VCD Athletic v Ashford United. Isthmian League Division 1 South. 23rd of December 2017.

VCD Athletic  2

Ashford United  2

from Ashford United’s Milton Keynes Correspondent

On the day before Christmas Eve, 2017, Ashford played their first ‘proper’ game away to VCD Athletic – in as much as an Ashford side had not previously played a league game, or an FA Cup, FA Trophy or FA Vase tie, at Oakwood Sports Ground, in Crayford.

I have followed our boys here before, however. On the 19^th of January 2010, six inches of snow and acute waterlogging, (remember that ?), at Homelands had prevented Ashford Town from playing any games since Boxing Day, but the weather had relented in time for us to play this Kent Senior Cup tie at Oakwood. In Town’s final season, we won this game 1-2, with goals from Mark Lovell and Tom Murphy. (These were the two players who later scored a goal apiece in Ashford Town’s final game, a 2-1 victory at home to Chatham Town, to ensure that we weren’t relegated ‘on the pitch’). Danny Lye also played in that Kent Senior Cup game.

A couple of seasons later, after The Reformation, we were here again, in Ashford United’s inaugural season, in the Kent Invicta League, to play Erith & Dartford Town, who were ground sharing at the time. That game ended 2-2, and Erith & Dartford went on to change their name to Kent Football United.

I have come to regard VCD Athletic as fellow travellers, at this level of football, but this is, in fact, the first time that the two clubs have occupied the same division. Vickers have had a varied existence, in recent years, gaining promotion to the Isthmian League Division 1 North, from the (then) Kent League, at the end of the 2012-13 season, before going straight up to the Isthmian Premier Division the following year. That adventure lasted for two seasons, before relegation back to (the then) Ryman Division 1 North, in 2016. For the current season, Vickers have, happily, been transferred to Division 1 South, with the other Kent-based sides. And we have already played VCD in the league once, going down 2-5 at home, with what was still an extremely youthful side.

Today, we were able to put out a far more experienced team, with Jason Whitmore having brought in some high-quality new recruits in recent weeks – all of them with experience of having played at ‘Conference South’, ‘Conference Premier’ and football league level. Goalkeeper Michael McEntegart, Arinse Uade, George McLennan and Shomari Barnwell made their debut in Ashford’s previous game, the 1-2 defeat at home to Horsham. Three more – Cheick Toure, Ryan Richefond and Rohdell Gordon - had arrived two games before that. Six of these seven started the game today, the exception being former Arsenal U-21 and Norwich City U-23 defender Arinse Uade, (who has a brother called Ashampooandset).

Strangely, both Jason Whitmore and his Assistant, Paul Barnes, were unavailable to attend today’s game – and so Gareth Williams, who came on as a substitute in United’s 1-1 draw at home to East Grinstead Town, was in charge of the team for the day.

Interestingly, Gareth started Matt Day up front, as the No.9 and main target man, alongside the very tall Shomari Barnwell. Joe Bingham, who captained the side in the continued absence of the still-concussed Pat Kingwell, played in central midfield, along with Ryan Richefond, who appeared to operate just in front of a back three comprised of Cheick Toure, Jonathan Difford and Tom Cooney. Scotsman George McLennan and Max Watters were out wide, with Rohdell Gordon appearing to be roughly ‘in the hole’ behind the front two; (but please don’t take that formation as gospel, given my limited knowledge of the finer points of the game). What I’m fairly sure about is that Australian Michael McEntegart was in goal – he had a different coloured jumper to everyone else.

On the subs bench were young central defender James Fitchett, Kwabena Osei, Ira Jackson, Brandon Williams and Andrew Dalhouse.

First, before describing the match, there is the important ritual of naming and shaming to deal with. On a pretty mild afternoon, for late December, there were at least four Ashford players wearing GLOVES !  These were: Cheick Toure, Tom Cooney, Rohdell Gordon and Shomari Barnwell. Get those bleedin’ gloves off !  There were a few VCD players with gloves on – but they weren’t wearing our shirt !

On the subject of shirts, the home side, members of the Green Fellowship, were clad mostly in green & white stripes. Ashford Town had a season of wearing such stripes, (in the 1980s, I think), but the sight of Vickers’ shirts immediately reminded me of the colours worn by Great Wakering Rovers, when they beat us 5-3 in the Preliminary Round of the FA Trophy, in the 2008-9 season, in the arse-end of Essex.

