Stamford AFC 1 Ashford Town 3
From Your Milton Keynes Correspondent
In how many match reports this season
have I included some dismissive remark about relegation no longer being an
issue for us ? How many times have I
sounded the “All Clear” ? I don’t know,
and I can’t be bothered to check back; but I’ll tell you one thing – at no
point have I been more worried about the prospect of us going down than now.
It’s not so much the probability of the unthinkable happening (although that,
alone, is bad enough) – it’s more the enormity of the consequences should it
happen that’s getting to me.
Let’s
think about this. Thanks to the tremendous efforts of Tim Thorogood – as well
as Gary, Peter Mac, and all the other behind-the-scenes staff – over the past
year and a bit, this Club is in arguably the best position it’s ever been in,
and the future’s never looked brighter, or more secure. Financially solvent,
sponsorship at all levels down to U-16 level (!!) and a youth policy that is
already beginning to yield benefits, with some good young players coming
through. Everything in place for a genuine promotion push, either next season
or the season after. On the other hand, if things on the field carry on as they
are for the final three games of the season, the Club will find itself in the
Kent League, which will certainly be Ashford Town’s lowest-ever ebb. The
importance of the next couple of weeks ?
Doesn’t really need hyping, does it ?!
The
main problem is that it’s been a “funny old season” in the bottom half of the
Eastern Division this time (although I stopped laughing when I saw last
Saturday’s result, against Spalding !)
In most seasons, you can spot the relegation candidates long before
April, and the 44 points we have now would be plenty to guarantee safety.
Unfortunately, it looks like the bottom thirteen teams in the division are all
going to finish “mid-table”, but the rules say that two of us have to go !
It’s
been incredible the way in which teams in the bottom two have continued to
respond by winning games, so dragging themselves out of trouble – we’ve even
had to do it ourselves ! – and, with wins for Spalding, St. Leonards (twice)
and Tonbridge, in the last seven days, the trend looks like continuing. It’s a
bit like in the Tour de France, where cyclists travel in a peloton
– the riders take turns in dropping back to the rear of the group, and the idea
is for the last man each time to put on a spurt and go to the front. That seems
to have been happening all season.
Do
you want another analogy ? How about
“Musical Chairs” ? It seems that about a
dozen teams this season have been dancing around one another, taking turns at
stepping in and out of the relegation zone. The simple truth, my friends, is
that, when the music stops at about 4.45pm on the 27th of April,
there will be two football clubs with no chair to sit on. Plenty of points on
the board, certainly, but two of us will end up on the seat of our arse !
If
you want to go back to the lions and antelopes analogy used in my previous
report – as de Sade seems to have liked that one – it seems that we’re the only
member of the herd that hasn’t noticed that there’s a stampede on ! Our last two performances have been abject,
losing 4-0 away, and then 0-3 at home, and, by all accounts, there doesn’t seem
any evidence that the players not injured or unavailable are prepared to fight
for the Club’s life. With a run-in marginally more difficult than Ipswich
Town’s, and with the green & white bunny slowing to a standstill with its
Duracell removed, I’m working on the premise that we won’t get any more points
this season. It would be difficult to get a point at Stamford at the best of
times – Tommy Sampson will do us no favours with his Dartford side – and
Hastings away………. well, enough said !
The
trouble is, the “do nothing” approach, hoping that teams around us won’t pick
up enough points to overhaul us, looks like it won’t save us from being
relegated into oblivion. As things stand at the moment, with three matches
remaining, there are three teams three points behind us, then Corby trailing us
by four – the way the season has gone so far, it’s quite likely that we’ll see
at least three of those teams overtaking our current total. Simply put, we need
some more points, and, if our boys don’t show some spirit and start fighting
for some, we’ll be having more local derbies than usual next season !
Of
course, there’s always a more optimistic angle, if you’re that way inclined.
