ARCHIVE: Histon v Ashford Town. Doc Martens League Division 1 East. April 2004.

Histon     0       Ashford Town      2

From Your Milton Keynes Correspondent

Yet again, the end of the season can’t come quickly enough for Ashford Town – and this a season for which The Management set its stall out to make sure of at least a top-seven finish, and a place in the Premier Division after the summer’s pyramid restructuring. Well, we seem nailed on to finish between 11^th and 14^th, for the fourth successive season, and the virtual certainty of playing at a lower level next year means that Tim Thorogood can’t even build a team for the coming campaign, as there’s no way of knowing which of the current squad will still be with us. To be honest, it’s all starting to look a little ragged now. There’s been a succession of injuries and departures all season, and several of the senior players who remain appear to be less than fully fit.

Just a question of fulfilling the fixtures, then, and today was certainly all about Histon – with the home side still in with every chance of the title, Ashford were really not much more than the “spoilers”; the “straight men”; the token opponents, such as those that used to be wheeled out for the benefit of the Harlem Globetrotters. It’s been another excellent season for The Stutes, who have been there or thereabouts every season since being elected to the Doc Martens League in 2000 as champions of the Eastern League. They made it to the First Round Proper of the FA Cup, to the Third Round of the FA Trophy, and on the morning of the match were four points behind leaders Tonbridge, with two games in hand.

It’s yet another ground that I will miss travelling to, now that there is to be this separation between the South and the Midlands at this level. Histon is actually the closest venue in the division for us – even with a hold-up for an accident on the A429, the journey to The Bridge still only took 50 minutes. The ground is not much more than a decent Kent League ground, with most spectators huddling up in one fairly small stand above the dressing-rooms. That’s not to say that there aren’t ambitions for growth, though, as a covered area of terracing, consisting of metal steps, behind one goal has been added since my previous visit to Histon, and there is also a concrete base in place for both a similar facility at the other end, and for some accommodation on the half-way line opposite the current stand. The Club is clearly ambitious, and is gearing up for Premier Division football next season. The playing surface looked pretty good – nice and even, with a few bare patches, but that’s only to be expected at this stage in the season.

The team news was that Simon Glover, on loan from Dover until the end of the season, had been recalled to his contracted club – this was not unexpected, since he had been drafted in to play for Dover in mid-week – but recent signing Danny Lye was playing, in advance of a four-day suspension for his sending off against Corby. There was no Lewis Phillips, so that gave Tom Evans the opportunity to start his first game, on the left side of midfield. Skipper Joe Wade partnered Danny Lye in the centre of midfield, with Rob Gillman and Matt Bower in central defence, but then it was all fairly flexible: Martin Anderson wore the No.2 shirt, with Barry Gardner No.7, but for long periods Our Mart’n played in midfield, just in front of the back four; at other times he slotted into a back three, with Barry operating at right-back, but pushing forward whenever possible. Joby Thorogood and Simon Elliott renewed their strike partnership – Simon Glover having been played up front for the previous three games. The one pleasant surprise was that John Whitehouse was back in goal, with Rob O’Hara nowhere to be seen (which implies no disrespect to Rob) – I can offer no intelligence as to the reason for this.

The weather forecast was for rain, but that never materialised, but the forecasters were right about the strong breeze, and Ashford played with this breeze behind them in the first half. Tom Evans had an early touch of the ball, as he came across to take a corner on the right, won by Barry Gardner, in the first minute. Unfortunately, he fluffed this completely, putting the ball straight into the side netting, but things improved for him from there !  Although he wasn’t particularly prominent today, he did enough to show that he has skill and pace out on the left, and looks a useful acquisition.

The play was fairly scrappy for the first ten minutes or so, with neither team putting much together. The home team, playing in their AC Milan red & black stripes, with black shorts and socks, had the first recognisable chance, after seven minutes, with left-winger Jamie Barker getting to the by-line in the Ashford area. Barker’s chipped cross was cleanly caught by John Whitehouse at the near post – handling which drew some appreciative murmurs from the crowd in the stand.

A minute later, Simon Elliott and Joby Thorogood showed some good understanding, as Simon stepped over a through-ball just outside the Histon area – the dummy enabled Joby to run onto the ball with only the goalkeeper to beat, and he comfortably stabbed it into the net. A complete surprise, then, for the title-chasing home team – and I was quite pleased to have seen our season’s top scorer score for the first time.

This new-found telepathy was in evidence once again in the eleventh minute, with Joby dribbling the ball into the area from the left. He passed the ball in to Simon, who threaded a return pass through, but Joby was caught just offside.

