ARCHIVE: Hastings United v Ashford Town. Ryman League Division 1 South. August 2006.

Hastings United         0       Ashford Town   1

from Your Milton Keynes Correspondent

On the Sunday that preceded this August Bank Holiday Monday game, I was determined to look on the bright side, and managed to convince myself that this is the best start that we have made to a league campaign for three seasons. Last year, we lost our first five league games, whilst the season before we lost our first six – so far, we’ve only lost the first three !

Self-delusion aside, Saturday’s events, at home to Molesey, were an unmitigated disaster. It’s not just the fact that we lost 0-4 – last season we had a couple of 0-5’s and a 0-7. What was really damaging was that it was the first home game on a Saturday, and that, with an improved squad, and after some encouraging performances in defeat, it was all supposed to be so different this time. Even worse than the score-line was the manner of defeat – all reports, and quotations from players, suggest that there was no pride or spirit in the performance, and that is one thing that fans will not tolerate. Although the crowd of 133 was very poor, even by recent standards, it seems likely that attendances will continue to decline, such is the apparent disillusionment in the town at the moment. A much worse scenario, of course, would be for the quality players that have been added to the squad this year to also start wondering what on earth they’re doing at the Club, and start themselves to drift away – now that really would be a worry. So plenty at stake at Hastings this afternoon, then, with the performance likely to be just as important as the result.

One other major problem on Saturday, which should not be under-estimated, was the fact that we had two men sent off. I gather that, because of the Club’s recent poor disciplinary record, the Ryman League is keeping a close eye on us – two red cards in the third game of the season wasn’t clever.

Going back to the subject of attendances, it’s hard to guess how much further they can decline. Last season’s median figure of 174 for league games was 39 down on the previous season, and there’s no sign yet that this reduction in crowds has started to bottom out. Another telling statistic is the way in which the attendance for the opening home game of each season, when optimism should be at its highest, has consistently dropped in recent years. In the past five years, starting from the first game of the 2002-3 season, and running through to last Tuesday’s opener against Cray Wanderers, the crowds have been 386, 307, 261, 222 and 190.

To be serious about looking on the bright side, though, I looked forward to today’s match clinging to the conviction that, whilst I’ve often seen our lads play shite, I’ve also recently seen them look OK as a team, and just occasionally I’ve seen them play brilliantly. That’s why football is one of the world’s foremost religions – it provides an infinite supply of hope.

Another consoling thought was that Ashford were not the only team to have lost their first three matches in our division – that distinction was shared by Tommy Sampson’s Horsham YMCA side, and today’s opponents, Hastings, (although it must be said that our hosts today had lost to three distinctly useful sides, in Maidstone United, Tooting & Mitcham and Croydon Athletic). Waltham Forest, of Ryman Division 1 North, who will soon be our opponents in the first round of the FA Trophy, have also bombed out in their first three games – but it’s far too early to start thinking about that one.

The 130-mile trek to Hastings was the furthest I have travelled to watch my heroes since the glory trail to Peterborough in 1973 – it beats the Isle of Wight trip by a few miles. We set off bright & early for our trip to the sea-side, and (Sod’s Law in action, here) had a trouble-free run through, reaching the outskirts of Hastings in about two hours. That meant that we had time to get a decent lunch – some comfort eating, in case the day’s battle went ill – and we found a nice little place, “Le Pattie”, in Johnstone Street. Mrs Milton Keynes Correspondent reckons this is the best place we’ve been to for match-day scran since we’ve been supporting the lads away (although my rabbit stew on the Isle of Wight is still in No.1 position for me).

Because I’ve been living in the frozen North for these past 28 years, I’ve never been to the grounds that supporters resident in the Ashford area would consider to be “local”. The Pilot Field, in Hastings, is no exception; (in fact, the only exceptions in Kent are Chatham and Tonbridge). I was quite surprised at what I found, as the place consists of quite a jumble of buildings. These are dominated by a huge barn of a main stand, which offers seating in the form of wooden slats secured onto concrete steps. This stand is built upon long, concrete stilts, as the ground falls away sharply, towards the sea, behind and beneath it. With its grey, corrugated roof, this old stand certainly has some character. The other stands, one behind each goal, offer standing room only, appear to be newer, and are much smaller. Major Brownie points to Hastings United FC for providing a raised viewing point, with ramped access, for disabled supporters at one end – all very DDA-compliant, and to Part M specifications !  (That’s all the “shop” that I’m going to talk).

