Carshalton Athletic 4
Ashford United 2
From Ashford United’s Milton Keynes Correspondent
Late is the hour in
which Your Milton Keynes Correspondent makes his seasonal reappearance. My
otherwise unconditional support for my football team is traditionally delayed
by commitments in the cricket season, and one day short of six months, and 18
competitive matches, have passed since I last saw my boys play.
My last game was the
penultimate match in Ashford’s glorious, double-winning season. That was the
facile 0-4 victory away to a particularly poor, and apparently disinterested,
Croydon. That turned out to be, effectively, the win that secured promotion to
the Isthmian League, (as we were never going to slip up at home to Rochester
United, in our final game).
Six months on, with
victorious manager Danny Lye leaving the club after just two games of the new
season, I look upon a very different football landscape. The all-conquering
heroes of the past – Lyzee himself, Welfs (with his 85 goals in two seasons), Palms,
Rory Hill, Adrianho, Jason Goodchild – have passed into legend. Children are no
longer raising their voices with the ‘O Ryan Palmer’ song - and getting into
trouble for it at school. More recently, supporters’ favourites Dave Botterill
and the irreplaceable Big George Kamurasi have also joined the exodus.
The upshot has been
that new Manager Jason Whitmore has taken on what was already a difficult job with
the products of Ashford United’s very promising youth system – bolstered by as
many old and experienced heads as injuries, holidays and suspensions have
allowed. From the accounts that I have read, there is a great deal of young
talent coming through Jason’s system – but these heroes of tomorrow are,
nonetheless, boys, and Ashford’s season has, alas, often been essentially a
case of boys against men. (And my past recollections of the Isthmian League are
that it has always been characterised by a fairly physical brand of football).
On the stark evidence
of the results of Ashford’s first 15 games, this season, Jason’s squad has been
well short of the standard required for this level of football. In spite of
being competitive against a handful of teams at the bottom of Division One
South of what is now called the Bostik League, those first 15 games included
eleven defeats, and, in no fewer than TEN of them, Ashford failed to score. The
total number of goals conceded in those eleven reverses was 33, with Ashford’s
only two goals coming in a 2-5 defeat at home to VCD Athletic.
Last week, the lads had
the opportunity to move away from the bottom of the league table, with games
against fellow strugglers Shoreham and East Grinstead Town – who, at the time
of each game, were at the bottom of the league. Ashford avoided the ignominy of
losing to the bottom club twice in five days, but the return of one point from
those two games surely represents a missed opportunity.
So we went into today’s
game, away to Carshalton Athletic, just one place off the bottom of the table –
a point ahead of Shoreham, with a game in hand.
But we are not
down-hearted. The Management continues to make signings, in an on-going effort
to strengthen the squad. Given the facts and figures of the season, quoted
above, what the team has desperately needed is a goal scorer – and now we have
one, in the shape of Stuart Zanone. Having scored 47 goals for us in the 2014-5
season – then, an all-time record for Ashford – Stuart may well be the key to
turning our season around. My personal hope is that he will be able to bring
the best out of young Matt Day.
And the other Reason to
be Cheerful is that, due to the FA’s latest tinkering with the non-league
pyramid, there will only be one team relegated from ‘Bostik League South’ at
the end of this season. So what can go wrong ?!
After last week’s
‘opportunities’, the next few games should present a series of stern tests for
Jason and the boys – starting with today’s game at Carshalton’s War Memorial
Sports Ground. The Robins were in 9th place in the table this
morning, and they finished 6th last season – but their last two
games have seen them defeated by teams at or near the bottom of the table,
(namely East Grinstead Town and Guernsey), so Ashford did not approach this
game without hope.
This was the first time
that I had been to Carshalton’s ground – which is not surprising, given that
the two teams have never been in the same division before. Carshalton’s natural
environment has generally been the Isthmian Premier Division, with an
occasional dip into Step 4, (where both teams are, at the moment), and a couple
of seasons in what was then called the ‘Conference South’. In fact, the only
previous meeting between Carshalton Athletic and Ashford was when the Robins
defeated Ashford Town 1-3 in the Preliminary Round of the FA Cup in the 2002-3
season.
