East Grinstead Town v Ashford United. Isthmian League Division 1 South East. 10th of November 2018.

East Grinstead Town  1

Ashford United  2

from Ashford United’s Milton Keynes Correspondent

My second visit to East Court, home of East Grinstead Town FC, this year, having attended the corresponding fixture last season back in March. That meeting was towards the end of a fairly bloodless campaign. Neither club had been able to put out a side to threaten a mid-table position, yet there was little fear of relegation, thanks to Shoreham having looked certain, from very early on, to occupy the single relegation berth. That game was memorable for Clark Woodcock’s first (and, so far, only) goal for Ashford, but the home side won the game 3-2. That defeat meant that Ashford United’s away record in the league, at the time, was Played 19, Drawn 4, Lost 15. Eventually, Ashford finished in 21^st place in the league, with East Grinstead Town 22^nd – with only 20 teams in the division this season, both clubs will be looking for an improvement.

It is fair to say that the two clubs have strengthened since last season, with both starting today’s game tied in 14^th and 15^th places, with 11 points from ten games. However, Ashford went into this match as a team lacking in confidence, having gone ten games without a win, and having gained just two points from the last seven league games. On the limited evidence that I have seen, this season, Ashford’s main problem appears to have been a lack of quality up front – so I was looking forward to seeing Danny Parish, a 20 year-old striker signed from Thamesmead Town, who scored on his debut in Ashford’s last game.  

There were no ‘new’ faces, as such, on the team sheet for Ashford, but there were some very welcome returning heroes. Chief among them was Joe Bingham, who captained United for a spell last season. Joe added a muscular presence, and one or two biting tackles, to our midfield today. I can imagine him forming a very useful partnership with Sam Corne in central midfield. There were also two returners on the bench – Luis Morrison and Brandon Williams – who are both recovering from injury. Luis has been particularly missed in the centre of Ashford’s defence.

In terms of the starting line-up, Matt Day was unfamiliar in a No.4 shirt – and started the game in a deeper position than we are accustomed to seeing him in, on the left side of midfield. Of the rest of the team, Josh Wisson and Ollie Rowe were in central defence, in front of goalkeeper Sam Mott, with Jerald Aboagye and right-back and Tom Carlse on the left. With Joe Bingham and Sam Corne anchoring the centre of midfield, the front four were flexible with their positioning – but Harry Ottaway was usually farthest forward, supported by Matt Day, Stefan Cox and Dan Parish. For once, Gary Alexander had the luxury of naming five outfield substitutes – alongside Luis Morrison and Brandon Williams were Clark Woodcock, Ambrose Gnahore and Fidan Fejzi.

The name that interested me in the East Grinstead line-up was that of Orlando Smith, who was named at No.11 for the home side, both on the Football Web Pages website, and on the team sheet that was pinned up at the ground. I was expecting to see the Orlando Smith who played for Ashford Town in the 2008-9 season, and scored his only goal for us in a league game away at Sittingbourne – but the young lad wearing 11 for the hosts this afternoon certainly wasn’t the Orlando we knew, and he was identified with a different name by the PA announcer when he was substituted.

This was a perfect afternoon for watching footy. It was ridiculously mild for mid-November, and the East Court stadium was looking a picture, with the woodland surrounding its sloping pitch displaying all the colours of autumn. Unfortunately, the poor quality of the play, from both sides, made this quite a hard ‘watch’ for the 144-strong crowd. It was surprising to see semi-professional footballers give the ball away with such regularity. This was particularly the case in the first half, when the match looked more like a game of tennis than a game of football. I actually hate tennis, but at least it is a sport that has given the world the concept of the ‘unforced error’ – and there were plenty of those witnessed today.

That said, there is no doubt that Gary Alexander is striving to encourage his team to ‘play football’. As usual, Ashford set out with a methodical approach, mostly keeping the ball on the ground, and had most of the possession and did most of the attacking in the opening minutes. The visitors actually had a clear chance to open the scoring as early as the seventh minute, when Ollie Rowe, who had ventured upfield for a corner, was picked out, totally unmarked in the penalty area, by a good ball. With just Sheikh Ceesay to beat, Ollie immediately shot at goal, but the ‘keeper saved with his feet.

East Grinstead’s first chance came in the 15^th minute. A break from defence saw two home strikers bearing down on three back-peddling defenders. Nico Cotton set up George Landais for a shot, but the No.9 blasted his effort well over the bar. A minute later, Landais had a second opportunity. Joe Bingham was in possession, but heading towards his own goal and under a great deal of pressure from behind. He was unbalanced as he attempted to feed the ball back to the Ashford back four, and so instead hit it straight to Landais. Taking the ball into the penalty area, The Wasps’ forward struck his shot cleanly, but Sam Mott made a good, diving save.

Nevertheless, Landais didn’t have to wait long to get on the scoresheet, as he gave East Grinstead the lead in the 20^th minute. The goal was scored from the penalty spot, but came about as a result of a good passing movement by the home side which took the ball into the penalty area. Nico Cotton was in the process of running onto a through ball when he was sent flying by a very obvious late tackle from Ollie Rowe. It was clear to everyone in the ground that this was a penalty, and so it was a very simple decision for the referee to make. This was poor defending by Ollie, who was shown a yellow card for the challenge. Landais took the ‘kick from the penalty mark’ well, slotting the ball firmly into the bottom corner of the net, as Sam Mott dived the other way.

Rowe had a chance to redeem himself in the 29^th minute, when he rose above everyone at a corner, but his header, from a Sam Corne cross, went just over the bar. A minute later, Joe Bingham took a free-kick, after Matt Day had been fouled. After the ball had been played into a crowded penalty area, it broke to Harry Ottaway, whose attempt at a turn & shot in one movement, from 20 yards out, went as wide as it was optimistic. Once again, Harry was impressive with his work rate and movement – and maybe his poor scoring strike-rate owes something to the amount of time he spends pulling out wide to the flanks and dropping deep to pick up the ball. (The cruel statistic is currently one goal in 13.5 hours).

By stark contrast, [ spoiler alert ], Dan Parish has made an instant impact as a goal scorer, and conjured up an equaliser for Ashford in the last scheduled minute of the first half. Technically, Harry Ottaway could claim what the Americans would call an ‘assist’, as he played a short ball to Parish that led to the goal – but this was very much a solo effort. In fact, after 45 minutes of dross, after which 0-0 would have been a fair reflection of the play, young Dan produced a moment of pure class. Receiving the ball on the edge of the area, and with tall defender Jordan Johnson right in front of him, Dan jinked to the right and then immediately drilled the ball low, into the bottom corner of the net.

And it nearly got even better for Ashford during the three minutes of added time at the end of the first half. Sam Mott launched a high kick down the slope, deep into the home half. Harry Ottaway got up well with his header, flicking the ball onto Dan Parish, who was well inside the penalty area. He turned and shot, but this time his effort was blocked.

Both teams played at a noticeably higher tempo during the second half, and gave the ball away a little less. Once again, it was Ashford who made the better start to the half, having the majority of possession early on. For a brief period, the visitors’ formation changed, with Harry Ottaway playing in a deeper role, and Matt Day and Dan Parish up front – but the men in green were unable to convert possession into chances.

The first chance of the second half fell to the home side, in the 61^st minute, and this came about as a result of good movement by George Landais, who was put through on goal by Nico Cotton. It was a shock to see the Ashford defence split so readily, but Sam Mott retrieved the situation, coming out to make a good save – not for the only time this afternoon.

The resulting corner came to nothing, but it did give the two managers the opportunity to make their first substitution. As the injured Mitchell Chapman walked off very slowly and feelingly, Grinstead manager Matt Longhurst replaced him with Jack Bray. Ashford’s Gary Alexander, just a few minutes later, substituted Clark Woodcock for Matt Day, and, to give credit where it’s due, both substitutions had an impact – Woodcock with his pace down the left flank and Bray providing a viable attacking option.

