Tooting & Mitcham United 1 Ashford Town 1
from Your Milton Keynes Correspondent
This was almost a bit of a bonus, this game, as I had all but written off the prospects of this match being on – what with the weather forecast and the amount of rain that we have already had – but the 10 am inspection, which I had assumed was to be merely a formality, passed the pitch at Imperial Fields fit, so we had to scramble pretty quickly. In spite of passing through plenty of rain on the way down, conditions were fairly dry in the London Borough of Morden, and the playing surface appeared to be in pretty reasonable shape. It was a little bumpy, with a few sanded patches here and there, but otherwise looked pretty good. The weather was actually dry throughout the match – although the skies were overcast – with a moderate cross-breeze. (In fact, a full programme of Ryman Division One South fixtures was completed today, so the weather forecasters were a little wide of the mark on this occasion).
It’s always a pleasure to go to Imperial Fields – Tooting & Mitcham United probably have the best facility in our division. Today it was certainly a pleasant change from our previous two away trips – to the scrap-yard landscape of Sittingbourne, and to Horsham YMCA’s fairly minimalist set-up. As soon as you come off the Bishopsford Road and drive through the gates, you are greeted with the sight of the impressive main stand, which comprises the main spectator stand itself and “The Hub” (a fitness and leisure centre, which also includes a bar and eating area). The stand, with its black & white seats, is one of the larger ones at this level, and there is high, banked, concrete terracing behind each goal - so there is everything in place here for a considerably higher level of football.
It’s a fairly three-sided set-up, with the far side of the pitch undeveloped, providing a clear view of the open fields of Poulter Park, in which the whole complex is set, from the stand. Everything appears to be efficient and well-maintained, and there are good toilet and snack bar facilities at the entrance to the ground, at the top of the main stand and within “The Hub”. I was glad that both Tony Betteridge and Don Crosbie were here this afternoon, as this really is the level of facility that Ashford Town FC should aspire to – and least in “Phase One” !.
In terms of the football itself, this was ……… no, let’s have an Anorak’s Corner first – and one which could only have been compiled by a man with too much time on his hands !
** Anorak’s Corner **
I thought it might be interesting to compare strikers and goalies from different seasons – a sort of all-time appraisal of how they measure up in terms of goals scored, and conceded, per minute. Of course, “all-time” in this case really just covers the past two and a half seasons, as that is the time during which I’ve had this affliction of keeping such records; (assuming that I’m not just making them up). This means that the statistics don’t include goals scored by the likes of Paul Jones and Adrian Stone during spells at the Club prior to the 2005-6 season. I’ve also imposed a minimum playing time of 500 minutes for the purposes of the following lists – with the exception of Jamie Riley (450 minutes) and Paul Jones (427 minutes), who have been included because they are current players. Here, then, are the statistics, the whole statistics and nothing but the statistics, (as they were at the start of today’s match) – expressed in “minutes per goal”: -
Goalkeepers
Jamie Riley 75
Jake Whincup 61
Simon Overland 60
Jani Seitsonen 54
Sean Glover 50
Sam Moore 42
Dave Wietecha 41
Strikers
Adri - a – nhoooo 155
Mark Lovell 162
George Fenwick 177
Walid Matata 189
Paul Jones 214
Nick Wright 221
Luke Coleman 228
Richard Sinden 276
Adam O’Neill 289
Rob Denness 364
Steve Sodje 369
Joby Thorogood 369
Jimmy Bottle 381
Shaun Bradshaw 487
I acknowledge the fact that Jimmy isn’t purely a striker, but I’ll keep him in the list for as long as his strike-rate is better than Shaun Bradshaw’s. (I know that this is not a very reliable yard-stick for what constitutes a striker, but let’s leave Bradders alone). I should also point out that Joby played one whole season in which he was largely deployed as a midfield player.
I know that all statistics can be questioned, but I think there’s a general tendency shown here for the cream to rise – (and we know what stuff rarely floats on the surface !). Obviously, these numbers will become more meaningful as players get more minutes under their belt, so it will be interesting to see how the lists develop throughout the season.
Attendances
The raw stats say that the average home league attendance currently stands at 328, which will be comfortably the best we’ve had since the 1999-2000 season, when we were in the Doc Martens Eastern Division. Unfortunately, one thing that can be guaranteed is that this average figure is the highest that it will be this season, and that it will gradually decrease from here. This is because, not only is it considerably boosted by the 855 we had on Boxing Day for the Dover game, but it’s also the case that all the other teams that might conceivably take some supporters to The Homelands – i.e. Kingstonian, Tooting, Worthing, Whitstable, Sittingbourne – have already been. Chatham might bring one or two, on a freezing Tuesday in February, but otherwise it looks like being largely home fans only for the rest of the season. Still, there is every chance that the eventual average might be an improvement on the past few seasons; the mean figure for the past seven seasons (starting with the 2000-1 season) has been: 253, 256, 271, 284, 243, 208 and 243.
Of course, the statistic that never lies is the median, or “middle” figure, in as much as it is immune from the influence of both the bumper Bank Holiday crowds and the really really low turn-outs. I’m pleased to report that the median currently stands at 261, which is a whole lot better than the figure of 198 last season, and 174 the season before that !
The aggregate attendance for cup games has been a pathetic 518 – which is indicative of yet another wash-out for Ashford Town in the cups. This figure is the total for three home games – all defeats – and is worse than in the 2005-6 season, when three home cup games yielded an aggregate of just 583. (The real horror story was the season before that, when the cup season at The Homelands consisted of just the one match, which had an attendance of 139).