What gives the ground extra character – and some fans would mark this down as a “minus” – is the fact that all spectators are separated from the pitch by what used to be a speedway track. The cinders are now long gone, so this now serves as a gravel pathway for the cars of players and officials, en route to the Pilot Field’s only car park, on the far side of the ground. The fact that the place has no car parking facilities at all for supporters was probably the biggest surprise – I was frankly amazed that a club the size of Hastings United would expect paying spectators to improvise by parking in the main road, or up some side-street. Even some of the naffest of gaff grounds, such as at Banstead, Walton Casuals and Wembley (FC, that is), give you somewhere to park. I wondered how everybody coped for the opening game of the season, when the Pilot Field was host to 721 people, against Maidstone United.

Today’s crowd was considerably down on that - 316 must have been quite a disappointment for a local derby on a Bank Holiday, but it seems that no club is immune to being deserted by its supporters when results go against the team. On that subject, I’m pleased to report that Ashford Town were by no means unsupported this afternoon – those that had crossed the border into Sussex (your MKC spits on the floor) made as much noise as the home fans when the boys were on the attack.

With this being the fourth game in nine days, which is quite a harsh schedule for part-time players, especially early in the season, the Ashford squad is already looking a bit frayed at the seams, fitness-wise. With Graham Porter again unavailable due to work commitments, both Stuart Playford, who is still struggling with the fitness problem that caused him to be hauled off at half-time on Saturday, and Marc Cumberbatch, who is recovering from ‘flu’, occupied a seat on the bench. With former Hastings centre-half Peter Mortley still on holiday, this left us with just two central defenders, in Barry Crawford and Dan Tanner; fortunately, these are two talented young lads, and they both had an excellent game, and looked pretty good at the back together. Behind them was Simon Overland, and on either side of them was the experience of Tommy Adlington and Ian Ross (who’s approaching 30, but nobody knows from which side !).

It was good to see Gary Clarke back in the centre of midfield, after his fortnight’s holiday, alongside Simon Glover, who led the side out as skipper today. Kenny Jarrett-Elliott was on the left, as usual now, with Joby Thorogood out on the right, and George Fenwick partnering Richard Sinden up front. I think it’s becoming accepted now that this is probably the best option for playing the latter three in the starting line-up, as this gives the side a far more balanced look about it, compared with other combinations. Having a big ‘un and a little ‘un in attack together just looks right - George gives the team a spearhead and a focus, and I think that Sinders will prove to be the current squad’s most naturally prolific goal-scorer. Also, I must say that it gives Joby more opportunities with the ball at his feet, so that he can demonstrate, as he did today, what a talented footballer he actually is.

On the subject of talented players, it was a pleasant surprise to see Anthony Allman named as one of the substitutes, but he was, I gather, not fully recovered from his recent injury. In fact, the only fully fit substitutes were Joff Thorogood and Jason Ward. I was actually a bit worried when I noticed that John Cumberbatch was in the dug-out with his boots on, especially as he had taken part in the pre-match warm-up exercises, but this was because he was on cold sponge duty today, in the temporary absence of Mohammed, our new first-team physio. (As it turned out, John had almost as much exercise as some of the players, covering plenty of miles to and from the dug-out).

There’s one more important announcement before I crack on with the serious business of the report: our lads were wearing the new away strip, of yellow shirts, black shorts and black sockies – many thanks to our sponsors, Redrow Homes, for providing the new kits. The one question-mark I have concerns what we do when we visit a team that plays in black or navy blue shorts – I assume that we still have those white shorts that were used when we played away at AFC Wimbledon a couple of seasons back.

So began the clash between the teams occupying bottom and second-bottom positions in Ryman League Division 1 South. With the two sides having scored just three goals between them to date, nobody was expecting a high-scoring classic, but Ashford stated their attacking intent by going forward in the first minute. In the opening seconds, in fact, George Fenwick slipped a lovely ball inside the left-back for Joby Thorogood to chase, but the pass was just too strong. Before the first minute was completed, a clumsy touch by Hastings’s Adam Mountford, who’d started on the bench in their previous match, against Croydon Athletic, gave Ashford an early corner, but this came to nothing.

In the fourth minute, Hastings showed us the first of their rehearsed free-kick routines. With Matt Piper and Russell Eldridge initially standing over the ball, Piper burst into the area, and was fed the ball by Eldridge. Piper put in a decent cross, but there was no solid contact from anyone in the crowded penalty area, and the ball trickled through to Simon Overland, (who was the only player to emerge from Saturday’s 0-4 defeat with any credit).

