Greenwich Borough 5
Ashford United 0
From Ashford United’s Milton Keynes Correspondent
A fortnight ago, my
2017-18 Isthmian League adventure began with a visit to Carshalton Athletic, a
team and a ground that I had not seen before. Today’s trip to Eltham, in the
Royal Borough of Greenwich, was for a different type of fixture – a return to a
familiar, Southern Counties East stamping ground, namely Badgers Sports Club,
in Middle Park Avenue.
Ashford United both
enjoyed wide-margin victories, and endured the odd heavy defeat, when the
ground ‘belonged’ to Cray Valley Paper Mills FC, with Erith Town being their ground
sharers. But things have changed, and the green & black livery of Cray
Valley has now been replaced with the rossoneri
of Greenwich Borough FC.
As a club, The Boro’ is
unrecognisable from the one that finished last of 16 in 2011-12, and 15th
of 17 in 2012-13, in what was then still known as the Kent League, in front of
crowds that quite frequently dipped below 30 (thirty). For the past few
seasons, the club has been (apparently) extremely well bankrolled, and
promotion from the SCEFL as champions, in 2015-16, was followed by a very
impressive third-place finish in the (then) Ryman League Division 1 South, the
highest level at which the club has ever competed. Occupying third place in the
league this morning, it seems certain that Boro’ will be among the
front-runners for the title this year.
The two clubs first
competed in the same league during the 2013-14 season, when Ashford United were
definitely in the ascendancy, winning 1-0 at home and 0-2 away in the league,
and 4-1 at home in a cup game. The following season, Ashford again maintained
their unbeaten record against today’s hosts, with a 1-1 draw at Homelands and a
quite remarkable 1-4 victory away, when Boro’ ground shared at Dartford’s
Prince’s Park ground. The reason this was such an amazing game is that, in
spite of the scoreline, I can promise you that our boys were under the cosh for
at least the final 80 minutes of the match. On that occasion, Ashford were
grateful for a ‘worldie’ from Liam Whiting, two well-taken goals from Stuart
Zanone and another from Gary Clarke. They were also happy to have Pat Kingwell
in central defence, leading the resistance to the onslaught from a very good
Greenwich Borough attack.
Maybe Greenwich’s
quality going forward was a sign of things to come, because, in the following
season, their championship-winning season, they beat us 4-2 at Prince’s Park,
and then 0-2 at Homelands in the final game of that season. This year, they
have already registered a victory against us – a 0-2 win at Homelands, in the
cup – further emphasising the transfer of the balance of power between the two
clubs.
[ A strange quirk about
Greenwich’s last three games against Ashford United is that Big George
Kamurasi, who recently left us for The Boro’, didn’t play in any of them. In
goal for Ashford on those occasions were, (in the order in which the games are
mentioned): Dan Eason (replaced by Nick Luen after 57 minutes, due to injury),
Dan Cook and Aaron Lee-Wharton. ]
Well, if the difference
between the two clubs needed re-emphasising, then today’s game certainly did
that. This was an embarrassingly one-sided game, which never looked like being
more than a formality for the home team. Even if we choose to write off the
game on the grounds that this developing Ashford side couldn’t be expected to
seriously compete with a side pushing for promotion to the Isthmian Premier
Division, and concentrate on signs of the green shoots of improvement that can
be taken from the match – then very few emerged this afternoon.
Ashford Manager Jason
Whitmore certainly appeared to be expecting a tough afternoon ahead, as he set
the team up with Stuart Zanone on his own up front, with a clear strategy of
trying to stay as compact and solid as possible. I cannot fault the logic of
that strategy – with the Greenwich back four watching Stuart, then surely
Ashford’s remaining ten players could take care of Greenwich’s other six ? –
but the outcome was merely that Ashford looked as unlikely to score as they had
done at Carshalton, two weeks ago. Stuart cut a lone figure up front, and it
was hard not to rue the fact that, at a time when we are desperate for someone
who can put the ball in the net, we have a 47 goals a season striker who is
hardly getting a kick !