* * *
One feature of Steve Lovell’s management is that he appears to know what his best side is. With only Lee Spiller and Aron Freeman on the injury list, and young Joe Hitchings currently out on loan, Steve had virtually his whole squad to choose from, but he selected the now very familiar line-up of Jamie Riley, Nicky Humphrey, Sean Ray (Capt.), Lee Hockey, Daniel Brathwaite, Mitchell Sherwood, Nick Barnes, Ryan Briggs, Jimmy Bottle, Mark Lovell and Paul Jones. Even the substitutes’ bench has been fairly constant in recent games, and today was comprised, again, of Sam Moore, Tony Browne, Danny Lye, Walid Matata and Rob Denness.
There was actually one other player who was not available to Steve today – Anthony Hogg, the new signing from Sittingbourne during the week. Anthony was serving a one-match ban for totting up five yellow cards for The Brickies. (For five yellow cards you are banned for one game, for ten yellows you are banned for two games, and then for 15 yellows you get an ASBO). By all accounts, Hogg is a quality central midfield player, so it seems almost certain that he will go straight into the first team line-up next Saturday – but it’s difficult to predict who will be forced to make way for him. Aron Freeman (who has been running again, after his groin operation, and is expected to be at least two weeks away from full fitness) and Lee Spiller (who had a run-out for the Reserves last Saturday) were part of the crowd of 259 today.
And so, finally, to the match (!). Well actually I’d like to make one final digression, and have a moan about the Tooting & Mitcham shirts. This famous old football club is one of those that has always played in classical striped shirts – black & white, in Tooting’s case, à la Kevin Keegan. However, for the past two seasons, they’ve had a poncy design which is tantamount to white with black piping. There are basically just three stripes. One comes up from about the naval and ends at the “V” of the neck, whilst two more (one on each side) rise from the groin area and sweep up to the shoulder, before continuing their trajectory to the wrist. I know it’s none of my business – and some people might like it – but I just think it’s a travesty to not respect the timeless footy tradition of proper, parallel stripes. (And it gets on my nerves to see these silly variations).
So, finally, to the match. This was never going to be an easy game for Ashford, to say the least, with Tooting & Mitcham sitting on top of the division this morning; nor was it expected, on recent form, that Ashford would be outclassed. In fact, I’m pleased to report that this always looked like a close contest between two good sides – how many times have I reported on a close contest between two obviously poor sides ?! The fact that Ashford emerged with a point here was neither a fluke nor a surprise.
It was also no surprise, given Steve Lovell’s suggestion in mid-week that we’d be looking to “have a go” at our opponents, that Ashford started very much on the front foot. There was early notice given that we now have in our armoury a potent attacking weapon in long-throw specialist Lee Hockey. A couple of times in the opening five minutes, Lee launched a long throw into the box. Although these early mortars failed to produce the desired result, an Ashford goal from a set-piece always looked on the cards, throughout the 90 minutes, with Sean Ray and Nicky Humphrey looking dominant in the air in the opponents’ area.
We didn’t have to wait long before this dominance paid dividends, as the Skipper opened the scoring, from a free-kick, as early as the sixth minute. Ryan Briggs took the kick long, from a position just to the left of goal. As he struck the ball, Sean Ray spun off his marker, to create the required space for himself, and then met the ball with a clean header. He placed his effort just inside the far post, giving goalkeeper Dave King no chance, for his second goal for the Club. (Referring back to the Anorak’s Corner figures, at the time of writing, Razor has now scored one goal every 360 minutes, which puts him in tenth position in the table, ahead of Rob Denness, Joby Thorogood, Steve Sodje, Jimmy Bottle and Shaun Bradshaw – but don’t tell him, as they’ll never hear the last of it in the dressing-room).
The opening goal was not an isolated incident in the opening 15 minutes, as it was Ashford who had all the opportunities during this time. In the eighth minute, Paul Jones picked the ball up in the Tooting area; with his back to goal, he showed great body strength to turn his marker, Remuald Bouadji, but his shot at goal was wild and wide.
A minute later, we had a corner, on the left, after Nick Barnes’s cross had been headed behind. Barnesy took this himself, hitting it long, beyond the far post, and Bouadji was there again to head behind for another corner. This one was on the right, so Jimmy Bottle went across from the left to take it. His cross was cleared, but only as far as Ryan Briggs, who was waiting outside the 18-yard box, but Ryan could do no more than smash the ball into the knot of players in the area. In the 13th minute, Lee Hockey launched another of his long throws into the area, and found Paul Jones, about eight yards from goal. Jonah always looks dangerous in these situations, even though he had his back to goal, and he managed to turn and shoot, but on this occasion his shot was blocked. The ball broke to Nicky Humphrey, who had gone up for the set-piece, but the defender’s shot went across the face of goal.
We had gone into this game knowing that our opponents are armed with a potent attacking partnership, in Jon Henry-Hayden and Paul Vines. In fact, Henry-Hayden started the game as joint-top scorer (with Croydon Ath’s Reggie Savage) in our division, with 14 goals, with Paul Vines not far behind, with eleven. Well, the threat was effectively halved today, with Vines being sidelined through injury and Ronnie Green playing up front as a makeshift striker. Nevertheless, there was still Henry-Hayden to contend with, and he equalised for the home side in the 15th minute. I thought there might have been a hint of hand-ball, as he controlled the ball in the penalty area, to the left of the goal, but there was no doubt about his confident finish, as he smashed the ball past Jamie Riley, with his left foot.
The goal came as a bit of a shock, as it came from Tooting’s first real threat on the Ashford goal, but, from here, the home side gradually came more and more into the game, and were very much the dominant force by the end of the half. First, though, Ashford had an opportunity from a free-kick, in the 17th minute. This was right on the edge of the area, to the right of centre, and was awarded after Paul Jones, again with his back to goal, had received a shove in the back of the head. The two left-footers, Daniel Brathwaite and Jimmy Bottle, stood over the ball, and it was Jimmy who attempted to bend it like Beckham – he managed to get the ball to curve over the defensive wall, and then to dip, but it went about a foot over the bar.
