Phoenix Sports 1
Ashford United 2
From Ashford United’s Milton Keynes Correspondent
Just
five games remaining in the Southern Counties East Football League, and, by
some fluke of the fixtures list, and with the help of postponements, this was
the season’s first meeting between these two clubs. Given that Phoenix Sports
and Ashford United started the day in first and second place, this really
should have been the big showdown to go a long way towards deciding the
championship – but, in truth, Phoenix looked to have had the title sewn up for
a long time, with their eleven point lead looking unassailable, regardless of
today’s result.
Ashford
have done little wrong this season, having been beaten just three times in the
league, and with a haul of 74 points in 33 games representing a slight
improvement on last season’s total of 69 points, (when we finished as
runners-up to Whyteleafe, in a 32-game competition). But Phoenix Sports have
been simply relentless this season, having remained unbeaten, with a record of
26 wins and seven draws from 33 games. This has been a remarkable achievement,
in what is a strong league, with plenty of depth, this year. There are at least
half a dozen very good teams in the SCEFL, but Phoenix simply haven’t faltered.
What is more remarkable is that it hasn’t been a season in which they have
“conveniently” bombed out of the cup competitions early; in fact, they had an
excellent run in the FA Vase, only bowing out to a very strong North Shields
team, which will be playing in the Final at Wembley, next month. Having
finished only sixth in the SCEFL last time, this season’s effort has been a
triumph of consistency and commitment, and their eventual title win will be
richly deserved.
What really made this such an intriguing game, that
was capable of attracting a big crowd, was the fact that Phoenix Sports had the
opportunity to win the title this afternoon. If they could beat Ashford today,
and Erith & Belvedere failed to win at Sevenoaks, then the championship,
and promotion to the Ryman League, would be confirmed – which would make it the
greatest day in this community club’s 80-year history. And what better way to
do it ? At home, in front of a big
crowd, on a lovely, sunny spring day, and against arguably their biggest
rivals.
There was every cause for optimism among the
Barnehurst faithful, not least the fact that Ashford United has been nothing
less than Phoenix Sports FC’s “bitch”, ever since the two clubs joined the
newly-formed Kent Invicta League, in the 2011-12 season. In eight meetings –
six in the league and two in cups – Phoenix have won seven and drawn one, with
the aggregate score being 22 goals to seven, in their favour. (Ashford had the
consolation of winning that “drawn” game on penalties, in the Kent Senior
Trophy, last season).
The opportunity for Sports was apparently made even
more obvious by the fact that Ashford were expected to be considerably weakened
by the absence of star striker Stuart Zanone, who had been in remarkable goal
scoring form, prior to leaving for a long-planned holiday. Having not joined
Ashford before the club’s eighth game of the season, Zanone has nevertheless
managed to weigh in with 43 goals in just under 30 games’ playing time, and was
largely responsible for the club’s recent run of 13 league wins in succession.
This extended purple patch for both the club and the player seemed to climax
with the 0-7 demolition of Lingfield, on a Tuesday night in March, with Stuart
scoring all seven. On that occasion, the Lingfield Light Infantry simply
scattered before the wrath of The Tank – but Stuart has been holidaying in
Florida ever since.
First impressions, on arrival at Mayplace Road East,
was that there was a great atmosphere at the ground, and I’m sure that the home
club would not have been disappointed with today’s attendance of 171. But there
was a surprise on arrival in the bar, with the team sheet pinned on the wall
showing “S. Zanone” named as Ashford’s No.9. (This was confirmed over the club’s
excellent PA system, which announced the two teams three times prior to kick-off,
and made clear announcements for every substitution – which all goes to confirm
the impression that Phoenix Sports is a very serious and well-run football
club). So the absence of Zanone for this game was merely Paul Chambers’
elaborate bluff – what happened was that Stuart arrived from Florida on the
morning of the game, having virtually gone straight from Heathrow to the
Phoenix Sports Ground. (I thought there might be a small chance that Stuart would
look a little fat and lazy, after a fortnight’s holiday in the sun – but, as
usual, he looked like he’d been in the gym for two weeks !).