If it was a long
afternoon for Stuart, then it was also a busy day for his brother, Sam, who was
making his debut for the Nuts & Bolts. Sam was in the centre of defence,
alongside John Difford – with Pat Kingwell named as one of the five
substitutes. Sam is of a similar build to his brother, suggesting that Mrs Zanone
hasn’t made many puny boys, and certainly looked the part. There was also the
reassuring sight of Frazer Walker at right-back, with Tommy Cooney at
left-back.
This was my first look
at Jason Hollick. My understanding is that Jason is a centre-back, but he
seemed to be playing in a central midfield role today, just in front of the
back four. Ben Davisson provided energy in the middle of the park, alongside
Joe Bingham, and also wore the captain’s arm band, in the absence of Pat
Kingwell. Max Watters and Luke Eldridge provided the width to the midfield – in
theory.
Ashford certainly had a
strong-looking bench, which included Matt Day, (who scored four goals, on
Thursday night, in our very successful youth team’s 5-0 victory), Jack Healey,
Clark Woodcock and Tom Draper.
The Greenwich Borough
line-up, as expected, was full of quality, with the first two on the teamsheet –
George Kamurasi and Nathan Paul – being ex-Ashford players. But the name that
jumped out at me was that of Jack Barham. Not only does he bear my father’s
name, but he is certainly making a name for himself, reportedly attracting the
interest of some football league clubs.
Unusually, Jason
Hollick started the game wearing the No.12 shirt – but all of the Greenwich
team and substitutes wore squad numbers. It’s probably a good thing that
Ashford haven’t opted for the squad number approach, since, at the current rate
of player registrations, we’d be into three digits before the end of the
season. Sam Zanone was the 50th player to be used this season, and
Tom Draper became the 51st when he came on as a second-half
substitute.
Kicking up The Badgers’
slope in the first half, Ashford were soon under pressure. As early as the
second minute, a foul by Sam Zanone on Charlie Macdonald presented the home
wide with a free-kick in a dangerous, central position. This was taken by Ali
Fuseini, with No.17 on his back, but his curling shot over the defensive wall
was comfortably caught by Aaron Lee-Wharton, in the Ashford goal. In the fifth
minute, Danny Fitzsimmons went close with a glancing header from a corner,
which flashed across the face of goal.
Two minutes later,
Aaron got himself into a bit of trouble when trying to play football with his
back four. An awkward pass forced him into a tussle with a Greenwich forward,
which took him all the way to the touchline. Aaron had no choice but to put the
ball out, but his goal was now unguarded. An attempted chip into the empty net,
following a quickly-taken throw-in, went just over the bar.
In spite of the traffic
being generally one-way – down the hill, towards the Ashford goal – the visitors
had competed and defended pretty well in the early stages of the game. But a
theme emerging for Ashford’s season appears to be the propensity to concede a penalty
just at the wrong time, either early on or just before half time, and this
happened today, in the 13th minute. As a Greenwich player darted
into the penalty area, he went down under a challenge from Sam Zanone – and the
speed with which Referee Michael Marsh made the decision, and the lack of
protest from the Ashford players, did nothing to suggest that this wasn’t the
correct decision.
After Aaron’s heroic
penalty save in the opening minutes of the Carshalton Athletic game, there was
every hope that he might repeat the act, as Charlie Macdonald stepped up to
take the kick. But Aaron was given no chance, as Macdonald smashed the ball
into the roof of the net. The Greenwich No.8 really should have added a second
goal, just three minutes later, after some excellent work by Jack Barham, who
twisted and turned inside the Ashford area, before finding Macdonald with a low
cross. Just six yards out, with just Lee-Wharton to beat, Macdonald rather
rushed his shot, pulling it wide.
