ARCHIVE: Tonbridge Angels v Ashford Town. Ryman League Division 1 South. September 2005.

Tonbridge Angels     3       Ashford Town   1

from Your Milton Keynes Correspondent

After two successive cup games – which we lost by an aggregate of 8-2 – it was back to business again today, with the lads looking for their first league points of the season. As we’d all feared, it hasn’t been a great start to the new campaign – but we’re not alone. Has anybody noticed that we’ve made an almost identical start to that of Everton – we’ve both lost six games out of seven, we’re out of two cups, and we both conceded five goals in one of those cup exits. Another thing both clubs had in common this morning was that things didn’t look like becoming much brighter in the immediate future – whilst Everton have to go to Highbury to face Arsenal on Monday, Ashford Town today faced the prospect of taking on Tonbridge Angels at Longmead Stadium. You could argue that our boys had the tougher task since, with Arsenal struggling to hit their stride this year, Tonbridge have made a great start in their bid to bounce straight back to the Ryman Premier Division, being unbeaten in eight games in all competitions to date (six wins and two draws), including seeing off Hastings in the FA Cup on Tuesday.

What makes things more difficult is that we still don’t have a settled side, with several players missing today. This was to be the start of bans for Tom Adlington (one game) and Joby Thorogood (two games), after their sendings off against the Isle of Wight. We also knew that we would still be without Club Captain Marc Cumberbatch and Eddie Achoko, who are still in Spain acting as body doubles in a TV advert for Thierry Henry and Patrick Vieira, respectively. The absence of Cumberbatch Jnr is the biggest loss, given that we’ve at least looked solid at the back with him in central defence for the first five games. There are some cynics among the Ashford faithful who’d claim that impersonating a footballer is something that Eddie does all the time, and that it shouldn’t harm our chances too much, but I actually think that he’s looked a much improved player this season.

With this being my first visit to Tonbridge, the location of the stadium came as something of a surprise to me. It’s actually situated within a large municipal park, along with a bowling green, and birds, and squirrels, and trees and fings. At least the car parking here is good. The stadium itself has a strangely makeshift feel about it. Whilst the main, blue-roofed stand is large, it has relatively few seats, and these are clustered around the half-way line. The stands behind each of the goals are standing-room only, and the only other seating at the ground is provided by a small Press and Directors Box, situated half-way into one half of the pitch, and this must seat about 20. On the open side of the ground, behind the dug-outs, there is a broad lawn in front of the club bar. Not quite what I expected of a stadium that would probably expect to accommodate an average home crowd of around 400 or more.

We arrived at the ground to learn that there were more absences and changes than we had expected. It would appear that goal-keeper Jani Seitsonen and right-sided midfielder John-Paull Collier have now left the Club. That means that reserve ‘keeper Sean Glover made his debut – and is now, presumably, our No.1 No.1. In fact, there were just two survivors from the back five that had previously given Ashford an uncharacteristically solid look at the back in the first five games of the season. These were Kennickson Jarrett-Elliott, who only lasted for 45 minutes, before being substituted at half time, and Lynval Duncan, who, with Cumberbatch Jnr, Ian Ross and Tommy Ad all missing from the starting line-up, became the fourth man to wear the captain’s armband this season.

The new boys at the back were Gary Croxton and Denver Birmingham. Croxton, a centre-half, is a big, strong lad, who had a good presence in the air, in spite of not being foot-perfect this afternoon. He apparently impressed in pre-season matches, and several Ashford fans have been calling for his inclusion in the side. Denver Birmingham is named after two cities, which I think is a record for an Ashford player. I remember players being named after one city – such as Steve Coventry and Byron Glasgow – but never two. Denver is very much a new addition to the squad, and all we knew about him is that his previous clubs are Orient, Cambridge United, Exeter City, Crawley, St Albans and (last season) Margate. That’s enough to put him head and shoulders above anything else we have in terms of pedigree !  His mini-biography also states that he’s a midfielder, and it was patently obvious this afternoon that he’s not a right-back. He was slow, and didn’t look particularly fit, but, as you might expect for a player with his experience, he seemed plenty skillful enough, and it’ll be interesting to see what he has to offer when he’s played in his proper position.

As Tim Thorogood promised in a web-site interview during the week, Ashford reverted to 4-4-2, after disastrous flirtations with different formations in the cup games, and the midfield was entrusted to four talented youngsters: Sol Henry on the left, Terry McCann and Gary Clarke in the centre, and Richard “RJ” Boorman, shifted out to the right side of midfield, having impressed so far with his performances in the centre. With Joby suspended, there was the opportunity of a first start for Steve Humphrey up front, and, with Shaun Bradshaw back from injury alongside him, we at last had a forward-line with a bit of size and presence. It was Humphrey who was the biggest revelation of all – he won things in the air, showed the sort of strength in holding the ball up that we haven’t had since Paul Jones left, and he showed signs of linking up well with Shaun Bradshaw. Standing several inches taller than Paul Jones, he transformed the side during the 52 minutes that he was on the pitch, and could well be the ideal partner for Joby when The Hobbit returns.