In fact, Jack Bray very nearly restored East Grinstead’s lead in the 67^th minute. After Jerald Aboagye had committed a foul very near to the left touchline, Nico Cotton took the free-kick and sent in a high cross to the far post. There, Bray got up above the Ashford defence and connected well with a header, but Sam Mott was in a good position to make a save. Two minutes later, Aboagye was guilty of body-checking an opponent, in an almost identical position, and this time was shown a yellow card by the ref. Once again, it was Cotton who took the free-kick, looking for Bray’s shock of gingerish hair – and this time the No.14 put his header wide of goal.

At this stage of the game, it was East Grinstead Town who appeared to be the more likely team to score the next goal, having a succession of free-kicks and corners. It was also around about this time that Ashford suffered a rash of yellow cards. Following soon after Jerald Aboagye’s caution, Joe Bingham was booked for a late tackle, in the 70^th minute. This appeared to be a little harsh, as Joe was attempting to play the ball, but he had earlier been given a ‘no more’ lecture from the referee in the 55^th minute, and so the yellow card was probably earned as a result of an accumulation of offences. That was certainly the case for the hard-working Stefan Cox – and the referee clearly indicated as such – when he was yellow-carded after committing a foul in the 74^th minute.

In the 79^th minute, that man Jack Bray went close yet again. An excellent pass from Dean Gunner put him clean through on goal, and Sam Mott did well to come out and save at his feet. But the ball popped up in the air, and it appeared that Bray had accepted the simple task of knocking the rebound into the net, but the ball was cleared off the line by an Ashford defender who I have not yet been able to identify.

With ten minutes to go, Gary Alexander made his last roll of the dice, and this was a real ‘punt’, putting on big, imposing centre-half Luis Morrison up front in place of Harry Ottaway. Gaz Alex must have wished that Luis had been on the end of an excellent cross that Clark Woodcock sent in from the left wing, just two minutes later. In the event, it was the diminutive Dan Parish who was there with the attempted header, and he lacked the inches to be able to get on top of the ball.

But Clark Woodcock was to be the substitute to make the telling contribution, in the 83^rd minute, as he once again showed good pace down the left flank and delivered a dangerous cross. This time, Dan Parish caught up with the ball just beyond the far post, forcing the ball into the net with his right foot, off the goalkeeper, from almost point-blank range.

Having taken the lead, Ashford held on for the three points fairly comfortably. In spite of there remaining much room for improvement, this was a victory that will give Gary Alexander’s squad a great deal of confidence. These were certainly a very welcome three points, the win bringing to an end a winless streak of ten games. More importantly, maybe, we have at last found a new goalscoring hero in Dan Parish. Three goals from his first two games is an excellent start to his Ashford career, and he certainly seems to have a touch of class about him.

One other player who should certainly be ‘mentioned in dispatches’ is Sam Mott, who made several good saves, without which the score line could have been rather different.

Sevenoaks Town v Ashford United. Isthmian League Division 1 South East. 20th of October 2018.

Sevenoaks Town  1   

Ashford United  0

 

From Ashford United’s Milton Keynes Correspondent

Thirteen games into the 2018-19 season, and with Ashford United not having had a game for a fortnight, there had been time to reflect on how things had gone so far for Gary Alexander and his squad. Things might best be summed up as ‘mixed’.

There is certainly currently no cause for alarm in terms of the team’s league position. This morning, we were in a solid, mid-table position – in tenth place, with three wins and three defeats from eight league games. If the main performance measure for success is to be whether Gary can at least steer Ashford to the play-offs at the end of the season, then there is currently no need to panic. That fifth-place spot is just four points away, so that’s well within reach, if we’re good enough.

I don’t think that any Ashford fan will have had any complaints with the quality of the players that Gary Alexander brought in over the Summer, or with the style of play – during the 1-1 draw away at Haywards Heath Town, a strategy for playing constructive, on-the-ground football was clear. The two main issues that appear to be holding up the team’s progress to date have been a centre-forward who seems unable to score, having a return of just one goal in just over 17 hours of effort, and a first-choice goalkeeper who is yet to keep a clean sheet in 11 appearances.

The main disappointment, so far, has been Ashford’s abject performance in the cup competitions, which mean so much to us fans. In spite of the God of Football giving us a home draw in every draw made to date – even in the rounds that we failed to get to – we fell at the first hurdle of every competition. It was no surprise to lose to our friends at Folkestone Invicta in the Kent Senior Cup, but falling to Horsham YMCA, Haywards Heath Town and Thamesmead Town in the other cups has been a bitter let-down.

Of more concern to The Management, no doubt, has been the lads’ current poor run of results in general. It was a sequence of eight games without a win coming into today’s match, with five of those being defeats, including losing at home to the team that was bottom of the table (Three Bridges) in our most recent game. It appears that Gary Alexander’s main challenge has been the number of injuries that he has had to deal with, particularly to central defenders – a situation not helped by Antonio Simeone leaving the club during the week. It also appears that the squad is fairly thin in terms of numbers this season, certainly in comparison to last year’s epic cast of 79. Up to this morning, Gary had only used 21 players (including himself) – by the same stage last year, we had already used 42, (and, by coincidence, had won three games, the same as this season). No doubt the two-week break has been welcome in terms of getting some of the injured players nearer to full fitness.

Onto today’s game, and this was a reunion with our old friends from the Kent League, Sevenoaks Town. The last time the two teams met was in the spring of 2017, (when we actually met in consecutive games). First, as leaders of the Southern Counties East Football League, Ashford United were thrashed 4-0 by The Oaks, here at Greatness Park. Then, in the following game, Mickey Collins’s team beat us 0-3 at Homelands, in one of the cups. Could’ve been the start of an expensive end-of-season slump for Ashford – but the lads got their shit together and won the next seven league games, to complete the league & cup double and gain promotion to the Isthmian League.

There should, of course, have been one other match between the teams – the SCEFL’s equivalent of the ‘Charity/Community Shield’, with Champions Ashford taking on SCEFL Cup winners Sevenoaks at Homelands, just a few months later. That would have been a wonderful way to round off the pre-season programme for both clubs. Unfortunately, Mickey Collins was apparently unhappy with one part of the Homelands surface, in spite of the referee being satisfied that the match should go ahead, and so he and his players walked out of the fixture.

Much has happened since then, but it is something that many of the United fans have not forgotten. In fact, today’s game was notable for a large proportion – probaby the majority - of Ashford United’s travelling support staging an organised protest against Collins. Instead of passing through the Greatness Park turnstiles, a number of fans watched the game from the high bank that overlooks the ground, a sloping area of common ground that is usually the domain of dog walkers. And this was not a spur-of-the-moment reaction, as the protesters arrived armed with a large banner and a complete song book, both of which featured Mickey Collins’s name very prominently.

There was a possibility that the Mickey Collins ‘reverse love-in’ might hijack Sittingbourne Town FC’s fundraising day in aid of the charity Breast Cancer Care, but, in the event, the Ashford protest group also made its own collection – so the bottom line (quite literally) was that the charity benefitted from two collections.

Team news for Ashford was that Harry Ottaway, our hard-working but unproductive Number 9, was not part of United’s 14-man squad today. That gave Matt Day the opportunity to make just his second start of the season, and his first in the league. Matt led the attack, and although I’m a big fan of this very talented lad, this position did not seem to suit him particularly well. (I don’t think he’s a target man). The other surprise was a new addition to the squad – Jerald Aboagye (the Football Web Pages have his name spelt wrong), a defender who comes to us from Folkestone Invicta, having previously been Hythe Town’s Supporters’ Player of the Year. Jerald played at right-back, and his performance was one of the very few bright spots from a disappointing afternoon. Sam Corne was the only player who might have rivalled him as Ashford’s Man of the Match today.

