Tunbridge Wells v Ashford United. Southern Counties East League. 17th of December 2016.

Tunbridge Wells 0    

Ashford United 5

 

From Ashford United’s Milton Keynes Correspondent

A week before Christmas, with Ashford United leading the Southern Counties East League by a point, and it was off to one of my favourite fixtures – Tunbridge Wells away. I don’t know why it’s one of my favourites; maybe it’s because the Culverden Stadium is a proper footy ground, and, with Ashford United and Tunbridge Wells being two of the best supported teams in the league, there is always a decent crowd and a good atmosphere.

Usually, it is a competitive affair, with both clubs near the top of the table, but, strangely, Wells have struggled this season, and began the day only a few places off the bottom. In contrast, there was the possibility for Ashford to have a significant day in their push for the championship, with our nearest rivals, Crowborough Athletic and Sevenoaks Town, both in seemingly unstoppable form, playing each other.

It is not by mere chance, however, that I omitted to describe Ashford’s quest as a “promotion push”, given that Ashford United’s name was conspicuous by its absence from the list of clubs that had applied for promotion to Step 4 of the football pyramid, when the list of applicants was released, last week. The Management has very quickly announced an intention to appeal against this omission, but I will not be using the “P” word until the situation is resolved.

What was foremost in my mind, this morning, as I headed down the M1 – on a coach, for the first time ever for a footy trip – was how the players might react to the prospect of promotion being out of reach for another season, especially with so much geared towards “Project Promotion”, this time around. The signs yesterday had been very encouraging, with Ashford actually bringing in an extra player, from Ryman League Hythe Town. This was Ben Wilson, a 24 year-old left-back. This certainly delivered a strong message of “business as usual” to the fans, although I was initially concerned that Wilson’s addition to the squad might be at the expense of Frazer Walker, who had played on the left side of the defence in the previous four games. This was because I had been looking forward to announcing that Frazer is (probably) the first footballer to be named after two “Dad’s Army” characters. (There – I’ve said it). Maybe, I thought, The Management was just fearful of any talk of “We’re doomed !”.

As it turned out, Frazer not only appeared on parade this afternoon, but also retained his place in the starting line-up, in which the most notable absentees were Stuart West and Ben Davisson. (Ben was, nevertheless, present at the ground).

So, a reassuringly strong and familiar Ashford United line-up had George Kamurasi in goal, with Ryan James in central defence alongside Pat Kingwell, (who led the side today, in West’s absence), and Savage George and Private Walker on either side of them. Michael Phillips started in central midfield, with Dave Botterill, with the in-form Ryan Palmer on the right wing and Rory Hill, one of the players of the season, on the left. I am also delighted to report that my old hero, Adrian Stone, made his first start for Ashford United since his return to Homelands, up front with Shaun Welford.

On the bench, as well as new boy Ben Wilson – who is himself named after a member of the “Dad’s Army” platoon – were the assorted attacking options of Luke Miller, Luke Eldridge and Brett Ince. Danny Lye also named himself as a sub.

I was interested to see who might be in the Tunbridge Wells line-up, given the club’s poor showing in the SCEFL this season – and was a little surprised to note the names of Perry Spackman and Jon Pilbeam, two of the heroes of that famous run to the FA Vase Final in 2013. Pilbeam is particularly a class act, and has played for Folkestone Invicta, among others, this season, since his brief spell with Ashford United in 2015-16, (when he scored two goals in five appearances, only one of which lasted for the full 90 minutes).

Although the air was pretty clear in Milton Keynes when the National Express coach left the city, at 9.35am, we hadn’t travelled very far south before it became fairly misty – and the mist was present for the remainder of the journey, and for the duration of today’s game.

But there was nothing dull about Ashford United’s performance, this afternoon. In fact, it was thoroughly polished, and the three points on offer were wrapped up by a first-half display that was as close to being perfect as you are ever likely to see. The home side looked outclassed and outgunned, but the whole Ashford team deserves credit for dominating a first 45 minutes during which they played good, controlled football, and barely gave Wells a sniff of a chance. At the other end, they always looked likely to score goals, with wingers Ryan Palmer and Rory Hill, and the hard-working Shaun Welford, posing a constant threat. At the end of the first half, Ashford had scored three well-taken goals, which effectively settled the game as a contest. (In fact, the only blot on an otherwise pristine afternoon was the sight of Ryan Palmer and Rory Hill wearing gloves, on what was a fairly mild day, for the time of year – get those bleedin’ gloves off !).

