Sevenoaks Town 2 Ashford United 2
From Ashford United’s Milton Keynes Correspondent
Ashford’s
twelfth fixture in this 2014-15 league campaign was away to Sevenoaks Town. Last
season, this would have been considered to be a fairly straightforward three points
for Ashford – and, in 20013-14, we duly beat Oaks 4-2 at home and 0-4 away,
with today’s opponents eventually finishing 16th, in a 17-team
league – but the current Sevenoaks side is a different animal entirely.
Micky
Collins’ side is full of very familiar names – players that have performed for
teams higher up the pyramid than the Southern Counties East, e.g. striker Miles
Cornwell, centre-half Ben Judge, ex-Ashford Town goal scorer Luke Coleman
(seven goals, in two spells, at a rate of one every 196 minutes), and the likes
of Danny Hockton on the bench. What’s more, Sevenoaks looked a good side, this
afternoon, always ready to split the Ashford defence with quick, incisive
through-balls, and they had enough clear chances to have won this game fairly
comfortably.
This
was my first visit to Greatness Park – and quite possibly the first time that I
have been to Sevenoaks. The venue is some ten minutes’ walk from an unmanned
railway station that has the rather quaint name of “Bat & Ball”. The ground
has quite a picturesque setting, being situated within a park, and development
of the ground has been minimal. There are two small stands – one in each half –
providing just under 100 seats between them, with a very nice tea bar some 50
yards’ walk away. Crucially, in terms of not being able to achieve a ground
grading beyond a certain level, the pitch is overlooked by a high bank on one
side, meaning that any number of dog walkers are granted a great view of the
match, free of charge.
The
Ashford line-up continued to have a slightly make-do-and-mend look about it at
the back, as Manager Paul Chambers is still unable to pick from his full squad.
However, Luke Cuthbert made a very welcome return to the defence, but did so at
left-back, instead of on the right, where we are more used to seeing him. As on
Tuesday, in the 0-0 draw at home to Lordswood, it was Liam Walsh who occupied
the right-back position, (and I didn’t think he had his best game for Ashford),
with the two lighthouses, Pat Kingwell and Jordan Miller, in the centre. Ashford’s
midfield quartet, which seemed to approximate a diamond formation, (although
I’m no expert on these things), consisted of Lee Winfield pulling the strings
from a deep position, Adam Cuthbert furthest forward and Gary Clarke and young
Harry Priddle in the centre. For the second successive Saturday, Paul Chambers
was able to start with Stuart Zanone and Andy Irvine up front. Joe Mant was in
goal – which is just as well, as he would have been my choice as Man of the Match,
today, being largely responsible for Sevenoaks not putting four or five goals
past the defence.
So
the team in second took on the team in fifth, in the SCEFL, this afternoon, and
it was the visitors, playing in their now-familiar, Norwich City-like away kit
– so think Inter Milan versus Norwich, today – who pressed forward in the early
minutes. I was again struck by the sheer physical presence of the two Ashford
front men, and Irvine soon showed his classical centre-forward skills, holding
the ball up, with his back to goal, and drawing a foul that gave his team a
free-kick, just outside the 18-yard box. Adam Cuthbert went for goal, hitting a
curling shot over the defensive wall, but ‘keeper Jack Rankin comfortably
caught the ball, above his head. In the sixth minute, Irvine’s partner, Stuart
Zanone, who showed tremendous tenacity and commitment, throughout the game,
created a chance out of nothing, when he robbed a defender of the ball. He
turned and went on a direct run, into the penalty area, and went down under a
defender’s challenge, but the referee waved away optimistic appeals for a
penalty.
The
first sign of Ashford’s vulnerability on the flanks, this afternoon, came in
the eleventh minute. A well-worked move down the left, (Ashford’s right), which
I think was helped by Liam Walsh losing his man, resulted in Kieron McCann
running into the visitors’ penalty area, but he blasted his shot over the bar.
Generally,
I feel that Ashford shaded the first 20 minutes, certainly in terms of
possession and creative intent, although there was little end-product in the
final third of the pitch. Gradually, though, the home side began to assert.
Using what seemed to be Micky Collins’ preferred tactic of trying to outflank
the Ashford defence with a runner on the overlap, Louis Sprossen fed a
through-ball to Sevenoaks No.2 George Savage, in the 22nd minute.
Getting to the by-line, the right-back put in an inviting cross, which went all
the way through the Ashford six-yard box, with nobody able to get the vital
touch. In the 28th minute, Miles Cornwell was bearing down on the
Ashford goal, in the inside-right position. He cut in, transferring the ball
onto his left foot, but his shot was straight at Joe Mant.
Because
they had looked so lively going forward, it was no surprise that Sevenoaks took
the lead, just a minute later. Another well-worked move found Paul Springett in
possession, on the edge of the “D”. He found blond-haired Louis Sprossen, with
a square pass to his right. Sprossen came inside, and beat Joe Mant with a low,
well-placed shot which found the corner of the Ashford net.
Oaks
had a chance to double their lead, just five minutes before half-time, when Lee
Winfield made a rare mistake, giving the ball away some 25 yards from his own
goal. This resulted in Damien Ramsay being put clean through on goal, but Joe
Mant made the first of a number of excellent saves, blocking Ramsay’s shot with
his legs. Stuart Zanone put the ball into the Sevenoaks net, with 44 minutes on
the clock, to finish off a good passing movement that also involved Adam
Cuthbert and Andy Irvine, but the Lino’s flag had already gone up for offside –
and the home team went into the break with a 1-0 lead.
