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

Fleet Town         1                 Ashford Town   0

from Your Milton Keynes Correspondent

I hadn’t seen my boys since the goal-less home game against Leatherhead, which was our fourth game unbeaten in a row – and it’s all been going rather pear-shaped since then. After back-to-back 5-0 defeats, arising from some reportedly dire performances, Ashford apparently played a lot better on Tuesday, being unlucky to lose to Dulwich Hamlet with a jammy goal in something like the 95^th minute.

There have also been some significant comings and goings at the Club; well, all goings in fact. J-P Collier, the hero of that game at Kingstonian, is no longer with us, and now Sol Henry has also left. I’m sorry to see Solly go, as he was a nice lad, but it must be said that he was very much a No End Product Merchant. In spite of undoubtedly having plenty of ability on the ball, as a supposedly attacking left-sided midfielder, he managed to contribute just two goals – and probably about the same number of crosses from the left.

The only cheerful news over the past couple of weeks has been supplied by the poor form of our two relegation rivals – Corinthian Casuals and Newport (Isle of Wight) – who have obligingly been dropping points all over the place. In fact, if we manage to scrape through the season without finishing in the relegation zone, it will be because we will have been lucky enough to be in the same division as two teams who are even worse than we are – if we had been in the Southern League East, Southern League West or Unibond Division One, then relegation would have been assured weeks ago. As it is, we’re in reasonable shape, on paper, being a point ahead of Newport, with a game in hand, and four points clear of Corinthians, with two games in hand.

The problem, of course, is that games in hand are worth little to a team that cannot win matches, and today’s game was always going to be tough. I saw Fleet Town beat us 0-2, at The Homelands, earlier in the season, and they were probably the best team I’ve seen in the division so far. Manager Andy Sinton seems to have made them into just about the best team the Club has had, and they started today’s game in 11^th place.

Regardless of the desperate straits that the team finds itself in, the imperative is that we should always arrive in the vicinity of the ground with enough time for a decent lunch. Today, for the purposes of the Ryman League Good Pub Guide, (and I’m still waiting for the Railway Boys’ reports for this season), we stopped off at The Heron on the Lake. Your Milton Keynes Correspondent had lemon sole on this occasion – well, I wouldn’t have Dover sole, on principle ! – and I’d give it a three-star rating of “Good, but not exceptional”.

We arrived at the ground to find that it was a little more populated than it had been on previous visits – today’s attendance of 151 was up on what Fleet have been getting recently – and we were indebted to RJ’s Dad for making a little space for us in the car park. After a week in which roughly half of the midweek games in our division had been postponed due to waterlogging, there was no question of today’s match not going ahead. Whilst most of the playing surface consisted of mud, it was fairly dry mud, and there was no problem with the way the pitch played. Calthorpe Park is quite a tidy little ground; any seating or shelter is situated on the main stand’s side of the ground, with the other three sides undeveloped, but I was impressed to see that the clubhouse bar has been refurbished since we last played here.

Before launching into another Anorak’s Corner, I should say a word about Joby Thorogood, now that he’s clocked up just over 100 appearances for Ashford Town. He scored 36 goals in his first 100 games, which is a very respectable ratio, especially when compared with Adrian Stone’s total of 38 in his 100 matches. Joby’s record is probably all the more impressive when you consider that, of the two players, he’s played in far poorer Ashford Town sides – whilst Adrianho has had the benefit of partnering the likes of Lee McRobert, Dave Hassett and Paul Jones, Joby has played in some real stinkers (although I probably wouldn’t put the current team in that category !).

* * *

ANORAK’S CORNER.

Strikers: Talking of Joby, he’s very much out on his own this season, as far as strike-rate is concerned, with a goal every 240 minutes; that’s equivalent to 37.5 goals per 100 games, so is just about equal to his career strike-rate. There’s a big gap before you get to the next-best strike-rate at the Club. J-P had been next-best, but, now that he’s departed, Shaun Bradshaw is once again our second-most regular goal-scorer, with a goal every 485 minutes (about five and a half games). Denver Birmingham is next, with one in every 578 minutes ! 

Goalkeepers: Dave Wietecha’s record currently shows him conceding a goal every 42 minutes, which compares with one every 50 minutes for Shaun Glover, and one every 54 minutes for Jani Seitsonen – positive proof that statistics can lie !

