Eltham Palace v Ashford United. Kent Invicta League. 20th of April 2013.

Eltham Palace   2       Ashford United 2

 

From Ashford United’s Milton Keynes Correspondent

 

 

We were awoken this morning by the clock-alarm blaring out “Mr Blue Sky” – and that turned out to be very appropriate, as FINALLY this season, we were able to watch a footy match in relatively warm and sunny conditions. There was still a fairly chilly breeze at Green Court Sports Ground, up on top of the hill in Crockenhill, by the side of the A20, just South of Swanley – but there was a cloudless sky throughout the day, which was more like what we expect at the end of the season.

 

And it’s probably true to say that it’s been a season tinged with disappointment for Ashford United, even if the consensus among the travelling faithful has been that it’s been another hugely enjoyable experience in the Kent Invicta League. Ashford are almost certainly nailed on for third place, with Phoenix Sports having made sure of the title, and promotion to Step 5, with a 1-0 win over second-placed Hollands & Blair, during the week. Third place is just about what we deserve, this season, with both Phoenix and Blair consistently being the best two teams on the league, throughout. Third is an improvement on last year, when we finished fifth, but it does seem a disappointment, with so much emphasis being placed on finishing in a promotion place, at the start of the season – which, officially, is the same thing as winning the championship – and with a substantially stronger squad than last year. Of course, there is still a chance that Ashford will be placed in the higher division for next season anyway – but that’s to be decided by discussions that will be taking place up in the Blazersphere, over the Summer.

 

There was certainly an element of end-of-term among the Ashford players this afternoon, as there had been two weeks previously, away at Lewisham – and there was a definite similarity in the two performances. On both occasions, Ashford started slowly, and found themselves trailing to a side that they were expected to beat fairly comfortably. The difference, though, was that I always felt, at Lewisham’s Ladywell Arena, that the boys were so superior in terms of ability and experience that they would not only win the game, but also probably win by something similar to the eventual 2-6 score-line. Today was different. Although Eltham Palace were gifted an early two-goal lead by sloppy errors from Ashford’s defence, they looked an altogether better side than Lewisham, were solid and tidy throughout the team and I spent at least 88 minutes, this afternoon, thinking that Ashford were going to lose this match. For that reason, after Gary Mickelborough’s last-minute goal had snatched a 2-2 draw, it felt more like a victory !

 

The visitors turned out in the holy green & white home kit, today, with Eltham Palace playing mostly in royal blue, but with one sleeve almost entirely yellow, which ruled out Ashford’s Norwich City-style away kit. It was a 4-4-2 formation, to start off with, with Roy Guiver up front with Damian Abel. Tom Scorer had a starting berth, but this time wide on the right of midfield - and he looked impressive in this role, sometimes going past defenders at will, and was certainly Ashford’s most dangerous player, today. Liam Whiting was in central midfield, alongside Adam Cuthbert, with Kieran Byrne in his familiar position on the left. There was a surprise in defence, in as much as Danny Morrison was at left-back and Luke Cuthbert at right-back, (instead of the other way around). Captain Ben Jordan and Sam Marsh were in central defence, in front of goalkeeper Roddy Hayward – which meant that the talented Joe Mant had to settle for a place on the bench, once again. It was actually a bench that was full of Ryman League and Kent League experience, as it included Gary Clarke, (demoted to sub as a result of his absence last week, no doubt), Sam Conlon and Gary Mickelborough. The diminutive Sam Fisher made up the five.

 

Ashford’s first set-back came as early as the second minute, when Sam Perry sent in a deep cross from the right. This is something that goalkeeper Roddy Hayward probably should have dealt with, but the ball looped over his head, and went in off the far post. There also seemed little danger when, in the seventh minute, a long ball was launched into the Ashford half. Ben Jordan seemed to be well in control of the situation, and tried to nod the ball back to Hayward, just as he’s done hundreds of times in the past – but, this time, he failed to get anything like the required contact, and Nick Wybrow was able to nip behind him, and poke the ball past the ‘keeper, and into the net.