Ashford appeared to be set up in a 4-2-3-1 formation. In front of goalkeeper Sam Mott was a back four of Aboagye, Josh Wisson, Ollie Rowe and Tom Carlse. In the centre of midfield were Lea Dawson and Sam Corne (who generally ran the show for the visitors, and appears to be rapidly emerging as Ashford’s best player). Matt Day was supported by a three-some of Ambrose Gnahore, Stefan Cox and Clark Woodcock.

It was good to see young Clark make a start, although this privilege might have had something to do with the player availability problems that Gary Alexander is experiencing at the moment – and this situation was betrayed by the paucity of options available to him on the bench this afternoon. Apart from Fidan Fejzi, the other two named substitutes were “John Maglie” and Charlie Wealands. My understanding is that Charlie is our U-18 goalkeeper, but I am uncertain as to whether Maglie is actually a player. The suspicion that Fidan Fejzi was Gary Alexander’s only credible option on the bench was strengthened by the fact that he was the only substitute who was used.

On a sunny, cloudless afternoon, that was freakishly warm for late October(!), and with the Greatness Park 3-G pitch looking a picture, all appeared, at first, to be going to plan. For the first 20 minutes or so, it was all Ashford – and the Ashford United Protest Band was getting its messages across, from its high vantage point on the bank. The visitors were dominating possession, with the patient passing game that we have come to expect this season. In fact, given Ashford’s methodical dominance and polished approach play in the early part of this game, it was difficult to understand how this team had failed to win any of its previous eight matches.

The reasons soon became clear, however, as the tally of errors in the all-important ‘final third’ began to add up. A poor touch here – and then a loss of control there. A misplaced pass to where a teammate had been a second earlier – another poor touch – and any number of disappointing crosses. On today’s evidence, the front four lack quality and cohesion. Time after time, good work at the back and through the midfield was either not converted to a chance, or was capped by a weak finish – or a poor cross. Generally, Ben Bridle-Card had a comfortable afternoon in the Sevenoaks goal.

I was told by several people today that Ashford have signed Danny Parish, a striker from Thamesmead Town, in the midst of that club’s sad winding up – although Parish’s signature was not secured in time for him to be available for this afternoon’s game. Having played for Concord Rangers, and having been on Brentford’s books before that, Danny could be an important addition.

United’s best opportunities came during the first half of that dominant 20-minute period. In the sixth minute, Lea Dawson attempted a volley from about 20 yards out, which was too high. Then, a minute later, a good, flowing move started by Sam Corne found Ambrose Gnahore wide on the left. Ambrose beat one defender and then sent in a good cross, which was met by a Matt Day glancing header that flashed across the face of the goal. This was probably the closest that Ashford came to scoring, and was the one occasion when a move was finished with a final ball that was properly delivered, and which found a yellow-shirted player. Tom Carlse shot wide of goal in the 14^th minute, but there were no clear chances created, and the balance of the game began to even out as the half progressed.

Ashford continued to look very comfortable, however, and goalkeeper Sam Mott might as well have been up on the hill with the bulk of Ashford’s travelling support for the first quarter of the match. In the 26^th minute, however, he was called to action. New boy Jerald Aboagye gave away a fairly soft free-kick, close to the left touchline, which resulted in Alec Fiddes curling a cross under the Ashford crossbar. Sam was alert enough to be able to punch the ball away.

Ashford’s inability to convert possession into chances was put into perspective when a goal resulted from Sevenoaks’s first recognisable attack, in the 26^th minute. A great deal of credit must go to Alec Fiddes, who brought the ball under control with a great touch, after it was chipped forward into the Ashford area. Fiddes laid the ball back to Frankie Sawyer, whose precise, side-footed effort went in off Mott’s body. That was Sawyer’s fifth league goal of the season.

Ashford tried to hit back just two minutes later, when a swift attack down the left wing saw Ambrose Gnahore with a chance to cross the ball from the by-line, but his effort lacked accuracy, flashing across the face of goal. Stefan Cox made a good turn, in the 31^st minute, but his shot from outside the area was a weak one, meaning that Bridle-Card’s first save of the match was a fairly unchallenging one. Cox was again involved in some good approach play in the 37^th minute, pulling off a neat ‘one-two’ with Ambrose Gnahore. It may be evidence of the general lack of confidence in the team that he failed to attempt a shot after the manoeuvre had presented him with a clear sight of goal. Instead, he laid the ball into the path of Clark Woodcock, whose shot was weak and straight at the ‘keeper.

All in all, it was a pretty poor first half, with both sides making their fair share of errors, but Sevenoaks marched into the portacabins with a 1-0 lead, secured as a result of converting the only chance they created during the first 45 minutes.

The second half began in a similar manner to the first, with the visitors making a bright start – albeit with the same poor quality of execution in the important third of the pitch. In the 48^th minute, Stefan Cox attempted a low shot from outside the area, which Bridle-Card just got a finger to – but the cross from the corner was planted straight into his hands. Shortly after that, Ambrose Gnahore showed good skill to beat full-back, and former Ashford United favourite, Fraser Walker, but his attempted shot, straight at the ‘keeper, was little more than a backpass. Gnahore again placed the ball into the ‘keeper’s arms in the 54^th minute, when in a good position to send in a cross from the by-line.

Another former Ashford favourite in the Sevenoaks line-up, from the glory days of the SCEFL, was Mikey Dalton, who had a solid enough game – although his attempted shot in the 55^th minute was well wide.

A minute later, Clark Woodcock, who we all hope will be an Ashford star of the future, had his best moment of the afternoon. Clark always looks at his best when he is carrying the ball through the middle of the park, and on this occasion he ended a good, diagonal run with an excellent ball ‘inside’ the right-back. This gave Ambrose Gnahore another great chance to create something – but he hit the ball straight at the goalkeeper, yet again.

With the lack of quality up front, it appeared that Ashford’s best chance of scoring might be as a result of a forward run from a midfield player – and this nearly happened in the 57^th minute, when top scorer Sam Corne made a run into the Sevenoaks penalty area. He managed to get to a cross from the right flank, but rather got underneath the ball and was unable to direct his header downwards, from about eight yards out.

In the 58^th minute, Ollie Rowe was lucky not to be booked, by a very young referee who seemed to make as many errors as the players this afternoon, after he was late with a tackle on Kenny Pogue. But the ref did wave his yellow card for the first time in the match in the 61^st minute, when Thomas Ripley ended a promising-looking run from Clark Woodcock with a trip.

By the time the game had entered its final quarter, it appeared likely that the home side was going to hang onto the three points comfortably enough – and the experienced Mickey Collins began the process of ‘game management’ by spacing his three substitutions over a five-minute period from the 67^th to the 71^st minute. During this time, Gary Alexander made his one change, replacing Clark Woodcock with Fidan Fejzi, in the 69^th minute.

There was a scare for the Ashford defence shortly after the last of the substitutions was made, as a result of a cross that came in from the right. Sam Mott started to come for the cross, and then stopped, and somehow made a save from very close range – but the lino was, in any case, flagging for offside.

Ashford’s urgency levels increased as full-time approached, and there was certainly no let-up in their efforts to finally grab an equaliser. The late pressure from the visitors enabled them to force a number of late corners, but without troubling Bridle-Card in the home goal. In fact, as gaps were left in the Ashford defence, it appeared increasingly likely that Sevenoaks would double the lead, (which would have given them a fairly flattering margin of victory). In the 85^th minute, Oaks were awarded a free-kick right on the edge of the ‘D’, which resulted in Fidan Fejzi receiving a yellow card – presumably for dissent, as he was not the one who had committed the foul – but Alec Fiddes curled his shot too high. In the 86^th minute, Frankie Sawyer blasted a shot well over the bar, from outside the penalty area, and, seconds later, the visitors found themselves desperately short at the back after an attack had broken down. This resulted in substitute Ainsley Everitt being put through on goal, but Sam Mott rushed out to make a good save. The ball ricocheted into the path of another Sevenoaks player, but Jerald Aboagye showed his quality by coming quickly across to make a saving tackle.