Another major threat carried by Tooting & Mitcham was left-winger Jamie Byatt – and Nicky Humphrey had the unenviable task of trying to contain him. Although Nicky was never the total master in this particular contest, he did a reasonable job, but Byatt rather robbed him of the ball, in a dangerous position (i.e. the Ashford penalty area), in the 22nd minute. Given a clear sight of goal, Byatt hit a firm shot straight at Jamie Riley, but Jamie did well to hold onto the ball. In the 26th minute, our fairly solid-looking defence put themselves under pressure when Lee Hockey sliced an attempted pass and presented possession to the opposition. Tooting immediately worked the ball from right to left, eventually finding Guilherme Lopez Dacruz – which is a very exotic, Portuguese name, which translates into English as “William Cross” – out wide. Dacruz’s good, measured cross found Henry-Hayden, in the centre, but his header, from close range, was also straight at Jamie Riley.
In the 28th minute, a foul by Ryan Gray on Mitchell Sherwood, near the right corner flag, gave Daniel Brathwaite the chance to curl in a dangerous free-kick, with the big boys from the back going up for the set-piece. Both Sean Ray and Lee Hockey challenged for the cross, in the six-yard box, and it was Razor who won the contest, but his header went just over the bar.
Tooting - cheered on by an enthusiastic home crowd, which loudly applauded every throw-in won and every refereeing decision that went their way – increasingly dominated possession as the half wore on, but the Ashford defence successfully held them at bay. Before they had a late spell of pressure leading up to the half-time whistle, the home side’s best chance was a long-range effort from Ronnie Green, in the 37th minute, which went just over.
So Jamie Riley was largely untroubled in the first half, but he had a wobbly moment in the 41st minute. A corner, on the right, was swung in, left-footed, with pace, right under the Ashford crossbar. Jamie looked to have done well to catch a very awkward cross, but then he dropped it – and was relieved to see that it had dropped at the feet of a yellow-shirted defender, who booted it away. Then, in the 45th minute, a deep cross from the Tooting right found Jamie Byatt, but his looping header was comfortably caught by Riley.
The Tooting & Mitcham players trooped off at half time to a standing ovation from the home supporters in the stand. It’s true that they had played some good, passing football, and had obviously inspired the fans in the way that they had asserted themselves – but hang on, boys. It’s 1-1, and we’re only half-way, and, although we didn’t finish the half as well as we had started it, Ashford fully deserved to be on level terms at the break.
The second half was a little quieter, with less pace, than the first, but was once again keenly contested and fairly evenly balanced. After Nick Barnes had got himself yellow-carded in the 47th minute, there was a half-chance for the visitors just two minutes later. A long kick-out from Jamie Riley was well flicked on by Mark Lovell, finding Paul Jones, ahead of him. Jonah then set the ball up for Lovell, but his sliced shot from a long way out went very wide, and looked a little half-hearted. I’m yet to be convinced by Lovell Junior. He has a good strike-rate in terms of goals scored, and we saw the occasional deft flick today, but he generally looks slow, and could give Paul Jones a lot more support than he does. Of course, part of Mark’s problem is that he will always be compared with Jonesy, who was superb again this afternoon. Still, I expect young mark will do what Martin Chivers used to do, and point to the “goals scored” column at the end of the season. After all, it’s not “How” – it’s “How many”.
In the 51st minute, Ashford had a corner, on the left, after a Jimmy Bottle cross had been blocked. Nick Barnes curled this straight into the hands of ‘keeper Dave King, who immediately launched a counter-attack. He sent Jamie Byatt down the left wing, at pace, and the pursuing Mitchell Sherwood’s blatant push was enough to make the winger lose his balance. Yellow card for Mitchell !
As the game wore on, Paul Jones, who had certainly impressed some of the home supporters, increasingly took it upon himself to try to score on his own. An example of this came in the 59th minute. He picked the ball up just inside the Tooting half, and set off down the left flank. He cut inside, onto his right foot, and a burst of pace gave him the space to unleash a low shot, which needed a diving save from the goalkeeper.
In the 64th minute, Jimmy Bottle won a corner, on the left, which was taken by Ryan Briggs. This was punched clear by Dave King, at the expense of a throw-in, which Lee Hockey went up to take. Ashford’s large units moved up, into the Tooting penalty area, and Sean Ray won with his header yet again, but was unable to find a man in a yellow shirt.
Nicky Humphrey got himself booked for a late tackle, in the 68th minute, but Ashford then enjoyed several minutes of pressure on the home goal – there was a corner on the right, and Lee Hockey twice launched a long throw into the Terrors’ penalty box, from the left, but all these attempts came to nothing.
With about a quarter of an hour left, the match appeared to be settling down as a 1-1 stalemate, with two good teams cancelling each other out – but there were enough chances and half-chances at both ends to suggest that either side might nick the three points. In the 76th minute, Sean Ray did some great defending, winning the ball in his own area, and then finding Paul Jones with a long clearance. Not for the first time, Jonah found himself isolated up front, and was faced by two Tooting defenders. After looking around for support, he turned and shot himself, (in the sense that he, himself, had a shot – I’m not saying that he committed suicide). His long-range effort was on target, but was saved by King. A minute later, Sean Ray blotted his copybook by rather needlessly getting himself cautioned. He might have been booked for the foul, but after he had picked the ball up, run back into defence with it and then tossed it away, it was an easy decision for the referee to make Razor the fourth Ashford player to be yellow-carded.