 

From this point, Eltham Palace rarely threatened to increase their lead, but it’s fair to say that, in spite of clearly having the majority of possession in the first half, Ashford looked just as unlikely to trouble the home side’s goalkeeper. This was mostly due to a lack of quality in the final third of the pitch, with a succession of woefully inaccurate crosses and through-balls giving the Palace defence an easy time.

 

The first real sign of life from the visitors came in the twelfth minute, when a speculative turn and shot by Kieran Byrne, from outside the penalty area, went high and wide. Two minutes later, Tom Scorer did some great work down the right wing, worrying the defender out of the ball, near the corner flag, before sending in a good cross. Roy Guiver managed to get a header on target, but this required just a regulation save from the goalie. In the 22^nd minute, Kieran Byrne and Danny Morrison combined well, on the left, before Morrison put in a deep cross that was just too high for Roy Guiver – Liam Whiting came steaming in behind Guiver, but headed wide. Whiting had another chance, again steaming forward from central midfield, in the 36^th minute. He picked up a loose ball, and sent in a decent shot which needed a good save from the Palace ‘keeper – and this drew applause of encouragement from the Ashford faithful.

 

Generally, though, it was a first half of frustration for the Ashford management team, and the score remained at 2-0 until the break.

 

Gary Clarke appeared to be warming up in earnest during the half time interval, and so it was no surprise that he was introduced by Paul Chambers immediately prior to the restart. Clarke replaced Sam Marsh, with Roy Guiver dropping back to his more familiar central defence position, and Adam Cuthbert taking up a forward position, just behind, and in support of, Damian Abel.

 

Clarke caught the eye almost immediately, with an excellent cross-field ball that found Tom Scorer, on the right. Tom broke through one tackle, and then found himself inside the Eltham Palace penalty area, before letting go with a tremendous shot which went just over the bar. The home ’keeper had just managed to get a hand on the ball, and so it was a corner to Ashford, on the right. This was taken by Kieran Byrne, but his in-swinging effort was just too high for Luke Cuthbert, beyond the far post, who could only head the ball behind. Just a minute later, Adam Cuthbert was put clean through on goal, and it looked likely that he was going to add to the two goals he scored last week, in the 2-1 home victory over Sutton Athletic – but the Palace goalie was equal to the task, and came out and won the one-on-one situation.

 

There was a major scare for Ashford in the 53^rd minute, when Roddy Hayward left his penalty area to deal with an under-hit back-pass. By the time he intercepted the ball – with both hands – he was outside his area, and the Lino, who was right in line, was flagging furiously. There must have been a fair probability that the referee, who was being assessed, this afternoon, would show Roddy a red card for this technical infringement – but the colour of the card was yellow.

 

Manager Paul Chambers made the first of his three substitutions when Gary Mickelborough replaced Damian Abel, after 56 ineffective minutes. But it was once again Tom Scorer who was responsible for creating Ashford’s next chance, in the 58^th minute. From about midway inside the Eltham half, Tom turned and went on a run down the right wing. In spite of the attentions of no fewer than three blue-shirted defenders, he got to the by-line, and sent in a good, low cross. Liam Whiting arrived from midfield, but could only side-foot the ball over the bar. In the 66^th minute, Tom again showed his quality, beating his man with ease, but sliced his attempted cross behind the goal. Just seconds later, the Cuthbert brothers combined, when Luke sent in a high, long cross, which found Adam, beyond the far post, but Adam’s header looped up onto the top of the crossbar, with the ‘keeper seeming fairly unflustered by the situation.

 

Chambo’s second substitution was part of a tactical change. He replaced Roy Guiver with Sam Conlon, who went to join Gary Mickelborough in attack, and ordered a switch to a three-at-the-back system, with Danny Morrison, Ben Jordan and Luke Cuthbert holding the fort. However, Ashford’s first goal, which came in the 77^th minute, had little to do with tactics and formations, and everything to do with the quality of Kieran Byrne. There was a suspicion of hand-ball as Gary Clarke took possession of the ball in midfield, but there was no reaction from any of the officials. Gary found Kieran Byrne, who was about 25 yards from goal. Kieran took one touch, and then simply leathered the ball, and it arrowed into the net, via the underside of the bar. It was yet another absolute screamer from Ashford’s wide-left midfielder – and it was almost as annoying as it was thrilling, considering that, with such quality in the side, it had taken us 77 minutes to find the net.