As five minutes of added time were played out, the pattern of fruitless Ashford corners, combined with chances for the home side to add a second goal, continued. Oaks’s best chance came with 94 minutes on the clock, when one Ashford defender had been left to deal with Alec Fiddes and William Johnson-Cole. Again, Sam Mott made a good save, to keep the final score down to 1-0.

In spite of the confrontational atmosphere off the pitch - outside the ground, in fact – that had been constantly maintained throughout, there had been no hint of animosity between the players, and there had not been a single word exchanged between the two benches. It was therefore a surprise when there was a sudden and violent flare-up between the two managers after the final whistle. I didn’t see what sparked the incident, but I gather that Gary Alexander took great exception to the manner of Mickey Collins’s ‘handshake’. Whatever the cause, the Ashford United Manager had to be physically restrained by other members of the Ashford bench.

Haywards Heath Town v Ashford United, Isthmian League Division 1 South East, 22nd of September 2018.

Haywards Heath Town  1

Ashford United  1

from Ashford United’s Milton Keynes Correspondent

My first game of the 2018-19 season, and my first trip to Hanbury Stadium, the home of Haywards Heath Town – which is not surprising, given that this was the first time that the clubs had met. The Blues have not previously played as high as this level before, having been in the Sussex League since 1927-8, the club’s inaugural year, with the exception of being in the Metropolitan League for nine seasons from 1952-3. In fact, since the name change from Haywards Heath to Haywards Heath Town, the club has most often been in Division 3 of the Sussex League, until as recently as 2012-13. It has been a fairly sharp rise through the levels, then, which sees Haywards Heath Town in the Isthmian League. They have achieved this status after being promoted, last season, as champions of what is now known as the ‘Southern Combination’. That promotion really came a year late, as the club had been denied that privilege at the end of the previous season because of playing an ineligible player – the nine points taken away cost them the title, leaving Shoreham to endure just the one painful season.

That meant that I was to look upon two ‘new’ teams, this afternoon, as this season’s Ashford United side is totally unrecognisable from the one that wore the yellow in the previous game I saw, which was away at Whyteleafe, back in April. In fact, the only players on show at Church Road on that day who are still with the club (I think) are Siao Blackwood and the ‘squad players’ Clark Woodcock and Brandon Williams.

So in spite of all the talk about last season being about building a squad for the current campaign, Manager Gary Alexander has decided to start with a virtually new set of players. That is not meant to be a criticism, mind. The squad that Gary has put together is clearly full of ‘ballers of pedigree, who have performed at a level that suggests that Ashford United might be challenging for a play-off spot this time – for the first time in our history. And I am also really quite chuffed that Gary has decided to retain three good youngsters from last year, in Woodcock, Williams and Matt Day. (Of course, the fact that I currently don’t know the vast majority of our players from a bar of soap is entirely my fault).

The lads’ form had been a bit patchy, leading up to today’s game. A victory in the opening game against a very good Hythe Town side confirmed the expected promise of this squad of players, but five defeats in the next seven games has been a slight worry. We’d been given the runaround in the previous two games, albeit against two very good sides – in a league game against Cray Wanderers, who are probably favourites for the title this season, and then at the hands of Folkestone Invicta, in the League Cup, who have developed into a border-line ‘Conference South’ outfit. Anyway, in spite of going into today’s match in seventh place, (our hosts were 15^th, this morning), Ashford could really have done with a victory this afternoon.

The weather had been a bastard to me all week – the wind blew one of our fence panels out on Thursday afternoon, and in the evening it caused the cancellation of my train out of Chester, due to some local rail lines being submerged in flood water – and it wasn’t particularly pleasant today. The wind had dropped, but there was persistent light rain and drizzle from the moment I walked out of Haywards Heath Station to the time that I returned there. However, any issues caused by a little bit of weather were put firmly in perspective when there was a minute’s applause before the game, as a tribute to Chaz Donohue, Haywards Heath Town’s U-18 captain last year, who sadly passed away on Monday.

Having missed my intended train from Luton, (a school-boy error), I arrived at the ground with just five minutes to spare before kick-off. It’s situated on the edge of a residential area largely populated with 1950s semis, and I somehow managed to navigate my way through the maze of little streets and footpaths. Considering our hosts’ predominantly Sussex League history, I was a bit surprised at how big the main stand was. It had a very large,  and very high roof, which provided good shelter on this wet afternoon in mid-Sussex.

The Ashford team news revealed that the three United players that I had seen before, Blackwood, Day and Williams, were all named on the subs bench. The only other sub was Fidan Fejzi, (and only having four on the bench is a little concerning at this level). Sam Mott was back in goal, having missed the cup defeat in midweek, apparently due to illness, behind full-backs Ollie Rowe and Tom Carlse, and the central defensive pairing of Josh Wisson and Antonio Simeone.

Now, Antonio Simeone is a proper defender’s name. If the man can’t defend with a name like that, then there’s something wrong. He appeared to be pretty small up against Haywards Heath’s giant centre-forward, Melford Simpson, but looked classy and composed throughout, which was, for me, one of the positives to come out of the game.

In midfield, we had Sam Corne, Lea Dawson and Jordan Johnson, (who I presume is the footballer formerly known as Jordan Johnson-Palmer, who was with us last season, but didn’t play in that game at Whyteleafe). Ambrose Gnahore and Lanre Azeez appeared to be part of a front three, playing behind target man Harry Ottaway.

I was a little concerned about Mr Ottaway, coming into this game, given his record, at the start of play, of having scored just the one goal in 584 minutes on the pitch. That is because the absolute minimum benchmark that I use for strikers is what I call the ‘Bradshaw Standard’. Shaun Bradshaw played as a striker for Ashford Town for most of the 2005-6 season, and remains (so far) the worst Ashford forward that I have ever seen. Bradders was a nice bloke, but pretty hopeless, and managed five goals at a rate of a goal every 487 minutes. It would be unfair to compare our current No.9 with recent wearers of that shirt – titans who have banged in seven goals in one game and/or piled up 47 or 48 goals in a season – but Harry needs to do better than Bradders.

Moving away from bald statistics, though, I was actually impressed with Harry Ottaway today. He put in a good shift, managing plenty of headed flick-ons, in the style of a good front man, and moved around the park with good pace. He looked the part today.

The other name that leapt out at me from the team sheet was the home side’s No.11, Max Miller – and it was appropriate that he should be playing for The Blues. (His namesake, for the benefit of younger readers, was a very famous old music hall comedian, who was famous for his ‘blue’ humour). I was brought up on stories of Max Miller, told to me by a friend of our family who used to know him. One of those stories was about the joke that, allegedly, got Miller banned from the BBC. Max used to tell a story of when he found himself edging along a narrow ledge on the side of a cliff, when he suddenly saw a gorgeous girl edging along the ledge in the opposite direction, coming towards him. “Well, I didn’t know whether to block her passage or toss myself off”, he is supposed to have said.

Anyway, back to the match.

It was pretty much end-to-end during the first ten minutes, although this was mainly due to both sides giving the ball away at almost every opportunity. (It’s not like you see on the telly, when giving the ball away is a heresy). The home side probably just shaded this early period in terms of possession, but Ashford United soon settled into their game, and created a number of good chances leading up to the 30-minute mark. About the best of these came in the 11^th minute, when Sam Corne led a break from defence. He spread the ball wide to Lanre Azeez, whose cross along the six-yard line was met by an ‘air shot’ by Harry Ottaway – but Jordan Johnson had been making a run from deep inside his own half, and got to the ball before two defenders, only to hit his shot straight at goalkeeper Josh Heyburn. The resulting corner was taken short, to Simeone, who tried a sneaky, first-time chip to the near post, which Heyburn also managed to save.