I think that, generally, Tooting would have been a little fortunate, on the overall balance of play, to have stolen all three points, but, if Ronnie Green’s effort in the 78th minute had gone in, then I would’ve said that it was a worthy “winner”. Jamie Byatt had the ball near the left corner flag, and was faced by the imposing figure of Nicky Humphrey - but he managed to wriggle past him, and made progress into the Ashford penalty area. Byatt’s low cross found Green, in the centre, whose first-time shot crashed against the underside of the crossbar, and rebounded away to safety. Jamie Riley didn’t have time to move.
As darkness descended on Imperial Fields, under slate grey skies, Steve Lovell made his first substitution – Walid Matata replacing Jimmy Bottle, in the 82nd minute. Jimmy had again looked lively, on the left, but there was again a shortage of end-product; I don’t think that we can expect Jimmy to just waltz through defences at this level, and it’s probably fair to say that full-back Dean Hamlin had his measure this afternoon. Whilst this substitution was being made, Lee Hockey was waiting to lob a long throw into the penalty area, from near the right corner flag. Sean Ray, who’s better in the air than Douglas Bader, again beat the Tooting defence, at the near post, but headed wide.
Although Walid Matata pushed well forward, as is his wont, on the left, to virtually give us a three-man attack, the general demeanour of the Ashford side suggested that Steve Lovell was, at this stage, satisfied with a point. We seemed to be taking plenty of time with goal-kicks and free-kicks, and the introduction of Rob Denness, in place of Mark Lovell (pronounced “La Velle” by the PA announcer), in the 84th minute, was quite possibly in the interests of running down the clock.
Ashford’s final chance, in the 86th minute, was carved out by Paul Jones; fed the ball by Ryan Briggs, Jonah turned and released a low shot, from well outside the area, and this effort would have crept just inside the far post if Dave King hadn’t made a diving, finger-tip save. Just prior to this, Walid Matata had what some spectators saw as a good shout for a penalty, but this appeared to be a case of him receiving a little shove and then flopping to the ground. He might have bought a free-kick anywhere else on the pitch, but, in the area, the ref will have been alert to the fact that he was looking for the penalty.
The home side pressed on until the end of the three minutes of injury time, but were unable to trouble Jamie Riley further. So just the one point for the league leaders, but the Tooting fans who had witnessed the game appeared to be well satisfied with a draw today. Both sets of supporters were united in a common joy, in the bar a little later, when news came through of Dover’s 3-1 capitulation against a young and weakened Chatham side, (during which Chatham’s ‘keeper, and our old friend, John Whitehouse was reportedly carried off). Tooting & Mitcham remain top, whilst Ashford move up a place, to 13th – although a gap of eight points between 12th and 13th place has suddenly opened up ! Ashford are now 14 points adrift of the fourth play-off place, with a game in hand, so, even with a storming finish to the season, it’s getting very late for promotion now.
The choice of MK Man of the Match was not entirely straightforward. The trouble is, Sean Ray and Paul Jones always catch the eye – Sean as the most dominant defender on the pitch, and Jonah as the best striker on the pitch, (which is actually quite a compliment on this occasion !). Although Razor scored the goal, it was difficult to see beyond Jonah, after an excellent effort again over the 90 minutes. Paul is now level with Nick Barnes – with two away game MoMs – in the race for The Milton Keynes Bowl.
It’s probably quite significant that Tooting & Mitcham’s Man of the Match was goalkeeper Dave King ! Steve Lovell also reported, when taking the trouble to thank the away fans for their support, that the lads were very quiet in the dressing-room afterwards, indicating that they were actually a little disappointed to only have drawn this afternoon. Disappointed with a point, away to the league leaders ?! I think that’s also quite significant !
Man of the Match
(to go towards the Milton Keynes Bowl)
Paul Jones
Sunday, 20 January 2008
Sunday, 6 January 2008
Horsham YMCA v Ashford Town. Ryman Division One South. 5th of January 2008.
Horsham YMCA 1 Ashford Town 2
from Your Milton Keynes Correspondent
After strangely contrasting performances in their previous two games – an excellent display against a very strong Dover side on Boxing Day, and then a rather tepid performance in a poor game at Sittingbourne – Ashford travelled to Horsham YMCA for their first game of 2008. Maybe the contrast between the Dover and Sittingbourne performance wasn’t so odd – with Dover also following up their Boxing Day victory with a very under-par showing at home, three days later, to Whitstable, after which they were a little fortunate to emerge with a draw, I’m inclined to think that the mental and physical effort expended in a local derby, on what is becoming a notoriously energy-sapping Homelands pitch, left both sets of players drained for the next game.
Still, there would be no excuses this afternoon, against second-bottom Horsham YMCA, after a full week’s break. This might, however, have been a potentially trappy fixture, since, in spite of finding themselves in the relegation zone this morning, our hosts had been collecting points fairly regularly – eleven from their previous eight games, including a crucial 2-1 victory at home to Eastbourne Town in a relegation six-pointer last Saturday.
Horsham YMCA should not be confused with Horsham FC – the Ryman Premier Division outfit that has recently achieved TV fame during an FA Cup run that saw them progress as far as a Second Round Replay away at Third Division Swansea City. Coincidentally, today was FA Cup Third Round day, and Horsham would have been at home to Havant & Waterlooville if they’d managed to squeeze past Swansea – instead, they had a league game, away from home, this afternoon.
The two Horsham grounds are actually adjacent to each other, with the yellow & green main stand of Horsham FC clearly visible through the trees from Goring’s Mead, the scene of today’s entertainment. The ground takes its name from the small residential cul-de-sac at the end of which it is located. Although Horsham YMCA is the older of the two clubs, (it was founded in 1898, and made Goring’s Mead its home in 1929), it is definitely the more limited in scope. Everything is tightly hemmed in within a perimeter fence consisting of green wire mesh affixed to two steel rails. Space is particularly tight behind each goal, with special narrow goals allowing just about enough room for spectators to stand two-deep. (Ashford had a “Kop” of eight people behind the Ashford goal this afternoon). As with most other grounds of the newly-promoted clubs in Ryman Division One South – Chipstead and Walton Casuals spring to mind – Gorings Mead has not much more than the minimum requirements for achieving Ryman League status, with the smallish Victor Gladwish Stand providing the only formal accommodation for spectators. (It’s the stand which is smallish, not Victor Gladwish – he’s quite a tall bloke).