What was immediately apparent was that, regardless of Ashford United’s recent improvements in personnel, today was going to be a difficult game, with VCD Athletic announcing themselves as a young, bright team, intent on moving the ball on the ground, and quickly. And it was the home side that fashioned the first chance, in the second minute, when they won a corner on the left, after a shot on goal was deflected behind. The resulting cross was allowed to progress as far as Daniel Smith, beyond the far post, but his shot was high and wide. Two minutes later, VCD picked the ball up from a McEntegart kick-out, and managed to feed the ball forward to Aymun El-Moyhalbel, (who sounds Irish, but probably isn’t), but the No.11 also shot well wide.

If Vickers looked lively early on, then Ashford’s new-look side also appeared to be very capable when going forward. The visitors’ first chance fell to Rohdell Gordon, formerly of Stevenage, in the fifth minute. Cutting in from wide on the left, he created an opening from a central position, and unleashed a firm shot from about 20 yards out. It would have gone into the roof of the net, but for a very good finger-tip save by Joe Mant – who, lest we forget, formerly occupied the Ashford United goal for a total of 11,017 minutes, keeping 44 clean sheets.

Joe actually had a slightly dodgy moment, in the VCD goal, in the 16^th minute. Matt Day launched a bouncing ball forward, for Shomari Barnwell to chase, but centre-back Jeffrey Imudia appeared to have matters well in control – until he managed to head the ball over Joe Mant, with Joe having to scramble back and collect the ball just a yard from his goal-line.

If there is one criticism that could be made of the United performance, it is that there were still too many instances of players being muscled off the ball, or worried out of possession. Our lads need to be stronger, both with and without the ball. That is not a comment that can be levelled at skipper Joe Bingham, however, who was very combative in central midfield, and was probably Ashford’s Man of the Match. Seconds after Joe Mant’s scare, he made an important interception, in the centre circle, and released Matt Day through the inside-left channel. Matt had a clear sight of the target, but his well-struck shot went across the face of goal.

At about this time, Ashford’s forward-most players – Matt Day, Rohdell and Shomari – were showing signs of linking up well, and I felt that the visitors just about shaded the first 20 minutes.

Two things that were stimeying Ashford’s rhythm and progress, however, were the fact that Shomari Barnwell was having a bit of a ‘mare with his touch, with lay-offs and ‘final’ balls seeming to invariably go astray, and the fussy performance of the young referee, with the majority of his free-kick decisions going the way of the home side. (Have I mentioned that there was an FA Assessor in the stand ?). Jonathan Difford most often caught the referee’s eye, being penalised several times for holding, and this culminated in a stern lecture, about mid-way through the first half. The first player to be shown a yellow card, however, was Joe Bingham, in the 15^th minute, after conceding a free-kick that he clearly felt should actually have been given his way.

Three minutes after this caution, Vickers had their best chance of the half. After yet another foul by Jon Difford, the home side had a free-kick in the centre of the Ashford half – and they executed a well-worked routine. The ball was chipped over the three-man defensive wall, and Junior Baker met the ball with his head, at the far post. The ball seemed to virtually bounce along the goal-line, and Kemoe Darboe seemed to have a tap-in at the opposite post, but his attempt to hook the ball into the net merely sent it spiralling over the bar.

This near miss appeared to galvanise the home side, and right-back Ellis Brown was soon dribbling into the Ashford penalty area, beating several players, in the 31^st minute. Jon Difford managed to smuggle the ball away, only for Aymun El-Moyhalbel to pick up possession wide on the right. Showing great pace and control, the wide man dribbled the ball along the Ashford by-line, but his low shot from close range was easily smothered by McEntegart, at the near post, when a pull-back would probably have been far more dangerous.

As VCD continued to press, Ashford had a chance on the break, in the 37^th minute. Rohdell Gordon carried the ball out of his own half, and had just Matt Day and Shomari Barnwell, each marked by a defender each, in front of him. Rohdell fed the ball left, to Barnwell, but, unfortunately, Shomari was still having ‘one of those days’, and his control let him down, and the chance was gone.