The Ashford side actually looked to be pretty much at
full strength, with Darren Marsden playing just off Stuart, in a 4-4-1-1
formation, as he had done in the 1-4 victory at Greenwich Borough. Skipper Gary
Clarke partnered Micky Phillips in the centre of the midfield, with Jamie
Collado on the left and Tom Scorer on the right. Danny Lye returned from injury
to partner Pat Kingwell in central defence – meaning that Liam Walsh had to
once again settle for a place on the bench – with the Cuthbert brothers filling
the full-back positions, against their former club. Joe Mant continued his
ever-present record for the season, in goal. The Ashford bench also looked very
strong, with Liam Walsh being joined by Gary Mickelborough, Buster Smissen,
Lloyd Blackman and Kieran Byrne.
So everything appeared to be set up for a cracking
contest between the two top teams in the league, with the sun shining and the Phoenix
Sports Ground pitch looking in excellent condition.
Although we were to be treated to an engrossing and
dramatic game, the feast of good football never materialised. In fact, the
opening ten minutes were fairly scrappy and ill-tempered. The returning Danny
Lye first brought himself to Referee John Nazzari’s attention when he complained
far too aggressively about the awarding of a free-kick to the home side, in the
second minute, which earned him an early lecture from the official.
Any constructive football, early on, came from Phoenix
Sports, in their green shirts, black shorts and black sockies. There was what
appeared to be a warning of things to come, for the visitors, when right-winger
Harrison Carnegie created a chance through sheer pace, in the fourth minute.
Skinning the Ashford left-back, he crossed the ball into the centre of the
Ashford penalty area, where Aaron Jeffery appeared to miss a sitter, firing
well over the bar – but a corner was awarded, indicating that his shot might
have taken a deflection.
The match took a major turn in the tenth minute, after
a nasty-looking clash near the halfway line. I was the width of the pitch away
from this incident, but it looked to me like two players competing in a 50-50
challenge for a bouncing ball, but the Phoenix players reacted furiously to
Danny Lye’s part in this collision. There was a delay as all of the outfield
players on the pitch converged for the familiar ruck. Mr Nazzari appeared to
rely entirely on the testimony of his lino on the far side, who, in fairness,
was closest to the incident. After a brief conference, the ref called Lye over
and showed him a red card. What was strange about this incident is that the
game was restarted with a throw-in, indicating that the referee hadn’t felt
that Danny was guilty of any infringement.
The Ashford players must have been scratching their
heads about that one, as, seconds later, the visitors’ defence was caught napping
by a Russell Bedford throw-in. Chris Hill got behind the Ashford defence, to latch
onto the ball just in front of Joe Mant, but Mant somehow managed to deflect
the glancing header wide.
There was more tetchiness in the 16th
minute, when Tom Scorer took great exception to Aaron Jeffery apparently
following through on him after the whistle had been blown for a free-kick. I’ve
no idea of the referee’s interpretation of what had happened – but he booked
both players ! Two minutes later, Micky
Phillips was guilty of a late tackle on Phoenix skipper Russell Bedford. This
act bore all the hallmarks of a player being frustrated at some of the
decisions that the referee was making, but Mr Nazzari showed that he was
adopting a zero tolerance policy, and immediately pulled out a yellow card.
So a disappointingly scrappy start to the game, with
Ashford showing nothing in attack during the opening 20 minutes. In fact, it
was all Phoenix Sports pressure during this period, with the visitors, playing
in their “Norwich City” away strip, having to defend a succession of corners
and Rory Delap-style throw-ins into the penalty area. Russell Bedford had a
shot from outside the 18-yard box deflected wide for a corner, in the 19th
minute, but, generally, the visiting defence stood firm.
Ashford’s first attack of the game didn’t materialise
until the 22nd minute. This was set up by some deft footwork, in the
centre circle, by Pat Kingwell, which was more reminiscent of Lionel Messi than
a 6ft 5ins lighthouse centre-half. Micky Phillips and Gary Clarke then combined
well, on the left flank, with a one-two finding Clarke in the Phoenix penalty
area. Gary was tackled just as he was about to pull the trigger for a shot at
goal – but Nazzari waved away appeals for a penalty.
