Ashford United v Cray Valley Paper Mills. Kent Senior Trophy Final. 9th of April 2017.

Ashford United  2

Cray Valley PM  1                

The Kent Senior Trophy Final

 

From Ashford United’s Milton Keynes Correspondent

J.R.R.Tolkien invented the word “eucatastrophe”. It’s meant to describe something that is the opposite to a “catastrophe”. We are all familiar with catastrophes, when the whole shooting match (figuratively) suddenly goes completely pear-shaped. Well, a eucatastrophe, which Tolkien often used in his fictional stories, is when all appears to be lost, and there is no hope of avoiding a dark and utterly terrible doom – but then, unexpectedly, there is a very sudden good turn of events, which leads to a happy ending.

I mention this because the concept of eucatastrophe has been very much in my mind, over the past few days, because of the recent turn of events that has affected my football club. In spite of a continuing run of good results, and some sparkling football, on the field, there have been plenty of reasons to be fearful concerning events off the field. The club had lived under the cloud of receivership for some time, but the recent news that the 3G pitch at Homelands had failed an FA inspection, and that dispensation had just about been granted for football to continue there until the end of this season, came as a bitter blow. Add to that the fact that Crowborough Athletic were refusing to drop a point, and the lack of a guarantee of a ground to play at next season, and the prospects of promotion were starting to look bleak.

Then, in the space of a few days, the long-running dispute over ownership of the ground was solved, and, beyond all hope, Ashford United FC owned Homelands, once again. In the same week, the pitch passed its FA inspection, and the whole stadium, including the floodlights, which had been rumoured to have had a problem, received its ground grading certificate up to Ryman Premier League level.

Strangely, these happy tidings coincided with the lads’ form collapsing, on the pitch, with a dreadful performance away at Sevenoaks, in the league, fully deserving a 4-0 defeat. The crisis deepened with a 0-3 defeat at home, to the same opponents, the following Tuesday. But Ashford United’s general upward curve continued, when, just four days later, the lads pulled off a crucial 3-1 victory in the crunch promotion showdown, against Crowborough. Considering what was at stake, and the alarming dip in form that preceded it, I reckon that that must have been Ashford’s greatest ever victory !  Tolkien’s favourite device for effecting a eucatastrophe was to send a squadron of giant eagles to rescue our heroes. (He played that card three times). Danny Lye sent out Rory Hill, who scored a brilliant hat-trick.

Just as importantly, the players and management, who must have been physically, mentally and emotionally drained after the Crowborough game, dragged themselves together once more and overcame Whitstable, away, on the following Tuesday evening. That 0-2 win was just as important as the monumental victory on the Saturday – and it meant that Ashford went into a six-point lead over Crowborough, with The Crows having two games in hand, but a far inferior goal difference.

So the bottom-line outcome from the dramatic turn of events is that Ashford United now just need to win their final four league games to be able to play Ryman Division 1 South football, at Homelands, next season.

But the recent revival in fortunes has had a more profound affect than that, in my view. A tangible feel-good factor in and around the club is now very much in evidence. The attendance of 457, for Saturday’s big game, was the highest at Homelands for a league game since the optimistic days of the 2008-9 season. It was a record for Ashford United, since The Reformation. That single gate might be put down to the fact that the match was very much the match of the season for the Southern Counties East League – but it is undeniable that the supporters have gradually started to be lured back to Homelands. The average home crowd for league games currently stands at 239 – that’s better than any of the Kent teams currently playing in the Ryman Division 1 South. It also compares favourably with average attendance at Homelands from the previous two years – 199 for the 2015-6 season, and 184 for the season before that.

But it’s not just a question of numbers. Less tangibly, although the recent off-the-field gains were secured by our silver-haired titans, who continue to run and fund the club, they are now supported by a new generation of younger volunteers, who promote the club by ingenious means online – using “social media”, (whatever that is) – and support the club very vocally, home and away. These lads have improved communications no end, and have certainly raised the profile of the club.

Added to that, there is an unprecedented youth team structure that can underpin the club’s activities for years to come. I gather that the youngest age group team is the U-11 team, but the Ashford United flag has well and truly been borne, recently, by Jason Whitmore’s richly talented U-18 squad. What has been especially pleasing is that Manager Danny Lye has embraced the U-18s by giving at least half a dozen of the lads experience of first team football, this season. That has really added to the “one club” spirit about the place.