Two minutes later, there was a half-chance at the other end. Gary Clarke, who gave his usual solid performance in central midfield, tackling and battling away for 96 minutes, put a ball through to Richard Sinden, in the area. Sinders turned his man and had just enough time to get a shot in, but this was straight at ‘keeper Matt Bromby. (You’ll notice that those of us with grey hair don’t fall to the entirely modern fad of using the expression “got his shot away”).

Barry Crawford looked all over the footballing centre-half when he carried the ball out of defence, in the eighth minute, and fed it forward to Richard Sinden. Richard then found George Fenwick, in the area, who then did well to turn his marker, get to the by-line and put in a dangerous cross, but this was cleared. This was Ashford’s best chance in an opening ten minute period in which they looked very lively, but things didn’t quite come off for them in the areas that matter.

The first negative remark is for Joby Thorogood’s stupid booking, in the 14^th minute. There was no danger, and Joby had no players around him, when referee Lloyd Rendell correctly penalised him for hand-ball, after the ball had struck him on the arm. Joby petulantly kicked the ball away, for an obvious and automatic yellow card – the twanging noise of the Chief Executive tearing his hair out in the stand could immediately be heard. The free-kick was taken, long, by Russell Eldridge, aiming for centre-forward Ade Olorunda, but the flag went up for off-side. (I don’t keep a count of such things, but I reckon that almost all of the off-side decisions this afternoon were against the home side, so maybe this particular habit of Ashford’s has been cured).

The visitors came very close to opening the scoring in the 19^th minute, and this chance came out of nothing, as a result of some good work by Kenny Three Names, on the left. Kennickson caught Danny Ellis in possession, in the right-back position, and set off down the left. To a chorus of “come on, Kenny”, he whipped in a low cross, which former Tonbridge Angels ‘keeper Matt Bromby rather flapped at. Bromby could only palm the ball against the head of the fast-approaching George Fenwick; the ball could have gone anywhere, but spiralled just over the bar.

Two minutes later, Ian Ross launched an up & under high into the air. Full-back Matt Piper wimped out of making the header, instead making the mistake of letting the ball bounce. Three Names got up to beat him to the bouncing ball, with his head, and fed the ball in-field to George Fenwick. George tried a shot from well outside the area, but this was always going well over the bar, so was rather a wasted opportunity.

In the 24^th minute, the home side, playing in claret shirts and sockies, and light blue shorts, created a chance from a throw-in, on the left, about level with the Ashford 18-yard line. The throw found Ade Olorunda, in the Ashford area, with his back to goal, and closely marked by Barry Crawford. Olorunda managed to turn and shoot, but his shot went across the face of goal, and behind.

Tommy Adlington flew into a tackle, in the 26^th minute, with the same enthusiasm that earnt him a yellow card in the opening game against Kingstonian, but this time he collected the ball. He fed Joby, down the right, who then squared the ball to Richard Sinden, in front of goal; Sinders took rather too long to get his feet organised, and Bromby was able to come out and smother his shot.

A minute later, Hastings had a corner, after Simon Overland had made a diving save to stop a low shot from Lee Carey, and this was the start of a brief period of pressure from the home side. The corner was taken by Russell Eldridge, who scored both of Hastings’s goals against Croydon Athletic on Saturday, and he sent a dangerous cross into the Ashford six-yard box. The ball just glanced of a Hastings head, and went through the area, for a goal-kick, but the quality of the home side’s crossing was a threat throughout the game, and the Ashford defence never convincingly cleared the ball from our own goalmouth.

Hastings had another corner, in the 30^th minute, but this resulted in a break-away for the visitors. With a promising two-v-two situation, Joby Thorogood held the ball up, on the right, waiting for George Fenwick to get into the box – eventually, Joby’s cross was hoofed away to safety by Adam Mountford. In the 32^nd minute, Hastings had a free-kick on the edge of the Ashford area, after Gary Clarke had fouled Danny Ellis. This was another elaborate, choreographed routine, but it ended with Russell Eldridge scuffing a shot well wide of goal. Three minutes later, the Ashford defence did well to defend an attack down the left, at the expense of another corner; the resulting cross, swung into a crowded penalty area, was well taken by Simon Overland.

In the 36^th minute, Joby Thorogood was again seen to good effect, winning the ball with a good tackle, and then launching a long ball into the Hastings penalty area, looking for George Fenwick, but George was unable to latch onto the pass. A few seconds later, however, Joby showed the more frustrating side of his game, when he showed more petulance after being penalised when tussling for the ball near the right corner flag; he was flirting with a second yellow card, but got away with a warning from the referee on this occasion.

