Erith & Belvedere 4 Ashford United 0
From Ashford United’s Milton Keynes Correspondent
Match
Day, for the third consecutive Saturday - and three very contrasting grounds,
illustrating the variety of venues that we get to visit when following football
at this level. First, there was Croydon, with its eight-lane running track
around the pitch, (as befits an athletics stadium). Then, there was Sevenoaks,
set in an attractive public park, with its two cute little stands. Today, we
had the other kind of match day experience, since Erith & Belvedere ground-share
with Welling United at Park View Road, a fully-fledged Conference Premier ground,
with a capacity of 5,000 (1,000 seated).
The
stadium is crammed into a fairly small site, hemmed in by the A207 (Welling
High Street) behind one goal, and by a bank of trees behind the other. There is
a narrow band of terracing at each end, and the goals are of the very shallow
variety, like those they used to have at West Ham’s Upton Park ground; (I don’t
know whether they still have these). Seated accommodation is provided at the
sides of the pitch, and the place for me to be, today, was in the eleventh row
of the stand that occupied most of one half of the pitch – partly to have a
good view of the action, from high up, but mainly in the interests of keeping
my note pad dry, given that today was a grey, wet day. On the opposite side of
the ground is a less lofty stand, just six rows deep, but which extends for
most of the far side of the pitch.
One
benefit of visiting a big, posh ground is that the organisation is so much
better than at some SCEFL venues. A clear, printed team sheet was pinned up at
the entrance – and someone had had the foresight to laminate the sheet, so that
it didn’t get soaked in the rain. So much better than having to guess at
someone’s handwritten scrawl. There was also a clear PA system, which kept today’s
crowd of 76 – which was less than the 89 that Canterbury v Deal attracted, at
Homelands, this afternoon – informed both before, and during, the match. (In
fact, I’m annoyed at myself for shelling out £2 for a programme, which I still
haven’t opened).
As
with the Croydon Sports Arena, a fortnight ago, this was not the first time
that I had been to this ground. Erith & Belvedere are old opponents from,
not the Ryman League, but the Southern League Division One East. The last time
that The Deres and Ashford were in the same league was during the 2003-4
season, when we finished in twelfth place and our hosts today ended up 21st
of 22, but were reprieved from relegation. However, they were relegated to the
Kent League the following year, after finishing in the same position; this 2004-5
season was Ashford Town’s first in the Ryman League, (and we finished in 20th
place).
My
most recent visit to Park View Road had been on a Friday evening during the
2007-8 season, when we played an FA Cup Preliminary Round tie. That game ended
up as a 2-0 victory to the home side, which was, at the time, a fairly humiliating
defeat for us, given that The Deres, from a lower league, played with ten men for
most of the game – (although Clive Walker’s Ashford Town team did have Steve
Sodje and Rob Denness up front).
Today’s
game was a Southern Counties East match – and an important one, at that, being
the clash between the sides running in first and second place in the league.
My
account of the game should begin with a listing of the Ashford United team –
and beginning with the substitute’s bench, as that should go some way towards explaining
Ashford United’s formation, tactics and, ultimately, performance, this afternoon.
The subs named today were Tony Allen, Joe Fisher, Harry Priddle, Paul Chambers
and Lloyd Blackman – so that’s the Manager, the Assistant Manager, the
substitute goalie and two waif-like youngsters, suggesting that Ashford’s
problems with player availability, evident in recent games, persist.
I
have no inside information to explain the absence of Messrs Irvine, Kingwell,
Finch (O.), Mooney, Whiting et al,
but it’s hard to avoid jumping to the conclusion that Ashford United’s starting
line-up consisted of the only eleven fit and credible players available to Paul
Chambers – and maybe it was the emphasis of forward-going players in that group
of eleven that persuaded the Ashford Manager to line up with a genuine 4-3-3
formation. It’s probably not fashionable to use the term “4-3-3”, but Gary
Mickelborough was definitely deployed as part of a three-man attack, rather
than being on the right side of midfield.