If there were any hint of anxiety or disappointment among the Ashford players, as a result of this week’s off-field issues, or any lack of commitment or purpose, then it was impossible to detect, on today’s performance. It would appear that Danny Lye has a squad that is both powering forward as a well-oiled machine, and unerring in its focus and togetherness. For that, Lyzee deserves a great deal of credit.

Although it was the front men who inevitably caught the eye, today, mention should also be made of Pat Kingwell and Ryan James, in the heart of the visitors’ defence, who glided through the game, effortlessly managing and snuffing out any offensive move that the home side made.

The prospect of a difficult afternoon for the Tunbridge Wells defence became apparent very early on, when Shaun Welford, in the opening seconds, got behind the home defence, with an expert turn. His first attempt at a cross, from well inside the Wells penalty area, rebounded back to him, after which his low shot was saved by goalkeeper Steve Lawrence. About a minute later, Welford again found his way behind the Tunbridge Wells back line, and had plenty of time to get his head up and measure a cross, from near the by-line. However, his attempted centre was intercepted, and ricocheted to Ryan Palmer, whose shot was blocked, at the expense of a corner.

The noisy band of Ashford supporters, who managed to sing for the entire 90 minutes, and then carried on in the bar afterwards, had a goal to cheer as early as the fifth minute – and this goal was simplicity itself, in its creation and execution. A long clearance from Big George Kamurasi was headed on by Shaun Welford into the path of Rory Hill, who was instantly through on goal, and had no trouble in slotting the ball past Lawrence.

As well as having scored 59 goals for Ashford, in a little under a season and a half, at the start of the day, Shaun Welford also demonstrates exemplary fitness and work rate. In the ninth minute, he popped up on the right flank, after a good team move, and sent in another dangerous cross. He found Rory Hill, well beyond the far post, whose controlled volley went straight at the ‘keeper, who nevertheless saved well.

On the right wing, Ryan Palmer was making left-back Ollie Black’s life a misery, seeming able to go past him at will. In the 19^th minute, Palms beat his man and sent in a cross, aimed at Rory Hill, who was waiting at the far post, but it was just too high for Hill’s diving header. Moments later, it was Rory with the ball at his feet – he managed to beat two defenders, but then blasted his shot across the face of goal.

In the 21^st minute, the inevitable happened, with Black fouling Palmer, preventing him from going past him once again, down the right, and this earned the Wells defender a good ticking off from the referee. The man in charge had an excellent game, keeping his cards in his pocket. A minute later, it was Rory Hill’s turn to be fouled, and the ref had some more work to do when Hill reacted angrily – again, good man management won the day. The foul did present Ashford with a free-kick, right on the edge of the Wells penalty area, which Hill took himself – whipping his shot over the four-man wall, but just wide of goal.

It was good to see Mickey Phillips orchestrating operations from central midfield – especially given that he managed to complete a 90-minute shift, in spite of appearing to be singled out with some heavy late tackles early on. A regular outlet for Phillips was Ryan Palmer, and the former club captain fed Palms, on the right, in the 24^th minute. The right-winger was again faced by Ollie Black, but, this time, he checked and pulled the ball back to Dave Botterill, whose deep cross found Adrian Stone – but Adrianho managed no more than a tame shot, straight at Steve Lawrence.

The afternoon soon improved for Adrianho, however, when, in the 28^th minute, the former Ashford Town favourite scored his first goal since his return to us – in what was to be his first full 90 minutes. The opportunity was instigated by a Mickey Phillips cross, from the right, which found the head of Rory Hill, who came flying in from the left wing. He connected well with his header, but his effort was somehow blocked on the line. The ball broke to Adrianho, who had the composure to pick his spot, before thumping the ball home.

G-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-L !!  A-d-r-i-a-a-a-a-a-n-h-o-o-o-o-o-o-o !!