There was a scare for the visiting supporters among the crowd of 146 when Callum Saunders went down when just inside the Ashford penalty area, in the 16^th minute, but the referee, who had an excellent game, immediately booked him for taking a dive. (If only more refs would take a zero-tolerance attitude to that sort of behaviour).

The next proper chance of the game came at the other end, in the 23^rd minute, and was created as a result of Jordan Johnson robbing Saunders, deep in the Haywards Heath half of the field. The Ashford No.4 sent in a good cross from the left, which Harry Ottaway met well with his head, but the effort was again straight at the ‘keeper. Two minutes later, a good passing movement from the men in yellow & green, involving Harry Ottaway, Jordan Johnson and Lanre Azeez, resulted in Sam Corne being put through on goal, but Sam was unable to convert the one-on-one situation, with Josh Heyburn saving well, diving to his right. Josh Wisson also had a good chance, in the 30^th minute, when he latched onto a high, looping cross from Jordan Johnson, but this was another header that went straight at the goalie.

There was no mistaking Ashford’s ambition to play constructive, on-the-ground football – the home side had more of a liking for the long ball, but that was hardly surprising, given the presence of the ginormous Melford Simpson – and the visitors were certainly creating the better chances. With the defence appearing to have the pace to cope with any offensive moves from Haywards Heath, and the two central defenders managing to cope somehow with Simpson, it felt like it was going to be just a matter of time before Ashford opened the scoring.

That all changed, however, in the 31^st minute, when The Blues opened the scoring, against the run of play. A long throw came in from the left, and, after a flick-on with a head, the ball landed conveniently at the feet of Callum Saunders, who reacted quickly, stabbing it into the corner of the net. That must have left Ashford regretting the chances that had not been taken, as opportunities were rarer during the remainder of the game.

Up until that point, Ashford ‘keeper Sam Mott had not actually made a save, but he was called into action in the 40^th minute, to prevent Haywards Heath from doubling their lead. As the ball was played forward into the Ashford half, the home side suddenly found themselves with  a three-against-three situation, and, for once, the Ashford defence looked vulnerable. Melford Simpson pulled away to the left, to make space for himself, and a chipped pass presented him with a one-on-one with Mott, who came flying out of his goal to make a good save. Three minutes later, Sam made another good save, from a Callum Saunders shot, after Simpson had laid the ball off to him on the edge of the area.

Ashford continued to press forward in the later stages of the first half, but their passing game was not quite coming off, and Haywards Heath went into the break 1-0 up.

The visitors dominated the first ten minutes, or so, of the second half, but had little to show for this dominance, other than a weak shot at goal by Sam Corne, early on. In the 57^th minute, Gary Alexander’s patience ran out, and he replaced Ambrose Gnahore with Fidan Fejzi. The No.17 actually made an immediate impact, injecting extra life and spark into the Ashford performance. He managed to see plenty of the ball, but his curling attempt in the 61^st minute went well wide of goal.

The boys did, however, finally equalise, a minute later. Lanre Azeez chased a ball into the right channel, and showed good strength to hold off left-back George Brown and keep possession. His cross, pulled back from the by-line, found Jordan Johnson on the edge of the 18-yard box. Jordan took a touch, before aiming a low shot just inside the far post. That was his first goal of the season, to put alongside the one he scored at Molesey last season. It also made him the tenth different Ashford player to get onto the scoresheet, in just the ninth match of the campaign.

Ashford continued to look good, with their quick and constructive build-up play, but had little or no end-product to show for their efforts. In fact, Haywards Heath came the closer to scoring the next goal, with two dangerous free-kick situations. The first of these came in the 68^th minute, when Josh Wisson was penalised for what looked like a fairly innocuous push in the back against Melford Simpson – but today’s ref wasn’t missing a thing. No.15 Sean Roddy, (who had actually started the game, in spite of the number on his back), and Karl Akehurst stood over the ball, but it was Akehurst who went for goal, and his shot would have gone in if it had not been for Sam Mott tipping the ball over the bar. In the 72^nd minute, the free-kick was only about a foot outside the Ashford penalty area, but this time Sam Mott wasn’t troubled, as Roddy hit his shot straight into the Ashford wall. (“Roddy, you plonker !”).

Matt Day replacing Lanre Azeez, in the 80^th minute, was the other substitution made by Gary Alexander this afternoon, and this resulted in Day having the one sight of goal – in the 87^th minute. Like several of Ashford’s attacks, this began with Antonio Simeone, from a deep position. I am pleased to report that Simeone is not the type of player to pump the ball aimlessly upfield, and he managed to find Fidan Fejzi with a forward chip. The two substitutes combined well, with Fejzi slipping the ball through to Day, who could manage no more than a fairly weak shot at the ‘keeper.

As the match drew to a close, Haywards Heath appeared to hang on for the draw fairly comfortably, and for that reason I’d say that they thoroughly deserved the point, and I’d imagine they were pretty pleased to get something from the game, against one of the more fancied teams in the division. In fact, there had been a late chance for Melford Simpson to snatch victory, just prior to Matt Day’s opportunity. It looked like the big man was going to get on the end of a long cross, just a few yards out from goal, but he was foiled by Josh Wisson, who just got to the ball ahead of him, heading behind for a corner.

My first impression of the current Ashford squad is that there is an acute need for a goal scorer. At the time of writing (Saturday night), the front three who played today have scored four goals between them, with a combined strike-rate of a goal every 420 minutes, and that simply has to improve. Well, there will be an opportunity for them to do just that next Saturday, since, after playing Sittingbourne at home on Tuesday, we are at home to Haywards Heath Town in the FA Trophy.

Whyteleafe v Ashford United. Isthmian League Division 1 South. 7th of April 2018.

Whyteleafe  1

Ashford United  1

from Ashford United’s Milton Keynes Correspondent

After the disappointment of last Saturday’s game, away to Molesey, being called off due to waterlogging – which came as no surprise, given the dreadfully wet spring that we have had – it was a relief that today’s fixture was at a ground with an artificial pitch. Today we travelled to Church Road, Whyteleafe, in leafy, commuter belt Surrey. A ground in a very quaint, apparently rural, setting, surrounded by trees, and just up the road from the church.

Like Molesey, Whyteleafe are old friends from our previous Isthmian League existence. The ‘Leafe joined the Isthmian in 1984, and were at this level for nearly 30 years, before being relegated to what was then still called the Kent League, (by some quirk of the nonleague boundary system), for the 2012-13 season. However, they didn’t stay at Step 5 for long, gaining promotion back to the Isthmian at the second attempt, from what had been renamed the Southern Counties East League. Since that promotion, they have re-established themselves at this level fairly comfortably, achieving fifth in their ‘honeymoon’ season, followed by more familiar finishes of 15^th and 14^th in the past two seasons.

In all, we have been in the same league as Whyteleafe for seven seasons, not including this one – in the Isthmian for the final six years of Ashford Town’s existence, and then in the SCEFL when we were runners-up during ‘Leafe’s championship-winning season. But, somehow, it seems that the two clubs have had a closer association than that. This is probably because, during those seven seasons of league opposition, the two teams have been quite closely matched. Apart from that season in the SCEFL, when, admittedly, Whyteleafe did finish a comfortable 11 points ahead of us, the clubs both tended to struggle a little in the lower half of the Isthmian South. Also, of course, ‘Leafe are members of the Green & White Fellowship.