We’re still a good side. The Duracell’s back from injury. If Erith &
Belvedere can put out a below-strength side against St. Leonards, then maybe
Stamford will give a few young lads a run, and maybe they won’t be trying 100%,
now that they’ve nothing to play for. We’ve beaten Dartford before. In all
probability, Hastings will have wrapped up the title by the time we play them,
and, best of all, we’ve got the points in the bank, and our rivals still have
them to get. All of these observations are perfectly valid grounds for
optimism. I understand them. I can’t fault the logic that lies beneath them.
There’s still every chance that everything will be alright ……. so why can’t I
sleep ?!
It’s
Saturday. Match Day ! (You’ll gather
that I write the scene-setting and preamble bits on Friday evening). And no, I
didn’t sleep particularly well. (Thank you for asking). My wife, who was
actually on a plane on the morning of the match, (she took half an inch off the
back door), likes going to Stamford, as the ground is a cosy little place, with
plenty of shelter, and it’s a nice town for going mooching around the antique
shops.
So
we set off earlier than usual – around Bedford on the new by-pass, and up the
A1 – acutely aware that, if things turn out badly over the next couple of
weeks, it could be the last match we go to for at least 18 months. (Not many
Kent League matches are played in the Midlands and East Anglia). At about 1pm
we pass the Burnham team coach, on its way up to Spalding. Come on you Burnham
! Do us a little favour, if you can ! We arrive in Stamford at about 1.30pm, and
there’s time, in between antique shops, for haddock & chips twice (“I heard
you the first time”, said the girl who served me), before we head off to the
Newflame Stadium.
One
thing I’ve never noticed before about the pitch at Stamford is that it slopes
from corner flag to corner flag (though not as remarkably as Rothwell’s does),
and gentle ripples give the surface a corrugated look, which is quite common in
agricultural fields. The rest of the facility is reassuringly old-fashioned and
familiar. The main stand, with the red plastic seats in it, has quite a dinky
red & white striped fringe on the roof, and stands next to a snack bar,
(which, for some reason, is blue & white). On the opposite side is a
covered standing area – the little hatch there that serves tea and Bovril in
proper china mugs is probably why Stamford is one of the grounds that I most
enjoy visiting. For me, it just about sums up non-league football, at this
level.
But
we weren’t here on a social visit. This was serious stuff. The most burning question
was whether “The Daniels” would put out a weakened side on this occasion – my
hopes were dashed when their side was announced, and they’d decided to put out
all eleven players ! Worse than that,
the home side was, as far as I could tell, more or less at full strength – only
Dennis Rhule, who proved to be a handful for us in the corresponding fixture
last season, appeared to be missing. I didn’t much care for Stamford’s strip,
though – all red, but with white flashes under the arms – very reminiscent of
the strip worn by Scarborough when they beat us in the semi-finals of the FA
Trophy in 1973. We woz robbed ! That was
never a bloody penalty, and I haven’t forgotten.
There
were some familiar faces warming up for Ashford, though. Duracell Dave Hassett
was back, as expected, having come on for the second half against Spalding last
Saturday; Peter Mortley also took part in the pre-match kick-about, as did
Stuart White. The announcement of the team confirmed that these three were back
from injury or unavailability – the two most notable absentees were John Nolan
and the excellent Jay Westwood. So we had the familiar central defensive
partnership of Gibbs and Mortley back again. I always worry about having two
bald men in the centre of the defence – I fear that they might put their heads
together, and make a complete arse of it !
The
return of Peter Mortley meant that young Ollie Finch, who’s been drafted into
the first team at centre-half for the last couple of games, was relegated to
the bench. Similarly, with top-scorer Hassett back in the side, Simon Elliott
reverted to his right-sided midfield role. The most significant change, though,
was that Ian Ross was returned to the midfield, having deputised for Aaron
O’Leary at left-back for a while – this gave us a stronger presence in the
middle of the park. (I gather, from some of the comments on the Message Board,
that our recent problems have stemmed from us being over-run in midfield). Ross
impressed me a great deal in this position during the defeat away to Rugby, so
I was pleased to see him there, alongside Elliott, Sam Saunders and Jeff Ross.