Very recently, of course, the potential that exists within the town’s youth ranks was advertised by the astonishingly impressive debut made by young Matt Day, in the crucial victory at Whitstable, last Tuesday. By all accounts, he was brilliant, particularly in the first half, and scored a vital, and well taken, goal. Surely, that must have been the most exciting debut for an Ashford player since Jimmy Bottle’s first start, in the 2007-8 season, when he scored with two long-range shots, with his first two touches, away at Cray Wanderers. Matt Day is actually a Millwall player, but is a product of the Ashford United youth system, having been part of the set-up as a 14 year-old – so is one of our own !

All told, I must say that the vibe around the Club is as positive as I have ever known it – and the ethos of togetherness, and the complexion of a club that is ready to move forward, were further reinforced at today’s FA Trophy Final. It wasn’t just because of the number of Ashford supporters that were present, and the green & white balloons. It was also the good turn-out of mascots, all in their specially-ordered outfits, that really made a statement. It’s having the bedrock of parents who are prepared to put their children forward for this role, and there being the willingness from within the Club to organise such a gesture, that provides grounds for optimism for the future.

And to emphasise the fact that the Gods have started to smile upon Ashford United, the weather for today’s match was wonderful. A warm, sunny day, under a flawless, blue sky, which wouldn’t have been out of place in July during the cricket season. In fact, as I drove down the M1 this morning, and the dashboard thermometer touched 25.5°C, I decided that, today, the result of the game wouldn’t be the most important thing.

As it turned out, of course, the result of the game was extremely important – because we won ! 

The Club is very much focused on promotion to the Isthmian League as a prime objective, but Ashford United lifting silverware for the very first time is a very important landmark. For those of us who take less notice of the birth of a new club in 2011, and tend to regard the history of football in Ashford as a single narrative, this was the first trophy that we have won for 21 years. Due to personal and geographical circumstances, I was unable to get to matches during the 1990s, so, when Stuart West raised the Kent Senior Trophy aloft, it was the first time that I have ever seen an Ashford captain do such a thing. It is something that will remain in my memory for a long time – probably for longer than the video that I recorded remains on my smartphone.

On the subject of “firsts”, this was a first trophy win for Danny Lye as a manager, in the second year of what promises to be a successful career. Lyzee remained on the pitch, with the trophy, long after the Ashford players had returned to the dressing room – having his picture taken with the silver cup and some of the mascots, and clutching the silverware as he was being interviewed by a reporter. Of course, this was a victory that also belongs to Assistant Manager Shaun Welford, who also scored both goals – his 40^th and 41^st of the season. Both Shaun and Danny are former Maidstone United players, and both will be well known to Stones supporters.

If the occasion was wonderful, the game itself wasn’t particularly memorable – a typical cup final, in as much as it was fairly nervy, with neither side really settling down to play good, flowing football. What should be remembered, though, is the Ashford United starting line-up, as this is the roll call of names that will go down in history, and be remembered in songs and bed-time stories for many years to come. Mark them well:

1. Kamurasi, G.
2. Savage, G.
3. Walker, F.
4. Botterill, D.
5. West, S. (capt.)
6. Kingwell, P.
7. Palmer, R.
8. Stubbs, D.
9. Welford, S.
10. Goodchild, J.
11. Hill, R.

Adrian Stone came on as a substitute for Dan Stubbs, in the 70^th minute. The unused subs were Luke Eldridge, Brandon Williams, Harry Lavender and Danny Lye.

For children being encouraged to learn this line-up for their prayers, it’s quite OK to refer to the goalie as “Big George”, if “Kamurasi” is difficult to pronounce. It’s also OK to refer to Adrian Stone as “Adrianho”, as God knows him by that name.

So there was no Matt Day in the side today, as he was ineligible for this competition. Also, recent signings Richard Avery and Joe Vines were “cup-tied”. However, Ashford started with what looked to be pretty much a full-strength team, the only exception being the suspended Ben Davisson, who had to make do with a seat in the main stand – but Dan Stubbs proved to be a very able replacement.

So the sun-drenched afternoon began with the teams marching out together, with the Ashford United mascots being carried, or led by the hand, by the Ashford players. Ashford, in this match between two teams belonging to the Green Fellowship, had clearly won the toss for playing in the holy green & white, as they were kitted out in the dark green shirt with the striking, and soon to become iconic, white chevron. Cray Valley Paper Mills were also decked out in a new change strip – sky blue shirts with a single, off-centre vertical stripe, and black shorts and sockies. Their goalkeeper, Jordan Carey, also wore black shorts and socks, but retained the same bright orange shirt that he wore on “Soccer am”, recently, after his goalpost-butting antics during Cray Valley’s most recent meeting with Ashford – a 2-5 defeat, at home – had made the young lad a social media celebrity.