For all the skill and pace possessed by Ashford’s front two, one thing that wasn’t working very well for Gareth Williams’ team was that balls played forward to them were simply not ‘sticking’ – but things were to change, in the 39^th minute, when United took the lead, with Shomari Barnwell getting his name on the scoresheet. However, most of the credit for the goal should be given to Matt Day, who showed just how a centre-forward should play. Joe Bingham played a ball towards the right corner flag, and Matt first showed great pace and power to get to the ball first, and then had the skill and composure to turn and send in a dangerous cross. Shomari was the intended recipient, at the near post, but I had the distinct impression that the ball was nodded into the net by a defender – but Shomari was credited with the goal, and so has now scored two goals for Ashford, in as many appearances.

In the 42^nd minute, Michael McEntegart did well to save a deflected shot by Jonathan Adebayo, diving low and to his right. A minute later, Jon Difford finally managed to persuade the referee to book him, when he was guilty of holding a VCD forward as he tried to turn – but Ashford managed to hold onto the 0-1 lead until half time. There was not much between the two sides during this first half, and Ashford certainly should not have been embarrassed to be a goal up at the break.

If the yellow-shirted visitors’ first-half performance had given plenty of encouragement that they would be capable of holding onto the hard-fought lead during the second half, the complexion of the match changed after the re-start. VCD started off at a high tempo, and were busy all over the pitch, and it soon became clear that Ashford would have plenty of defending to do, if they were going to leave Oakwood with all three points.

In fairness, United’s defence stood firm for the next 20 minutes. Vickers’ best chances fell to Rashid Kamara, in this period. As early as the 49^th minute, McEntegart was rooted to the spot as he watched Kamara’s curling effort go wide of his far post. Later, in the 63^rd minute, after Shomari Barnwell received a yellow card for preventing a free-kick from being taken, the second attempt at crossing the ball into the Ashford area found the VCD No.10 in a central position, but the Ashford ‘keeper was easily able to smother Kamara’s weak shot. (It’s unbelievable, Jeff !).

It was in the 68^th minute that the game was effectively turned on its head. Aymun El-Moyhalbel dribbled the ball into the Ashford penalty area, from the left, and close to the by-line. As he shaped to go around Tom Cooney, the Ashford left-back brought him down with what was an annoyingly obvious foul, and the ref, who was well positioned, had no hesitation in awarding a penalty. Kemo Darboe stepped up to ‘take the kick from the penalty mark’, waited for McEntegart to fall to his right and then calmly slotted the ball into the centre of the goal.

As all good teams will, VCD were quick to capitalise on this change in momentum, going further ahead, just two minutes later – although Vickers’ second goal came from a break away following an Ashford United corner, with Gareth Williams having replaced Matt Day with Andrew Dalhouse immediately after the home side had equalised. The swift VCD break found Rashid Kamara deep inside the Ashford penalty area, but his initial shot, which beat McEntegart, was cleared off the line. The ball was soon channelled back to Kamara, however, and he made no mistake with his second attempt.

If there had been genuine and well-founded optimism that Ashford might hold onto their 0-1 advantage at half time, there appeared, quite frankly, to be little hope of the visitors equalising. They had enjoyed too little possession, and had created too few chances, in the second half, and so it appeared that a gallant defeat would be the most likely outcome. In fact, the boys very nearly went further behind, in the 75^th minute, when, pressing forward, they were caught on the break. Kemo Darboe appeared to be well offside, as he raced clear of the Ashford defence – but there was no flag !  Fortunately for the faithful Ashford shopping-dodgers, who made up a good proportion of the 100-strong crowd, Darboe dragged his shot across the face of goal.

The replacement of Rohdell Gordon with Ira Jackson, in the 78^th minute, had had little impact – but there was just a chance that Ashford might have one more opportunity to pull a point out of the fire. This materialised in the final minute of normal time, in the form of a corner, which, fittingly, was won by the hard-working Joe Bingham. The resulting cross was aimed at Andrew Dalhouse, who waited just beyond the far post, and the big man rose above the VCD defence, to power a header into the net, off Joe Mant’s crossbar. It was a classical centre-forward’s goal – dare I say ‘Welfordesque’ in its execution ?

The point was no more than Ashford deserved, on the overall balance of play, and, more importantly, might prove to be enormously important to the team’s confidence, going forward. At this very early stage, this new set of players still looks a fair way off being a unit that might challenge for the play-off positions, but things certainly appear to be going in the right direction.

