the home
side, thanks to a rare error from Rob Gillman. The former Luton Town man seemed
to have a Fisher break under control, but the ball somehow squirmed its way
through his legs – fortunately for Ashford, Gary Abbott’s snap shot went well
wide.
It was whilst I
was scribbling a note about this incident that Tom Adlington was having a long
chat with the referee on the far touch-line. I’m clueless as to the topic of
their conversation, but it resulted in a yellow card for Tom, prior to him
taking a throw-in.
With 55 minutes
gone, Joby, with his back to goal, managed to turn his marker, and had half a
chance of a run into the penalty area, but he was pulled back by the Fish
defender. It had seemed for a long time that our best chance of scoring a
second goal was from a free-kick for a foul on Joby, but on this occasion the
ball was curled over the wall and straight down the ‘keeper’s throat.
Five minutes
later, we were lucky not to be down to ten men, when Martin Anderson had
something of a confrontation with one of the Fisher players. I didn’t see the
incident, which was off the ball – and Tim Thorogood showed that he’s got
something in common with Arsène Wenger when he said that he didn’t see it
either – but the consensus from pitch-side was that Our Mart’n appeared to drop
his nut on his opponent. It’s a hazard of having a scouser in the team that
he’s occasionally going to give someone a Kirkby Kiss, but it would’ve been
damaging to have lost a man, with fully half an hour to go. Luckily, the result
was that both men got away with a yellow.
As the match
wore on, Ashford began to get a few opportunities on the break, and in the 62nd
minute Joby sprayed the ball out to Azzopardi – which, I understand, is either
Yiddish or Maltese for “the Jew from Spain” – who was breaking down the right.
He put in a high cross towards Adrian Stone, in the centre, but Adrianho was
flagged for off-side, so a good chance was wasted.
Joe Wade didn’t
have a flawless game, but for sheer industry and his ability to hold on to the
ball and distribute it, he was probably our best player today. His only sight
of goal, however, was on 63 minutes, when his long-range shot went straight at
the ‘keeper.
Five minutes
later, Tim Thorogood made the first substitution of the game, replacing his
son, Joby, with 17 year-old Barry Gardener. This was interesting, as it enabled
Simon Elliott to partner Adrian Stone up front; Barry, in spite of being
right-footed, filled in for Simon on the left side of midfield.
The
substitution paid a dividend almost immediately. After 70 minutes, Aaron
O’Leary took a throw-in on the left, and found Gardener. Barry had time to wait
for the ball to come to his favoured right foot, and put in a deep cross, which
was met by Matt Bower, with a looping header towards goal. This really should
have been dealt with by the goal-keeper, but somehow the ball went over
O’Hara’s head and into the net. Matty was a hugely popular scorer with the rest
of the Ashford team, and the goal brightened what looked to have been a very
difficult game for him. Three minutes later, he was replaced by Sam Saunders.
Ashford
certainly looked a better side once they’d retaken the lead – of course, this often
happens when a team scores, but Simon Elliott definitely gave us a bit more
bite and aggression when he went up front. Although he didn’t have a brilliant
first half, in midfield, he impressed with his work-rate over 90 minutes.
Whilst he might be a bit rusty after his long lay-off, there’s nothing wrong
with his fitness, as he never stopped running. He probably relished the chance
to revert to his old role – I remember that he began his career with Ashford by
partnering Dave Hassett (who I see has left Dartford to join Chatham) in
attack. I think the hard truth is that Simon is generally a better striker than
Joby, and, with Simon Glover now coming in as a left-sided midfield player,
Elliott might be our best bet to partner Adrianho whilst Paul Jones is out.
With gaps
appearing in the Fisher defence, Elliott had a chance to break away and attack
the last defender, after 82 minutes. He cut in-field, and pushed the ball
through to Adrian Stone. Adrianho got a clean shot in, from close range, but
O’Hara had come out to narrow the angle, and made a good save. This was
Adrian’s only chance of the game; he looked the part, leading the attack, and
he’s become stronger and much more competitive in the air, but never had the
opportunity to hurt the home defence.
Surprisingly,
the Fish delayed making their first substitution until the 84th
minute, with top-scorer Richard Brady replacing Marlon Patterson. Given that
Brady has already scored 18 goals this season, it’s difficult to understand why
he has started the last five games on the bench !
With the lights
of Canary Wharf providing us with a Manhattan landscape, Ashford had to
withstand some late pressure, most notably in the 91st minute of the
match. A through-ball put a Fisher player through on goal, and he was pulled
back by Rob Gillman for what looked a penalty, and, potentially, a sending-off.
The ref appeared to be pointing to the penalty spot, but he was actually
pointing to a spot right on the edge of the area. What’s more, he was again
lenient with an Ashford defender, and Rob got away with a yellow card.
The danger was
not over, though, and John Whitehouse pulled off a fantastic save to stop the
fast, curling free-kick from ending up in the roof of the net. After 91 minutes
of fairly low-grade football, this was just like watching “The Premiership” on
the telly, with a good shot requiring a top-class save. You won’t see J.
Whitehouse’s name on the score-sheet, but, in a game of few chances, he did
just as much as the goal-scorers to secure those precious extra two points.
So it was a far
from impressive performance from the boys, and we need to improve if we’re
going to achieve anything this season, but somehow we managed to chisel out a
win. After sharing the 5.55pm Wolverhampton train with some crest-fallen Wolves
(and Everton) fans, I arrived home to discover that Burgess Hill had dropped a
couple of points away to Newport. That means that the gap is now reduced to
EIGHT points, whereas a week ago it was twelve.
Three and a
half months still to go !
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