Thamesmead Town 3
Ashford United 1
from Ashford United’s Milton Keynes Correspondent
This has certainly been
the season of ‘Planes, Trains and Automobiles. And, strangely enough, I have
used those three means of transport, in that order, for travelling to my last
three matches.
I never thought that I
would ever get on an aeroplane to go and see Ashford play football, but that
was what we did, just three weeks ago, when we boarded an Aurigny Air Services
flight to Guernsey. This must have been the most eagerly awaited fixture of the
season for many of us – very much the glittering prize for gaining promotion to
the Isthmian League – and it turned out to be a wonderful week-end. A large
invasion force arrived from England, (what people on the Isle of Wight refer to
as ‘the North Island’), and the entire occasion was full of fun and bonhomie. I
will never forget the reaction of the locals in the bar, about 20 minutes
before kick-off, when someone pointed down the lane leading to the ground and
said: “Oooo, look. There are loads of bananas coming up the road !”. We ended
up with a point from that game, when we really ought to have beaten what looked
to be a fairly weak Guernsey side, particularly in the first half, but I
couldn’t begrudge the home side the draw, after a much improved second-half
performance.
Before that, I found
myself on business in London on a Wednesday, so that gave me the opportunity to
hop on a train to Hayes Lane, Bromley, for our evening kick-off against Cray
Wanderers. (This was the first time that I had been to Hayes Lane since the
artificial pitch had been installed – which reminded me of a match here, also
against Cray Wanderers, in the 2006-7 season, when John Cumberbatch’s
struggling Ashford Town side had been leading 0-2 at half time when the
waterlogged pitch caused the game to be abandoned; although we won the
rearranged match 0-4). Unfortunately, this season’s game, on the plastic, was
to be very different. Against a clearly very good Wands team, the lads were
pretty dreadful, as poor as I have ever seen an Ashford side look, and the 9-1
score line would have been worse if the returning George Kamurasi hadn’t made
some important saves. Fortunately, I had to make a dash to Bromley railway
station after 50 minutes, at which point the score was only 5-0.
The previous game I saw
was away to Walton Casuals, in their very extensive, and very impressive,
multi-purpose sports complex, (which is on the site of the poxy little ground
they used to have). That necessitated asking the battered old Astra Estate to
make the journey down to South West London, via the M1, M25 and M3. I’m not
sure how many more match days the old warhorse will see – a veteran of away
days to Gateshead, Salisbury, the Isle of Wight and, of course, Gatwick Airport
– but her MoT test is due in five days’ time. I will ask for a priest to be in
attendance. Again, I’m afraid the lads were outclassed, this time by a
formidable Casuals side, which were actually probably more impressive than Cray
Wanderers were. I have to say, though, that the Ashford lads came out of that
game with plenty of credit, having been deservedly level at half time, before
losing 4-0.
Today,
it was back to the more familiar routine of getting the train down, from Milton
Keynes, for the match away to Thamesmead Town. The Mead ground-share at
Dartford Borough Council’s Princes Park Stadium – so I have now seen Ashford
sides play here against Dartford, Greenwich Borough and Thamesmead.
In
a season that has become, or maybe always was, an exercise in building a squad
that can challenge at the top of this league next season, this promised to be
an informative game against a solid, mid-table team. Ashford United went into
the game on a run of six games without a win, although performances in the last
four of those had been encouraging. A 3-3 draw at home to a Hythe Town team
pushing for a play-off place, and a defeat by one goal at the hands of
Corinthian-Casuals and Hastings United, both powerful sides, have not been bad
results, (and, again, we really should have beaten Guernsey).
A
regular criticism from fans, this season, has been the number of players that
have come and gone as a result of this building process. It is undeniable that using
more than 70 players by the middle of February suggests a lack of continuity,
but I think that everyone concerned with the club will have been delighted that
Dave Cook, this week, re-signed for his third spell with Ashford United, so
putting himself in line to become the 72nd player to be used this
season. An Ashford boy and a thoroughly proven midfielder at this level, he is
probably the ideal man to have on board for the immediate future.
The
Ashford line-up today, using theoretical squad numbers to reflect the order in
which players have appeared this season, was as follows: 1. George Kamurasi,
68. Will Thomas, 64. George McLennan, 70. Jahmal Howlett-Mundle, 6. Pat
Kingwell (capt.), 67. Jordan Wright, 55. Kwabena Osei, 37. Joe Bingham, 13.
Brandon Williams, 69. Dean Grant, 71. Jordan Johnson-Palmer. The sub.s: 20.
Matt Day, 72. Dave Cook, 60. Ryan Richefond, 52. James Fitchett, 21. Clark
Woodcock.
