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

Fleet Town         2                 Ashford Town   1

from Your Milton Keynes Correspondent

Ashford Town approached tonight’s rearranged game with the luxury of knowing that they were mathematically safe from relegation, with four matches to play. The recent run of three consecutive away wins, against mid-table teams, and with a home draw in between, has been enough to guarantee Ryman League football for next season, which is widely expected to be the launching pad for a shiny, bright future.

In spite of such vastly improved performances and results, which had seen us lying fifth in the current form table (based on teams’ results in their previous six matches), this was always going to be a much sterner test – firstly, because Fleet Town are a better team that any of Ashford’s recent victims (Molesey, Cray Wanderers, Burgess Hill Town), and, secondly, because, having had much more to play for than those three comfortably-placed mid-table rivals, the shoe was now very much on the other foot, with Fleet very much in the running for a place in the Promotion Play-offs. Andy Sinton’s team knew that a victory this evening would put them four points clear of Dartford in the race for a top-five finish, with both teams having two games left – and would also put them just two points behind Maidstone United for the championship, for that matter ! 

I well remember that, just a couple of seasons ago, Fleet Town were one of the whipping boys at the bottom of the table, but there has been a steady improvement from them, under Andy Sinton, since then. I remarked in my report on their 1-0 win here in the corresponding game last season, when they were eleventh in the table, that they had been the best team I’d seen in the division when they beat us 0-2 at The Homelands. They certainly looked The Business tonight, looking physically very fit and strong, with plenty of verve and pace up front. They also, as a team, constantly chipped away at the referee and linesmen throughout the 90 minutes, aggressively pressurising all three officials after virtually every decision – which is a characteristic of one or two other successful teams, at a much higher level, that I could mention. (It must be said, of course, that Referee John O’Brien allowed them to carry on doing it, when he should have stamped on it early – in fact, the only person that O’Brien lectured about this was John Cumberbatch, for going through his usual carefully-planned script).

Sadly, this was destined, almost certainly, to be our last visit to Calthorpe Park for a while, since, even if The Blues miss out on promotion, it’s likely that the geographical cut-off point between the Southern League and the Ryman League will see them in the former for next season. With the informed opinion of Sir Anthony Kempster anticipating that the likes of (from East to West) Whitstable, Eastbourne, Worthing and Chipstead will be joining us next season, the consequence would appear to be that we’re certainly likely to lose Fleet, and that Godalming Town might join them, subject to the G’s not being relegated. That will be a pity, as Mrs Milton Keynes Correspondent and I have enjoyed our trips down to Hampshire, and, with the journey time between Junction 13 of the M1 and Junction 4a of the M3 being little more than an hour, this is currently our most local match.

I’m always slightly surprised that Calthorpe Park hasn’t been developed more than it has, considering that Fleet Town is now very much an established club at this level – which means that the Manager and his staff deserve even more credit for producing such a competitive team. Although it’s a neat & tidy ground, with a very comfortable bar, there is no more than the one, rather quaint, little stand in terms of accommodation for spectators. The sloping pitch is surrounded by a waist-high steel fence, then a well-maintained concrete path, and then silver birches on all four sides. One thing that was new here was the presence of some noisy supporters to cheer the home side on !  There were 15 youths, who chanted and sang behind Jake Whincup’s goal throughout the game. One had one of those irritating and pointless horns, that blasted out occasionally, and much of their chanting was tuneless and obscene, but it certainly goes to show what difference a little success on the pitch can make among the local community. (That said, the crowd was still only 137).

When we pulled into the gravel car park shortly before 6pm, there were few cars, but one of them – a black BMW with the registration plate “V7 ASA” – told us that our two pro loanees from Birmingham City, Asa Hall and Nick Wright, were back in the line-up, after our fairly makeshift side had been understandably thrashed by a very strong Bromley side in the Kent Senior Cup Semi-Final just two evenings ago. There were actually only four additions to that side, with the two Birmingham lads being joined by Ryan Andrews and Jason Stuart. One notable absentee was Marc Cumberbatch, who was engaged in one of his modeling assignments. This was a pity, not least because the Fleet attack was led by their new signing Tony Reid, who is the spitting image of Les Ferdinand, in appearance, build and style of play – it would have been fun to watch Thierry Henry marking Les Ferdinand.