Corinthian-Casuals v Ashford United. Isthmian League Division 1 South. 18th of November 2017.

Corinthian-Casuals  3

Ashford United  0

from Ashford United’s Milton Keynes Correspondent

The third game of the season for me, this. And whereas my first game of Ashford United’s return to the Isthmian League involved a visit to a ground and a club that I hadn’t seen before (Carshalton Athletic), and the second was a return to familiar, ‘Kent League’ surroundings (a trip to Badgers Sports Ground, now the home of Greenwich Borough), today’s match was the other type of fixture. This was a return to a once very familiar haunt - King George’s Field, in Tolworth, in South West London, which has been the home ground of Corinthian-Casuals since 1988.

For some younger supporters of Ashford United, brought up with a team winning most weeks, and eventually lifting silverware, the quite dreadful run of results, this season, has probably come as something of a shock. For us more seasoned fans, the ones with grey hair, there has been something almost nostalgic about our heroes’ tribulations, as following a team struggling at the bottom of the Isthmian League used to be pretty much the norm. In fact, along with the likes of Rothwell Town, St Leonards, Molesey, Walton Casuals and Fleet Town, I remember Corinthian-Casuals as being fellow perennial strugglers, and among the few teams that Ashford Town, in the final years of the old Club’s existence, could beat.

In fact, looking through my dusty archive of match reports, I see that I went to the match at King George’s Field in each of Ashford Town’s last five seasons, from 2005-6 to 2009-10. To provide a history lesson for our younger friends, and some nostalgia for those old gits who have suffered with me over the years, here are the opening words of my reports on some of those games here, (to demonstrate that collective misery is not a new thing)….

The report on the 2005-6 match began with:

“All chance for valour has now gone. Whether or not we manage to scrape through this season without getting relegated, this will still go down as being an abysmal season.”

We ended up winning that game 0-1, thanks to a goal from Stuart Playford.

In 2006-7, it was:

“Although we are only in mid-November, this was a must-win game; not just because …. everyone else seemed to have been taking the points away from King George’s Field, but also because we were lying in third-bottom position at the start of play, just two points above the relegation zone, having played a game more than Walton Casuals.”

We also won that game, 0-3, and returned to Tolworth the next season with a 0-2 victory – but then, in 2008-9, this happened:

“This was three easy points thrown away. Ashford Town were cruising in third gear, 0-2 up, after an hour here at King George’s Field, but we somehow contrived to lose this game, against a team that I’d expect us to beat nine times out of ten.”

Worse followed in 2009-10, Ashford Town’s final season, when the lads went down 5-1:

“It’s extremely disappointing and deflating to have to report that, this afternoon, I witnessed what I think was our worst performance of the season. This was a massive step backwards. It also appeared to be a hugely dispiriting experience for the exasperated management team of Steve Lovell and Hugo Langton.”

Well, nobody could question the quality of our management team on that occasion !  And we didn’t just lose that game because Danny Lye was playing at left-back !

Happy days !  (Yes, really). And one thing that we can say is that we avoided relegation that season, and in all those other seasons of struggle, so that we never went downwards in the pyramid due to performances on the pitch.

[ And finally, before I deal with the events of this afternoon, here is the usual disclaimer. The nickname of Corinthian-Casuals FC is “The Pink & Chocolate”. I report that without further comment. You can make up your own dirty jokes. ]

One thing that has certainly changed in the intervening seven years is that today’s hosts are now far from being relegation fodder. In fact, they began today’s game in second place in the league, having recorded an impressive 1-6 victory away at South Park on Tuesday. As such, this was a challenge that Jason Whitmore’s improving side could have done without. With new coach Paul Barnes having been on board for a handful of games, and with a whole raft of new players in the process of bedding in, Ashford put in what was, by most accounts, by far their best performance of the season, on Tuesday, in spite of it ending in a 3-5 defeat at home to Herne Bay. It was the first time this season that we had actually managed to get in front after being behind – but, more importantly, it appeared, on Tuesday, that we were, at last, actually COMPETING. What is desperately needed, however, is for the new group of players to get a win under their belt, and so it would have been nice for them to have had a simpler task today.