[ As always, I describe the ground in these terms purely in the interests of setting the scene for today’s game, and the remarks are not intended to be disparaging to a Club which has obviously put a lot of resources and effort into bringing its facilities up to Ryman League standards. This is the second season at this level for this very friendly club, and I’d like to think that it will avoid a relegation, at the end of the season, which would see these efforts largely go to waste. ]
The team news today confirmed that, in a world of foreign coaches rotating and tinkering with their squad, Steve Lovell, the Welsh Wizard, values the commodity of continuity, and he announced an unchanged side for the third consecutive game. Unfortunately, these best-laid plans were thwarted when goalkeeper Jamie Riley injured his knee during the warm-up, meaning that Sam Moore stepped in to keep goal in front of an increasingly familiar line-up: Nicky Humphrey, Sean Ray (Skipper), Lee Hockey and Daniel Brathwaite at the back; Mitchell Sherwood, Ryan Briggs, Nick Barnes and Jimmy Bottle in midfield; Paul Jones and Mark Lovell up front. This was nominally a 4-4-2 set-up, but the shape was decidedly 4-2-4 when we had the ball. Tony Browne, Danny Lye, Walid Matata, Rob Denness and Jamie Riley made up a very talented bench, whilst Lee Spiller joined them in the kick-about before the match and at half time; (but it’s hard to see where Spills will fit in when he gets fit, with Barnes and Briggs once again looking to be a strong partnership in central midfield today).
Of those who play for the other side, it was noticeable that YMCA only named three substitutes; the fact that there were just the three bums on the seats suggested that they might be a bit short of men today.
Before the game kicked off, on a mercifully relatively mild afternoon (but try telling that to a “freezing” Mrs Milton Keynes Correspondent), there was a brief ceremony, as YM’s Manager John Suter was presented with the November Team Performance Award for Division One South – this was for his team’s 4-3 victory over Folkestone Invicta in the Isthmian League Cup.
In spite of our yellow-clad heroes indulging in a fashionable “huddle” before kick-off, Ashford failed to create anything of note in the first ten minutes of play. There were a few attempted through-balls and final-third passes from our boys during this time, but all were woefully inaccurate, and merely resulted in a loss of possession. Our hosts, on the other hand, who played in a new strip for this season, of white shirts, black shorts and red sockies – and not pink and brown, as one wag would have it – started at a decent tempo, and fashioned a half-chance as early as the third minute. Right-back Dean Carden’s cross from the right was headed clear, but the ball fell to James Grant, whose weak volley from outside the area went well wide of goal.
Ashford’s first sight of goal didn’t come until the 13th minute, when a deep cross from the right by Mitch Sherwood looked to be floating out of play for a goal-kick, but Jimmy Bottle managed to keep the ball in, from beyond the far post; he headed it back for Nick Barnes, in the centre, but Nick’s weak header went tamely to Chris Winterton, in the Horsham YMCA goal.
YM took the lead in the 18th minute, and there was a hint of controversy about the goal. As the ball was crossed from the right wing, there was (at the very least) a collision between Nicky Humphrey and a YMCA forward, which allowed the ball to continue all the way to left-winger James Grant. Most people at the ground, (and certainly those wearing green & white colours), interpreted this as a shoulder charge off the ball, and awaited the referee’s whistle, but young Danny Austin, the Man in Black, waved play on, and the impressive Grant duly drilled a low shot into the far corner of the net. This wasn’t a great start for Sam Moore, in the Ashford goal, who had received an unexpected call-up to the first team. The goal apart, however, Sam’s handling and general performance this afternoon was pretty good, but his kicking was often dodgy – and, as stated in past match reports, he’s yet to convince me that he has as much ability as a shot-stopper as, say, Jake Whincup, (as a random example).
The set-back of conceding an early goal had the effect of raising Ashford’s game, after a fairly sloppy start. In the 21st minute, Paul Jones won a corner, near the corner flag, on the right – which was greeted with ironic cheers (you know the sort I mean) from the Ashford contingent behind the goal, who clearly thought that the home side had been getting the rub of Mr Austin’s decisions. The kick was taken, left-footed and in-swinging, by Daniel Brathwaite, but goalkeeper Winterton got up well to finger-tip the ball behind for another corner, this time on the other side. With Brathwaite taking Ashford’s corners on the right, Nick Barnes was entrusted with corners on the left, swinging the ball in from this side with his right foot. On this occasion, Lee Hockey got up well with a header, but his effort went wide, taking a deflection off another Ashford player on its way through. By the 24th minute, Ashford were beginning to get into their stride, and a good move ended with the ball being put out for a corner, on the left. Again Nick Barnes swung the ball in, and Lee Hockey rose to meet the ball, but it just would not “sit” for an Ashford player, and was cleared. [ Was it just a coincidence that, when we drafted two players in from Sittingbourne, one should look like Robin Hood, and the other should be called Sherwood ? ]
In the 26th minute, YMCA’s best player, James Grant, got to the by-line, with the aid of a good one-two, and managed to pull a dangerous ball back, but Daniel Brathwaite was there to clear his lines, from inside his own six-yard box. At the other end, two minutes later, Jimmy Bottle was adjudged to have been fouled by Richard Greenfield, but Nick Barnes’s curling free-kick went beyond the far post, and out for a goal-kick.