Whilst Marc was ably replaced by Graham Porter in central defence, we were very light up front, with our three main strikers absent – George Fenwick has still not returned from his trip to Trinidad, Walid Matata is still injured, and will not reappear this season, and Steve Sodje was also missing, presumably through work commitments. That meant that the versatile Simon Glover partnered Jason Stuart up front. Ryan Andrews, normally a right-sided player, filled in at left-back, with Tommy Adlington at right-back, alongside Ports and Asa in the centre. The midfield had a fairly settled look about it, with Joe Hitchings and Gary Clarke in the centre, and Rossi on the left and Nick Wright on the right. The subs bench once again looked a bit threadbare, consisting of the ever-popular Kenny Jarrett-Elliott and Steve Rowles as the fit players, and Anthony Allman reportedly being available for no more than about ten minutes’ worth; also, for the first time, John Cumberbatch named himself as a substitute. This must have been some sort of tax dodge, as I can’t imagine what role John might have actually played, (unless some horrendous catalogue of injuries meant that we had to use a third substitute for much longer than Anthony could risk his ankle).

To complete the team news, Tom McGowen has now left the Club, with travelling difficulties being quoted as the reason, and Joby was present at the match, and looking forward to making a comeback next season, after the key-hole surgery on his knee on Saturday. (I’d also like to report that, though absent, Walid Matata still cared enough to ‘phone John Cumberbatch after the game to find out how the lads had got on).

Walking around the ground to our position behind the dug-outs, on the far side, gave us an impression of how steep the slope of the pitch actually is at Calthorpe Park, and Ashford, playing in all yellow, were kicking up the slope in the first half. As already mentioned, Fleet Town immediately gave the impression of being a strong and pacy side, and, with every incentive to cement their place in the play-offs, the home side were fast out of the traps. I should say that Ashford actually matched them throughout the opening 20 minutes, and there were no clear-cut chances for either side during this fast and aggressive opening period. The only real threat on the Ashford goal during this time came in the sixth minute, when Fleet had a free-kick, just outside the “D”; this was struck by James Field straight into the defensive wall. Ashford’s most promising moment came when skipper Simon Glover hooked an imaginative through-ball over the home defence, for Jason Stuart to chase, but ‘keeper Justin Gray came out of his area, to hoof clear.

Generally, Ashford posed no threat to Fleet up front, with Simon Glover doing his best with hopeful flick-ons with his head – but Jason Stuart had little joy with aerial challenges, and we never got the ball down and passed it around. Although our boys competed well all over the pitch, the first half was nevertheless mostly a catalogue of Fleet half-chances – and goals.

In the 21^st minute, the home side, playing in sky blue shirts and navy blue shorts and sockies, had another free-kick just outside the area, this time just to the right of the “D”. Again it was James Field with the kick, and he sent the ball in low and hard; there was some anxiety as the ball slithered under Graham Porter’s foot, but it was soon cleared. Two minutes later, the Fleet right-winger – I make no apologies for not being able to identify all of the Fleet players, as the off-white numbers on the sky blue shirts were virtually impossible to read – got inside Ryan Andrews, but Ryan, who played well tonight, managed to get back and make a recovering tackle.

Tony Reid, playing in his third match for The Blues this evening, having scored at Dartford on his début, is an experienced striker, who knows his job well, and was a constant challenge for the even more experienced Graham Porter. In the 24^th minute, Reid received a ball in the box, with his back to goal, and showed his qualities with a neat turn and shot, but his effort went wide.