In
the absence of Pat Kingwell, Luke Cuthbert reverted to the centre of the
defence, alongside Liam Walsh, with Tom Scorer at right-back and Kieran Byrne
at left-back. That meant that Ashford had arguably their two most gifted squad
members playing at full-back. This was not an illogical team selection, given
that we were playing away to a team that had been averaging more than three
goals per game, in the league. An experienced three-man midfield consisted of
captain Gary Clarke, Lee Winfield and Adam Cuthbert. Ashford’s three strikers
were Gary Mickelborough, Stuart Zanone and Connor Coyne, the latter being a new
name to me. He’s a big, burly striker, but I am unable to say whether he is
Ashford’s latest stellar signing, or another player signed on dual registration
to make up the current shortfall in numbers.
Joe
Mant was in goal, as usual, and delayed kick-off by two minutes when he was
obliged to change his all-blue kit, due to the clash with Erith & Belvedere’s
colours of “Blackburn Rovers” shirts, blue shorts and blue sockies. He re-emerged
in a natty combination of a silver top and red shorts and socks, and soon had
to have his wits about him, as Deres’ striker Alfie May started the match with
an audacious shot at goal from the kick-off. It would be no surprise if Alfie
thinks that he can score from any position, at any time. His goal-scoring
record this season has been nothing short of ridiculous. He’s averaging nearly
two goals per game, and hit the 20 league goal mark a couple of weeks ago.
There are some very respectable strikers, at this level, who never manage to
score 20 goals in a season. The fact that Alfie May has achieved this just a
little after the middle of September is simply barmy.
Of
course, today’s hosts might have a problem with hanging on to his services,
this season, as nobody can score that many goals without arousing interest from
clubs higher up the pyramid – and it appears that he has had trials with Crewe
Alexandra, recently. He’s only a little chap. Impish. About 22 years old. Not
surprisingly, he plays with a certain confidence and swagger – but, on this
occasion, his optimistic long-range shot was pulled wide, and the ball trickled
out for a goal kick.
Ashford
began with a very simple, but fairly understandable, tactic of hitting early,
long balls up to the trio of tall, powerful strikers, missing out the midfield.
The problem for the visitors, however, was that the Erith & Belvedere
defenders were generally comfortably able to cope with any airborne threat,
meaning that the Ashford front three had little joy against them with Plan A.
The home defence also had sufficient pace to deal with any incursions on the
ground. In fact, overall, The Deres appear to be a bright, young side, with
plenty of pace and a willingness to play constructive, on-the-ground football. Those
in blue & white certainly appeared to be half a yard quicker to the ball
than those in yellow & green, and this was largely responsible for a number
of late challenges by Ashford, in the early stages of the game. In fact, Adam
Cuthbert might have been fortunate to escape a booking, as early as the third
minute of the game, after an obvious late tackle, but Referee Alex Clarke, a
young ref who I thought had a very sound game, settled for having a few words. Mr
Clarke eventually had to produce a card, however, in the tenth minute, after a
cynical foul by Kieran Byrne. As an Ashford attack broke down, Byrne, who was
well forward, snuffed out a counter-attack with an obvious tug. This was not
what Ashford needed, with no defensive cover on the bench.
The
first sight of goal for the home side had come in the seventh minute. After a
typically well-worked passing move, Jamie Lawrence sent in a cross which was
put behind for a corner by Luke Cuthbert, who had the unenviable task of
marking Alfie May, in the early stages. The corner was taken short, and
manoeuvred to Jake Britnell, who hit a firm shot straight at Joe Mant, from
about 25 yards. Lawrence created a much better chance for Erith &
Belvedere, in the 18th minute, when he poked the ball past an
Ashford defender, to give himself a one-on-one with Joe Mant, just inside the
penalty area, but he side-footed a shot straight at the ‘keeper. Three minutes
later, it was Colin Richmond’s turn to be clean through on goal, when he
pounced on a fluffed headed clearance from an Ashford defender. Well inside the
visitors’ area, with just Joe Mant to beat, Lawrence tried to dribble around
the ‘keeper, and went down as he was challenged. There was a very important
decision for the referee to make, as the home side appealed for a penalty, but
he waved play on.
Ashford
were awarded a free-kick, in the 25th minute, after Gary Clarke had
been fouled, mid-way inside the Erith & Belvedere half. As the free-kick
came to nothing, the ball was swept out to Jake Britnell, who had adopted a
position wide on the right, ready to counter-attack. The Deres’ No.10, who
looked just as much a handful as Alfie May, this afternoon, carried the ball
into the Ashford half, and was clearly tripped by Luke Cuthbert, as he cut
inside, transferring the ball onto his left foot. Luke fully deserved to be
yellow-carded for the challenge, becoming the second Ashford defender to be
booked. However, he partly redeemed himself when he did well to charge down Ben
Wilson’s long-range shot from the free-kick. On the half-hour mark, Ryan
Johnson was presented with a shooting chance when Gary Clarke, on the edge of
his own 18-yard box, directed a defensive header straight to him – but Johnson’s
attempt to curl the ball into the far, top corner of the goal was always going
wide.