A
little disappointing that there was no place in the starting line-up for Matt
Day, given the very recent departure of strikers Andrew Dalhouse (six goals, at
a rate of one every 195 minutes) and Shomari Barnwell (seven at a rate of one
every 115 minutes, a rate only beaten, for Ashford United, by Damian Abel,
Shaun Welford, Stuart Zanone and Mo Takaloo) – but this looked like a strong
line-up.
Unfortunately,
after an uneventful opening six minutes, under blue skies, on what was the first
vaguely spring-like day of the year, this line-up made life difficult for
itself by conceding a really soft goal. The home side had been awarded a
free-kick, by Referee Isaac Searle, on the corner of the Ashford penalty area.
This was taken by Tom O’Conner, who sent over what looked to be a routine
cross, which Solomon Taiwo headed in, unchallenged, for probably the easiest
goal he will ever score. There was an immediate inquest from the Ashford bench –
something to do with ‘marking’ was mentioned !
During the week, Manager Jason Whitmore had been describing his
aspirations for achieving two promotions within the next five years for the
club. He and Gary Alexander might start that process by teaching the boys the basics
of defending.
One
positive to take from this stumbling start was that the lads didn’t collapse in
a heap. In fact, they gradually worked their way into the game – and even put
together a good move, in the 17th minute. This gave Brandon
Williams, playing wide on the left, a great opportunity to put a telling ball
into the centre, but he sliced his cross behind for a goal kick. A minute later,
a break-out from defence ended with a diagonal ball which found Brandon inside
the Thamesmead penalty area. His low, left-footed shot was on target, but was
readily saved by Mead goalkeeper Lewis Carey. But the sight of goal lifted
spirits.
In
the 21st minute, Kwabena Osei was presented with a half-chance, when
his opposite number, Thamesmead No.4 Solomon Taiwo, passed the ball straight to
him, but the former Folkestone man sliced his shot well wide. In the 24th
minute, another opportunity was created by a good Ashford move down the left,
involving George McLennan and, once again, Brandon Williams. This enabled
Williams to send in a cross from the by-line, aimed at Dean Grant, who was
converging on the near post, but the Ashford No.9’s flick went just wide.
So
the visitors had started to pass the ball around, and were managing to snuff
out Thamesmead’s attacks. They were winning important tackles in midfield, were
having the majority of possession, and Pat Kingwell, George McLennan and Joe
Bingham were looking particularly impressive. It came as a surprise, then, when
Joe had a complete aberration, in the 26th minute. In possession,
just five yards outside his own penalty area, he gave the ball straight to
Thamesmead’s Danny Parrish, who had the simple task of placing the ball into
the path of Paul Vines. From about 18 yards out, Vines made no mistake,
thumping the ball past George Kamurasi, making it 2-0.
The
nearest Ashford came to scoring in the first half was from the head of Richard
Avery – but remember that he was playing for Thamesmead this afternoon, having
been part of Ashford’s Championship-winning team last season ! A dinked ball into the Thamesmead penalty
area by Brandon Williams was met with a back-header by Avo, which forced goalie
Lewis Carey into making a diving save, at the expense of a corner. Ashford
rather made a mess of the attempted short corner routine. In fact, there were
rather too many individual errors from the visitors – allowing the ball to run
out of play, the misplaced final ball, the poor close control – which reduced
the effectiveness of their work.
The
Mead had a chance to score a third goal when tall No.8 Tom O’Conner broke out
from defence. His powerful run took him all the way to within a few feet of the
Ashford United penalty area, but he opted for a tame shot straight at George
Kamurasi, when other options were available.
Ashford
finished the half strongly. In the 41st minute, Joe Bingham
completed a neat one-two with Dean Grant, and fired in a low cross from the
by-line, but Lewis Carey did well with his interception. Seconds later, George
McLennan, Dean Grant and Brandon Williams fashioned a good move down the left
flank. George had the opportunity to play the through-ball into the path of
Jordan Johnson-Palmer, who was straining to stay onside – but George decided on
a shot with his left foot, which went wide.
On
reflection, neither goalkeeper had a tremendous amount to do during the first
half – but Thamesmead, a team that never looked any better than an average team
throughout the 90 minutes, sauntered in at half time with a very comfortable
2-0 lead.
The
second half started painfully for Will Thomas, who was playing at right-back
this afternoon. He was the victim of a crunching late tackle from Solomon
Taiwo, in the 49th minute, and was on the floor for some time. He got
up and soldiered on, but had to be replaced by Ryan Richefond, just eight
minutes later.
Prior
to this, in the 53rd minute, Thamesmead went close, thanks to some
excellent vision from Paul Vines. Halfway inside the Ashford half, with his
back to goal, he spun and hit a diagonal ball into the path of Danny Parrish,
who sent in a cross towards the far post. This looked awkward for George
Kamurasi to deal with, but Brandon Williams did well to hoike the ball clear,
for a corner. Brandon’s presence at the far post was due to the fact that he
and George McLennan had swapped places, with George now playing as the wide
midfielder on the left.