I was expecting this to
be an enjoyable trip – a visit to a proper football ground, home to a proper
football club – and I wasn’t disappointed. The War Memorial Sports Ground is
situated in the heart of residential Carshalton. On one side of the ground,
there are several steps of terracing that extend for the full length of the 3-G
pitch, with a decent sized, 240-seat stand along one half of the pitch on the
other side. The ground is also equipped with a very good PA system, and a
helpful announcer, which all helps to make the match experience a cut above
what we used to experience at most grounds in the Southern Counties East
League.
The most significant
name on the Ashford United team sheet, (that a Carshalton official very kindly
gave me), was that of Pat Kingwell, who was, today, making his 163rd
appearance for Ashford United, so setting a new club record. The previous holder
of that record was Luke Cuthbert, (with 162 - obviously). At a time when much
is being talked about in terms of players leaving the Club, it’s good to be
able to acknowledge a player’s loyalty. Pat has been an absolute rock for
Ashford United – and he also played quite a few games for Ashford Town, as a
teenager. I remember being particularly disappointed when we lost him, because
he went off to college, so I would guess that he must have been about 18 at the
time.
The remainder of the
team featured a new strike pairing – Stuart Zanone and George Humber – which I
would imagine will be Jason Whitmore’s first-choice partnership up front. If
they were carriage horses, they would certainly look the part – as a matching
pair of vivid blonds – but it’s difficult to tell, from this afternoon’s
evidence, how well they might work as a pairing. Both were having to live off
scraps, with negligible service from the sides or from behind.
Ben Davisson and Joe
Bingham were in the engine room, in central midfield, with Tyrell
Richardson-Brown and Tom Cooney on the right- and left-side of midfield,
respectively. The returning, and very versatile, Jack Healey, who I have
previously seen in central defence and defensive midfield roles, filled in at
right-back, in the absence of a specialist, with Charles Dickens on the left.
John Difford completed the back four, alongside skipper Pat Kingwell. I am very
pleased to report that young Aaron Lee-Wharton was in goal today, and I hope
that he is being given the job on a permanent basis. He looked a good ‘keeper,
this afternoon. He has a physical presence that belies his age, and he was
easily the Man of the Match for Ashford.
So, slowly but surely,
Jason Whitmore is replacing the bunch of youngsters that he started the job
with, with more experienced hands – and it’s good that several of these have
been former Ashford United players returning to the Club. The bench, however,
had a more youthful look about it, with Matt Day, Clark Woodcock, Conner
Westney and Max Watters, plus Tom Draper, (which is a new name to me).
What was important for
Ashford in this match was to avoid conceding an early goal – the longer they
could achieve that, the longer this new combination of players could find their
feet and gel together. At the same time, the longer the game remained goalless,
the more chance there might be that the home side might start to fret and become
frustrated, having lost three of their four previous games. Ashford actually
achieved this – somehow – not going behind until the final minute of the half,
but this was in spite of the defensive unit enduring a torrid time,
particularly in the first 15 minutes.
In fact, the boys in
yellow – against the all-red of Carshalton – all but made the worst possible
start. In the opening minutes, a long free-kick, from inside the Carshalton
half, found Tommy Bradford, on the right. He fed the ball to Raheem
Sterling-Parker – who is much taller than his two-thirds namesake. RS-P, one of
four players with a double-barrelled name taking part today, jinked to his
right, inside the penalty area, under pressure from Jon Difford. The big No.9
was clearly tripped by the Ashford defender, and Referee Shaun Farrer had no
hesitation in awarding a penalty. Jordan Cheadle stepped up to take the kick,
but his effort was brilliantly saved by Aaron Lee-Wharton, diving to his right.