There were also some new names on the bench in the form of Darren Raymond and Bradley Woods – both strikers. The other substitutes were Ian Ross, who missed the cup defeat at home to Windsor & Eton, Anthony Pace and Ray Riseley, the goal-keeping coach who played in goal in the debacle at Wembley. To complete the roll-call, I’m pleased to report that Joby, Joffy, Tommy Ad and Mark Banks were all present to cheer on their team-mates – however deep the gloom among some sections of the Club’s supporters, all these lads sounded up-beat and confident that together they’d get things right and start to get some better results.

In spite of these positive vibes, the opening minutes were, unsurprisingly, characterised by pressure from Tonbridge, who started the game in third place in the table. Player-Manager Tony Dolby had obviously sussed out that one thing that we lacked today was pace in the back line, (and, judging by one or two remarks that I overheard from the home bench, they thought that they had identified Kenny Jarrett-Elliott as a potential weak link), because the main Tonbridge tactic for the whole of the first half was to release long, first-time balls from defence. The first evidence of this siege gun attack came as early as the third minute. On this occasion, Gary Croxton failed to win an important header, and the ball fell to Ray Powell, but the No.11 lobbed the ball well over the bar, and over the South Stand behind the goal. Three minutes later, Dolby tried a shot from just outside the area, but straight at Sean Glover – the ‘keeper caught this shot cleanly, so this was a good confidence booster for Sean, on his debut.

The first attack from the visitors, playing in all yellow, in contrast to the home side’s all blue, came in the ninth minute, and this was the first sign that our attack had some teeth. Denver Birmingham put Steve Humphrey through in the inside-right channel – Humphrey showed that he had the confidence and aggression to attack the penalty area, but his shot was blocked by John Beales.

In the 12^th minute, Kenny Three-Names slid into a tackle and won the ball – but, unfortunately, scythed the man down first, so a free-kick was awarded. Centre-forward Leroy Huggins managed to get his head to the resulting cross, but nodded the ball wide of goal. A minute later, there was more danger, with a corner taken by Tony Dolby – again, it was a Tonbridge player who was first to the ball, but the header went just over the bar.

In the 14^th minute, we were in Dreamland, as Ashford took the lead. Terry McCann, whose tackling was inspirational throughout the match, squared the ball to Richard Boorman. RJ – or “Arj”, for short – chipped the ball through for Steve Humphrey to run on to. Humphrey was there before ‘keeper Jerome John, lifted the ball over the advancing goalie and then watched it bounce into the empty net.

Having taken the lead, the visitors enjoyed at least an equal share of the first half, but there were plenty of incidents at both ends. Two minutes after opening the scoring, Humphrey pressurised John Beales into conceding a corner. The was taken by Kenny J-E, on the right, floating the ball to the far post. Gary Croxton got up well to beat his marker, headed the ball powerfully downwards, but wide of the post.

In the 18^th minute, the ball was back at the other end – hoofed there as a result of a long clearance from the Tonbridge defence – and Huggins easily outpaced the Ashford defence to gain possession. He held the ball up in the area, but Gary Croxton, tracking back, put the ball behind for a corner. There was a bit of a scramble in and around the Ashford area, from the resulting cross, which ended with Ian Parkes shooting over the bar. (Parkes was wearing the No.8 shirt previously worn by former Ashford midfielder Danny Lye, who did not take part today).

After 20 minutes, Shaun Bradshaw and Steve Humphrey combined well, with Humphrey lobbing a through-ball for Shaun to chase down the right flank. Shaun managed to get a cross in to the far post, but Humphrey, steaming forward for the return, was unable to get the vital touch.

A minute later, and the end-to-end exchanges continued – Ray Powell latched onto yet another long ball launched from deep inside the Tonbridge half. Although the home side wasn’t exactly blinding us with science, the ploy again worked perfectly, but Powell wasted the opportunity, his effort being neither a cross nor a shot.

In the 24^th minute, there were screams from the Angels bench for a penalty, as Lynval Duncan’s foot was high, and he appeared to catch Leroy Huggins in the face – however, the referee saw nothing wrong with the challenge, and Lynval’s claim was that it was actually the ball that had caught Huggins in the face, and not his boot. Two minutes later, and it was long ball time again – on this occasion it was Denver Birmingham’s lack of pace that was cruelly exposed, with Leroy Huggins sprinting clear of him and running onto the ball down the left. Huggins’ cross was deep, to the far post, where Ray Powell was there to nod the ball back into the centre – but there was no blue shirt there, and the ball was cleared.