 

There was now a tangible sense of urgency among the Ashford players – which was matched by the home side’s attempts to fritter away seconds at every opportunity.

 

The visitors thought that they were surely about to level the scores, in the 83^rd minute, when a corner found Adam Cuthbert in the area. There were cries for hand-ball from the Palace defenders, but Adam managed to unleash a great shot, which was headed off the line by a home defender. However, the Lino in front of the stand was flagging furiously, having spotted the hand-ball – and Eltham could breathe again.

 

Ashford continued to press for the equalising goal, but it didn’t come until the final minute of normal time, with Gary Mickelborough scoring his eleventh of the season, (the first being in the opening game – the FA Cup victory at Deal). Gary did well to control an awkward ball, inside the Eltham area, before taking it wide of the ‘keeper and finding the back of the net, to the obvious delight of the Ashford bench.

Lewisham Borough v Ashford United. Kent Invicta League. 6th of April 2013.

Lewisham Borough  2       Ashford United 6

 

From Ashford United’s Milton Keynes Correspondent

 

 

Today was a special day. Today was Grand National Day, which, in Your Milton Keynes Correspondent’s world, ranks right up there with Derby Day (of course), Pancake Day, Third Round of the FA Cup Day and (I suppose) Christmas Day. On this day of the year, as the bailiffs have finally found out, I will be in one of two places: in front of the Telly, or at a non-league football ground supporting my boys. For the 2013 running of the race, Ashford United had an away match against Lewisham Borough – so today I took myself off to the Ladywell Arena, in Catford.

 

Going to the footy on this Saturday of the calendar always evokes memories of previous Grand National Days spent following Ashford around the South of England. The one that most often springs to mind is the year that Amberleigh House won the National – as we always remember the winners that we backed, don’t we ?  That was in 2004, when we played Histon away, (and won 0-2, with goals from Joby Thorogood and Simon Elliott). That game was very much from another age, and it doesn’t seem possible that it was only nine years ago. Histon were on their way up to the Conference, and Ashford Town were grazing in the comfortable green pastures of the Ryman League. Alas for off-the-field events. (That reminds me – yesterday was the end of the Financial Year, so I mustn’t forget to pay my VAT, on Monday).

 

Grand National Day, for Ashford fans, is traditionally characterised by one of two things: the latest instalment in a relegation scrap, or the opportunity to bask in the warmth of end-of-season sunshine – or both. Today, however, neither was the case. For a start, it was fairly chilly in Catford, in spite of the sunshine. A genuinely cold Winter has lingered on through March, and into this, the first week in April. At 5ºC at midday, it was not as cold as it had been in midweek, but it still felt pretty taters.

 

Also, we don’t “do” relegation scraps anymore, but last week’s humbling defeat at the hands of seemingly invincible champions-elect Phoenix Sports effectively put paid to Ashford’s competitive season. For the first time in the current campaign, Push for Promotion was replaced by Fulfilment of Fixtures as an objective. With four games remaining, (including today’s), it looks like Ashford United are nailed on for third place – and there can be no complaints about that, given that we’ve looked like the third-best team in the league, all season. What has cost Ashford a higher placing in the league has been the performances against the three teams that have clearly been better than the rest of our Invicta League opponents, this season – Phoenix Sports, Hollands & Blair and Bearsted. Four defeats from those six fixtures have defined the season.

 

We have, however, been fairly efficient at beating the lesser teams in the league, in spite of being consistently outscored by both Phoenix and Blair, and today’s opponents, bottom club Lewisham Borough, came into that category. There was the small consideration of Ashford’s earlier 3-2 defeat here by Lewisham, in the Kent Invicta League Cup, to think about – and that’s a competition that Blair won, recently, at Homelands, which reminds me that they’ve also done better than us in the cups – but the general expectation was that the three points were there for the taking for the visitors, this afternoon.