Ashford went further ahead in the 31^st minute, and it was no surprise to see Shaun Welford getting onto the scoresheet yet again. Savage George, the right-back, went on a good run through the Tunbridge Wells half, and slid the ball through to Welford, in the inside-right channel. Attempting a cross from the by-line, the Assistant Manager appealed for a penalty as the ball hit the defender’s hand – but the lino was unmoved. However, Welfs was soon placated, when he was able to rise above the Wells defence and get on the end of the resulting corner, with a trademark downward header. Steve Lawrence managed to get something on the ball, but was unable to prevent it from going into the net. It’s not easy to keep up with Welford’s scoring, but that’s now 23 goals for the season. When Shaun was pulled off at half time – I will rephrase that. When Shaun was substituted at half time, he had scored 60 goals at a rate of 82 minutes per goal, which is comfortably better than a goal a game.

Welford’s strike partner, Adrian Stone, continued to have chances. In the 38^th minute, he tried a low, right-footed shot from about the edge of the area, which was just wide, taking a slight nick off a defender. Two minutes later, a diagonal ball from inside the Ashford half by Ryan James, who, very thoughtfully, in the mist, was wearing luminous, green boots, put Adrianho through on goal – but his low shot was easily saved by the ‘keeper.

The first glimmer of a chance for the home side didn’t present itself until the 41^st minute, and this came as a result of a rare mistake by Pat Kingwell. As a Tunbridge Wells attack reached the edge of the Ashford United penalty area, Kingwell slightly mistimed his tackle on the home side’s No.15, (who had sneaked on as a substitute, unannounced, from the mist-shrouded benches, on the far side). The resulting free-kick, in a central position, was taken by Jon Pilbeam, whose shot was deflected off the defensive wall, and onto the post, with George Kamurasi a mere spectator.

A minute before half time, Shaun Welford almost made it four, when he came steaming in from the left, to meet a deep Ryan Palmer cross – but his header was deflected wide. That was the final significant action of the half, in which a thoroughly impressive performance by Ashford appeared to have ensured that they would be top of the SCEFL for Christmas.

By far the biggest threat to Ashford leaving The Culverden with the three points was the gathering fog. Visibility was definitely reduced during the second period, making it difficult to identify players on the far side, but it never really looked likely that the game would be abandoned. (I later discovered that two other games in the SCEFL that were being played in the Weald of Kent, this afternoon, at Homelands and at Beasted, were abandoned !).

With the match effectively settled in the first 45 minutes, both teams can probably be forgiven for letting the intensity of the game drop slightly in the second half. Ashford certainly afforded themselves the luxury of making a couple of substitutions at the break, with Luke Miller replacing Shaun Welford, and Ben Wilson making his début, in place of Frazer Walker; (I just love that “Dad’s Army” connection). Wilson immediately looked a good player, although it’s probably not surprising that a Ryman League player should so easily slot into a winning team at this level. To emphasise his immediate impact on the Ashford fans, Ben had his own song, within about half an hour of coming on !

As both teams appeared to be going through the motions, to some extent, there was more time to sit with hands in pockets, as the temperature gradually fell. The only chances of note prior to Ashford’s fourth goal, which came in the 67^th minute, were a glancing header wide of goal by Ryan James, from a Mickey Phillips corner, in the 58^th minute, and a long-range shot by Pat Kingwell, in the 66^th minute, which was wide.

United’s fourth goal was scored by Ryan Palmer, his fourth goal in as many games, having failed to score in his twelve previous appearances. Adrianho ran onto a chip over the Tunbridge Wells defence, and, well inside the 18-yard box, passed up the chance of having a shot and pulled the ball back to Palmer – who shot hard and low, into the far corner of the net.

In the 69^th minute, with the fog thickening, an unidentifiable player – I think it was Adrianho – beat two Tunbridge Wells players, before getting in a shot, from inside the Wells area, which was blocked by Lawrence at his near post. Seconds later, Danny Lye made his final substitution, replacing Rory Hill with Luke Eldridge. Unhelpfully, Luke has now been shorn of his blond ponytail, creating the potential for confusion with Ben Wilson – who has a Luke Eldridge-style blond ponytail !

There were some opportunities for Tunbridge Wells to grab a consolation goal, with George Kamurasi having to do some work to maintain a precious clean sheet. In the 79^th minute, substitute Luke Carpenter took a corner, on the right. Wells skipper Tom Bryant came flying across the penalty area, and met the low cross (almost) perfectly, flicking the ball goalwards with his right foot, but hitting the bar. Three minutes later, Jon Pilbeam sent in a good shot, on the turn, which Kamurasi gathered well, low down.