Soon, however, the home side found their rhythm, and started to exert the pressure that was to become a feature of most of the remainder of the game – it was Histon playing the flowing football, and it looked ominously to be just a matter of time before Ashford’s goal would be cancelled out. In a 15 to 20 minute period in the middle of the first half, they looked sure to create an opening, with Barker looking dangerous on the left. There were three free-kicks, just outside the Ashford penalty area, in quick succession during this period, but all of these were dealt with.

It was also around about this time that Joe Wade seemed to have a mad ten minutes or so. In the 23^rd minute, he got himself a yellow card for a late tackle, and then just three minutes later he left his foot in after a tackle, right in front of the referee. The second of these challenges was quite “bookable”, but the referee – who had a very good game – showed leniency, and gave Joe a lengthy monologue which had “final warning” written all over it !

On about the half-hour mark, Histon’s effort appeared to flatten out a little, and the game went into scrappy mode again. Ashford were unable to put any sort of move together, but their keen tackling ensured that the home side – in front of a crowd of 247, their 5^th-highest league gate of the season – weren’t able to either. (I’m not sure if Danny Lye gave the ball away any more often than any other player in a green shirt, but he showed a talent for misplacing a pass by up to 30 yards when he did so !).

Histon’s first real chance came in the 39^th minute, and it was a wonderful bit of skill. The ball was spread wide to Jamie Barker, on the left, and he connected sweetly with a high-bouncing ball, only to see his shot cannon off the far post. Matt Lawrence was there for the follow-up, but his chipped shot went well over the bar. This was the cue for a strong finish to the first half by the home side, and they had a free-kick near the corner-flag after a foul by Matt Bower. This was quickly taken, and a pull-back from the by-line found No.9 James Rowe in plenty of space about ten yards out, but he somehow managed to side-foot the ball over the bar. This was a bad miss.

The pressure continued, and two minutes later Jamie Barker got the wrong side of Barry Gardner at right-back – Our Mart’n was playing as the holding midfield player at this point – and Barker’s dangerous cross was cut out by Rob Gillman. The resulting corner was cleared, but another Histon corner, a minute later, was taken short, and the ball was pulled back to Adie Cambridge – his measured, curling shot curled just outside the far post, to ensure that Histon’s frustration continued until the break. Just half a job done, then, but it was gratifying to see the lads win half a game against this opposition !

Half-time, and the ritual queuing for our chips and coffee. (There was something about the chips, with plenty of salt and vinegar, that reminded me of the old days, and popping into Hanson’s Fish & Chip Shop in Hythe Road, on the way home from Essella Park – is Hanson’s still there ?!).

As an aside, there was something of a sub-plot during the game, as today was Grand National day, and there was the annual game of trying to avoid finding out the result before watching it on the video at home in the evening – echoes of Terry and Bob in the famous episode of ”The Likely Lads”. I’m afraid I failed miserably. Thinking that the weather might turn nasty in the second half, we decided to take shelter in the stand, but elected to sit behind the only bloke in the ground who was watching the race on a miniature telly. Resisting the temptation to look over his shoulder at the little screen, I was foiled after about ten minutes of the second half, when a gaggle of punters poured out of the bar, bleating the result. In case there was anyone else in the ground who had recorded the race, the result was announced in strident tones over the tannoy. (If the PA announcer had been just as keen in announcing the later substitutions, then I’d be more confident of the accuracy of this report !). In order to enhance readers’ confidence in the quality of Your Milton Keynes Correspondent’s judgement, I should report that he managed to back the First and Second.

Back to the footy, and it must be said that it was all Histon in the second half – it wasn’t quite on the scale of the Orcs’ assault on Helm’s Deep, but Ashford needed to be heroic in defence. The Stutes had a corner as early as the third minute of the half, and the cross was met by their big, blond centre-half, Colin Vowden, at the far post, but he headed just over. A minute later, a long kick-out from ‘keeper Paul Barber caused a hairy moment for the Ashford defence – the ball was allowed to bounce right through the centre, and James Rowe found himself clear, with just John Whitehouse to beat. All he had to do was to lift the ball over the Ashford goalie, but he didn’t get anything like the necessary elevation, and John caught the ball neatly in two hands.

Histon came close again, with a corner, in the 51^st minute, and then a minute later Rowe beat Rob Gillman, to get to the by-line – it had been a good contest between these two throughout the game !  On this occasion, though, the cross was intercepted by Aaron O’Leary, who headed clear.

All the Histon pressure was to no avail, and Manager Steve Fallon, with a title at stake, was in no mood to show endless patience – after an hour, he replaced his two strikers with crowd favourite Peter Munns and Neil Kennedy. Munns was in action almost straight away, as he collected a through-ball in the 62^nd minute – he laid it off, to give Barker a good shooting chance, but the No.11’s poor shot went well over. (In fact, Histon’s shots went over the bar more often than Stuart White’s elbow !).