In the 29th minute, the home side very nearly went 2-0 in front. Greenfield had the ball on the right wing, and, in spite of being faced by Daniel Brathwaite, put in a good cross; giant centre-forward Ali Russell came charging in, and put a bullet-like header just wide of goal. Sam Moore wouldn’t have seen it if it had been on target, let alone stop it ! Soon after, the end-to-end nature of the game continued, with Jimmy Bottle winning another corner, on the left. All the big boys went up for this, but Nick Barnes’s cross failed to find a man in a yellow shirt, and the ball was cleared.
It was at about the half-hour mark that Mitch Sherwood and Jimmy Bottle swapped sides, and they stayed on the left and right, respectively, until both were substituted, separately, in the second half. Jimmy actually had a great chance to score, in the 40th minute, and the opportunity was set up by the hard-working Paul Jones. Jonah showed tremendous quality in whatever he did today – holding the ball up, bringing others into the game, turning and beating his marker, with only his finishing having room for improvement – and on this occasion his measured through-ball gave Jimmy, coming in from the right, a one-on-one situation with the goalkeeper. Jimmy was close to the by-line, so the angle was a tight one, but Chris Winterton in any case came out to save well with his feet. Seconds later, Jones put a similar ball through for Mark Lovell to run on to, but this time there was a little too much pace on the ball, and it went through to the ‘keeper.
Ashford’s final chance of the half came with 45 minutes up, on my watch. This was a Ryan Briggs shot from outside the penalty area, but this was always going over the bar. So the boys went in for tea and fairy cakes at half time with the score at 1-0 to our hosts, with some improvement required.
It’s fair to say that this improvement was duly delivered in the second half, and a much better performance from Ashford after the interval gave them what was probably a deserved victory, but the match really could have swung either way, and The Yellows were very nearly punished for a dozy start to the half. Within seconds of the restart, Ali Russell found himself with the ball at his feet, just outside the Ashford penalty area, and given plenty of time in which to decide what to do with it. Russell played an excellent diagonal ball inside the right-back, for James Grant, but Grant stabbed the ball just wide of the post.
Having survived this scare, Ashford started to assert themselves as an attacking force. In the 47th minute, Mark Lovell ran onto a ball over the top of the Horsham YMCA defence – there was no flag. Mark had time to consider his options, and cut the ball back to Paul Jones, whose shot was deflected over the bar by the leg of a defender. From the resulting in-swinging corner, from the right, Sean Ray got up well to meet the ball with his head, almost under the YMCA cross-bar, but could do no more than head the ball over. Two minutes later, another ball over the home defence was latched onto by Paul Jones, who showed great strength and skill to then turn inside his man (Martyn Flack), but his firm, right-footed shot was well saved by Winterton. Shortly after, Winterton, playing in his eighth game for YM, was in action again, as he saved a Sean Ray header at his near post, after a cross had come in from the left.
Ashford’s persistence paid off, after just seven second-half minutes. Jimmy Bottle did some good work on the right, cutting inside and into the YMCA area, before pulling the ball back to Ryan Briggs. Ryan transferred the ball onto his left foot, and then saw his shot deflected behind, for a corner, on the right. Skipper Sean Ray again got up well, to meet Daniel Brathwaite’s cross, and this time he found the back of the net, to score his first goal in Ashford colours.
From here on, both sides pressed forward in search of the three points, and, as previously noted, the match could have gone either way. There was certainly not as much between the sides as the respective wage-bills might suggest, and, on this showing, YMCA looked nothing like relegation candidates. In fact, they were considerably more impressive than some other sides I’ve seen this season from higher up in the league table – the likes of Leatherhead, Chatham and Sittingbourne immediately spring to mind. YM actually went close to regaining the lead almost immediately, in the 54th minute, and would have done, but for a good save by Sam Moore. A cross from the Horsham right found Ali Russell, in the centre, and he showed great strength to receive the ball, control it and hit it towards goal, from six yards out, but his effort was blocked by Sam Moore’s feet.
In the 56th minute, a Horsham corner on the right broke to James Grant, whose ambitious low shot from outside the area went wide. The left winger continued to be at the centre of the home side’s best work, and his cross, on the hour mark, led to an equally ambitious long-range volley from Andy Ottley, which also went wide. In between these two chances, Tom White had replaced Seb Kazemi, in the first substitution of the game, in the 58th minute.
The action continued at both ends of the pitch, and, in the 61st minute, Ryan Briggs, in the centre circle, sent Paul Jones off in pursuit of a through-ball in the inside-right channel. Jonah’s pace and strength got him to the ball first, but his attempted cross from the by-line was blocked. The resulting corner came to nowt. In the 65th minute, after another YMCA attack had broken down, Ashford had a chance to spring out of defence, and Nick Barnes released Jimmy Bottle down the right wing. Attacking at pace, Jimmy cut inside, to provide himself with a shooting chance, but he sliced his left-foot shot high and wide. Two minutes later, Paul Jones showed good control, and a good turn, when sending Jimmy off down the right again. Jimmy again cut inside, as is natural for a left-footer, and this time pulled the ball back to Jones, who steadied himself for a shot at goal from just outside the area – but there was to be no repeat of Boxing Day, as his firmly-hit strike went over the bar.
There was no time for Ashford to dwell on the missed opportunity, as, almost immediately, the YMCA was on the attack. A long ball found big Ali Russell – (it was quite an interesting physical contest between him and Sean Ray, I can tell you) – near the left corner of the Ashford penalty area. Russell’s knock-back found James Grant, who hit a great shot only just high and wide of the angle of the goal.
In the 69th minute, Steve Lovell made the first of three substitutions, putting Danny Lye on in place of Nick Barnes. I was actually quite surprised that Nick had started today, as he looked to have a very sore calf last Saturday, but he again looked good in central midfield – the strong man alongside play-maker Ryan Briggs. The Village People’s response was to replace Richard Greenfield with Tom Lyons, two minutes later. Then, in the 72nd minute, Walid Matata was sent on in place of Mitchell Sherwood, for Ashford, taking up a position wide on the left, with Jimmy Bottle remaining on the right.