In terms of the situation at the bottom of the league table, the hideous prospect of relegation has become less imminent of late, with bottom club Shoreham having been docked six points for the heinous crime of having made a clerical error of some sort. That meant that, this morning, Ashford had a cushion of seven points over The Musselmen, albeit having played two games more. The pressure was further eased, as kick-off at Tolworth neared, by the news that Shoreham were already trailing 3-0 at half time in Guernsey, in the 2pm kick-off.

So, with the odds stacked against Ashford, in this second-versus-second-bottom match, my hope today was to see Jason Whitmore’s boys show some improvement on the performance they turned in a fortnight ago, against Greenwich Borough. Just like today’s opponents, Greenwich were challenging at the top of the table, but it was a concern that there was such an obvious abyss between the two sides.

In that context, although today’s 3-0 victory was as straightforward for the home side as the score line suggests, Ashford’s performance this afternoon represented a definite improvement. It soon became obvious that Casuals had two strikers who would be a handful for any defence – Reyon Dillon, who was strong and skillful, and looked the biggest man on the pitch, and Gabriel Odunaike – and Ashford’s back four of Frazer Walker, James Fitchett, John Difford and Tommy Cooney did well to contain them for most of the match. Two weeks ago, it was noticeable that the Ashford players were losing their personal battles all over the pitch. The lads today held their own much more effectively, (although a boxing referee would probably have given the verdict to the home side by a couple of rounds !).

Ashford were generally fairly solid, this afternoon. Jason Whitmore set the team up in a 4-2-3-1 formation, with Aaron Lee-Wharton behind the back four and Jack Healey and Ben Davisson generally just in front of them. Andrew Dalhouse was up front as the target man, with Max Watters, Joe Bingham and Ira Jackson forming a sort of umbrella behind him. Pat Kingwell was again absent. I understand that he missed Tuesday’s game against Herne Bay because of concussion, so it’s a fair bet that this was the reason for him not playing today. Ben Davisson again took over as captain, and led by example, with a typically committed performance.

There had been much talk, since Tuesday’s 3-5 defeat, about individual errors costing the team goals, and so this was probably very much the focus of Jason Whitmore’s pre-match team talk. If that was the case, then the game plan lasted for approximately nine minutes, as it was at this point that Frazer Walker, quite inexplicably, allowed the ball to run under his foot. It went straight to Reyon Dillon, who gave notice of the quality of Ashford’s opposition by taking one touch before firing the ball low, into the net.

In spite of this early reverse, there was not a great deal between the two sides for the remainder of the first half. It is also to Ashford’s credit that, in spite of Corinthian-Casuals’ potent attacking force, this turned out to be a game of few clear-cut chances. On the debit side, almost all of these chances were created by the home side, who were confident on the ball, and mobile and inventive when going forward. Ashford, on the other hand, still tended to favour the long ball forward. This is a ploy that is more readily forgivable now that we have a genuine target man, in Andrew Dalhouse, but almost everything aerial threatening the Casuals’ goalmouth met the head of a home defender, and most attempted through balls were easily dealt with.

One of Ashford’s best players this afternoon was Max Watters. Although he rarely threatened with a telling cross, he showed good composure on the ball, and good control. He was responsible for a rare Ashford shot on target, shortly after the home side had taken the lead. Having beaten his man on the corner of the penalty area, he had a clear sight of goal, but his shot went straight at Casuals goalkeeper Danny Bracken. The only other recognisable first-half chance for the boys in yellow came in the 20^th minute, when John Difford met a Ben Davisson free-kick from near the right touchline, but Difford miscued his header hopelessly wide.

The home side, playing in pink and chocolate halved shirts, with sleeves reversed, and chocolate shorts, created rather better chances. In the 26^th minute, Reyon Dillon went on a mazy dribble, being prepared to take the ball in the direction of his own goal if it meant keeping possession, but eventually turned and hit a well-struck shot, which required a good save from Aaron Lee-Wharton. In the 40^th minute, Dillon left Jack Healey trailing in his wake, as he turned inside him, before putting Gabriel Odunaike through on goal. There were loud appeals for a penalty, as Odunaike went down in the area, but the referee gave nothing. With two minutes to go to half time, a Josh Uzun corner, from the right, led to a bit of a scramble in the Ashford six yard box, but Tommy Cooney managed to clear the ball from close to the Ashford goal line.