Ashford had a flurry of half-chances towards the end of the first half. On 43 minutes, a good, long ball out of defence from Rossi’s left foot set George Fenwick off, chasing the ball into the penalty area. Sean Ray, a centre-half built like the proverbial brick construction, did some excellent work, though, and muscled young George out of it, cleanly and effectively. (George’s Dad might’ve been proud of that particular piece of defensive work). Sean Ray was later named as the home team’s Man of the Match. A minute later, a good Ashford move, which moved the ball from left to right, involving Kenny Jarrett-Elliott and Richard Sinden, found Joby Thorogood, on the right, but Joby’s shot was deflected wide for a corner.

The home side finished the half on the attack, and had a corner after Joby Thorogood had stabbed the ball behind, having come back to help the defence. (Joby’s pace and work-rate, which makes it more likely that he’ll get back to help the defence, is another compelling reason for playing him on the right of midfield). Yet another quality, in-swinging ball into the heart of the Ashford defence somehow eluded everybody, and went out for a goal-kick.

So a fairly even first half ended all square. Given the team’s poor start, what we look for is “little victories”, and little bricks with which to build, and it occurred to me that this was the first time that Ashford had not been behind at half-time this season.

The second half began poorly for the Sussex side, in the 48^th minute, when Ade Olorunda carelessly gave the ball to Kenny Three Names – Kenny sent a long ball into the far right corner, and George Fenwick did well to chase the ball down and keep it in play, near the flag. George’s cross found Simon Glover, who’s yet to make any real impact on a game this season, and had a fairly quiet game today, but Gloves’s header looped up and onto the roof of the net.

A minute later, Joby Thorogood, who had probably been Ashford’s best player up to this point, was involved in a clash of heads, which caused him to bleed like a stuck pig (as head injuries often do). Whilst John Cumberbatch struggled to stem the flow of blood, on the side of the pitch, Rossi launched a long free-kick into the Hastings box, looking, once again, for George Fenwick, but Sean Ray just got the top of his head to the ball first, and it went out for a corner, on the right. Rossi came across to take this, but it came to nothing.

With the royal Thorogood blood still flowing freely, Kenny Jarrett-Elliott was released down the left, in the 53^rd minute. Kenny held the ball up, took on a defender and then squared the ball to Richard Sinden, in plenty of time and space in the area. Sinders took a touch, and then slotted the ball under Matt Bromby, to put Ashford in front for the first time this season.

It looked like the precious lead had been short-lived, however, when Hastings had the ball in the back of the net, two minutes later. The ball was spread wide to Danny Ellis, on the right, and his cross found Russell Eldridge, on the other side of the area. Although Eldridge’s shot was rather mis-hit, Marc Whiteman was able to nod the ball into the net, but from an off-side position.

Whilst all this was going on, John Cumber was still trying to prevent our hero from bleeding to death, but he eventually ran out of fingers to put in the dyke, so it was left to Elaine, our intrepid Secretary, to hurtle around the speedway track, and take Joby off to hospital. There they glued the wound up, and he returned to the ground shortly after the final whistle. It was then actually very touching to see Elaine spit on her hanky and wipe some dried blood away from little Joby’s neck – a true moment of bonding between player and official.

Thorogood’s replacement was Jason Ward, the first of three substitutions that were made purely as a result of injuries. This is the first time I’ve seen Jason, and he looks a good player. He seemed very much at home from the moment he came on, and did some good work on the right.

By the hour mark, there were signs of increasing frustration among the Hastings faithful, with groans of exasperation at every fluffed cross and mis-placed pass. This was not for the want of trying, though, and, 15 minutes into the second half, Hastings had a corner, on the left. Lee Carey sent another testing cross into the six-yard box, which was headed behind for another corner. Carey again curled the ball into the danger area. This time the ball was cleared as far as Russell Eldridge, just outside the penalty area, whose optimistic shot went over the bar, over the stand behind the goal, out of the ground and into Elphinstone Road. It’s the sort of effort that gets signalled as a “six” by opposition supporters – there were merely more groans from the Hastings faithful.

This was the signal for Adam Mountford to be replaced by John Bradley, and the replacement soon had some defending to do, in the 61^st minute. A long clearance from the Ashford defence was flicked on by George Fenwick’s head, looking for Jason Ward and Richard Sinden, in the penalty area – this resulted in Ward shooting just across the face of goal.