To cut a 90-minute
story short, the home side was in control of this game virtually throughout.
What didn’t help Ashford’s cause was that we gave the ball away almost as soon
as we had it, players all over the field hurriedly misplacing a pass, or aiming
an aimless long ball up-field, which was invariably easily absorbed by the
Greenwich defence. Although I haven’t had the privilege of watching any of
Jason Whitmore’s youth teams play, I cannot believe that he coaches them to just
punt the ball up-field, so I was surprised to find the senior team apparently
adopting this tactic this afternoon.
Charlie Macdonald
scored his, and Greenwich’s, second goal in the 27th minute. Francis
Babalola and Tom Carlse combined nicely with an exchange of passes in the left
half of the Ashford penalty area, which resulted in a low cross along the
Ashford six-yard line. Macdonald was free at the far post, and had no trouble
in thumping the ball into the roof of the net, once again. His muted,
understated celebrations appeared to betray a sense of embarrassment at how
easy it had been to score…..
And so the pressure on
the Ashford goal continued, and I lost count of the number of Greenwich corners.
In the 29th minute, one was conceded after Tom Cooney did well in
coming across with a covering tackle. The resulting cross found Danny
Fitzsimmons beyond the far post, and his powerful header appeared to be
goal-bound, but Sam Zanone headed the ball to safety, albeit only just wide of
the angle of post and bar.
Sam’s brother, Stuart,
actually had a sight of goal in the 35th minute, and, typically of
the way in which he has had to live off scraps in his current spell with the club,
this chance emerged out of nothing. Max Watters did well to charge down a clearance
from the Greenwich back line, and the ball broke to Stuart’s feet. With time to
measure his shot, he struck the ball well, forcing Big George Kamurasi to make
a good save, falling to his left. Stuart latched onto the rebound, but his
second shot went straight at the ‘keeper, and George was able to make a more
comfortable save.
Just three minutes later,
Joe Bingham had possession of the ball deep inside the Greenwich half, but he
sliced his shot horribly. In the 42nd minute, Jason Hollick made
even more of a Horlicks of a shot at goal, with his attempt actually going out
for a throw-in – but at least the lads had started to play some football, as
half time approached. The last act of the first half, however, saw Jack Barham
sprawling in the penalty area, looking to the referee for a penalty – but Mr
Marsh did no more than give the home side yet another corner.
It was actually quite
surprising that the Boro’s lead was only 2-0 at the break, but the writing was
definitely on the wall, with it being hard to envisage Ashford getting into the
game, even at this early stage. Worse was to follow, during the interval, with
the news that bottom club Shoreham were leading Hastings United 1-0. If the
scores stayed the same, then it would be Ashford at the bottom this evening.
The second half began
with the Badgers Sports Ground floodlights illuminating, and with Jack Barham
replacing the fluorescent lime green boots he wore in the first half, with an
equally gaudy pair of pink ones. (I don’t know what my old Dad would have said
about pink boots !).
There were also reports
of some harsh words being exchanged among the players in the Ashford dressing
room – but, whatever had been said, there appeared to be no improvement in
performance on the pitch, as, in the opening minutes of the half, the dangerous
Francis Babalola was allowed to bear down on the Ashford penalty area,
unchallenged. Babalola was probably the home side’s best player this afternoon,
and is not a player to be granted such freedom. Under no pressure, and with a
clear sight of goal, he let fly with a low shot which eluded a full-stretch
Aaron Lee-Wharton, and came off the inside of the foot of the post.
It took Greenwich just
six minutes of the second half to extend the lead to 3-0, and effectively
secure the three points that took them up into second place in the league table.
Although Jack Barham didn’t get onto the scoresheet this afternoon, he can
certainly claim what the Americans would call ‘an assist’ for this goal.
Running onto a through ball, with good pace, down the left channel, he fizzed a
low cross into the Ashford six-yard box. Arriving at the far post, unmarked,
Francis Babalola had the simple task of scoring from close range.