The next Ashford chance came in the 73rd minute. A Nicky Humphrey throw-in found Mark Lovell, and the ex-Dover man played a one-two with Paul Jones, to give himself a shooting chance from an acute angle – but he completely miss-hit his shot, and the ball actually went out for a throw-in on the far side. Two minutes later, the YMCA defence, which was possibly tiring, gave the ball away to Walid Matata, presenting Ashford with a great opportunity. With plenty of options, and time in which to consider them all, Walid laid the ball off to Paul Jones, who in turn laid it off to Danny Lye, who was arriving fast, in the centre, but Danny could only sky the ball over the bar.
In the 76th minute, a long kick-out from Sam Moore made it all the way to the edge of the Horsham area, where it was picked up by Paul Jones. Jonah squared the ball to Walid Matata, whose quick feet nicked the ball inside a defender, and he was duly fouled, right on the line. This caused Mr Austin to produce the first yellow card of the afternoon. Ryan Briggs took responsibility for the free-kick, and went for power, hitting the ball hard, to the right of the wall, but also to the right of the post.
The visitors were gradually getting on top of YM, and, in the 79th minute, a good ball down the left flank from Daniel Brathwaite sent Paul Jones off on a run. Jonah was again very impressive with his pace, and got to the ball ahead of the Horsham defence. He then turned his man, getting the ball onto his favoured right foot, but he sliced his shot well wide. In the 83rd minute, the home side again gave the ball away in a dangerous position, and this time they were punished for it. The ball was immediately fed forward to Paul Jones, who beat one player, inside the penalty area, so giving himself just the goalkeeper to beat. Jonah elected to play a short, square pass to Mark Lovell, who knocked the ball in from about three yards. This was Mark’s fourth goal for Ashford – with two of them being late winners, away from home – and he could claim to be the Club’s top scorer this season, having already scored five for Dover.
The goal appeared to save Lovell from being substituted, as the Ashford bench had been poised with the No.10 card – but it was Jimmy Bottle who was the player to go off, with Rob Denness his replacement. Jimmy again looked dangerous with his pace in wide positions, but there wasn’t a great deal, in terms of crosses and chances created, in the “end product” column. Nevertheless, he rarely gave the ball away, and looks very much at home at this level, and can only improve from the extended run that he is having in the first team.
From this point, a third Ashford goal seemed more likely than a Horsham equaliser, and the home side were pinned back in their own half by three successive corners, each taken by Daniel Brathwaite, on the right. The first of these was won by Rob Denness, near the by-line, in the 85th minute – Sean Ray got up with the header, but it was deflected behind. The second was hit deep by Brathers, and went all the way through to Mark Lovell, whose shot flashed across the face of goal and beyond the far post. The third went straight to the feet of a defender, and was cleared – but valuable seconds had been used up.
In spite of Ashford’s eventual ascendancy, the result remained in the balance until the end, and YMCA created an excellent opportunity for themselves with just two minutes left of normal time. Shortly after Greg Palmer had replaced Alex Keaney, in YM’s final substitution, a ball over the top of the Ashford defence put James Grant through on goal. He squared the ball to Ali Russell, just inside the six-yard box, and we were grateful for a desperate saving tackle from Nicky Humphrey. There was barely time to breathe a sigh of relief, though, as Ashford soon broke out of defence – but the counter-attack was ended when Walid was tripped by Dean Carden, which earnt the YMCA right-back a yellow card. Daniel Brathwaite curled in the resulting free-kick, but this was punched clear by Chris Winterton.
The seconds ticked by, but, after losing out to a Sittingbourne equaliser in the 94th minute last Saturday – and there are many other recent examples of late equalisers that I could mention – nobody with a green & white heart was taking anything for granted. Horsham pressed forward in the 91st minute, and Sam Moore had to be alert to come off his line to intercept a through-ball – and received a kick on the thigh from a frustrated Ali Russell, for his trouble. This was a little bit naughty of the big striker, but he got away with a few stern words from the referee – as did Nicky Humphrey, for his protests.
As the game entered the 92nd minute, it was Ashford who were on the attack, with Rob Denness slipping the ball down the right touchline, for Paul Jones. Jonah’s run took him into the penalty-area, and a goal would have capped an excellent display from him this afternoon – but he opted for a square ball, which was cut out by YM skipper Glen Woodburn.
When Danny Austin finally blew the whistle to end the game there were one or two arms raised aloft by the Ashford players – on the face of it, a 1-2 victory against Horsham YMCA didn’t justify such a reaction, but it was good to see that this squad of players had enjoyed pulling together and coming from behind this afternoon, and I can see them doing nothing but improve as a unit during the second half of this season.
Paul Jones deservedly won the Man of the Match award this afternoon – but the decision wasn’t as much a shoo-in as some fellow observers had thought. Sean Ray was, as ever, a flawless rock in the centre of the defence, and the other lads in the back four all played well, (with Nicky Humphrey deserving to be mentioned in dispatches). It’s very pleasing to see the level of commitment from our ex-Dover players, in the wake of Clive Walker’s departure.
Our hosts will have been relieved to learn that Molesey also lost at home this afternoon, which keeps YM two points off the bottom. Unfortunately, the YMCA camp (no puns intended) will have been less pleased at the news that Walton Casuals won and Eastbourne Town got a point – so it’s likely to be uphill for our friends in Sussex from now on.