Just a minute before time, Wells had an even better chance to pull a goal back, and it was again Jon Pilbeam who showed his class with a well-balanced turn & shot, after a good Tunbridge Wells move. This time, George Kamurasi had to make an even better save, the ball breaking to Ryan Crandley, who blasted wide when he really should have scored.

Just prior to this, in the 86^th minute, it was Ashford who nearly added to their total, when, after a not exceptionally fast break, Mickey Phillips, Luke Miller and Ryan Palmer found themselves with a 3 v 2 situation, with Tunbridge Wells strangely exposed at the back. Phillips passed to Miller, and Miller laid the ball into the path of Ryan Palmer, on his right, whose low shot was well saved by the ‘keeper.

But it wasn’t long before the visitors completed their afternoon’s work with a fifth goal, which didn’t flatter them, given the dominance of their performance – and it was Ben Wilson who rounded off an impressive first appearance with a goal, in the first minute of injury time. Luke Miller, from well inside the Tunbridge Wells penalty area, and to the left of goal, laid the ball back to Wilson, who was joining the attack from defence. The ex-Hythe Town man hit a good shot, which hit the post. Strangely, the rebound went to Miller, who returned the ball to Wilson, so that he could have another go !  This time, Ben eyed up the opposite side if the goal – and drilled his shot into the far corner.

An excellent day for Ashford United improved further with the news that, at a misty Greatness Park, the Sevenoaks v Crowborough game had finished 1-1, meaning that both of Ashford’s rivals had dropped points. Sheppey United managed to lose 2-1 at Cray Valley PM, and so Ashford will be four points clear at the top of the table when they travel to play Sheppey on Boxing Day.

Fisher v Ashford United. Southern Counties East League. 19th of November 2016.

Fisher 0             

Ashford United 5

 

From Ashford United’s Milton Keynes Correspondent

This was quite a special fixture, I thought. My first visit to Fisher FC’s brand new St Paul’s Sports ground, in Rotherhithe. After twelve years of metaphorically kipping on mates’ sofas, The Fish have returned, this season, to their spiritual home, on the south bank of the Thames.

I well remember travelling to Rotherhithe during the 2003-4 season, when (the then) Ashford Town beat (the then) Fisher Athletic (London) 1-2, at the Surrey Docks Stadium. That must have been The Fish’s final season at their 5,300-capacity stadium. Interestingly, two men took part in both today’s game and that 2003-4 Doc Martens Eastern Division fixture, and both led the attack for their team twelve years ago. Up front for Fisher, on that day, was prolific non-league goal scorer Gary Abbott, who I seem to remember was just beginning a Player-Manager stint at the club – he has returned, this season, for a second spell of management at the club. Spearheading Ashford’s attack, in 2003, was Adrian Stone, (alongside Joby Thorogood), and I’m delighted that Adrianho has recently rejoined us, from Thamesmead Town, via Crowborough Athletic.

There were also, of course, a small number of us hardy souls who were present at both games……

In the meantime, the only previous time that I had seen Ashford play Fisher had been last season’s league game at Dulwich Hamlet FC’s Champion Hill ground, which the lads made quite heavy weather of, before eventually overcoming The Fish 1-4 – so I have now seen Ashford play Fisher away three times, with each game being played at a different ground. A coincidence between last season’s game at Champion Hill and today’s game is that both matches were Ashford’s first game following elimination from the FA Vase. However, last season, we faced Fisher after a glorious Vase run that took us to a quarter final tie against Salisbury – whereas, last Saturday, the lads bombed out at the first hurdle, away to Eastbourne Town.

Re-reading my report on the 2003-4 game, I appeared to be surprised that Rotherhithe provided a pleasant, residential environment. (I don’t know what I was expecting – maybe I was being swayed by the proximity of Millwall FC’s ground). Anyway, St Paul’s Sports Ground nestles in the heart of this residential area, overlooked by low-rise flats on one side and, famously, by the nearby skyscrapers of Canary Wharf at one end. The main facilities for the fans at St Paul’s are a pre-fab stand with four rows of black, plastic seats, on one side, and a small bar area that occupies the same building as the changing rooms and toilets.