The home side continued to dominate, as Paul Chambers
resisted the temptation to replace the showering Danny Lye with Liam Walsh.
Instead, he moved Luke Cuthbert to the centre of the defence, with Jamie
Collado dropping back to left-back. That left the Ashford midfield rather light
on numbers – but that was probably less of a handicap than it might have been,
as the visitors’ main tactic going forward, in the first half, was the long,
high ball. Ashford’s main problem, during this time, was that they were unable
to keep possession of the ball for very long.
Stuart Zanone, who later admitted to being rather
jet-lagged, was little more than a spectator during the first half hour.
Although he worked hard, as usual, competing for the high balls that were
launched in his direction, he was rather isolated up front, and received no
service of any quality. Stuart’s first contribution of note was a muscular, diagonal,
cross-field run, in the 33rd minute – having picked the ball up from
a high clearance – which resulted in an Ashford corner, on the left. Everything
pointed to the ball being curled into the Phoenix goalmouth, with half the
Ashford team crowding Phoenix ‘keeper Steve Phillips – but this was a bluff, as
the corner was pulled back to Tom Scorer, who was advancing from the halfway
line, but Tom scuffed his attempted thunderbolt wide.
Within a minute, the ball was at the opposite corner
of the ground, with Phoenix having a corner on their left. This resulted in a
cross to the near post, and Russell Bedford did well, with the ball slightly behind
him, to bend his neck and divert the ball goalwards, forcing Joe Mant to catch
the ball just beneath his crossbar. That was just about as much as Joe was
required to do during the first half, which is a credit to the depleted defence
in front of him, given the amount of pressure that Phoenix Sports had exerted
during the first 45 minutes. All things considered, the 0-0 half-time score
line was a fairly satisfactory position for The Nuts & Bolts.
Phoenix went straight onto the attack at the beginning
of the second half, although the balance of play was much more even for the
remainder of the game, (notwithstanding the fact that Ashford still preferred
the aerial route, in contrast to the home side’s slick, on-the-ground passing).
Ashford did appear to have a good shout for a penalty,
just four minutes after the restart. Darren Marsden and Stuart Zanone combined
well in a one-two, before Marsden was tripped, apparently inside the penalty
area – but the referee awarded a free-kick just on the edge of the 18-yard line.
Stuart Zanone then had his only truly awful moment of the game, The Tank going
for power and blasting the ball miles over the bar.
The league leaders took the lead in the 54th
minute, and, given the way the game had gone, it was easy to feel that this
would be good enough to wrap up the three points, and probably the championship
– and the goal, by the prolific Yacine Gnahore, was celebrated by the Phoenix
players as if they also had this feeling. It might be argued that the goal owed
something to Danny Lye’s earlier red card, since Jamie Collado had been saddled
with the task of coping with skilful winger Harrison Carnegie. On this
occasion, Carnegie beat Collado with ease, on the right, and sent in a cross to
Gnahore. “The Yak” took a touch, turned and expertly drilled the ball into the
corner of the net, giving Joe Mant no chance.
Collado was soon to be substituted, in the 59th
minute, with Gary Mickelborough coming on in his place, and with Kieran Byrne
replacing Darren Marsden, just two minutes later. This might have been
interpreted as a move to give the visitors a more experienced head in the
left-back position – but both Byrne and Mickelborough had licence to push well
forward, with Ashford playing most of the remainder of the game with three at
the back and three up front. In other words, Paul Chambers had made a clear
statement that he was going to continue to go for the win, in spite of his team
continuing to play with ten men. Chambo was evidently not prepared to concede
the title to Phoenix just yet !