But there was plenty more
pressure to come on the Ashford defence – and the situation wasn’t helped by
the fact that the lads took time to settle. (Actually, that’s a euphemism for
the fact that they failed to put together any recognisable passing movements during
this phase of the game).
In the sixth minute, the
Ashford back four remained motionless as Mickel Miller ran onto a through ball –
but there was no offside flag. The left-winger just had Aaron to beat, but the young
‘keeper once again came to his side’s rescue, with a good save. In the tenth
minute, he made another save, getting behind a long-range shot, but was unable
to hold onto the ball. That might have been costly, as the ball broke to
Miller, but Aaron redeemed himself with another save.
Ashford actually had a
half-chance, at the other end, in the 12th minute, when Stuart
Zanone latched onto a long, high ball from Jack Healey. Our hero managed to get
to the ball, and poke it past the goalkeeper, but it trickled just wide of the goal.
But Carshalton were soon back on the attack, with Mickel Miller charging down
the left touchline. Healey was convinced that the ball had gone out for a
throw-in, and so stopped playing, leaving Miller in the clear. His cross found
Raheem Sterling-Parker, in the centre, but he should have done better than
side-foot the ball wide.
Having survived this
opening onslaught, I noted that Ashford United’s first attempt at getting the
ball down and passing it among themselves occurred in the 18th
minute. Generally, though, such attempts at ‘playing football’ were rare, with
the chief tactic being the long, ‘Hail Mary’ ball high into the teeth of a
strong breeze, (which was actually Storm Brian, which affected much of the
British Isles today). I was surprised at this approach, given that Jason
Whitmore has a reputation for bringing the Club’s youth along on the principle
of playing the game ‘the right way’. Our players will also need to learn that
Stuart Zanone needs the ball to his feet or to his chest. He isn’t a Shaun
Welford-type target man who wins everything in the air. Maybe these issues will
be resolved as the lads grow in confidence and get used to playing together.
By far the best player
in a red shirt, today, was No.10, Tommy Bradford, who gave the Ashford defence
problems throughout the game. In the 19th minute, having plenty of
time in midfield, he was able to measure a precise through ball to
Sterling-Parker, into the inside-right channel, but RS-P could only hit the
side-netting. A minute later, there was a sign that the Ashford boys could also
knock the ball around nicely, when given the chance. A Carshalton defender carelessly
delivered the ball straight to Richardson-Brown, who played a slick one-two
with George Humber, only to drag his shot across the face of goal.
Humber was actually
quite fortunate to stay on the field, in the 32nd minute. He clearly
took exception to what he indicated was a sly kick by Tommy Bradford, and
reacted by squaring up to his fellow No.10, placing his forehead on the bridge
of Bradford’s nose. (You see it all the time in football matches – it’s not
quite a ‘Stanhope kiss’, but the intent is there). Referee Farrer took his time
in making his decision, and consulted his Lino, and eventually yellow-carded
both players.
In terms of the
momentum of the game, and the chances created, it continued to be all
Carshalton. In the 25th minute, a through ball once again easily put
Sterling-Parker in behind the Ashford defence, but, with only Lee-Wharton to
beat, he curled his shot wide of the post. In the 29th minute,
Mickel Miller blasted a shot over the bar, from the edge of the area. In the 34th
minute, a low shot from Tom Bradford was easily saved by Aaron, but, two
minutes later, the young ‘keeper was happy to watch the ball roll just wide of
the post - Sterling-Parker had done well to twist & turn and keep the ball,
inside the Ashford area, and his low, left-foot shot was only just off target.
The Robins’ centre-forward was through on goal yet again, in the 38th
minute, but Lee-Wharton did well to come out and smother the ball. The home
side had a further good chance to take the lead, in the 40th minute,
and this was as a result of Joe Bingham and Pat Kingwell making a right
Horlicks of an exchange of passes. This gave Tommy Bradford a clear sight of
goal, but, in attempting to chip the ball over Aaron’s head, he also cleared
the crossbar.