I must say that the PA system was good, (which compares favourably with some grounds in our league, which have no sound system at all), with very professional announcements of goal scorers and substitutions, and I thought the complimentary cookie with “FFC” iced on it, in the bar, was a nice touch. Unsurprisingly, for a new ground, everything was pretty immaculate – including the 3G artificial pitch, which is the first that I have seen in the SCEFL.

One very useful discovery in the bar, apart from a nice mug of Bovril, was the team sheets. Ashford United’s line-up included a new name – new signing Frazer Walker, who appears to be a straight replacement, at left-back, for the recently-departed Charles Dickens. The versatile Dave Botterill, who played at left-back in Ashford’s previous league game, away at Rochester United, was today used in central midfield, in the more defensive role, (a job usually carried out by the absent Tom Michelson). Danny Lye employed the usual 4-4-2 formation, but today started with Brett Ince partnering Shaun Welford up front. Ben Davisson partnered Botterill in the centre of the midfield, with the in-form Rory Hill, and Ryan Palmer, out wide. It was good to see George Kamurasi in goal, behind a back four consisting of George Savage, Stuart West, Pat Kingwell and Walker.

There was real quality on the bench for Ashford, this afternoon, in the shape of Luke Miller, Adrianho, Mickey Phillips, Danny Lye himself and reserve goalkeeper Owen McLeod – although the squad continues to look a little thin in terms of defensive cover.

A casual observer might look at the result of today’s game and assume that the 0-5 victory of the SCEFL league leaders over the team that started the day five points adrift at the bottom was a fairly straightforward outcome, and that the visitors’ clean sheet was something of a formality. The truth, however, is that goalkeeper George Kamurasi had to work extremely hard to keep his ninth clean sheet of the season, and was a strong candidate for Man of the Match for his first half performance alone. Without him, Ashford might well have been a few goals behind at the interval.

George’s heroics were necessary because of some very bright, young forwards in the Fisher line-up, although Ashford looked to be the superior team elsewhere on the pitch, and our hosts looked decidedly vulnerable at the back, with Shaun Welford easily able to bully his way through the game. In truth, it always looked likely that the visitors would be able to score more goals than Fisher, but the home side deserved better than the 0-5 score line.

Ashford, in the mostly yellow away strip, made a bright start, playing good, passing football at a high tempo, with Ben Davisson orchestrating things from midfield. However, they were unable to trouble young Ricky Wadman, in the Fisher goal – and the team described as The Pride of Rotherhithe and Bermondsey should have taken the lead, in the tenth minute, with its first attack, which resulted in the award of a penalty. The opportunity was created by some quick and incisive passing in and around the Ashford penalty area, which ended with George Savage tripping Antoine McKenzie. The referee, sporting John Cumberbatch-style dreadlocks, and being the shortest chap on the pitch, (with the notable exception of George Savage), was well positioned, and had no hesitation in pointing to the penalty spot. Trey Williams stepped up to take the kick, only for George Kamurasi to make the first of a string of important saves, falling to his left.

In spite of this disappointment, The Fish created two further chances soon after. In the twelfth minute, centre-forward Kieron McMahon ran onto a through ball, made space for a shot inside the penalty area, but then saw Kamurasi save his good, low shot. Three minutes later, a free-kick conceded by Ashford skipper Stuart West, near the left touchline, gave the hosts the opportunity to whip a dangerous, low cross into the Ashford goal mouth – and, this time, it was David Botterill who came to the rescue, heading the ball behind, for a corner.

What defined this afternoon’s game, however, was Fisher’s extreme frailty in defence, and the first real evidence of this came in the 17^th minute. A sliced clearance by goalkeeper Ricky Wadman, under pressure from the advancing Shaun Welford, went straight to Rory Hill, whose low, first-time shot, from well outside the penalty area, went wide of the unguarded net.

Left-winger Hill, who had scored eight goals in his previous five games, had a further chance, in the 23^rd minute, after Ben Davisson, picking up possession in midfield, fed the ball to him in his wide-left position. Hill’s shot, from an acute angle, was saved by Wadman at the near post. Then, two minutes later, he adopted the role of supplier. After Shaun Welford had spread the ball out wide to him, he sent in a cross, but Welford’s fairly weak header went across the face of the goal, and wide.