Gary Mickelborough certainly made an impact, attacking
down the right flank. He isn’t the fleetest of foot, but he has good control
and uses his strength, rather than speed, to go past an opponent. In the 62nd
minute, he did well, from a wide position, to feed the ball into Tom Scorer,
who was inside the penalty area. A clumsy challenge from Chris Hill rather
bundled Scorer to the ground, and this time Referee Nazarri had no hesitation
in pointing to the spot. Micky Phillips stepped up to take the kick, and
adopted the assumption that the goalkeeper would move one way or the other,
blasting the ball hard and straight, and into the net. This changed the
complexion of the game. This was a goal that Ashford had not looked like
scoring, but, once level, there was little to choose between the two sides for
the remainder of the game.
With Ashford still committing plenty of players
forward, in an attempt to win the match, they looked vulnerable at the back,
and it was due to the excellence of the classy Pat Kingwell, and an inspired
performance by Adam Cuthbert, in particular, that Phoenix did not score again.
There was one occasion, in the second half, when a passing movement from the
home side – which couldn’t be described as a “break” - created a five-against-three
situation with the Ashford defence, but Kingwell saved the day with a timely
tackle.
What now gave us an intriguing contest was the fact
that Ashford had finally started to play football, and Gary Mickelborough once
again did some good work on the right flank, winning a corner, in the 65th
minute. Again, the visitors attempted the ploy of pulling the ball back to a
player advancing from the halfway line, but, this time, the plan was read by
the defence, and the ball was nipped away from Tom Scorer. Immediately, the
break was on, and, such was the extent of Ashford’s commitment of players
forward, that the home side had a two v one situation. Adam Cuthbert was left
as the last defender, and he was just a little late with a desperate,
last-ditch tackle, and gave away a free-kick on the edge of the Ashford penalty
area. Captain Russell Bedford took responsibility for the kick, but his effort
failed to beat the visitors’ three-man wall.
It was end to end stuff, now, and Ashford had a
free-kick, on the left, in the 69th minute. Micky Phillips swung the
ball into the Phoenix penalty box, and the ball came off the head of defender Jason
Goodchild, and then cannoned off the inside of Steve Phillips’s post. On
another day, the ball might have gone into the net, but it rebounded through
the six-yard box, and away to safety.
With three minutes left on the clock, a long, high
kick-out from Joe Mant was flicked on by the head of Stuart Zanone, and then
headed on again by Kieran Byrne, the farthest player forward, who got to the
ball just before the ‘keeper – but Steve Phillips managed to get enough on the
ball to divert it wide.
A minute later, Paul Chambers gave final confirmation
of his continued intention to go for the win, when he replaced the hard-working
Tom Scorer with striker Buster Smissen. The Ashford Manager might have had some
regrets about making this final change when, seconds later, Gary Clarke went
down in obvious agony after a heavy tackle in the centre circle. Gary was down
for some time, as Physio Alan Orsbourne attended to his left ankle, well beyond
the 90th minute.
Eventually, the Ashford skipper got up and soldiered
on, but was clearly still limping as he played the ball forward from midfield, to
Kieran Byrne, in the 92nd minute. Byrne waited for the bouncing ball
to come down, before hitting an absolute screamer into the far corner of the net,
from about 25 yards. It was a goal that will enter Ashford football folklore,
not only because of the way that it curved like a tracer bullet into the net,
but because it was the goal that both ended Phoenix’s monumental unbeaten run
in the league, that had extended for more than a calendar year, and gave
Ashford a first ever victory over today’s opposition.
It remains to be seen what impact this defeat will
have on Phoenix Sports. When Yacine Gnahore opened the scoring, against Ashford’s
ten men, the home players and Management must have thought that they had one
foot in the Ryman League, only to have that wrestled away from them. We were
all later to learn that Erith & Belvedere had only managed a 2-2 draw at
Sevenoaks, so a victory today would have been enough to secure the title for
Phoenix.
With an eight-point lead and just four matches
remaining, Sports are still very much in pole position, (to say the least). With
a vastly superior goal difference, the league leaders effectively just need
another four points – which they should be confident of getting, even if they
lose the return fixture with Ashford on the 21st of April. However,
even if today’s game was definitely less than pretty at times, it did remind us
of the wonderful unpredictability of this game we all love – so who knows ?