Immediately, Boro’
Manager Gary Alexander – the Bostik South Manager of the Month for October - felt
relaxed enough to make his first substitution, replacing Charlie Macdonald with
Travis Gregory. Three minutes later, Jason Whitmore made his first change, with
Tom Draper making his Ashford debut, replacing Jason Hollick.
On about the hour mark,
Ashford had two good attempts at goal, with the first of these being foiled by
what I reckon was the save of the day. A foul on Stuart Zanone resulted in a
free-kick, in a very central position, and about 25 yards out. Ben Davisson had
given the ball away as often as any Ashford player, this afternoon, but one
thing he can do is hit a dead ball like a rocket. Two weeks ago, at Carshalton,
his Exocet, from a free-kick, led to Matt Day’s late consolation goal, in the 4-2
defeat. This time, his uncomplicated strike would have beaten most goalkeepers
at this level, but Big George made a great diving save, hurling himself to his
left. Moments later, he was forced to make another good stop, after substitute
Tom Draper shot from long range. However, the ball broke to Max Watters, who
whacked a terrific shot against the post, with George beaten.
Soon after, it was
Aaron Lee-Wharton’s turn to make a good save. The chance for the home side was
created by Francis Babalola, who was continuing to give Ashford left-back Tom Cooney
a torrid time. In spite of Cooney’s efforts, Babalola’s low cross found Ali
Fuseini, in the centre, whose shot was turned onto the post by the diving
Lee-Wharton.
The 65th
minute saw a substitution made by both managers – Gary Alexander replacing Sam
Corne with Liam Hickey, and Jason Whitmore introducing Matt Day in place of
Luke Eldridge – and the 71st minute saw Greenwich Borough make the
score 4-0. The home side was barely tested this afternoon, but Gary Alexander’s
men nevertheless showed real quality with this goal, largely in the speed of
its execution. After a pacy charge down the left flank, Travis Gregory pulled
the ball back from the by-line, before it was swept into the net by Tom Carlse,
arriving at speed.
The final substitutions
made were Jack Healey on for Joe Bingham, in the 74th minute, and
then Kaka Dembele replacing Jack Barham, in the 77th – and then The
Boro’ completed the rather routine rout in the 81st minute. This was
a variation on the general theme of on-the-ground football that the home side
had played to date, the fifth goal coming from a deep cross from the right.
This was met perfectly by Ali Fuseini, at the far post, who directed a bullet
header onto the far bottom corner of the net.
An anxious search of
the inter-web for the latest score at Shoreham revealed that The Musselmen
still led Hastings 1-0………..
Tom Draper, who had
been the first of Ashford’s substitutes, had looked to be a useful addition to
the side, but then had a horrible moment, in the 83rd minute. Carrying
the ball towards his own goal, under pressure from two Greenwich players, he was
rather worried out of possession, in a way that appears to be fairly
symptomatic of the team’s problems at this level. With the Ashford defence
fully exposed, the ball was fed through to Travis Gregory, whose shot came back
off the post.
As the game went into
injury time, Frazer Walker, who I didn’t see put a foot wrong this afternoon,
intercepted a square ball, inside the Ashford half. Steaming forward on a run
of some 50 yards, with the home defence back-peddling, Frazer eventually laid
the ball off to Matt Day, on his right. Matt demonstrated his undoubted talent
by striking his shot sweetly, beating Big George’s dive, but the ball thudded
against the near post. So George was able to claim another precious clean
sheet, to add to the 31 that he kept for Ashford United.
The only consolation,
at the end of a thoroughly miserable afternoon, for the travelling Ashford fans,
who now seem to be dwindling in number, was that Hastings managed to grab a 90th-minute
equaliser at Shoreham, to keep our heroes off the bottom of the table.
To paraphrase John
Lennon: “Above us only sky – below us only Shoreham”.
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