In the 29^th minute, Steve Humphrey again showed good strength to hold the ball up, and released Shaun Bradshaw down the right. Sensibly, Shaun waited for support, and eventually squared the ball to Terry McCann. Whilst you have to praise the midfielder for getting there in support of the strikers, it should also be said that McCann’s shot probably missed by as far as it’s possible to miss, sailing miles over the bar. There are times when Terry looks like a young Matt Bower, but he needs to work on the more creative aspects of his game ……. and his finishing.

Thirty-three minutes gone, and Lee Carey spread the ball wide to Leroy Huggins, on the left – the home side trying to go around our defence for once, instead of over the top. There were palpitations as Sean Glover failed to come for Huggins’ low cross across the face of goal, but the ball went out for a slightly fortunate goal-kick. A minute later, Tonbridge had a free-kick in a dangerous position, near the by-line, but Gary Croxton was there to head clear. The ball was soon at the other end, with Sol Henry, who showed few signs of his usual pace this afternoon; on this occasion, Solly’s long and patient dribble down the left wing resulted in a corner. RJ Boorman went all the way over to the left to take the corner, and crossed the ball deep to the far post, looking for Steve Humphrey, but Humphrey could do no more than bundle the ball over the line for a goal-kick.

As half-time approached, with Sean Glover not having been seriously troubled in the Ashford goal, Tonbridge began to show a few signs of frustration – a few passes were going astray, and there were some murmurs of disappointment from the 383-strong crowd. The equaliser almost came in the 40^th minute, though, after a misplaced pass from Boorman, which went backwards, rather than forwards. Leroy Huggins did well to capitalise on this, and, after some good work in the Ashford penalty area, forced Sean Glover into making a good save, and the rebound was put behind by the Ashford defence for a corner. John Beales rose to meet the resulting cross, but headed over the bar.

A minute later, the visitors had a golden opportunity to take a 2-0 lead. A long clearance from Glover was flicked on by Shaun Bradshaw’s head, and this put Steve Humphrey clean through with a one-on-one with the Tonbridge ‘keeper. You have to say that Jerome John did extremely well to dive at Humphrey’s feet, and come up with the ball.

As so often happens, “almost 2-0” very soon became 1-1. In just another two minutes, in fact – and it came as a result of the home side getting the ball down onto the grass and knocking it around for the first time in the match !  After a good passing movement, it was Ray “Razor” Powell who shot the ball into the corner of the net.

As well as Ashford had played in the first half, they now rather fell apart for a few minutes, and the half-time whistle couldn’t come soon enough. Tonbridge reverted to Plan A, and lofted a long ball into the Ashford half. Lynval Duncan, who had his dodgiest game to date, at the back, missed an important header. This put Leroy Huggins clean through on goal – Glover came sprinting out of his goal, and somehow managed to save with his knees. A minute later, on the stroke of half time, Tonbridge had another corner, which ended with Lee Carey shooting over the bar.

So the lads went in all square, having contributed a great deal to an entertaining half, but there was always the feeling that an obviously talented Tonbridge side would click up a gear or two in the second half.

Ashford made what I would guess was an enforced change at half time – Ian Ross came out for the second half as a replacement at left-back for Kennickson Jarrett-Elliott. Whilst it was a relief to have a much shorter name to write down, it was slightly worrying to see yet another Ashford player playing out of position, especially given Rossi’s relative lack of pace these days. In the event, though, he did a pretty sound job, and he provided a different mode of attack, spraying cultured balls forward from the left side of the defence.

After a strangely low-key start to the half by both sides, things sprang into life in the 49^th minute when Sol Henry caught Tonbridge right-back Darren Smith in possession, but was unable to put Shaun Bradshaw in on goal. Three minutes later, Sol picked the ball up again after a Tonbridge attack broke down, and was fouled as he cut infield. It was whilst Sol was being treated that Steve Humphrey limped off, to be replaced by Darren Raymond – a Sinama-Pongolle lookalike, who looked useful, in spite of not managing an attempt on goal.

With 18 year-old Richard Boorman once again impressing, and looking much more mature than his years might suggest, Gary Clarke was having a disappointingly quiet game. His only notable contributions came in the 54^th and 57^th minutes, first hitting a weak shot straight at the ‘keeper, and then lungeing in with a late tackle on Darren Smith which earnt him a yellow card.