Fleet’s opening goal came in the 27^th minute, and, defensively, was a bad goal to concede. Stemming from a missed tackle in midfield, the home side rather seemed to “walk” through our back line – to a chorus of “too easy, that’s too easy”, from John Cumberbatch – and Jermaine Hamilton was one of two players in the centre of the Ashford penalty area waiting for the cross, and had no problem in slotting the ball into the corner of the net.

Jake Whincup had no chance with the goal, but he did get right behind a shot, just a minute later, from outside the area. Then, in the 29^th minute, a good move put together by the home side down the right eventually found Phillip John in the centre, but his shot went just over the bar. Two minutes later, a long clearance, down the slope, by Justin Gray, slid off Ryan Andrews’ head, and into the Ashford penalty area. Tony Reid was there to nod the ball sideways, into the path of Phillip John, but John wasted a clear-cut chance by blasting the ball over the bar.

In the 33^rd minute, the on-going wars that Gary Clarke seems to have in central midfield resulted in one of his fellow battlers, Michael Douglas, receiving the first yellow card of the match. Three minutes later, Joe Hitchings was probably regarded as anything but a Darling Bud by Douglas when he clearly elbowed the Fleet midfielder – which caused Joe to pick up the first yellow card that I can remember seeing him get. Gary and Joe have formed quite a formidable partnership in central midfield, but they were guilty of the odd mistake this evening – which is hardly surprising, given that we’re entering the final stages of a long, hard season. In the 38^th minute, it was a poor touch by Gary that set the home side off on another attack; this ended with Phillip John laying the ball off invitingly for Michael Zeta-Douglas, but the resulting shot was wild, and ended up somewhere in the woods.

Fleet’s second goal came on the stroke of half-time, and this was a simple, back-to-front goal that arose as a result of an Ashford attack breaking down. As the ball was cleared downhill, James Field broke free down the left, and had a free run into the penalty area, where he calmly stroked the ball into the far corner of the net. So the home side went into the interval 2-0 up, and, with no recognisable threat up front during the first 45 minutes, John Cumberbatch had to do something to try to change things in the second half.

John’s reaction was to immediately replace Ian Ross with Kenny Jarrett-Elliott, on the left side of midfield. This was not a surprising move, given that Rossi hasn’t managed to play all 90 minutes of a game since the VCD cup game; furthermore, Kenny must be the freshest man in the squad, having played a total of only 42 minutes in the seven games prior to Monday’s game against Bromley. There was also a reshuffle up front, with Nick Wright now partnering Simon Glover, and Jason Stuart replacing Nick on the right of midfield.

The first chance of the second half fell to the home side, within a minute of the restart. After the ball had been thrown into the Ashford penalty area, the clearance found Michael Douglas, who attempted an optimistic volley, from about 25 yards out – although his effort was always going to be slightly high, it was noticeable that, like most other shots on goal from the Fleet players, it was struck cleanly, and with plenty of power.

Ashford’s revival in this game was sparked by a near-miss, in the 50^th minute. Simon Glover was rather too casual in setting himself for a shot on goal, just outside the area, enabling a Fleet defender to get back and challenge him, but the ball nevertheless found Nick Wright, clear on goal in the inside-right position. As so often, Nick was fairly anonymous for long periods of the game – and it was reported that one Fleet fan assumed that it was Gloves who was the Birmingham City forward – but Nick certainly bursts into life, and shows rare quality, when he gets a sight of goal. On this occasion, he was unlucky, as he beat the ‘keeper with a good, low shot, but a defender somehow managed to clear the ball off the line, and over the bar, for a corner.

Whilst the corner came to nothing, Nick had another chance to score, when the ball broke to him, behind the Fleet defence, in the 52^nd minute. He did well to round the ‘keeper, before the ball was clearly stabbed into the net by a defender, tracking back; however, the PA announcer credited Nick with the goal, and his was the name written on the official form, so he deservedly marked up his third goal for Ashford, in his seventh appearance.