Generally, Ashford’s lack of progress, up to this point, had been due to a failure to get good service through to Welford, but the big man managed to open the scoring, in the 26^th minute, with a chance that was mostly of his own making. Ricky Wadman once again sliced a routine clearance, and this was immediately headed back, into the penalty area, for Welford to run on to. Defender Dwayne Agyemang was between Shaun and the ball, and should have had the situation under control, but the Ashford striker readily out-muscled him, and thumped the ball into the net from close range. It was a very soft goal, but, judging by the reaction of some of the Fisher fans in the main stand, it was not untypical.

On the half-hour mark, Ryan Palmer had the ball in the Fish net, but did so from an offside position. Ben Davisson and Rory Hill had combined with a short corner routine, and found an Ashford player on the edge of the penalty area, whose shot actually hit Palmer, who was somewhere near the six-yard line. Palms turned and put the ball into the net, but the lino’s flag was up. Almost immediately, the ball was at the other end, with Fisher’s Trey Williams with the ball on the edge of the Ashford area. He made room for himself, with a jink to the left, but then saw his left-footed shot go just wide of the goal, with George Kamurasi appearing to be beaten. Seconds later, I think it was Williams, once again, who ran onto a through ball into the penalty area. He was so far clear of the Ashford defence that all eyes turned to the lino – but the flag stayed down. With just George Kamurasi to beat, Williams’ diagonal shot hit the ‘keeper’s body and spiralled in the air, and would have bounced once before going into the net, if Pat Kingwell had not got back to clear the ball off the line. (Although Big George was most eye-catchingly Ashford’s saviour, Danny Lye’s boys were also indebted to Kingwell for a number of important interceptions and general good work in tidying up situations, this afternoon).

Kamurasi was back in action again in the 39^th minute, after the ball had broken nicely for Kieron McMahon in the Ashford area. The blond striker’s snap-shot was well struck, but George made a good, one-handed save. This gave Fisher a corner, which was taken long, finding Darius Izukanne, beyond the far post, but the No.7 shot wide. Then, just two minutes before the end of the first half, in spite of his commanding performance to date, Pat Kingwell was beaten “all ends up” by a brilliant turn by Kieron McMahon. Leaving Kingwell chasing thin air, McMahon careered down the right flank and managed to put in a cross, but the attack ended with a shot and another excellent, one-handed save by Kamurasi.

So Ashford ended the half 0-1 in front. Having played plenty of good football, and appearing to be in control in most areas of the pitch, they were fairly good value for that lead, but George Kamurasi had certainly been the busier of the two goalkeepers.

With a crowd of 101 looking on, the second half began with a chance at each end. First, Brett Ince was brave in heading the ball beyond Dwayne Agyemang, in spite of the proximity of the defender’s boot to Brett’s head, to set himself free, down the right touchline – but his pull-back from the by-line failed to find a man in a yellow shirt. Seconds later, Trey Williams appeared to be clean through on the Ashford goal, but the ball ran through to George Kamurasi.

Ashford’s second goal came within just two minutes of the restart. It could not be described as being “soft”, like the opening goal, but it demonstrated the strength and power of Shaun Welford in the same way. A cross came in from a corner, on the left, and Welford emphatically found the net with a firm header, from close range, which actually went in off the crossbar. That was Shaun’s 18^th goal of the season – and his 55^th in an Ashford career that has so far consisted of less than a season and a half of football !

 At the other end, George Kamurasi continued to make important saves, in spite of seeing considerably less action than he saw in the first half. In the 50^th minute, The Fish put together a good move down the left, with left-back Eli Graham at the heart of it. He pulled the ball back to Nassim Dukal, whose good, low shot was well saved by Kamurasi. The lino had his flag up – but George didn’t know that.

It was when Ashford scored goals three and four in quick succession, in the 55^th and 57^th minutes, that it appeared that a rout, (which didn’t actually happen), might be on the cards. First, there was an attempt to put Shaun Welford through on goal, in the inside-right channel, but the pass was too strong, pushing Shaun wide. Nevertheless, he took the ball to the by-line, and delivered a short, accurate cross which Brett Ince turned in with his head, from a few yards out. Two minutes later, a quick Ashford break saw the visiting strike pairing chasing a through ball. Welford managed to get to the ball before the advancing goalkeeper, directing it into Ince’s path, giving Brett a tap-in – and that is now five goals for him, for Ashford, this season.