Today’s left-back was a new name for me – Danny McWilliams, (I think) – with
Stuart White wearing the No.2 shirt.
Ashford
were also a man short on the bench, as Peter McRobert was conspicuous by his
absence – that left Tim Thorogood to play the role of sponge man and physio.
Chief cook and bottle washer, or what ?!
It was to be a very busy match for Tim, and he was in action as early as
the first minute, when Sam Saunders got a knock to the head.
The
salient point about the opening minutes, though, was that Stamford immediately
looked a good side, as I expected they might, judging by the results they’ve
had this season. Although they have no chance, mathematically, (a stupid
expression, that, but I can’t think of a better way of putting it), of
promotion this season, they immediately played with a good tempo. More
ominously, they played as if they meant it !
After
five minutes, the home side revealed their chief weapon, which they were to
employ ad nauseum throughout the match – they have this bean pole
centre-half, Darron Clyde, who must be 6’ 6”, if he’s an inch, and every
throw-in and free-kick was aimed at his head. I think Stamford were going on
the David Beckham Free-kick Principle : if you try something enough times, then
it must work on at least one occasion !
Fortunately for our boys, like the dirty black clouds that hovered over
the ground throughout the match, the obvious threat never actually materialised.
For this, the two bald men at the back, and John Whitehouse in goal, deserve
plenty of credit. On this first occasion that the long throw and flick-on
tactic was used, John rose well to tip the ball over the bar. The resulting
corner was headed clear by Peter Mortley, and, a minute later, when Whitehouse
came out for another corner and fumbled, Mortley was there again to hoof the
ball to safety.
The
home side definitely had the better of the early exchanges, and Ashford didn’t
have a worthwhile chance until the fifteenth minute. Stuart White took a
free-kick quickly, from about the half-way line, and found Jeff Ross in space
on the left. For the first, and only, time in the match, Rossy got into a
position to put in a dangerous cross, and found Simon Elliott in the box.
Unfortunately, Elliott could get neither power nor direction on the header, and
the ball looped up into the arms of Daniels ‘keeper Steve Corry.
After
18 minutes, the ball was going back in the other direction (as it did for most
of the match), when a Stamford free-kick was pumped into the Ashford area.
Predictably, it was Clyde who got his head to it, but the ball went straight up
in the air – showing great agility for a centre-half, the No. 5 swivelled and
hit a shot on the volley, which John Whitehouse did well to save, diving to his
left.
Four
minutes later, it was Ashford’s turn to go forward. Dave Hassett picked the
ball up on the right touchline, and dribbled the ball in-field, but it was
eventually something of a solo effort from Adrian Stone. The teenager made a
yard of space for himself, just outside the area, and got a shot in, which was
blocked; he picked up the rebound, and this time steered his shot into the
corner of the net. 1-0 to the boys, and what a tonic that was !
The
question now, of course, was whether the home side, in spite of their bright
start, could lift themselves to come back, having gone behind. There were
certainly doubters among the home supporters, judging by the calls of “the
season’s not over yet, Stamford !”, and similar.
By
the 25th minute, however, Stamford were back on the attack – again,
it was a long throw into the penalty area to the head of Clyde. This time he
nodded the ball on to Nick Ashby, but Ashby’s lobbed over-head kick was always
going harmlessly over the bar.
It’s
probably an injustice to Stamford to say that this tactic was the only threat
that they carried, as Kevin Ainslie looked a skilful left-winger, and their
twin black strikers, Ndekwe and Bailey, who had scored 32 goals between them
this season before this game, looked the part up front. Actually, it was
Richard Bailey who had The Reds’ best chance of the half, after 32 minutes. The
danger arose when Peter Mortley sliced a headed clearance (if that’s physically
possible !). Bailey was quick to latch onto the ball, jinked right to give
himself a clear shooting chance in the penalty-area, and, thankfully, for the
immediate future of our Club, blasted the ball over the bar. Whitehouse would
have had no chance if the shot had been on target – such is the thin line
between success and failure, eh ?