Ashford were continuing to hold the home side after an hour’s play, when Sean Glover threw the ball out to Sol Henry. Sol went on another long dribble down the left, without really threatening to leave defenders for dead, but he did manage to pass the ball infield to Shaun Bradshaw, on the edge of the Tonbridge penalty area. Shaun shot on the turn, but his effort was wide.

In the 62^nd minute, Tonbridge made the first of their three substitutions, Warren Haughton replacing the hard-working Leroy Huggins. Two minutes later, they were in front. Again, it was a well-crafted and well-taken goal. A sequence of quick interchanges on the edge of the Ashford area ended with a deft flick over the defence for Luke Piscina to run onto. Piscina – which, in case you didn’t know, is the Spanish word for swimming pool – had all the time in the world to smash the ball past Sean Glover. So much for the long-ball theory, with three points almost certainly in the bag as a result of two slick moves and two good finishes.

It was always likely that Tonbridge would ease clear from here, and it was almost 3-1 two minutes later. On this occasion, Ian Ross was beaten on the left, and a long cross into the penalty area found Tony Dolby unmarked, but the Player-Manager planted a firm header against the bar.

The momentum was then taken out of the game by a succession of stoppages and substitutions, but, in truth, Ashford never looked likely to pull a goal back; this might have been partly due to the loss of Steve Humphrey for most of the second half, but it was more likely due to the fact that Tonbridge, the superior side, settled down to assert some control on the game.

For the record, Mikhail Czanna replaced Darren Smith for Tonbridge in the 67^th minute. After 71 minutes, there was a lengthy delay after Steve Aris decided to use his face to block a Richard Boorman piledriver – and any Status Quo fan will tell you that THAT was an album !  Eventually, Aris (that’s an unfortunate name if you happen to be a cockney !) was replaced by Jay May in the 74^th minute. Ashford made the sixth, and final, substitution of the match in the 79^th minute, when Bradley Woods replaced Shaun Bradshaw. This left us with the unlikely, brand-new front pairing of Woods and Raymond.

Bradley Woods hardly had time to get into the game, so we learnt little or nothing about him, and any further goals were likely to come from Tonbridge. The home side went 3-1 up, and sealed the points, in the 81^st minute. The chance originated from Gary Croxton carelessly giving the ball away in his own half, but the goal itself ultimately had an element of good fortune about it. A speculative shot from outside the area by Tony Dolby ricocheted, as if on a pin ball table, between two Ashford defenders, and nicely into the path of substitute Warren Haughton. The No.12 had all the time in the world to put the third goal past debutant goalie Sean Glover, but it should be emphasised that Sean was not at fault for any of them.

Any addition to the scoring would have flattered the home side, but that didn’t deter them from trying, and there were several chances for a fourth goal. In the 84^th minute, the ball was swept out to the left wing by the Tonbridge midfield, to one of the other subs, Jay May; he cut inside, onto his right foot, but his shot went straight at Glover, who was able to gather cleanly. Four minutes later, Sean had to make a similar save, from a long-range shot from Lee Carey, but the effort was once again straight at him.

On the stroke of full time, but with plenty of stoppage time expected, Tony Dolby attempted a shot from just outside the area. This did not trouble Glover, since it was as spectacularly high over the bar as Terry McCann’s vertical effort, from about the same position, had been in the first half. Dolby delighted the home fans by signaling “six” in the style of Silly Billy Bowden, the cricket umpire. The Tony Dolby show continued, with 92 minutes on the watch, when he stepped up to take a free-kick, just outside the penalty area; whilst he managed to get the shot up and over the wall, it was once again straight at Sean Glover. With 94 minutes on the watch, the Player-Manager was at it again, taking the ball forward, towards an Ashford defence that was determined to hold the line; Warren Haughton took the ball off his boss’s toes, but his snap-shot went just wide of the post.

So no goal for Dolby this afternoon, but he did have the consolation of being presented with a bottle of something bubbly in the bar afterwards, having been named as Man of the Match. Of course, his biggest consolation for not scoring would have been seeing his team collect all three points. The fact that Hastings, who were knocked out of the FA Cup on Tuesday in this very stadium, bounced back to beat Cray Wanderers 4-0 this afternoon means that Tonbridge Angels went to the top of the league (although Dover, who didn’t play today, have a game in hand of them). The fact that Tooting & Mitcham beat Bashley today, to gain their first points of the season, means that Ashford have now pulled two points clear of their rivals at the bottom of the table.

So in the end the natural order of things was restored. The division’s bottom team went to one of the division’s top teams and led for 43 minutes, then held them up to about the hour mark, and then eventually got well beaten. Although it doesn’t look good, staring up from the foot of the table with no points, there were enough positive signs in this performance to keep optimism alive – after all, it’s very early days still, with five games played and 39 still to come.