Three minutes later, an excellent tackle from Barry Crawford initiated another Ashford attack; Barry sent Richard Sinden off down the right wing, but Sean Ray (is his nickname Ted ?) was there once again, coming across with the saving tackle. Tommy Ads went up to take the throw-in, and found himself stranded up-field once possession had been lost – we were missing Joby’s defensive qualities, as Hastings broke down the vacant right-back area, releasing Russell Eldridge down the left. Eldridge put in a good cross, which was well met by Matt Piper, whose header needed a brilliant save from Simon Overland.

In the 66^th minute, Kenny showed his increasing confidence when he tried a shot from all of 30 yards, which went just wide of the post. A minute later, Sean Ray put the ball behind for a corner, on the right. This was taken, left-footed, by Rossi, and Ray was again a commanding presence in the heart of the Hastings defence, putting the ball behind for a corner on the opposite side. This was taken by Jason Ward, looking for the head of Simon Glover, but it was again a Hastings head that cleared.

By this time, the gruelling early-season schedule was beginning to take its toll, and Barry Crawford, having been immense at the back, went down with cramp. This proved serious enough for him to be replaced by Stuart Playford, in the 72^nd minute, (shortly after Hastings had replaced Danny Ellis with Sam Adams, in the 70^th).

In the 75^th minute, the reformed Ashford defence had another corner to deal with, when Russell Eldridge swung a ball into the goalmouth. Simon Overland got two hands to it, but dropped it, and was probably grateful that Tom Adlington, who had himself been struggling with a shoulder problem throughout the game, was there to hoof the ball clear. Two minutes later, Stuart Playford lost possession on the half-way line. Dan Tanner, who had looked much happier in central defence than he has at full-back, came across to cover, but his lack of pace showed when he was a split second late with the tackle; this allowed Marc Whiteman to break with pace down the left, but Simon Glover saved the day with a covering tackle. Playford was in the thick of it again, in the 79^th minute, conceding a free-kick for a shove in the back. Eldridge’s resulting effort on goal, from a central position, about 30 yards out, curled comfortably over the bar.

In the 82^nd minute, a foul on Jason Ward gave Ashford a free-kick, on the right. Skipper Simon Glover took the kick short, to Jason, whose deep cross was looking for the head of Stuart Playford. The ball broke to Kenny Jarrett-Elliott, who had a chance to seal the points from ten yards out, but, for the second time this week-end, his shot rebounded back off the post. Kenny went down with an injury shortly after this, and was soon replaced by the only remaining fit substitute, Joff Thorogood, with four minutes of normal time remaining.

Still Hastings pressed for an equaliser, and to avoid a defeat that would surely relegate them to bottom place in the table, and had yet another corner, in the 87^th minute. Marc Whiteman contorted his body to direct a header towards goal, at close range, but his effort went over the bar. A minute later, a ball through in the inside-right channel saw Rossi beaten a little for pace, but Stuart Playford did well to come across to cover, putting the ball behind for a corner. Inevitably, the result was another testing cross, curling into the six-yard area, which Ade Olorunda glanced wide of the far post, from about ten yards out.

With George Fenwick intermittently going down with cramp, but with no more substitutes available, the referee called across to the benches that there were six minutes of injury time to be played – but the walking wounded held on. The task might have been made more difficult, however, when Simon Glover lunged in with a late, and ugly-looking, tackle in the 91^st minute; he became the second Ashford player to be shown a yellow card, but a red one wouldn’t have been totally out of the question. The resulting free-kick resulted in another dangerous cross, but Simon Overland did well to collect the ball cleanly.

The sight of Gloves and Sinders running down the clock by keeping the ball near the corner-flag, in the 93^rd minute, emphasised how important the three points were to the boys this afternoon, and eventually the referee’s whistle sounded like a symphony orchestra, as he blew for full-time. This was a good effort from the boys, with good performances all over the pitch – they showed real character to come back with this display, so soon after the mauling from Molesey.

The Hastings fans were left to fret over being bottom of the league, having lost their opening four games – (it could’ve been us !). I’m not sure if they were aware of the fact that Tommy Sampson’s Horsham YMCA had got off the mark today, with a 0-3 victory at Kingstonian – their main concern seemed to be that, if they can’t even beat Ashford, then ….. (And who can blame them for that ?). There might be more trouble for today’s friendly hosts next week, when they are at home in the FA Cup to Merstham, who currently lead the Sussex County League, having just missed out on promotion to our division last season. Ashford also have a home tie against Level 5 opposition, in the form of Bedfont Green, who are in the same division as Wembley, who gave us a 5-2 thrashing in the League Cup at about this time last year.

Man of the Match

(to go towards the Milton Keynes Bowl)

Kennickson Jarrett-Elliott