Attendances: Can’t let an Anorak’s Corner go by without a mention of attendances – firstly, because it’s probably the single most worrying issue for the Club at the moment (apart from the threat of relegation), and secondly, because Tuesday’s attendance of 93 was certainly the lowest gate for a senior game in the Club’s history. The average crowd for the season currently stands at 208, which compares with (an AFC Wimbledon assisted) 243 last season, and 284 the season before that. Even if we look at the median (i.e. “middle”) figures, the picture is one of sharp decline: 178 so far this season, compared with 213 last season, and 269 the season before.

* * *

Today’s team had a very similar look to it to the team that performed with some credit against Dulwich Hamlet on Tuesday. With Jamie Smith back at right-back, versatile veteran Tom Adlington once again switched to left-back, enabling skipper Ian Ross to again take his place on the left side of midfield. This actually makes sense, in the context of a side struggling to score, as Rossi’s quality crosses have been one source of goals for the team this season, and this switch was clearly intended to push him up into more positions from where he could hurt the opposition. Mark Banks deservedly continues to retain his place in the centre of defence, alongside Peter Mortley; this meant that Marc Cumberbatch was again used as a makeshift forward, playing just behind Joby Thorogood, with the intention of being the link from the midfield (although there wasn’t a great deal of linking in evidence this afternoon). RJ Boorman and Gary Clarke were in central midfield, with Joffy Thorogood, complete with knee support, on the right side. Dave Wietecha was the reassuring presence in goal.

The four substitutes were Denver Birmingham, Shaun Bradshaw, Kennickson Jarrett-Elliott and Noddy Penfold; (evidence that, with the recent departures, members of the Reserves squad are at last getting some opportunities with the First Team).

The first half, with Ashford kicking down the slope – I’ll miss these non-league grounds with slopes if we ever make it into the Football league – was very even, with very few chances created by either side. Referee Anthony Biddulph appeared to have a very good game, but was very hot on every infringement, which contributed to the game being very scrappy.

The first attempt at goal came in the tenth minute – prior to this, both teams had had no more than a corner each to show for their efforts. This chance fell to Fleet, from a free-kick near the right touchline. Terry Davies crossed the ball into the Ashford penalty area, but this was headed out to Nathan Smart, about 20 yards out, whose attempted shot was skied well out of the ground.

We had to wait until the 25^th minute for the next incident worthy of note. This was Ashford’ best chance of the game – in fact, the only chance, so let’s enjoy it. Unsurprisingly, this originated from a cross from Ian Ross, on the left, which found Joby Thorogood in the “D” of the penalty area. Joby took the ball on his chest, and laid the ball off to Gary Clarke, who was making a run into the area. Gary, unbalanced, put his shot into the side-netting. A collector’s item, though – an Ashford midfield player getting himself into the penalty area in open play ! 

A minute later, good work by Joff Thorogood on the right won the visitors – playing in all-yellow, in contrast to Fleet’s colours of light blue shirts, dark blue shorts and socks - a corner, but the resulting cross failed to find an Ashford head. In the 27^th minute, there was a slight flutter at the other end, when Mark Banks, trying to effect a clearance from his own by-line, managed to hit the ball straight to Fleet’s Terry Davies, who was on the edge of the Ashford penalty area. Davies decided to try the first-time volley, but hit it with little power, and the attempt was never going to be a problem for Dave Wietecha.

The first “injury alert” of the match came in the 33^rd minute. Peter Mortley, now looking much fitter than at the start of his current spell with Ashford, went down after challenging for the ball in the air. From his reaction, he had obviously tweaked something. He tried to carry on, but had to be substituted, two minutes later. It later transpired that he had turned awkwardly, and had done something to his groin; his first impression was that he’ll probably be on the sidelines for a couple of weeks.

Mortley was replaced by Kenny Three Names; in the reshuffle, Tommy Adlington switched to the centre of defence and Ian Ross dropped back to left-back, so that Kenny could play on the left of midfield. Now, before anyone says anything, Kenny showed some good touches whilst he was playing in this position, and managed to get a couple of crosses in before half time, (which is something that Solly generally failed to do). As I’ve mentioned before, I’m convinced that Kenny’s best position is on the left wing, (if we can afford the luxury of having a man wide on the left). In the interests of balance, however, I should point out that, in the second half, he was guilty of a couple of embarrassing losses of control (i.e. letting the ball slide under, or over, his foot). It’s incidents like these that dent the boy’s confidence.

Kenny did initiate an attack early in the second half (in the 51^st minute). He picked up a loose ball on the half-way line, and went on a run towards the left corner flag. With little or no support from any of his team-mates, he was rather stuck for options, but eventually laid the ball back to Gary Clarke, on the corner of the penalty area. It looked like Gary had sliced his shot wide, but a corner was awarded, so there must have been a deflection. Again, though, the corner failed to find an Ashford head.