It’s also fair to say that Maidstone United’s Gallagher Stadium was a cauldron of noise during the preliminaries and the early part of the game, and almost all of this noise was being made by the Ashford fans who made up the vast majority of the 726-strong crowd.

To the fans’ credit, the noise level didn’t drop a decibel when Cray Valley PM took a surprise lead, in the second minute of the game. The first attack of the game was halted by a fairly unnecessary foul by Stuart West. The initial cross from the resulting free-kick was cleared, to The Millers’ left flank, but the ball was then fired back into the penalty area, where central defender Laurence Collins turned the ball into the net. So a great start for the team that started the game in fifth place in the Southern Counties League – and I should imagine that many Ashford fans would have been fearing that it might be “Sevenoaks all over again” !

Happily, there was to be no repeat of that 4-0 nightmare, and Ashford gradually asserted, having much the better of the first half. Some dithering in the Cray Valley defence, in the sixth minute, presented Rory Hill with a good opportunity inside their penalty area, but his shot was deflected behind. The resulting corner, and a follow-up corner and a Shaun Welford long throw soon after, all came to nothing.

For a good 15 minutes, Ashford struggled to play with any rhythm, with errors and misplaced passes preventing them from taking advantage of their dominance of possession. Ryan Palmer had one embarrassing moment, in the 17^th minute, when he miscued a cross so badly that he sent the ball careering over the stand behind the goal, in the direction of Maidstone Town Centre – but Palms’ blushes were spared when a corner was awarded, with Referee Ben Bowles assuming that the ball must have taken a deflection.

Ashford finally got the ball down, and passed it around, in the 19^th minute, and this produced a good chance for Shaun Welford. Dave Botterill, the class act in our midfield who is capable of making a magical, Hoddle-like pass, with his educated left foot, picked out Welfs on the edge of the penalty area, but the big man side-footed his volley wide.

Three minutes later, it was heart in mouth time for the legions of Ashford fans, as big Jason Thompson, almost certainly The Millers’ best player, put Aaron Rhule through on goal, with a great through-ball. George Kamurasi came charging out of his goal, the ball was pushed beyond him, and Rhule crashed to the artificial surface. The awarding of a penalty at that point might easily have changed the course of the game – but Referee Bowles did no more than award a corner.

I have to say that Ben Bowles had an excellent game. I was very impressed that he had the balls to book Enoch Adjei, as early as the fifth minute, for a blatant and theatrical dive, about five yards from the Ashford penalty area. Bowles and his assistants received a rousing reception from the crowd when they collected their medals at the end of the game – which I hadn’t heard before.

Anyway, it wasn’t a penalty, and the resulting corner was cleared – and then Ashford scored the crucial equaliser, in the 25^th minute. A not particularly good clearance fell to Jason Goodchild, who knocked the ball into the path of Shaun Welford. From just inside the Cray Valley area, Welford wrong-footed the one defender in front of him, when transferring the ball onto his right foot, and then calmly slotted the ball into the bottom corner of the net. So that was the 40-goal mark for the season achieved by Shaun. What on earth will we do without his goals ?  Come to that, how will Shaun ever replace the buzz of scoring goals, when he does eventually hang up his boots ?

In the 27^th minute, Ben Francis, Cray Valley’s young centre-forward, was allowed to tee off with a shot, from just outside the area, by retreating Ashford defenders – and it was a relief to see his low shot go straight at George Kamurasi. A minute later, however, and Shaun Welford had a chance to put Ashford into the lead. Jordan Carey appeared to have matters under control as Savage George sent a long, floated ball forward, but, instead, the ball fell at the feet of Welford. After a neat turn by the Ashford striker, Carey found himself on the wrong side of his man – which is bad news for a defender, and even worse news for a goalkeeper !  But Welford’s left-footed shot hit the knee of the first of two defenders who had rushed back to defend the empty net, and went out for a corner.