Stamford
continued to have the advantage, both territorially and in terms of possession,
but Ashford were content to sit on the precious lead – working the ball up and
down the touch-line for whole sequences of throw-ins, taking plenty of time
over injuries and goal-kicks etc.; at one point, John Whitehouse managed to
take almost five minutes to put his boot back on ! It wasn’t pretty, but it worked, and we went
in at half-time with the one goal lead intact.
During
the half-time interval, whilst enjoying my second mug of tea, I finally
discovered (courtesy of the match programme) why Stamford AFC is called “The
Daniels”. (And as a special treat, I’ll tell you). Apparently, they’re named
after Daniel Lambert, who is famous for having been one of the heaviest men in
history. He died in Stamford in 1807, when he weighed 52 st. 11 Ib, and they
eventually managed to bury him in the grounds of a church close to the ground.
No doubts about who ate all the pies in this part of the world !
Back
to the world of dreams, then, and the second half began rather as the first had
ended, with Ashford appearing determined to (quite rightly) smother the game.
However, there was no escaping the fact that Stamford still looked the better
side, and, on the 53 minute mark, they managed to manufacture another chance.
This time, Malcolm Ndekwe, the taller of the two strikers, linked up well with
his stockier strike partner, Bailey. The latter ran on to Ndekwe’s flicked
header, and was so well clear of the defence that all eyes turned to the
linesman – there was no off-side flag, but Bailey’s tame little lob went well
wide of the goal.
Three
minutes later they were back again; this time down the left flank, with No.11
Ainslie. The cross found Ndekwe in the centre, but his header looped over the
bar.
Not
only were Stamford getting closer to scoring, but they were also beginning to
play with the rhythm and tempo that they had shown at the start of the match. When
they got their deserved equaliser, on the hour mark, it was actually quite a
scrappy affair. When Richard Bailey chased a through-ball, John Whitehouse and
Peter Mortley seemed to have the situation well under control, but they seemed
to get in each other’s way and collide – anyway, the upshot was that Bailey was
able to slot the ball into the corner of an empty net.
It
was now a question of whether our lads could hang on to a valuable point, and,
with fully half an hour to play, I wasn’t too optimistic !
Five
minutes after the equaliser, Stamford, clearly given a lift by the goal, once
again attacked down the left. Ainslie cut the ball inside to Matthew Green –
Green played a one-two with Bailey on the edge of the Ashford area, but his low
shot was well saved by John Whitehouse. Good job, too ! It would’ve been a real pisser to have
conceded a goal to a man named “Green” !
Two
minutes later, with 67 minutes on the clock, Whitehouse was called upon once
again, when Bailey found Ndekwe, unmarked on the right side of the area – the
‘keeper did well again, diving low to save Ndekwe’s shot.
After
69 minutes, we made our first substitution – Steve Smith coming on for Jeff
Ross. Jeff hadn’t been much of an attacking threat during the match, but had
done a solid job in midfield, tackling well, which is probably an
under-estimated facet of his game. The reshuffle meant that Simon Elliott moved
to the left side of midfield, with Smithy tucking in on the right, maintaining
the 4-4-2 shape.
A
minute later, I was seriously apprehensive – Stamford had a free-kick in a
dangerous position just outside the penalty-area. For once, the big No.5 didn’t
lope into the danger zone, but full-back Warren Donald was poised over the
ball. Donald is a typical full-back – short, stocky and ugly – and I just knew
that he’d have a shot on him like Peter Lorrimer. (Younger visitors to the site
will have to ask their Dad !). Strangely, though, he floated the ball over the
wall, but straight into the hands of John Whitehouse. I breathed a sigh of
relief, and carried on checking my watch every ten seconds, just as I had been
doing ever since the Stamford equaliser !