As a first half that was played in constant drizzle, and to a backdrop of non-stop singing from a small band of Corinthian-Casuals supporters, entered the one minute of injury time, Ashford did finish on the front foot, forcing a late corner, but the score remained at 1-0 at the break.

The drizzle appeared to intensify during the interval, but King George’s Field offers plenty of shelter for spectators. The only seated accommodation can be found in a low and narrow stand, consisting of three rows of seats, extending for almost the length of the pitch on one side, but there is shelter for the whole of that side, and also for the width of the pitch behind one of the goals. It also looked to be a nice, flat, turf playing surface.

The Pink & Chocolate took control more noticeably during the second half, with Aaron Lee-Wharton having to make the best save of the match, as early as the 48^th minute. He drew applause from the 182-strong crowd as he first parried a well-hit shot from the right flank, before plucking the ball out of the air. Two minutes later, Aaron had a free-kick in a dangerous, central position to deal with, after Ben Davisson was penalised, (when it actually appeared to me that he was the one who had been fouled). Josh Uzun went for goal, but Aaron gathered the ball fairly comfortably, near to his left-hand post.

On the hour mark, Jason Whitmore made his first substitution, replacing Ira Jackson, who was fairly ineffective today, with new signing Stefan Cox, who thus became Ashford’s 58^th player to be used this season. And within seconds of the change, Ashford had a squeak of a chance, when Ben Davisson put Max Watters through in the inside-right channel – but Max pulled the ball across the face of goal, with what may or may not have been a shot.

Jason made his second change after 65 minutes, and this appeared to be a tactical change with the objective of increasing Ashford’s goal threat. He withdrew Frazer Walker, allowing defensive midfielder Jack Healey to replace him at right-back, and threw on Mohamed Mohamed; (at least I am assuming that that was not just an echo in the King George’s Field PA system). But this move proved to be to no avail, as Casuals effectively secured the three points when they made it 2-0, in the 69^th minute. Having had the ball in the net in the 64^th minute, only for the ‘goal’ to ruled out for offside, Casuals opened up the Ashford defence with a diagonal ball that found No.11 Max Oldham free, on the left flank. Aaron Lee-Wharton came out of his goal to meet the attacker, but Oldham calmly slid the ball between the ‘keeper’s legs, and into the net.

I am not sure whether it sensed that it was ‘game over’ at this point, but my biro chose this moment to run out of ink !  (Note to self: take a spare biro, in future). I am therefore relying on memory to describe Corinthian-Casuals’ third goal, but I will do my best to do so, given that it was one of the finest goals that I have seen at this level. Coming in the 82^nd minute, it was a brilliant team goal, the sign of a talented team that is full of confidence. It was also a fitting way for the home side to cap a commanding performance. The move started with the ball being played forward from the half-way line, before being flicked on by the outside of someone’s boot to set a team-mate off down the left touchline. A cheeky dink over the head of Jack Healey took him out of the game, and then I think it was Reyon Dillon who skillfully lifted the ball over Lee-Wharton’s head. There were Ashford defenders desperately trying to scramble the ball off the line, but Dillon was there to turn the ball into the net, for his second goal of the match. A third goal was a little harsh on the Ashford lads, who had fought hard to compete with a very good side, but the inspired move really deserved to result in a goal, which was acknowledged with applause from both sets of supporters.

Ebun Odubonojo had, by this time, replaced Andrew Dalhouse, (in the 71^st minute), and this change did, briefly, liven things up for Ashford in attack, particularly when he combined with fellow substitute Stefan Cox, but Danny Bracken was rarely troubled, in the Casuals’ goal.

Elsewhere, Lewes were held to a 2-2 draw, meaning that today’s victory at King George’s Field put our old friends on top of the table. They seem to be nice people here, so that’s all good.

In spite of the improved showing by Ashford, this afternoon, results continue to look dreadful. Since beating Guernsey at home, the subsequent 13 games have yielded just two points, with the eleven defeats ALL being by at least two goals. Nevertheless, things appear to be going in the right direction, and I don’t think it will be long before the lads will start picking up points. However, it might not be in our next game, which is a difficult trip to face Cray Wanderers. Next Saturday’s opponents moved up to third in the table, with a 0-7 victory at East Grinstead.