The
second half was a fairly pulsating affair, with the ball pinging from one end
to the other. The early pressure came from Sevenoaks, but a corner to the home
side in the 48th minute was soon turned into an Ashford break –
before a counter-attack from the home side, in the 50th minute,
after an Ashford corner had been cleared, doubled Oaks’ lead. Damien Ramsay did
well to hold the ball up, before laying it off to Kieron McCann, as Sevenoaks,
yet again, managed to find an extra man on the flank. McCann drilled a hard
shot almost straight at Joe Mant, who seemed to have his weight on the “wrong”
foot, and could only parry the ball into the net.
At
2-0, it looked ominously like we were going to witness the ending of Ashford’s
unbeaten start in the league, but the visitors pulled a goal back, within two
minutes. What was doubly pleasing for the Ashford faithful, who had swollen the
attendance to 98, the second-highest crowd of the day in the SCEFL, was that
the goal was Andy Irvine’s long-awaited first for the club. Again, this was
classical centre-forward play. Lee Winfield provided a good cross, from the
left, and it appeared to be simplicity itself as Irvine nodded the ball down,
into the same corner of the net that Louis Sprossen had found in the first
half.
The
ex-Tunbridge Wells striker almost doubled his score in the 58th
minute, after a quickly-taken free-kick sent Gary Clarke bursting into the
Sevenoaks area. The Ashford captain’s cross found Irvine in the six-yard box,
but his attempt to turn the ball in, at point-blank range, was well blocked by
goalkeeper Jack Rankin.
The
latter incident occurred in the midst of a flurry of substitutions. Kieran
Byrne had replaced Harry Priddle, in the 55th minute, but then Paul
Chambers was forced into making a second change, after Jordan Miller had stayed
down after making a challenge, in the 65th minute, (the issue being
reported to be a hamstring problem). His replacement was Gary Mickelborough,
who joined Irvine and Zanone in what was now effectively a three-man attack.
But
the next clear chance was created by the home side, in the 71st
minute. After a period of Ashford pressure, Sevenoaks broke out of defence. Yet
again, it was like watching a Rugby League match, as Oaks had a man over, down
Ashford’s exposed right flank. This time, it was Kieron McCann who provided the
width. He also provided a good cross, that found the feet of Miles Cornwell, in
the penalty area – but Joe Mant somehow pulled off another great save.
The
end-to-end format continued. In the 72nd minute, Kieran Byrne
chanced his arm, (or at least his leg), with a 30-yard shot that goalkeeper Jack
Rankin saved fairly comfortably. A minute later, Judge Ben had to concede a
corner, as Gary Mickelborough bore down on the Sevenoaks defence. The resulting
cross put the ball “into the mixer”, (to coin a phrase that Paul Chambers used
quite frequently, this afternoon), and, after the ball had bounced around in
the area a few times, Gary Clarke attempted some sort of overhead kick, but his
effort went straight at the ‘keeper.
Ashford’s
search for an equaliser was soon interrupted by another rash of substitutions,
but these included the all-important one of Assistant Manager Lloyd Blackman
coming on for the hard-working Andy Irvine, in the 75th minute. At
the same time, Andy Walker replaced Louis Sprossen, for Sevenoaks, soon
followed by Danny Hockton for Miles Cornwell, in the 79th minute,
and Simon Osborn for Luke Coleman, in the 84th.
The
pace of this second half soon picked up again, though, and, in the 85th
minute, Liam Walsh, near his right touchline, misjudged the bounce of a
clearance from Jack Rankin. Sevenoaks were again clean away, down the left
flank, and, after a pin-point cross into the centre, Joe Mant kept his side in
the game with another good save, denying the home side from point-blank range.
A minute later, Ashford were awarded a free-kick, wide on the left, and a very
fit-looking Lloyd Blackman rose well to meet the resulting cross, but was
disappointed to aim his header straight at Rankin. The ‘keeper made a quick
clearance, which immediately resulted in a two-v-two situation. Danny Hockton
and Damien Ramsay worked the ball well, between them, but Joe Mant was again
equal to the task of being the last line of defence.
Ashford’s
equaliser came in the 88th minute, and, this time, Lloyd Blackman
made no mistake with his header. Kieran Byrne had just tried his luck with
another shot from 30 yards, and this one bounced just in front of the ‘keeper,
and a Sevenoaks defender had to clear the spillage, for a corner, as Stuart
Zanone waited to pounce. The resulting corner, from the left, was put away with
a glancing header by The Bearded Wonder.
Andy
Walker had a shot, from just outside the area, which blazed over the bar, in
the 89th minute, and the visiting defence was happy to clear the
ball after a goalmouth scramble in the 92nd minute, but Ashford held
on to the hard-earned point.
It
was important for the boys to preserve that unbeaten record in the league, but
it has to be said that seven wins and five draws is hardly championship-winning
form. The good news, though, is that there must surely be improvement to come
from Paul Chambers’ squad, and, with Erith & Belvedere dropping two points,
at home to Croydon, this afternoon, we have just five points to make on them,
in terms of the number of points dropped. As “points dropped” is very much the
way to view things at the top of any table, it should be pointed out that
Sevenoaks are very much on a par with Ashford, having also dropped ten. On this
performance, I think that they can be penciled in as one of about half a dozen
teams who are likely to be “there or thereabouts”, come the end of the season.
I
hesitate to quote Paul Chambers, given that he is already in hot water, having
been stitched up by a hack in one of the local ‘papers, in midweek, but he did
say that he was “over the moon with a point” – which suggests that we should
maybe view the result of today’s game as being very much a point gained.
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