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 22nd
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
21st 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 14th 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 21st 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 33rd 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 37th 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 64th
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 73rd 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 82nd 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 21st
position in the league table, means that Ashford will now almost certainly finish
in 22nd place. But it’s all about next season !