Soon after, Carshalton
were almost made to regret all the missed opportunities, when Ashford had three
corners in quick succession, which was the only time that the visitors actually
exerted sustained pressure, this afternoon. I think it was Tyrell Richardson-Brown
who won the original corner, which Ben Davisson curled into the goalmouth, with
his left foot. This was cleared, for another corner, on the same side. The
cross from the second corner was not cleared, and Stuart Zanone attempted a
spectacular bicycle kick, as the ball bounced chest-high – but his shot went
straight at Robins’ ‘keeper Billy Bishop, who blocked the attempt with both
hands just in front of his face. All this led to a corner on the left-hand side,
and Jack Healey came steaming in, at the far post, to meet the resulting cross,
and, by his reaction, he was extremely disappointed not to score, his powerful
header going over the bar.
This brief passage of play
showed that Ashford had the tools to trouble the defence of one of the better
sides in the division – if only they could work out how to get the ball to that
end of the pitch !
It would certainly have
been massively against the run of play if Ashford had scored at that point, but
I felt the lads at least deserved to go in at half time all square, if only for
the performance of Aaron Lee-Wharton. Unfortunately, that crumb of comfort was
denied them, as Carshalton took the lead with just seconds of the half
remaining.
Raheem Sterling-Parker
charged through, into the Ashford area, in the inside-left position, shadowed
by Pat Kingwell. RS-P went down as the Ashford skipper made his challenge, and,
for the second time, the referee appeared to make the correct decision,
awarding the home side a penalty. Sterling-Parker took the spot-kick himself,
and, although Aaron dived the right way, the ball went past him, and into the
net.
The second half began
with both Charlie Dickens and Ben Davisson testing the ref’s patience by
committing silly, obvious fouls, (and this was a particularly dangerous hobby,
given that Carshalton captain, Paris Hamilton-Downes, spent much of the match
trying to persuade Mr Farrer to caution Ashford’s players !). When the referee
finally decided that he had to make an example of someone, (in the 58th
minute), it was Joe Bingham who was the unlucky player, for pulling an opponent
back after being robbed of the ball. A general issue for the visitors was that
many of the lads were losing the physical battles on the pitch, and this led to
free-kicks being conceded. Again, it should be emphasised that a certain amount
of brawn is required in this league !
The first major
incident in the second period came in the 51st minute, when the
excellent Tommy Bradford received the ball on the left, transferred the ball
onto his right foot, and then let fly a shot that was destined for the roof of
the net – but Aaron made a great, one-handed save.
The Robins made it 2-0
in the 61st minute. Problems started for Ashford when Ola Sogbanmu,
who matched Pat Kingwell in terms of height and build, beat the skipper to the
ball in an aerial tussle. The ball was worked wide to the left, to
Sterling-Parker, who fed the ball inside, to Mickel Miller. With the Ashford
defence scrambling across to cover, Miller curled his shot around Lee-Wharton,
and the ball went in off the far post.
With just under half an
hour remaining, and judging by the nature of Ashford’s previous defeats this
season, it did appear likely that Carshalton would now steadily increase their
lead. And they had plenty of chances to do so. In the 64th minute, a
brilliant spin & turn by Sogbanmu, which was so unexpected for such a big
man, took out three Ashford defenders, about 20 yards from goal, with two of
them having to pay the £10 admission to get themselves back into the ground
! Sogbanmu then pushed the ball into the
path of Sterling-Parker, but it ran through to the Ashford ‘keeper. A minute
later, Jon Difford was found guilty of pushing over Tommy Bradford, and it was Bradford
himself who was put through on goal with a quickly-taken free-kick. The No.10
looked like he was going to cap a Master Class of a performance with the goal
that it deserved, but his shot, from an acute angle, went across the face of
goal. In the 69th minute, Bradford tried again. He beat Jack Healey
with a great piece of skill, cutting inside the right-back, but his curling
shot went wide.