The
game turned against Ashford United during a brief, five-minute spell soon after
this. In the 34th minute, Stuart Zanone, who never stopped working, did
well to win possession, chasing back and harrying a home defender. He and Adam
Cuthbert combined well, down the right flank, and won a corner. This was pulled
back to Lee Winfield, who struck a tremendous shot, through a crowd of players,
from fully 30 yards out. It appeared that Erith & Belvedere’s giant
goalkeeper, George Komurasi, didn’t actually see the ball, and he was fortunate
that the ball hit a combination of his chest and his left bicep. The rebound
fell to Gary Clarke, who, having a split second to react, couldn’t find a way past
the ‘keeper.
Taking
advantage of that stroke of luck, The Deres broke away quickly, once again, and
the ball was soon with Jake Britnell, wide, on the right. He bore down on the
Ashford penalty area, turning Kieran Byrne, who didn’t have the greatest of
afternoons, inside-out. With the left-back unable to close him down, Britnell
sent in a low cross, which Ryan Johnson side-footed home, giving Joe Mant no
chance. (That was the 100th goal conceded by Joe, after 8,107
minutes of playing in goal for Ashford United – but his goals per minute ratio
is better than that of any Ashford ‘keeper in the past ten years, with the
exception of Josh Willis, who let in six goals, at an average of one every 123
minutes, for Ashford Town, between 2008 and 2010).
With
the opening goal timed at 36 minutes, there was worse to come in the 38th
minute, as Erith & Belvedere doubled their lead. In fact, the home side
leapt straight at the Ashford defence, almost from the restart, the attack
being halted by means of a desperate trip, on the “D” of the visitors’ penalty
area. The resulting free-kick was well worked. Alfie May touched the ball a few
inches to a team-mate, who stopped the ball dead, for Alfie to hit a low shot
that rebounded into the net, off the far post.
So,
for the second consecutive week, Ashford were faced with the task of turning
around a two-goal deficit – and, since there were few options on the bench, and
The Nuts n Bolts were already playing with three in the forward line, Paul
Chambers appeared to have few cards to play.
The
home side had a chance to go further ahead, in the 41st minute. The
ball was played forward to Denzel Gayle, who had just Liam Walsh to beat. Walsh
stood his ground, and Gayle opted to shoot, but his effort went wide of the
near post.
The
half ended with two half-chances for the visitors, both of which fell to Gary
Mickelborough. In the 43rd minute, Lee Winfield sent in a long
cross, which Mickelborough connected with, but could only glance his header
wide. A minute later, Ashford’s persistent tactic of early, long balls finally
threatened to yield a result. A high kick-out by Joe Mant was actually met by
the head of Connor Coyne, whose flick found Gaz Mik, in the penalty area. Gary
controlled the ball on his chest, turned and volleyed – but his shot went straight
at Komurasi, in the Erith & Belvedere goal.
In
spite of these late glimmers of hope, Ashford trooped in at half time 2-0 down.
For the first half an hour of the match, in spite of their ineffectiveness as
an attacking force, the visitors had looked fairly solid, as a unit. The fact
remained, though, that Erith & Belvedere went into the break with a
two-goal lead, without having had to think about moving into top gear, and
looked to be clearly the better side. After the first 45 minutes of this game, it
was difficult to see much hope for Ashford, in the context of either the match,
or the season.
Feelings
of hopelessness, among the Ashford faithful, were soon replaced by the fear
that things might become a shade embarrassing, when Erith & Belvedere made
it 3-0, in the first minute of the second half. I don’t think that Joe Mant can
be blamed for three of the four goals conceded this afternoon, but he certainly
had a complete aberration for the third. A long ball forward, from the home
side, appeared to be running harmlessly through to Joe, for what should have
been a very routine clearance. I don’t know what Joe was thinking, but,
suddenly, he decided to back away, presenting Alfie May with the opportunity to
run onto the ball. May instinctively did enough to score, guiding the ball past
the ‘keeper and watching it trickle into the net. That made it 23 league goals,
in twelve games, meaning that, at his current rate of scoring, he is on target
to score 73 league goals this season.