In the 32^nd minute, Georgie Savage was again the provider, this time heading a clearance from The Millers’ defence back in the direction from which it came. Laurence Collins made a terrible hash of trying to deal with the ball, and was no doubt horrified to see it break to Shaun Welford, of all people – but Welfs fired the ball into the side-netting, from a tight angle.

From the 34^th minute, there was a sustained period of Ashford pressure. First, Ryan Palmer beat his man with ease, out on the right wing, but Shaun Welford was unable to get high enough to be able to head Palmer’s cross downwards. Then, Pat Kingwell went on a Maradona-like run through the Millers’ half, before setting Jason Goodchild up for a shot, which was hit low and wide.

So no cigar for Ashford, during this period, and Cray Valley very nearly hit back with a goal of their own, in the 37^th minute. Aaron Rhule once again ran onto a through-ball into the penalty area, which beat the Ashford defensive line with alarming ease, but Big George came out to make a very important save. A minute later, and Shaun Welford was seen at his best, when he controlled a long ball on his chest, held off his marker and then played a controlled lay-off to Dave Botterill. The bearded No.4 again showed his value to the side in being able to pick out a chance-creating pass, this time presenting Rory Hill with an opportunity, putting last week-end’s hat-trick hero through on goal – but Rory slid his low shot just wide of the far post.

Ashford continued to play with good rhythm and intent for the remainder of the half, but The Millers, like a battered boxer really needing to hear the sound of the bell, kept the score at 1-1 until half time.

It took Ashford some time to re-impose themselves on the opposition in the second half, but The Millers certainly found themselves under some pressure on about the hour mark. Ryan Palmer, who was making the left-back’s life a misery, over on the right, seeming to be able to beat him at will – I am sure that Palms was well aware that today was Palm Sunday – sent in a good cross towards Welford, but, again, the target man was able to do no more than head the ball up in the air. Seconds later, Rory Hill hit a good, swerving shot, that Jordan Carey did well to beat away, and, soon after, Rory managed to get behind The Millers’ defence, but his cross from the by-line failed to find an Ashford head.

The period of Ashford dominance was interrupted by a Cray Valley attack, in the 61^st minute, which ended with a shot from outside the area, which went wide, but nevertheless had George Kamurasi diving desperately to his left. But, if either side was going to take the lead, then it was most likely to be Ashford, who were back on the attack with Ryan Palmer, in the 63^rd minute. Again, Palms easily beat his man, to create the opportunity for the cross, which was cleared, but only as far as Rory Hill. This time, Rory hit his shot sweetly, and it needed a great, diving save from Jordan Carey to keep the scores level.

As the game entered its final quarter, the pace of the play began to slow markedly, due, to some extent, no doubt, to tired legs created by the artificial surface under foot, and the effect of the burning sun that was beating down from above. There were several stoppages for Ben Francis having to receive treatment. He went down three or four times, without being tackled – and I wouldn’t be surprised if he had been having problems with sunstroke – before he was finally replaced by ex-Ashford Town left-back Steve Springett, for the final ten minutes of the game. These interruptions made for a very soporific atmosphere, during this period of the match, and, given the fact that Cray Valley showed little inclination to get on with the game, it appeared that there was every chance of the Final being settled with “kicks from the penalty mark”, for the second season running.

But that prospect was removed when Shaun Welford scored the winning goal, in the 80^th minute. It was a trademark powerful header from Welford, but goalkeeper Jordan Carey, who has become very popular with the Ashford fans, will be disappointed with his contribution to it. The move began, yet again, with Ryan Palmer, wide on the right. For once, he passed up the chance to skin the left-back, and laid the ball back to Savage George, who was charging up to join him, from the right-back position. George sent in a long cross, towards Welford, who was waiting beyond the far post. Jordan came out for the cross, and just missed it, leaving Shaun to plant his header into the empty net.

The Millers never really looked like equalising, during the remaining ten minutes, plus four minutes added on at the end. In fact, the best chance in what remained in this Final fell to Rory Hill. Picking the ball up on the half-way line, Ryan Palmer beat one man, with a typically neat piece of footwork, and then beat a second blue-shirted player with sheer pace, to put himself well inside The Millers’ area. Palms’ cross fell at the feet of Hill, whose rocket of a shot rather hit Carey on the body, before spiraling out for a corner – I’m not convinced that he actually saw it !

So 2-1 was the final score. On the balance of play, Ashford might have been value for one or two more goals – but, in a Final, all that matters is which team lefts the cup, and today, for the first time since 1996, it was the Ashford captain !