(Later, it was announced
that Carshalton centre-half Michael Aziaya was the Man of the Match – which surprised
me, given that I didn’t know that he was playing !).
What was equally
unexpected was that Ashford would score the next goal, but they duly made it
2-1, in the 74th minute. And it must be said that this was a
well-constructed and neatly taken goal. Jason Whitmore had reacted to the
second Carshalton goal by immediately replacing George Humber with Max Watters,
and it was Watters who got on the scoresheet. Jack Healey fed the ball forward,
from the back four, to the feet (!!) of Stuart Zanone, who effected a beautiful
lay-off, which put Max through on goal. There was still plenty more that Max
had to do, but he made no mistake with his ‘one on one’ with Billy Bishop, calmly
slotting the ball into the net, for his second goal for the Club.
The optimists wearing
green & white, in the crowd of 316, might have hoped that the home side
might be fazed by suddenly and unexpectedly being pulled back to 2-1 – but,
alas, it always looked more likely that Carshalton would extend their lead. In
the 80th minute, Charlie Dickens lost a barging match, on his own
by-line, with Ricky Korboa, (who had replaced Raheem Sterling-Parker, just a
minute earlier). Korboa pulled the ball back to Ola Sogbanmu, who blazed his
shot over the bar. Then, in the 83rd minute, Tommy Bradford had a
clear run at goal, from the left flank, but again put his shot wide.
The Robins then scored
two goals in quick succession. The first of these came in the 86th
minute, with Bradford finally sticking the ball in the net. A long clearance
from Billy Bishop rather bounced off Pat Kingwell and Ola Sogbanmu as they
challenged for the ball, and broke nicely for Bradford. This time, he made no
mistake, side-footing the ball wide of AL-W’s outstretched hand. Three minutes
later, with the visitors rather belatedly switching to three-at-the-back, with
Pat Kingwell adopting the role of additional centre-forward, Ricky Korboa made
it 4-1. This goal came about as a result of a pleasant-looking move, the home
side easily manoeuvring the ball around the remaining Ashford defenders, with
three diagonal passes, before Korboa side-footed home.
So Ashford United
continued the trend of slumping to a larger defeat than looked likely, by
conceding late goals – although it must be said that four goals did not flatter
Carshalton, this afternoon, given the number of chances they created.
There was, however, to
be a consolation goal for Ashford, and this was scored by Matt Day, who had
replaced Tyrell Richardson-Brown in the 82nd minute. The goal
stemmed from a free-kick awarded to Ashford in the 90th minute. This
was certainly more than 30 yards from goal, and close to the left touchline,
and Ben Davisson unleashed a fierce shot at goal, which he appeared to do out
of sheer frustration – but the ball was destined for the roof of the net. Billy
Bishop pulled off a tremendous save, diving to his left, and getting a strong
right hand to the ball. Unfortunately for him, the ball went vertically into
the air – and Matt Day was in the right place at the right time, giving him a
simple header, into the empty net, from about two feet.
That’s five goals for
the season, for Matt, at a rate that is not too far short of a goal every other
game. In contrast, Tyrell has scored only two, at a rate of a goal every 666
minutes. I don’t believe in the occult, so I won’t make a thing about the ‘number
of the beast’, but to put Tyrell’s scoring record into perspective, Shaun
Bradshaw (2005-6), who many of us with grey hair would probably name as the worst
forward player we have had at Ashford in recent years, (in a very poor side), had
a strike rate of a goal every 487 minutes. Although I’ve only seen Tyrell play
the once, I have to say that he seemed to me to be very lightweight, and I’d be
worried if he were preferred to Matt Day on a regular basis.
So plenty of work still
to be done with Jason Whitmore’s work-in-progress. On today’s showing, we have
some way to go before we are truly competitive against the better teams in the division,
but it’s still early days with this developing group of players. There were
also some rays of hope. For a start, it’s a step forward that we were able to
score twice - and two good goals, at that – against a team in the top half of
the table. It also looks like we’ve found a goalkeeper !