Mrs MKC and I rarely missed one of those Whyteleafe-Ashford Town matches - if any. Looking at my report on the last of those games, which took place in early January 2010, I am reminded that Steve Lovell’s side started the match bottom of the (then) Ryman League Division 1 South, no fewer than six points adrift of Eastbourne Town. Thanks to a goal from a young Laurence Harvey and a penalty by Mitch Sherwood, we managed to come away from Church Road with a valuable point, after a 2-2 draw. It could have been a lot better than that, but we were forced to hang on a little, after Nick Smith got himself sent off in the 56^th minute. (In those days, Whyteleafe’s Manager was called Chuck Martini – which provided the opportunity for the traditional Leonard Rossiter joke).

Whyteleafe started today’s match in eighth place in the league, a really good mid-season run having taken them to the verge of a play-off position, (the play-offs, this season, will include teams finishing as low as either sixth or seventh – don’t ask !). Ashford United, on the other hand, look unlikely to improve on their current position of 22^nd in the table, but, as has been well documented, the sole priority for The Management at the moment is to build a squad for Gary Alexander to go to war with next season.

Last Saturday, the lads came back to form, after a run of four consecutive defeats, with a 3-1 win at home to Faversham Town. That was by no means a surprising result. Firstly, after a few games when we had been left looking very threadbare due to injuries and suspensions, sometimes failing to fill the subs bench, the squad on Saturday had a much more complete look about it. Not only did we have a full set of five substitutes, including a goalkeeper, but we also saw the return of key players such as captain Pat Kingwell and the experienced Dave Cook. The other reason why the three points came as no surprise is that we were playing at home last week, and our home form has been different gravy to an away record that had, before today, consisted of 16 defeats and four draws from 20 games. In fact, a league table counting home games only would see us in 15^th place.

I am pleased that the attractive Church Road ground hasn’t changed a bit in the eight years since my last visit – apart from the 3G pitch, of course. Like all artificial surfaces, it looked immaculate, but I was slightly surprised to note that the pitch had retained its typical nonleague slope. All of the other plastic pitches that I have seen have been fairly flat.

One thing that I do envy Whyteleafe for is their kit this season, as they have clad themselves in the ‘classic Ashford Town’ colours of white shirts, green shorts and white socks. The kit invariably worn in the mid-1970s by our greatest ever side. The likes of Peter Sillett, Bobby Laverick and Alan Morton wore those colours. It’s probably something genetic, but I constantly had to remind myself that our lads were the ones playing in yellow, this afternoon.

And so the longest pre-season programme in history continued, and the good-sized contingent of Ashford fans (yet again) could not have wished for a better start, as Dean Grant put the Nuts & Bolts ahead in next to no time. I don’t have an accurate timing for the goal, but it came no more than 20 seconds after Whyteleafe kicked off, and I strongly suspect that it is Ashford’s quickest ever goal. It was also really well executed by Dean, who has looked quality every time I have seen him. Chasing a long, bouncing ball from the back, he arrived ahead of Whyteleafe goalkeeper Shiekh Ceesay, knocking the ball high over the ‘keeper’s head, one bounce, into the net. That’s Dean’s sixth goal of the season, in his 11^th appearance.

And Deano was true to the song that rose from the Ashford faithful, as he was indeed on fire, at this time, coming close again, in the sixth minute. After the home side had carelessly given the ball away in midfield, Will Thomas sent a long, diagonal ball towards Grant, who, from his position to the left of the penalty area, curled a shot that was heading just under the crossbar – only for Ceesay to tip the ball over, with a great save.

Dean Grant was partnered in attack, today, by Joshua Oyinsan, as he had been in Saturday’s win over Faversham. A professional Paul Pogba look-alike, Josh had emulated the France international by adding a blue streak to his hair alongside the amber streak he/they already had. I am definitely having mine done like that the next time I go to the barber’s !  The versatile Will Thomas played in central midfield, alongside Dave Cook. Siao Blackwood was on the left side of midfield, and it was good to see Clark Woodcock given another start, wide on the right. The back four, in front of Big George Kamurasi, consisted of Pat Kingwell and Jahmal Howlett-Mundle in central defence, with Ola Williams at right-back and George McLennan at left-back.

A slight worry is that we were looking a little thin on the bench again, with just the three outfield players available as subs: Jon Difford, Brandon Williams and Malachi Robinson.

Following the opening Dean Grant-inspired burst, the visitors settled down and looked pretty much in control for the early part of the first half. Throughout the game, Whyteleafe never looked like a team playing for a play-off place, but, as the late, great Brian Clough once said: “They played as well as they were allowed to play, (young man)”. The home side’s chances were few, early on, and amounted to a long-range shot that was well wide from Tommy Hutchings, in the eighth minute, a shot across the face of goal from Tom Pearson, in the 12^th minute, when he had, rarely, been put through on goal behind the Ashford defence, and a weak shot by William Hutton, after 20 minutes, which was easily saved by George Kamurasi.

In fairness, Ceesay, in the Whyteleafe goal, also had little to do at this time, with nothing that Ashford tried when moving forward coming to fruition. That was until the 25^th minute, when Ola Williams and Clark Woodcock did combine successfully down the right flank. This resulted in a Clark Woodcock cross, which Josh Oyinsan was unable to get on top of with his header.

Today’s referee was not shy about blowing his whistle – (well, what else would he do with it ?) – but the first free-kick that he awarded to Ashford came in the 30^th minute. (I’m just saying).

Dave Cook was just off target with a shot from about 20 yards, in the 32^nd minute, but it was Whyteleafe who began to assert more and more as the half progressed. Dominating the central midfield area, they pressed forward, with George Kamurasi having to deal with a couple of dangerous crosses, and the solid yellow defence blocking several attempted shots. Dave Cook was yellow-carded, during this defensive effort, in the 36^th minute. A harsh booking, I felt, for what was no more than a regulation foul.

It was not until the 41^st minute that the visitors broke free and launched an attack of their own – and this was thanks to a great piece of individual skill from Siao Blackwood. He turned his fellow No.8, William Hutton, and his run took him well inside the Whyteleafe penalty area. There were hopeful appeals for a penalty as he crashed to the ground, but to no avail – and that ‘success’ we had in the 30^th minute turned out to be the only free-kick that was awarded to us during the first half. (I’m just saying – that’s all). Three minutes later, Siao again demonstrated his skills, controlling the ball well on his chest before turning and shooting, but his shot went well wide.

The half ended with Tommy Hutchings on the ground and looking to be in a great deal of pain, with what looked to be a knee injury. He took the field in the second half, but was soon replaced by Joey Taylor, in the 48^th minute.

There was little action to speak of at all during the first 30 minutes of the second half. This was partly due to Ashford having a measure of control, and seeming very happy to pass the time of day with a 0-1 lead – but there were also a few lengthy delays due to injury, mostly to Whyteleafe players. One of these breaks occurred in the 64^th minute, when Tom Pearson lay on the deck, motionless, for several minutes. Eventually, he was helped to his feet and was assisted up the steep flight of steps to the dressing room, behind the goal and adjacent to the main stand at Church Road. He was replaced by Chester Clothier, who, if nothing else, has a cracking name.

Any neutrals in the ground might have considered asking for a refund on half of their entrance fee, but, for the Ashford faithful, everything appeared to be going in a satisfactory manner, with United’s first away win of the season, and a first clean sheet since the arrival of Gary Alexander as Assistant Manager (and Big George’s return to the side) both seemingly well within reach.

Kamurasi wasn’t seriously tested until the 69^th minute, when he made an important double-save – first from right-back Bradley Simms, who shot from well inside the penalty area, and then from William Hutton (I think), who was unable to turn in the rebound.

Soon after, Josh Oyinsan had a sight of goal, but sliced his shot well wide, and it was the home side that had the next genuine chance. This was in the 74^th minute, and came about as a result of a great solo effort from centre-forward Vance Bola, who had been kept fairly quiet up to this point. Slaloming his way between Ashford defenders, he managed to beat at least four of them, before George Kamurasi came out to save his eventual shot, from point blank range.