The
home side continued to apply the pressure, but, after 82 minutes, Ashford broke
out of the concentration camp that was their half of the field, and Ian Gibbs
went in hard for a 50-50 ball – with what could prove to be one of the most
important tackles in the Club’s history, Gibbs won the ball, enabling Ian Ross
to sweep the ball forward to Dave Hassett. The Orange Man had big Darron Clyde
tight behind him. He turned, and broke Clyde’s tackle, leaving the centre-half
in a heap on the ground, and himself with only the goal-keeper to beat. Corry
came out of his goal; Hassett calmly poked the ball past him, and it more or
less trickled, agonisingly for Stamford, into the net. 2-1, and a priceless
lead had been restored.
That
cracking tackle was to be Gibbs’ last act of the match, as he obviously must
have hurt himself in the process, and was almost immediately replaced by young
Ollie Finch, in a like-for-like swap.
It
was not over yet, though, as the home side continued to search for the
equaliser – Ashford also reverted to type, trying to take the heat and rhythm
out of the game at every opportunity. With 88 minutes on the watch, but with
the certainty of plenty of stoppage time, Stamford once again had a free-kick a
little way outside the Ashford area. Again is was Warren Donald who was the
taker, and this time the cross was floated in, searching for the head of Clyde;
it was Peter Mortley who got the vital touch, and the ball slid off his head
for a corner. The corner, on the left, was curled in to the near post, and John
Whitehouse somehow managed to scramble the ball behind for another corner.
After a short interlude, during which the referee (also bald) sorted out a bit
of argie-bargie in Ashford’s six-yard box, the ball was again curled into the
danger area. This time the goalmouth scramble seemed to involve the whole of
the Ashford defence, but somehow (who cares how ?!) the ball was booted clear.
The clearance found Adrian Stone just inside his own half, and the break was on
! Dave Hassett was screaming for the
ball in the centre-circle, and all young Adrian had to do was to hear the
screams, and pass the ball anywhere into the Stamford half – this he did
unerringly, and Hassett was once again in with a one-on-one with the goalie.
Same
result ! Corry comes out of his goal,
and David guides the ball into the back of the net !
The
Duracell’s back ! Two clear chances –
two goals ! Is this boy a natural-born
goal scorer, or what ?! Never mind
Beckham’s foot – what about Hassett’s eleven inches ?! What a star !
John
Whitehouse actually ran the length of the field, just to give The Orange Man a
kiss !
So
that was that. There you have it. A bit of a steal by our lads, but the away
team’s allowed to do that.
It
wasn’t the end of the match – there was actually eight minutes of injury time –
but the three points were safe. After seven minutes of added time, Tim Thorogood
actually complained to the ref that it really was about time that he blew up
for full-time. “I’m enjoying it”, laughed the referee; and, by this time, so
were we !
A
proper sigh of relief was still a little premature, though, as it was possible
– almost a near-certainty, given the way things have gone this season – that
all of our relegation rivals might also have won ! This fear was scotched, however, when I
returned home to see the other results, on Ceefax page 399 : Wisbech lost
(thank you, Burnham !), St. Leonards lost, Corby lost, Sittingbourne lost and
Spalding only drew. In fact, only Ashford Town and Tonbridge Angels, of the
teams in danger of relegation, actually won today.
So
I think I really can sound the “All Clear” now – Corby can’t catch us now, and
Wisbech will only draw level with us if they win their last two games (against
Hastings and Dartford !). What a turn-around from this morning !
I’m
actually reminded of the closing scene from an episode of “Dad’s Army” that I
watched on UK Gold during the week, when Pte Fraser calls out after Capt.
Mainwaring,
“I
never doubted that you could do it, Sir !
I never doubted you for one minute !”.
See
you next season !
No comments:
Post a Comment