Shaun Welford had a great chance of completing a second hat-trick of the season, in the 59^th minute, thanks to a neat over-head lob from Ryan Palmer which put Shaun through on goal – but the No.9 dragged his shot wide, then threw himself to the ground, in annoyance.

With Gary Abbott having made his first substitution immediately after Ashford’s fourth goal, (substituting Antoine McKenzie with Ediz Hoca), Danny Lye made his first change on the hour mark, with Mickey Phillips relieving the hardworking Ben Davisson. It was good to see Mickey getting some game time, not least because he always looks classy, making everything look so easy. He appeared to be feeling no discomfort from his left knee, which was operated on earlier in the season.

Shaun Welford’s next attempt at completing his hat-trick came in the 62^nd minute. A free-kick awarded for a foul on Rory Hill, near the left touch-line, resulted in a long cross, which found the head of the Ashford target man. The extent of Welford’s dominance in the Fisher penalty area was demonstrated by the fact that, having initially got underneath the ball, heading it straight up in the air, he was able to repeat his attempt at goal, his second header being scrambled away by Ricky Wadman, for a corner. Shaun was, no doubt, hoping to claim both a hat-trick and an “assist”.

By now, the visitors were in complete control, and had several chances to go further ahead. In the 64^th minute, a free-kick awarded for handball, with Fisher’s defensive wall lined up on the edge of the penalty area, was tapped square to Rory Hill, whose attempted thunderbolt was blocked. The ball broke to Ryan Palmer, who side-footed the ball wide, from about six yards out. A minute later, Dave Botterill did well to intercept an attempted clearance, and squared the ball to Mickey Phillips, who threaded the ball forward, to the edge of the Fisher area. There, Brett Ince played a short, square pass to Shaun Welford, whose firm, left-footed shot was well held by Wadman.

Welford was replaced by Adrianho, in the 68^th minute, but it was Danny Lye’s final change, which saw Luke Miller being sent on in place of Brett Ince, in the 75^th minute, that led to Ashford’s fifth goal. A long ball into the Fisher half, in the 76^th minute, really should have been dealt with by the two defenders in attendance; however, with Luke harrying them and closing them down with his pace, there was always a good chance that he might be able to create something out of nothing. And, sure enough, he managed to gain possession and lay the ball off into the path of Rory Hill, who had a clear sight of goal and time to pick his spot. He steadied himself, before drilling a low shot into the net.

A popular goal among the Ashford fans would have been one for Adrianho - especially for those of us who remember him establishing himself as a promising youngster in the Ashford Town side, many years ago. Adrian’s best effort came in the 85^th minute, when he did well to intercept a cross that came in from the left, just managing to nip in ahead of a defender. His attempt, alas, hit the crossbar, and so, just as in the game in Rotherhithe in the 2003-4 season, our hero failed to make it onto the score sheet.

Just as it appeared that Ashford were going to complete an unblemished day – three points, a clean sheet, no cautions and (apparently) no injuries – the referee made a strange decision, in the 90^th minute, to show Dave Botterill a yellow card for what appeared to be an innocuous foul. This was all the more surprising given that this was a ref who seemed to have had a very good game.

Another slightly curious aspect of the ref’s performance was that he somehow found at least five minutes of time to add on at the end, but this gave Luke Miller the opportunity to grab his sixth goal for Ashford. With 94 minutes gone, according to my watch, a long, lobbed through ball from Savage George presented Luke with a one-on-one situation with the goalkeeper – but the ‘keeper was able to make the save, on this occasion. The extended time also provided the opportunity for George Kamurasi to make one more good save, on the way to a hard-earned, and coveted, clean sheet, for, in the 95^th minute, Big George saved a shot from outside the penalty area by Darius Izukanne.

Elsewhere, news of a 0-3 defeat for Croydon Athletic, at home to Whitstable Town, further added to the reasons to be cheerful for the Ashford faithful. On the other hand, clear wins for Sevenoaks Town, Crowborough Athletic, Sheppey United and Hollands & Blair meant that this year’s title race continues to be extremely competitive.