When Jason Whitmore made his first substitution, replacing Clark Woodcock with Malachi Robinson, in the 77^th minute, it appeared that the visitors just needed to continue to hold things steady in order to take all three points. But it was not to be. Whyteleafe equalised in the 80^th minute, and this was as a result of Ashford conceding yet another penalty. Again, it was Vance Bola who was involved. This time, he ran onto a loose ball, well inside the penalty area, after a shot was blocked by an Ashford defender. There is little doubt that the award of a penalty was the correct decision by the referee, as Big George rather clumsily bundled Vance over, near his six-yard line. There was also no doubt about the manner in which the penalty was taken, as Sam Clayton fairly smashed the ball into the net, giving George no chance.

One slightly distasteful aspect to the penalty incident is that Whyteleafe’s Bentley Graham appeared to be very strongly lobbying the ref to send George off, but no card was shown. One possible explanation for this is that, according to www.footballwebpages.co.uk, the Ashford goalie had been shown a yellow card in the 69^th minute, which I must confess I had not seen.

So that was the clean sheet up in smoke, and, given that Ashford had created very few chances since taking an early lead, there appeared to be little hope of the visitors coming back to claim that elusive first away victory in the league. However, a game that had been fairly dull since the opening 20 seconds did actually spring to life for the final five minutes, plus some ten minutes of injury time. First, in the 85^th minute, Dean Grant received the ball in the Whyteleafe penalty area, with his back to goal. The ball broke to Josh Oyinsan, whose low shot brought a good save from Shiekh Ceesay. (Two minutes later, Josh cut a dejected and disappointed figure as he dragged himself off the pitch, when he was replaced by Brandon Williams).

As the 90^th minute approached, Bentley Graham was clearly held by the arm by Jahmal Howlett-Mundle as he was about to get away from the Ashford centre-half. Graham appeared to be through on goal, so Jahmal was possibly a shade lucky to receive just a yellow card for the offence, (especially as the home side again seemed to be putting a case to the referee for stronger action). From the resulting free-kick, from a central position, just a couple of yards from the ‘D’, Sam Clayton tried a curling shot, which George Kamurasi saved, diving low to his left.

Two minutes into injury time, George McLennan took an in-swinging corner, from the right, and his deep cross found Pat Kingwell, beyond the far post. A winning goal from the Ashford captain, who was Man of the Match in last week’s win over Faversham, would have been popular with the visiting fans, who made up a good proportion of the 135-strong crowd – but Pat’s looping header landed on top of the crossbar. After a good seven minutes of added time, Malachi Robinson flashed a cross through the Whyteleafe six-yard box, with no player in a yellow shirt able to get a touch. Three minutes later, on the stroke of 5pm, the referee blew up for full time.

So 1-1 it finished. A disappointing outcome, but only in the context of Ashford coming so close to achieving that first away win. Taking a broader view, the lads were very good value for the point, looking to be in control of the game for long periods, against the side who remain in eighth position in the league this evening.

Looking at the results elsewhere, as I waited at St Pancras International for the train back to Luton, I noted that Ashford United were the only team in the bottom four to gain a point today. I also found out that a man who makes a living as a Joshua Oyinsan look-alike scored two goals in two minutes in the Manchester Derby, today. It’s a strange world.

East Grinstead Town v Ashford United. Isthmian League Division 1 South. 24th of March 2018.

East Grinstead Town  3

Ashford United  2

from Ashford United’s Milton Keynes Correspondent

Ashford United supporters are quite fond of describing their vocation as being like a ‘roller coaster’. Well, it hasn’t really been that this season. After the highs of winning the double and gaining promotion last season, and the early shock of losing Manager Danny Lye and virtually all of that successful squad after just two games of this season, it has all felt rather unpressured. This is because of the ‘one-off’ situation of there being just one team to be relegated from Isthmian Division 1 South at the end of this season, due to the latest restructuring of the non-league pyramid. With Shoreham struggling along with only eight points from 36 games, (which includes a points deduction), it seems certain that they will be going back to the Sussex League, (or whatever it’s called now). That means that this has always been a ‘nothing to lose’ season.

With eight games of the season remaining, it is all about getting a squad together for August. Now that it has been confirmed that Gary Alexander will be taking over Jason Whitmore’s position as Manager for next season, it’s important that he gets his own players on board. So, rather than a fairground ride, this season has become more like sitting on a wall and watching a building project take shape.

The latest recruit to the squad, announced during the week, has been Joshua Oyinsan, a 6’ 4” striker who comes to us from Walton Casuals. The staggering number of players that we have used this season has been the subject of considerable derision from some fans – and, if anyone is interested, Joshua’s fictitious squad number is No.78 – but I am happy to buy into the ‘building for next season’ narrative. However, there is one little target that the lads might like to set themselves. We haven’t won a league match away from home all season, so that would be a nice duck to break. (The last time I saw us win was away to Croydon, on the 22^nd of April 2017, so it will have been a long time between drinks !).

I hesitate to say it, but today’s trip to East Grinstead appeared to provide a good opportunity for the lads to get off the mark. At the start of the day, The Wasps were lying in 21^st place, just one place and five points above Ashford, having played a game more. Surely, if the objective is to build a squad that can challenge at the top of this division next season, then we need to have the personnel to defeat teams at the bottom at this stage of the process.

Unfortunately, the lads suffered yet another defeat, and we now have the unimpressive away record of four draws and 15 defeats from 19 games. The ‘haul’ of four points away from home equals that of Shoreham. The other worrying statistic is that Ashford have now conceded three goals in each of their last three matches – all defeats. On the brighter side, the travelling support for the Nuts ‘n’ Bolts appears to be holding up well, despite the 15 good reasons for maybe being discouraged.

In truth, this was a good fixture to attend, not least because this was the first time an Ashford team had visited East Court. This is the first season that the two teams have been in the same division, and our only previous meeting was in 1953, when East Grinstead (as they were then called) lost 4-0 to Ashford Town in the First Qualifying Round of the FA Cup, at Essella Park.

Also, it’s a very attractive little ground, set in woodland, on the outskirts of the town. There is one long, thin stand on one side of the pitch, which has three rows of black, plastic seats. The low roof gives excellent coverage to the spectators, so it was very cosy at the back. (Although it was a fairly mild day today, albeit cloudy throughout). The turf pitch has the charm of a typical non-league slope, but it was level and well grassed, and played very well.

I had been busy, during the week, trying to plot a means of travelling down to this new venue, which is situated just to the east of Gatwick Airport. For once, my beloved National Express coach option would have been both slow and costly, and I don’t think my poor, battered old Astra Estate would have stood up to crawling around the M25. Eventually, I found the solution, and it was something a little different to the usual route – drive to Luton, get the Gatwick Express to Three Bridges, and then take the No.281 bus to the football ground. The whole lot cost less than £30. Sorted !

If the result was not what the Ashford fans, and The Management, wanted, it must also be said that the match was not a particularly successful exercise in contributing to the wider goal of preparing for next season. The main reason for this is that the squad has, numerically, become very thin of late. It has been noticeable, recently, that the Ashford United team sheet has had either the bare minimum of three substitutes, or just the three outfield subs. Today, Gary Alexander and Jason Whitmore had to cope with having just 13 players available in total, including the new signing. The various reasons for this include injuries and suspensions, but it cannot be easy for Gaz Alex to mould a team into a structure and a method of playing when he is basically having to fit whoever is available into the gaps that are being left.

Among today’s absentees were two of our most experienced, and best loved, soldiers - Pat Kingwell and George Kamurasi – but that at least gave the very promising Aaron Lee-Wharton the opportunity to have a run out in goal. The other silver lining was that Clark Woodcock, one of the stars of Ashford’s youth system, was given the chance to make only his third start for the First Team. In fact, it was better than that. Clark actually played for the full 90 minutes, looked strong throughout, appeared more and more to be our most dangerous player as the game wore on – and he got on the score sheet for the first time, with a well-taken goal.