One
other difference in the second half was that Ashford had come out with what
seemed to be a determination to play fast, on-the-ground football. In spite of
the change on the left, Ashford’s most effective work after the break had come
on the right, with Folkestone Invicta loanee Jordan Wright posing the greatest
threat to the home defence. Jordan had a shooting chance in the 54th
minute, after George McLennan and Dean Grant had been prominent in an Ashford
break. Jordan hit the ball well, but his shot, from inside the Thamesmead area,
was deflected into the side-netting.
Jordan
Johnson-Palmer, to name but three, had a fairly quiet game, his best moment
coming in the 61st minute. After another good passing movement, this
time down the left, JJP found himself inside the opposition’s area, in the
inside-left channel, but his firm shot hit the top of Lewis Carey’s crossbar.
That
move had been initiated by the returning Dave Cook winning an important header
in midfield. (He had come on in place of Kwabena Osei, although I must confess
to have missed the substitution, which may well have happened at half time).
But the most successful substitution made by Jason Whitmore was the one he made
in the 71st minute, when he replaced Jordan Johnson-Palmer with Matt
Day, as Matt made an immediate impact, with what the Americans would call an ‘assist’,
just four minutes later.
Some
of the credit for the goal must go to Jordan Carey, who harried a Thamesmead
defender all the way to his own corner flag. When the fluffed clearance as a
result of the pressure came, the ball fell to Matt Day, who was well inside the
Thamesmead penalty area. With his back to goal, Matt lobbed the ball over his
own head, invitingly ahead of Dean Grant, who, from six yards out, waited for
the ball to drop before volleying it home, for his first goal for Ashford.
Lewis Carey was clearly furious with his defence for allowing his clean sheet
to be spoilt. After kicking the post, in a manner that was a little reminiscent
of a certain Cray Valley goalkeeper, it was Danquah Williams who seemed to
receive the brunt of his ire.
The
visitors had certainly shown the more urgency of the two teams in the second
half, but it was Thamesmead who had the next chance. In what had become a rare
attack from the home side, Harvey Brand, in the 83rd minute, sent in
a powerful shot, from the corner of the area, which George Kamurasi did well to
tip over the bar. A minute later, Dave Cook got himself booked for a late, and fairly
cynical, trip on Tom O’Conner – and so joined Jahmal Howlett-Mundle in the book,
who had been yellow-carded in the 71st minute, for a similar
offence.
As
often happens in matches, the game really opened up during the final five
minutes or so. This might have been due to fatigue setting in with both sets of
players, but it was certainly encouraged by Ashford pouring forward, in search
of the equaliser that looked well within their grasp. It seemed almost certain
that the game was going to finish up either 2-2 or 3-1. In the event, it was
the latter that turned out to be the case – which was very harsh on the
visitors, who had certainly deserved to ‘win’ the second half – but the
surprise was that Thamesmead nearly scored the clinching goal as a result of a
howler from the normally very reliable Pat Kingwell. Twice !
In
the 86th minute, a miss-kick from the Ashford captain sent
Thamesmead sub Richard Pacquette clean through on goal, but Pacquette’s firm
shot flashed across the face of the Ashford goal. Then, in the 89th
minute, Kingwell looked to be about to make a routine interception, but, inexplicably,
allowed the ball to run under his foot. Again, it was Pacquette who looked like
being the beneficiary, but George Kamurasi rushed out from goal to retrieve the
situation.
When
the third Thamesmead goal came, in the 90th minute, it was very much
the result of Ashford committing players forward. In fact, it came almost
immediately after an Ashford attack had broken down, on the edge of the
Thamesmead penalty area. A clearance found Paul Vines, free in the Ashford
half, and, for the second time on the match, the experienced striker showed an
exemplary piece of finishing, curling the ball around Big George, and into the far
corner of the net.
So
not a whole shed-load of positives to take from this game. However, it was good
to see that all three of Ashford’s substitutions seemed to work well. For those
of us who are fans of Matt Day, and who would like to see him given more
opportunities this season, it was gratifying to see him set up Dean Grant’s
goal, within minutes of coming on. (It’s also good that Dean has got off the
mark for Ashford, in his fourth appearance). Dave Cook stood out as a commanding
presence in the midfield, during the second half, and Ryan Richefond did well
at right-back, although he didn’t have a great deal of defending to do.
The
improved second half performance also offered some encouragement, after those two
very soft goals were given away in the first half. But the boys will not be
able to afford such gifts next Saturday, when the opponents will be Cray
Wanderers.