Whilst I was very impressed by Fleet when we played them at our place, I thought they looked fairly ordinary today. That didn’t stop them from taking all three points, though, and they effectively did enough to win their 13^th league game of the season when they went ahead, in the 57^th minute. And this was by no means a classic goal. A long clearance from deep in the Fleet half was chased down the hill by Nathan Smart. He managed to get to the ball before Mark Banks, and lifted the ball past the advancing Dave Wietecha.

Just after the hour mark, both sides made a substitution. Andy Sinton replaced Martin Girling with Sam Pearce, and Terry “Noddy” Penfold, a forward / attacking midfield player, came on for Ian Ross. The Ashford substitution was actually an enforced change, with Rossi having tweaked a hamstring (which is the scourge of all athletes with blistering pace). The second reshuffle saw Kenny J-E drop back to left-back, with Penfold taking up a position on the right side of midfield and Joffy switching to the left. For those of you who are purely interested in the Reserves, Terry certainly did not look out of place here, but made no more contribution to creating chances than anyone else in a yellow shirt this afternoon. The biggest news, of course, is that Rossi might also now be missing for one or two games – with Peter Mortley also unavailable, this makes a bit of a hole in the defence.

In the 66^th minute, Ashford were maybe a little fortunate to be awarded a corner – Fleet left-back Will Salmon shielded the ball to let it go out for what he assumed would be a goal-kick, but a corner was given by Mr Biddulph. Unfortunately, RJ Boorman directed the corner straight at Justin Gray, in the Fleet goal.

In fairness to the home side, although they didn’t exactly sparkle this afternoon, they were the more likely team to score the next goal – it wasn’t their fault that our boys failed to push them more. In the 67^th minute, they had a free-kick on the right-hand side, after Joffy Thorogood had been penalised for a late tackle. This also earnt Joffy a yellow card – the only one of the match for an Ashford player. Terry Davies’s deep cross to the far post was met by big centre-half Steve Noakes, but he couldn’t direct his header towards goal. In the 78^th minute, Josiah Millar showed good skill to get round the outside of Jamie Smith, in spite of Smudger’s attempt to foul him, and pulled the ball back to Terry Davies, whose shot from outside the area needed a good save from Dave Wietecha.

A minute later, The Management made the third and final substitution – Shaun Bradshaw replaced Mark Banks. This time the change was purely tactical, with Marc Cumberbatch at last dropping back into defence, in a 3-4-3 formation, and Bradders joining Joby Thorogood and Noddy Penfold in a three-man attack.

The next chance, however, was created by the home side, in the 82^nd minute. A long, diagonal ball from the right of midfield found Josiah Millar beyond the far post; his shot, from an acute angle, was saved by Dave Wietecha. Then, in the 88^th minute, a long throw-in from the right found goal-scorer Nathan Smart on the angle of the six-yard box. Smart controlled the ball on his chest, and, wildly optimistically, turned to attempt a shot from an acute angle, but could only find the side-netting.

Not too much criticism, if any, of individuals from this game. Our downfall today was that we were totally inept as a team when it came to creating chances. A goal-less draw might have been a fairer reflection of a very unexceptional game, but we cannot hope to avoid relegation by grinding out 0-0 draws. Our relegation rivals again helped to limit the damage by themselves losing this afternoon (Newport by 3-0, and Corinthians by 2-0), but Ashford urgently need to work out a way of scoring goals; we’ve scored one goal in the five we’ve played since we uncharacteristically scored four against Kingstonian.

I’m not in the habit of nominating a Man of the Match, but I need to start, as Mrs Milton Keynes Correspondent and I will be awarding the MILTON KEYNES BOWL to the Ashford player being Man of the Match in most away games throughout this season. (It’s been purchased and engraved, and looks nice and shiny !). For the purposes of the current season, I’ll have to do this on the basis of a count-back – that means re-reading all of this season’s match reports, which I’m sure will be pretty tedious ! – but with a MoM named for all remaining away games, starting today.

It’s difficult to single one player out, as it was one of those games where nobody stood out, and nobody really played badly. Jamie Smith had a good match, and Gary Clarke fought hard as usual, in the centre of midfield. Dave Wietecha had his usual solid match in goal, but we decided on Tommy Adlington as MoM, as he didn’t put a foot wrong, either at left-back or at centre-half.

Man of the Match

(to go towards the Milton Keynes Bowl)

Tommy Adlington