So here was today’s line-up, using this season’s unofficial squad numbering system: 23. Aaron Lee-Wharton, 66. Ola Williams, 76. Malachi Robinson, 68. Will Thomas, 12. Jon Difford, 64. George McLennan, 77. Siao Blackwood, 71. Jordan Johnson-Palmer, 21. Clark Woodcock, 69. Dean Grant, 74. Daniel Ajakaiye.

Sub.s: 13. Brandon Williams, and 78. Joshua Oyinsan.

I am happy to report that East Court has an excellent PA system – but the stadium announcer struggled with one or two of those names !  (Bless him).

The Management opted for a 4-4-2 formation, with the versatile Will Thomas partnering captain Jon Difford in central defence, (having previously played at full-back and central midfield for us this season). George McLennan played wide on the left of midfield, which I feel is his best position, especially as he was obviously given the freedom to roam in-field, and at times swapped wings with Clark Woodcock, who played mostly on the right.

Things looked fairly promising for Ashford during the initial 15 minutes of the game, although East Grinstead, playing in amber & black stripes, (making them look unnervingly like Folkestone Invicta), set their stall out to play neat, on the ground, passing football. The visitors, in their daffodil yellow & black away strip, (which sounds like there was a colour clash, but this was never a problem in reality), were also prepared to pass the ball around the back five, and build patiently from the back. The difference between the two sides, however, was that, early on, Ashford appeared to have quality players up front who could certainly hurt the home defence. Daniel Ajakaiye seemed to have pace that was on a different level to any other player on the pitch, and Dean Grant always looks an accomplished striker – and so it is disappointing to have to report that the team failed to provide them with enough worthwhile service.

I don’t keep a formal record of the number of shots, shots on target and corners, but I am confident that the statistics will have been decidedly in Ashford’s favour – except for the only important statistic, of course.

Daniel Ajakaiye was the first to have a sight of goal. This was in the seventh minute, when he was found with a long ball through the inside-right channel. With plenty of space, in the East Grinstead penalty area, he hit a firm, first-time shot, which was tipped over the bar by Dan Smith. Three minutes later, Ajakaiye received the ball on the edge of the area, and, with a good turn, fed the ball through to Clark Woodcock, whose curling shot went just high and wide. Clark had another half-chance, in the 14^th minute, when he attempted to get some part of his body on a deep cross, as he charged in beyond the far post. I am not sure what part of his body he used to make the contact, but it resulted in the ball going just wide. A minute later, it was Daniel Ajakaiye who once again had an opportunity. Using his pace to get to a through ball, in spite of being blatantly held by a chasing defender, he rounded the ‘keeper, but was then unable to turn the ball in from an impossibly acute angle.

It was certainly a surprise when East Grinstead took the lead, in the 21^st minute, although there is no doubt that it was a deserved goal, for the sheer quality of its execution. Picking the ball up about 25 yards from goal, Alex Gaggin turned, looked up and then curled the ball around Aaron Lee-Wharton and into the far corner of the net. Aaron had no chance with that one, but, just seconds earlier, he had made an important save. Jordan Johnson-Palmer had lost control of the ball, inside his own area, and this enabled The Wasps’ big centre-forward, Charlie Postance, a free run on goal – but Aaron was quickly off his line, coming out and smothering the chance.

Ashford had the ball in the net in the 33^rd minute, when Dan Smith was unable to hold onto an excellent long-range shot from Johnson-Palmer. Daniel Ajakaiye had the simple job of tapping the ball into an empty net, with Smith on the ground, but the lino flagged him offside. In the 37^th minute, the visitors made a real meal of trying to secure possession from a throw-in in their own half – and eventually lost the ball. Steven Sargent quickly played the ball forward, into the path of the lively Alex Gaggin, but Aaron Lee-Wharton was alert once again, coming out to snuff out the chance.

Ashford looked at their most dangerous, in the first half, when George McLennan was carrying the ball through a fairly vacant midfield area, or when Clark Woodcock was cutting in from a wide area, but both players were sometimes guilty of making the wrong decision – such as attempting a shot when a lay-off or a through ball might have been a better option.

There was certainly no shortage of attacking intent from United, and we conceded a second goal, on the stroke of half time, when players had been pushed forward at a corner. Once George McLennan’s cross had been cleared and the break was on, the home side found themselves with a three-against-two advantage. And they made no mistake. With the Ashford defence retreating, the ball was spread wide, to Oliver Boulding, on the right. His cross found Alex Gaggins, in the penalty area, who turned the ball in with a deft, Danny Welbeck-style back-heel, as the ball came across him.

The Ashford Management Team made a substitution at the start of the second half, replacing right-back Ola Williams with Brandon Williams; (no relation). Brandon took up a position on the left of the back four, with Malachi Robinson, (who had looked a good player, in the first half), switching to the right.

There was no real change in the pattern of the game after the interval, with Ashford having most of the play and doing most of the attacking – but these attacks seemed to be rather sporadic, and a little improvised.

The first clear-cut chance of the second half fell to George McLennan. Daniel Ajakaiye fed him with a square pass, and the Scotsman connected with a great shot, which required a great, diving save from Dan Smith. It was a period of Ashford pressure that culminated in them finally achieving a break through, in the 64^th minute. As they probed for an opening, the ball found Clark Woodcock in a fairly crowded penalty area. The youngster took a touch, before placing a firm shot into the net. This was a hugely popular goal with the Ashford fans, and we can hope that it gives the lad confidence to push on from here. Today, in spite of his very youthful appearance, I felt that Clark never gave the impression of being a boy amongst men. He certainly looked very much ‘the part’ when he had the ball at his feet.

A minute later, however, Clark’s good work was nearly undone, when his team mates found themselves, once again, outnumbered three-against-two at the back. This must have been purely down to a lack of concentration, because we seemed to be caught on the break when we weren’t even attacking !  Anyway, Jon Difford saved the day with a really good covering tackle. Then, within seconds, the ball was at the other end of the pitch, and there was a chance for Dean Grant. This was the result of the East Grinstead defence failing to clear their lines. As the ball fell to him, Dean let fly with a powerful shot, but it went about a foot over the bar.

Ashford’s second available substitution was made in the 73^rd minute, with Joshua Oyinsan making his debut, in place of Daniel Ajakaiye – and the Paul Pogba lookalike and body double, (even down to the pink streak in his hair), attempted his first shot in an Ashford shirt in the 82^nd minute. Joshua looked very good as a big, strong target man, and seemed to know what he was doing – but this initial shot on goal went well over the bar.

Time seemed to be frittered away as 90 minutes approached – due to a combination of Dan Smith taking an age over every goal kick, there being a lengthy delay due to a head injury sustained by Steve Springett and some unnecessary bickering over where a succession of throw-ins should be taken – but then there was a flurry of activity during injury time.

This started with a long ball being launched into the East Grinstead penalty area. This was headed away by the home defence, but only as far as Brandon Williams, on the edge of the area, who hit a volley straight at Smith. Seconds later, Ashford were caught on the break again, and this time they were punished. As Charlie Postance raced clear of the Ashford defence, he lobbed the ball over the advancing Lee-Wharton, and into the net. But that wasn’t the end of the action, as the visitors pulled a goal back, fully three minutes into the five minutes of added time. The tireless Dean Grant chased a ball into the far left corner, turned and carried the ball into the penalty area. In a great solo effort, he unleashed a shot which was deflected over Dan Smith, into the far corner of the net. Deano deserved that goal for sheer endeavour – but I don’t think he’ll get it, as it appears to have been recorded as an Andrew Cooney own goal.

So no complaints about the three points going to East Grinstead, who took all three of their goals well. This latest defeat, at the hand if the team occupying 21^st position in the league table, means that Ashford will now almost certainly finish in 22^nd place. But it’s all about next season !