Ashford were a different side after that goal, and looked good value to score an equaliser – but there were shades of the game at Horsham YMCA, as we were unable to pull back the 2-1 deficit. Things were never comfortable for the home side, however, and it looked like they might have real problems when they lost ‘keeper Justin Gray, in the 58^th minute. Shortly after Tommy Adlington had collected his usual yellow card – a bit of a harsh one this, for blatantly pulling his man back, but without any malice – Gray came out to easily intercept a through-ball, but then immediately went down, groaning with pain. After receiving some treatment on the pitch, he was helped off, and was replaced by Paul Smith. Fortunately for Fleet – or is it just good planning?! – Smith is a goalkeeper, having made 22 appearances for The Blues already this season. Nevertheless, it was important for Ashford to test the new man at the first opportunity, and they did this in the 64^th minute. After a Nick Wright cross had been headed behind for a corner, on the right, the kick was taken by Kenny Jarrett-Elliott, left-footed and in-swinging; whilst Kenny was able to stick the ball right under the crossbar, Smith got up well, and made a confident catch.

After Phil John had struck another long-range effort wide of goal, in the 71^st minute, John Cumber gave Joe Hitchings a well-deserved breather, replacing him with Steve Rowles, in the 75^th minute. Joe earnt his nickname of “Joe 90” earlier in the season, for always spending 90 minutes on the bench, but Joe has recently been regularly spending 90 minutes on the pitch – in eight of the previous nine games, in fact. Whilst it’s now difficult to imagine a central midfield without him, we shouldn’t forget that he’s still only 16, so we shouldn’t overplay our only contracted player, and most prized asset.

Within a minute of Joe going off, Ashford put together a good move, involving Simon Glover and Kenny Jarrett-Elliott, which found Jason Stuart in the penalty-area, but Jason took too long teeing up for a shot, and the chance was lost. In fact, we rather failed to seize the moment, as there were no more clear-cut chances created from open play. There were, however, a couple of half-chances for the home side to extend their lead: James Field burst through midfield, in the 81^st minute, but his shot, on the run, was always going just wide; then, a minute later, a long-range shot by Phil John, direct from a Jake Whincup clearance, was again well struck, but just went over the bar.

Anthony Allman did make a guest appearance, coming on in the 88^th minute for Jason Stuart, who worked hard tonight, but without making any headway.

There was one last scare for the home side, and this came with 90 minutes of normal time up on the clock. Paul Smith fluffed a kick straight to Nick Wright, who controlled the ball and prepared to set off towards goal. A Fleet defender managed to get a foot in, and stabbed the ball back to Smith, who rather stupidly gathered the ball up in his arms. Sometimes it is marginal as to whether the ball is actually being passed back to the ‘keeper in these situations, but, on this occasion, there was no doubt, and Referee O’Brien had no hesitation in awarding an indirect free-kick, about three yards from Smith’s right-hand post. Now these free-kicks always look dramatic, with 21 players in and around the penalty area, and the defenders lined up on the goal-line, primed to come out and make a block, but, realistically, there’s little chance of the attacking side scoring – and that’s how it turned out. Ashford had three shots, and three shots were blocked, and the resulting corner was cleared.

After four minutes of injury time, the ref blew the whistle for the end of the game, and there were arms aloft, and one or two fists punching the air, among the Fleet players. In part, this would have been an expression of joy at almost certainly securing a place in the play-offs, but I think it also recognised the fact that Ashford had been the better side during the second half, and a point for the lads wouldn’t have been unjust.

Candidates for Man of the Match were basically the back four, plus Clarkey; whilst they all played well tonight, preference was for Ports, (which, spelt backwards, is “Strop”). Not only did he have a very solid game, charged with marking the excellent Tony Reid, but he also showed us one or two turns that reminded us all of his class.

Man of the Match

(to go towards the Milton Keynes Bowl)

Graham Porter