 

This was my first visit to the Ladywell Arena, a well-known multi-sports complex situated just on the other side of the railway line to the now-derelict Catford Stadium, where they used to have dog racing. I did this trip on my own, as Mrs Milton Keynes Correspondent doesn’t “do” public transport. In fact, she was on a plane at the precise moment that I loped into Milton Keynes Central Railway Station, just after midday. (No, she wasn’t travelling anywhere – she was taking half an inch off the back door). The fact that the train remained on Platform 4 for 24 minutes, due to some technical fault, meant that I missed my connection at Blackfriars, but I made it to the ground in plenty of time, and a very nice lady in the tea bar made me a sandwich and a cup of tea.

 

Some football fans make a fuss about football stadia that have an athletics track around the pitch, but I actually think that it all adds to the variety of venues in the course of a season. However, whereas, say, Walton & Hersham’s ground comes into the category of a football ground with an athletics track, the Ladywell is primarily a high-calibre athletics facility. There is a large building at one end that houses changing rooms, a tea bar and other facilities that you might expect of an important community resource – but it’s not a venue that is geared up for hosting a football match that is likely to attract any sort of crowd. (There was actually not the usual large turn-out of Ashford supporters, today, with a number of the Bruce Willises giving this one a miss, which accounts for an attendance of only 47 - which is even less than Borough’s seasonal average of 51).

 

Viewing options are severely limited, being largely restricted to leaning on a thick, white, plastic railing, that looked like it had been imported direct from Aintree, which extended for most of one side of the pitch. This was the side of the pitch that backed onto the railway line, beyond which was an enormous climbing frame and bouncy castle. This facility provided us with a backdrop of kids’ voices, which gave the whole occasion a pleasant, parks atmosphere. The dug outs were located on the opposite side of the running track, where there was no spectator access – so I am unable to report what feisty physio Alan Orsbourne said, to get himself in trouble with the referee.

 

The point to make about the game itself, for the benefit of those who weren’t there, and so only have the score-line to go by, is that there was a considerable gulf between the two squads of players. Lewisham Borough is very much a Community Club, and the team was very young, and looked fairly lightweight, all over the pitch. Compared with an Ashford side that, in spite of lacking regulars such as Mo Takaloo, Ollie Finch, Lee Coburn, Ben Jordan and Luke Cuthbert, still had plenty of accumulated experience of Ryman League football, it was quite literally men against boys. I mean no disrespect to our hosts today in setting the context of the game in this way. I am doing this to explain why I felt that Ashford played poorly today, in spite of winning 2-6, and why I felt that Damian Abel failed to impress, in spite of bagging a hat-trick. This also explains how a game that involved eight goals, three penalties and a sending off could lack entertainment value.

 

A lack of motivation might have been the main reason why Ashford struggled to get out of third gear, this afternoon. I know that we, as supporters, expect players to not need motivation, once they pull on the holy shirt, but there was never going to be the motivation of fear in this game – especially with Chambo separated from the pitch by six lanes of running track – and the lads never had to step out of a fairly snug comfort zone. Although Lewisham gave a good account of themselves, took their goals well and actually led for nearly a quarter of the game, Ashford always had plenty of time on the ball, generally regained possession easily when it was given away, and I don’t think the eventual result ever looked unlikely at any stage.

 

The absence of a few regulars gave Paul Chambers the chance to provide a substantial opportunity for some of his squad members, notably Tom Scorer, who had previously made 13 appearances for the club this season, without managing a full 90 minutes. Tom partnered Damian Abel in an orthodox strike pairing, with Ashford appearing to play mostly with three at the back, in front of goalkeeper Roddy Hayward. The experienced pair of Roy Guiver and Sam Marsh played largely as centre-halves, with Danny Morrison, on the right, and Liam Whiting, on the left, taking turns to drop back as the third man. Gary Clarke, who was captain today, ran the midfield from a deep position, with Adam Cuthbert also in the centre, Sam Conlon wide on the left and Kieran Byrne wide on the right. Those in the know in the Ashford set-up will probably be laughing their socks off at my amateur attempt to describe the formation, and it’s probably not what the players were playing to, but that’s how it looked to my untrained eye. What I can be more confident about is that the formation on the bench was a “flat five”, in a seated position, consisting of Sam Fisher, Ben Jordan, Gary Mickelborough, Joe Mant and Mo Munden.