Although
it seemed that Paul Chambers had no options left, with three men already in the
attack, he nevertheless reacted – by switching to four up front ! As early as the 49th minute, as
Ashford were preparing to take a free-kick, mid-way inside the Erith &
Belvedere half, Chambo sacrificed Tom Scorer, replacing him with Lloyd
Blackman. He pushed Kieran Byrne forward, into a left-midfield position, with
Adam Cuthbert dropping back to a position on the right of a back-three which
had Liam Walsh at its heart. Lee Winfield chipped the ball into the home side’s
penalty area, where it bounced around for a while, but none of Ashford’s four
forwards could get in a blow.
In
the 51st minute, Erith & Belvedere were presented with a chance
to make it 4-0. As Ashford attempted to play the ball out of defence, Gary
Mickelborough’s lay-off, in his own half, to Gary Clarke was too short, and,
suddenly, the visiting defence was exposed. The ball was spread wide, to Jake
Britnell, who was on the left, this time. His ball infield found Jamie
Lawrence, in the centre, whose low, side-footed shot went wide.
Ashford
enjoyed a decent period of pressure, around the hour mark. This might have been
aided by the fact that the home side took its foot off the pedal, to some
extent, but it has to be said that the men in yellow shirts were also starting
to pass the ball around. There was no shortage of effort expended in trying to
get back into the game, but nothing the visitors attempted came off, and all
Ashford had to show for this period of possession was a long-range shot from
Kieran Byrne that went well wide and a weak shot by Gary Clarke that was also
off-target. What also didn’t help Ashford’s cause was that there seemed to be a
disconnection between the group of four forwards up front, who were waiting for
a long ball, and the rest of the team.
Paul
Chambers made his final two substitutions – Joe Fisher on for Gary
Mickelborough, in the 73rd minute, and Harry Priddle on for Connor
Coyne, in the 76th – after Erith & Belvedere Manager Matt Longhurst
had replaced Denzel Gayle with Danny Nicholls, at half time, and Jake Britnell
with Joe Minter, in the 67th minute. None of these substitutions
changed the course of the game, which seemed to be gradually winding down,
during the second half.
Alfie
May’s afternoon finally came to an end in the 83rd minute, when he
was replaced by Richmond Kissi, and this gave the home supporters the opportunity
to give him a deserved ovation. It was not the end of Ashford United’s pain,
however, as The Deres scored their fourth goal, just a minute later. A
throw-in, on the right, found its way to substitute Joe Minter, who was on the
edge of the penalty area, in a central position. Minter’s firm shot took a
deflection, on its way into the net, giving Joe Mant no chance, the young ‘keeper
remaining rooted to his goal line.
The
dying embers of the game were notable for evidence of increasing frustration
among the Ashford players. Lloyd Blackman, the Assistant Manager, lost his
discipline, in the 85th minute, kicking his opponent up in the air,
in the centre circle, and earning himself an obvious yellow card. Joe Fisher
really should have been booked for a very similar offence, just a minute later,
but Mr Clarke did no more than have a word with him.
The
final chance of the game fell to the home side, in the 89th minute.
Luke Cuthbert was caught in possession, when attempting to carry the ball out
of defence. Once Erith & Belvedere had the ball, they had a 4 v 2 situation,
substantially outnumbering the Ashford defence. A 5-0 score line looked a
distinct possibility, but Liam Walsh didn’t panic, and ushered the man in
possession towards the corner flag.
So
4-0 remained the score, and this certainly did not flatter the home side.
It
is difficult to evaluate how good Erith & Belvedere are, on today’s
evidence, as the visitors barely tested them. It’s too early to say that they’re
nailed on for the SCEFL title, as Phoenix Sports will be just a point behind
them, if they win their two games in hand, and there are one or two other very
good teams in this league. However, I think that we can, realistically, now rule
out one of The Deres’ would-be challengers. Ashford looked a frustrated and
dispirited team, at the end, devoid of ideas and confidence. What’s worse is
that there is no respite for Paul Chambers and his men, as there are two very
difficult games coming up next: Phoenix Sports at home, soon followed by a trip
to Beckenham Town.