The home side continued to press, showing great urgency to quickly take every throw-in and free-kick, and Martin Anderson increasingly found himself alongside Matt Bower and Rob Gillman in the centre of a back-five. In the 66^th minute, goal-keeper Barber used the strong breeze to good effect, causing another close shave with a long, bouncing ball into the Ashford area. Martin dealt with this well (ultimately), with a header back to John Whitehouse, but it could have been an embarrassing disaster, with John taking the ball just under his cross-bar.

Our Mart’n was in action once again, a minute later, following yet another Histon corner. He made a saving tackle on the edge of the area, beat another player, and then set Joby off on a break down the right. Unfortunately, his cross was intercepted, and put behind for a corner. Four minutes later, Tom Evans caught his marker in possession, and carried the ball down the left wing. He found Joby in the area, who twisted and turned and eventually hit the deck, but there was nothin’ doin’ for the penalty. (Histon’s Matthew Haniver received a yellow card immediately after this incident, but I couldn’t see what for – maybe it was for something he said).

These were rare trips into the home team’s half of the field, though, and the assault on Ashford’s goal continued. Munns had a long-range shot just wide in the 73^rd minute, and there was a mad scramble in the 75^th, resulting in Neil Kennedy having a weak shot, straight at John Whitehouse. At this point, even Tim Thorogood was holding his head, along with many of the Histon players and fans.

On 76 minutes, Fallon made his final change, throwing on Ossie Mintus – Ossie’s first touch came two minutes later, when he did a “Chris Waddle”, and fell over the ball. With just ten minutes to go, the Ashford Manager made his first substitution, replacing his son, Joby, with Mike Azzopardi. Thorogood Jnr received generous applause from the Ashford faithful, and this was more than justified. Apart from the defence, Joby is the one who really deserves to be mentioned in dispatches – he’s improving all the time, and is really starting to look the part. The initial thought was that Tim was replacing a striker with a midfielder, to protect the one-goal lead, but this wasn’t the case – Azzopardi joined Simon Elliott up front, in a one-for-one swap.

There was time for Peter Munns to have two more attempts at goal – a shot straight at John W, and a headed effort over the bar from a cross from the right – before Tom Adlington replaced Danny Lye in central midfield, in the 82^nd minute. This was Ashford’s final substitution, leaving Danny Barham as the unused sub.

After 84 minutes, with time running out for them, the home side had a corner on the right. Martin Anderson got his head to the ball in a crowded goal-mouth, to clear, but the ball was swung back in, only for Peter Munns to loop a header well over.

Four minutes later, Ashford killed the game off with a second goal, and, inevitably, it came from a defensive position. Yet another long, wind-assisted clearance from Barber glanced off Barry Gardner’s head for a corner on the left. Jamie Barker couldn’t direct his header at the far past, from the resulting deep cross, and a break was on. Simon Elliott spread the ball out to Azzopardi, on the right. Azza cut inside, and it looked like he might shape up for a left-footed shot from just outside the area. Instead, he slotted the ball through to Elliott, who was making a diagonal run, and Simon slotted the ball inside the far post. “The misery-gutses on the Message Board will never believe this result !”, I thought.

This was a real killer for Histon, and the scoreline could’ve become even more ridiculous with 90 minutes on the watch. Simon Elliott led another break, this time on the left, and tried to find Azzopardi in the centre, but the ball just ran away from the late substitute.

The home side continued to attack, but there was a sense that the belief had now ebbed away. Their final chance came in the 91^st minute, with yet another corner being floated into a crowded penalty-area. Appropriately, the ball, coming off a Histon head, was safely caught by John Whitehouse, who was superb throughout, and displayed some classy, clean handling. Gillman, Bower and Anderson were also immense at the back, but the whole team competed well, all over the park. Amazingly, this was only our sixth clean sheet in the league this season, and this against a team that had scored 21 goals in their eight previous league games.

Anyone determined to be miserable, might point out that Ashford’s passing was probably not much better than it has been reported to be for much of the season, and that we only created two chances during the game. Against that you could certainly say that we played the classic away-team game, of getting a goal early on, defending like mad and then nicking a second goal on the break to wrap things up. There was no question of the victory being “lucky” in any way, and both goals were well constructed, in open play – almost Arsenal-like, in fact – and well taken. My own view is that the lads deserved to quarry out a victory against a team that was quite a bit better than us. The three points are the reward for a great team effort, and let’s hope that it gives the whole squad a lift for the remainder of what’s been a difficult and disappointing season.

The final leg of Your Milton Keynes Correspondent’s farewell tour of the Midlands continues in a fortnight’s time, in Stamford.