 

The first quarter of the game was all about Ashford attacking at will, but they failed to make the breakthrough, in spite of a succession of corners. What didn’t help the visitors’ cause was a tendency to carelessly get caught offside, and there were several over-hit passes, as the players took some time to get used to the hard, bouncy pitch. Best chances fell to Kieran Byrne, whose shot was parried at the near post by the ‘keeper, in the second minute, and Tom Scorer, who tried to dink Byrne’s low corner into the net, at the near post, only to see his effort deflect off the ‘keeper for another corner, in the tenth minute. Kieran again took the corner from the right, swinging the ball in with his left foot, finding Danny Morrison unmarked in the six-yard box, but Danny was unable to wrap his head around the ball and direct it towards goal.

 

The best Ashford move early on came in the 16^th minute, and this was started by some great work by Danny Morrison in the right full-back position. Turning well and leaving his opponent for dead, he sent Tom Scorer off down the right flank, with an excellent long ball. Tom found Kieran Byrne, who was arriving in support, in the centre, but Kieran’s shot went straight at the goalie. Five minutes later, Kieran himself supplied a cross, this time from the left, but it was just too high for Sam Conlon.

 

Lewisham’s opening goal, which was outrageously against the run of play, came in the 22^nd minute, and stemmed from the otherwise excellent Danny Morrison getting nutmegged, in the right-back position. The ball was slid through to Dominic Weston, who was suddenly behind the Ashford defence. He dummied goalkeeper Roddy Hayward, before side-footing the ball into an empty net, for a well-taken goal.

 

There then followed 20-odd minutes of frustration for the visitors, with The Boro’ taking plenty of time over kicks and injuries, seeming to enjoy their unexpected lead. Tom Scorer had a couple of opportunities. In the 38^th minute, a good, flowing move, which had Damian Abel at its heart, ended with Tom being put through on goal, but a defender just managed to nick the ball away from him. Three minutes later, Tom tried a low, long-range shot, but it was easy for the ‘keeper to gather it, falling to his right.

 

It seemed that nothing was going to change without the help of Paul Chambers’ hair dryer, during the interval, but the half was turned around with two late goals. The first of these came in the 43^rd minute, when Tom Scorer sent in a cross from the left. The bouncing ball was miscontroled by Damian Abel, but Adam Cuthbert was arriving behind him, and struck the ball low, into the net, for his ninth goal of the season. Almost from the kick-off, Ashford were straight back at the opposition, and Sam Conlon did well to chase the ball as it was spread wide, to the right, catching up with it on the by-line, just inside the Lewisham penalty area. Sam pulled his cross back to Kieran Byrne, who hit a volley with the outside of his left foot, which screamed just inside the far post.

 

So the first half ended with the home side’s bench hurling abuse at its players, and Ashford actually knocking the ball around with a bit of a swagger – but this was ended abruptly when Gary Clarke’s careless square pass was intercepted, and its intended recipient, Danny Morrison, had to get back to defend, but he was able to do so, at the expense of a corner. The resulting cross was dropped by Roddy Hayward, but the ball was cleared – and that was half time.

 

The script was set for Ashford to go on and assert their superiority in the second half, after a fairly dozy first 45 minutes. They met the first requirement, which was to start the second half fast, and with urgency, but were set back on their heels, within a minute of the restart, when Lewisham equalised. I’m afraid that Sam Marsh needs to hold his hand up for this one. He appeared to be in command of a long, bouncing clearance, running back to his own goal, and seemingly having the strength and experience to hold the challenging Tristan Toney at bay – but somehow Toney managed to nip in front of him, and dinked the ball over Hayward’s head, for another excellent finish.

 

Damien Abel had the opportunity to restore the Ashford lead, in the 50^th minute. A long ball, from the right flank, from about the half-way line, easily put him through on goal. There was support for Damian in the centre, but he did what any paid striker would have done, and went for goal, but his shot looped tamely over the bar.

 

Ashford’s third goal came in the 53^rd minute, and this demonstrated the class that many people within the club believe Tom Scorer to have. Again, it appeared to be a relatively simple task for Tom to be put through on goal, behind the Lewisham defence, but he showed good strength and composure before thumping the ball into the back of the net. Just a minute later, it was Damian Abel’s turn to be put through on goal, and he calmly took the ball past ‘keeper Jack Carthy, before tapping it into an empty net – and the man supervising the man in charge of the floodgates was heard to shout: “Were you born in a church ?!”.

 

In the 62^nd minute, Carthy, who had replaced his injured colleague at half time, almost presented Ashford with a fifth goal, when his fluffed goal kick spiralled straight to Kieran Byrne, whose first-time header into the penalty area gave Tom Scorer a great chance to equal Adam Cuthbert, with his ninth goal for the club – but he sliced the ball wide. Tom did, however, have a very similar chance, just a minute later, having only the ‘keeper to beat, but being put under strong pressure from behind by the big Lewisham centre-half. This time, Carthy made the save, but the Lino stationed by the 200m start flagged for a foul. As this was such a clear goal-scoring opportunity, the referee had no choice but to send the No.5 off – and a difficult afternoon for Boro’s young side suddenly got harder. Kieran Byrne took the penalty, but Carthy made a good save, diving to his right.

 

The classy Byrne was responsible for winning the penalty that led to Ashford’s fifth goal, in the 74^th minute. There were some murmurs from the home players that Kieran had taken a dive, but I think it was a good decision by the ref, as Kieran was brought down just inside the area. (That wasn’t the case, just a minute later, when Byrno did fool the ref into awarding a free-kick on the left touchline, but the resulting kick came to nothing). This time, Damien Abel took responsibility for the penalty, and expertly side-footed the ball into the net, sending the ‘keeper the wrong way, for 2-5.

 

Kieran Byrne was replaced by Sam Fisher, in the 78^th minute, after which Roddy Hayward became the next Ashford hero. A Lewisham corner, from the right, was headed down, at the far post, and Roddy made a great save, parrying a shot that was well struck, from about six yards. It looked like his effort was to be in vain, as the ball fell at the feet of a Lewisham striker, but Roddy dropped a paw on the follow-up, and halted the ball on the line.

 

Substitute Sam Fisher had a good chance to score his first goal for Ashford, in the 82^nd minute. After a move in which it looked like Ashford were determined to walk the ball into the net, Sam found himself inside the six-yard box, with just the ‘keeper to beat at the near post, but the angle was too acute, and the shot, from close range, deflected off Carthy’s body, to safety. However, the diminutive midfielder had a hand in Ashford’s sixth goal, in the 89^th minute. Fisher might have been angling for a penalty, as he dribbled the ball into the Lewisham box, but he was clearly knocked over, and the referee had no choice but to award the third penalty of the match. Damien Abel stepped up to the penalty mark, and it was a replica of his earlier goal, as he side-footed the ball into the vacant half of the goal, to complete his hat-trick.

 

Prior to this sixth goal, there was confirmation that the end of term is nigh, when Paul Chambers sent on first-choice goalkeeper Joe Mant as an outfield substitute, in the 83^rd minute. By my reckoning, Joe became the first dual-purpose Ashford player since centre-half Stuart Playford had a stint in goal during the 2005-6 season, conceding three goals in 17 minutes after he replaced Dave Wietecha, (who had already let in four). Happy days !  Well, I’m pleased to report that Joe appeared to be anything but a goalie, playing in a forward position, confirming what a good athlete he is.

 

The surprising news from elsewhere, today, was that the outfit formerly known as the seemingly invincible Phoenix Sports actually got turned over, just up the road, away to Bridon Ropes. This means that they lost their excellent unbeaten record in the league, in the 25^th match of 30. The other, not unconnected, news wafting around the Ladywell Arena, today, was that, contrary to previous announcements, there would be two clubs promoted from the Kent Invicta league, at the end of the season. With the near mathematical certainty that Phoenix Sports will finish in the top two, the Phoenix will certainly rise to the Kent League, now that their floodlights and other necessary facilities are in place. That leaves one place. I read somewhere that Hollands & Blair are close to having the required ground grading – but they have obviously not achieved the requirement by the stated March deadline. My own personal view, (and I stress that), is that Hollands & Blair will be awarded a place in the Kent League if the relevant powers decide to waive their own rules on this issue – otherwise, Ashford United FC is the next taxi on the rank.

 

We’ll soon know, as I gather that a decision is to be made very soon.