Man of the Match
(to go towards the Milton Keynes Bowl)
Paul Jones
from Your Milton Keynes Correspondent
After strangely contrasting performances in their previous two games – an excellent display against a very strong Dover side on Boxing Day, and then a rather tepid performance in a poor game at Sittingbourne – Ashford travelled to Horsham YMCA for their first game of 2008. Maybe the contrast between the Dover and Sittingbourne performance wasn’t so odd – with Dover also following up their Boxing Day victory with a very under-par showing at home, three days later, to Whitstable, after which they were a little fortunate to emerge with a draw, I’m inclined to think that the mental and physical effort expended in a local derby, on what is becoming a notoriously energy-sapping Homelands pitch, left both sets of players drained for the next game.
Still, there would be no excuses this afternoon, against second-bottom Horsham YMCA, after a full week’s break. This might, however, have been a potentially trappy fixture, since, in spite of finding themselves in the relegation zone this morning, our hosts had been collecting points fairly regularly – eleven from their previous eight games, including a crucial 2-1 victory at home to Eastbourne Town in a relegation six-pointer last Saturday.
Horsham YMCA should not be confused with Horsham FC – the Ryman Premier Division outfit that has recently achieved TV fame during an FA Cup run that saw them progress as far as a Second Round Replay away at Third Division Swansea City. Coincidentally, today was FA Cup Third Round day, and Horsham would have been at home to Havant & Waterlooville if they’d managed to squeeze past Swansea – instead, they had a league game, away from home, this afternoon.
The two Horsham grounds are actually adjacent to each other, with the yellow & green main stand of Horsham FC clearly visible through the trees from Goring’s Mead, the scene of today’s entertainment. The ground takes its name from the small residential cul-de-sac at the end of which it is located. Although Horsham YMCA is the older of the two clubs, (it was founded in 1898, and made Goring’s Mead its home in 1929), it is definitely the more limited in scope. Everything is tightly hemmed in within a perimeter fence consisting of green wire mesh affixed to two steel rails. Space is particularly tight behind each goal, with special narrow goals allowing just about enough room for spectators to stand two-deep. (Ashford had a “Kop” of eight people behind the Ashford goal this afternoon). As with most other grounds of the newly-promoted clubs in Ryman Division One South – Chipstead and Walton Casuals spring to mind – Gorings Mead has not much more than the minimum requirements for achieving Ryman League status, with the smallish Victor Gladwish Stand providing the only formal accommodation for spectators. (It’s the stand which is smallish, not Victor Gladwish – he’s quite a tall bloke).
[ As always, I describe the ground in these terms purely in the interests of setting the scene for today’s game, and the remarks are not intended to be disparaging to a Club which has obviously put a lot of resources and effort into bringing its facilities up to Ryman League standards. This is the second season at this level for this very friendly club, and I’d like to think that it will avoid a relegation, at the end of the season, which would see these efforts largely go to waste. ]
The team news today confirmed that, in a world of foreign coaches rotating and tinkering with their squad, Steve Lovell, the Welsh Wizard, values the commodity of continuity, and he announced an unchanged side for the third consecutive game. Unfortunately, these best-laid plans were thwarted when goalkeeper Jamie Riley injured his knee during the warm-up, meaning that Sam Moore stepped in to keep goal in front of an increasingly familiar line-up: Nicky Humphrey, Sean Ray (Skipper), Lee Hockey and Daniel Brathwaite at the back; Mitchell Sherwood, Ryan Briggs, Nick Barnes and Jimmy Bottle in midfield; Paul Jones and Mark Lovell up front. This was nominally a 4-4-2 set-up, but the shape was decidedly 4-2-4 when we had the ball. Tony Browne, Danny Lye, Walid Matata, Rob Denness and Jamie Riley made up a very talented bench, whilst Lee Spiller joined them in the kick-about before the match and at half time; (but it’s hard to see where Spills will fit in when he gets fit, with Barnes and Briggs once again looking to be a strong partnership in central midfield today).
Of those who play for the other side, it was noticeable that YMCA only named three substitutes; the fact that there were just the three bums on the seats suggested that they might be a bit short of men today.
Before the game kicked off, on a mercifully relatively mild afternoon (but try telling that to a “freezing” Mrs Milton Keynes Correspondent), there was a brief ceremony, as YM’s Manager John Suter was presented with the November Team Performance Award for Division One South – this was for his team’s 4-3 victory over Folkestone Invicta in the Isthmian League Cup.
In spite of our yellow-clad heroes indulging in a fashionable “huddle” before kick-off, Ashford failed to create anything of note in the first ten minutes of play. There were a few attempted through-balls and final-third passes from our boys during this time, but all were woefully inaccurate, and merely resulted in a loss of possession. Our hosts, on the other hand, who played in a new strip for this season, of white shirts, black shorts and red sockies – and not pink and brown, as one wag would have it – started at a decent tempo, and fashioned a half-chance as early as the third minute. Right-back Dean Carden’s cross from the right was headed clear, but the ball fell to James Grant, whose weak volley from outside the area went well wide of goal.
Ashford’s first sight of goal didn’t come until the 13th minute, when a deep cross from the right by Mitch Sherwood looked to be floating out of play for a goal-kick, but Jimmy Bottle managed to keep the ball in, from beyond the far post; he headed it back for Nick Barnes, in the centre, but Nick’s weak header went tamely to Chris Winterton, in the Horsham YMCA goal.
YM took the lead in the 18th minute, and there was a hint of controversy about the goal. As the ball was crossed from the right wing, there was (at the very least) a collision between Nicky Humphrey and a YMCA forward, which allowed the ball to continue all the way to left-winger James Grant. Most people at the ground, (and certainly those wearing green & white colours), interpreted this as a shoulder charge off the ball, and awaited the referee’s whistle, but young Danny Austin, the Man in Black, waved play on, and the impressive Grant duly drilled a low shot into the far corner of the net. This wasn’t a great start for Sam Moore, in the Ashford goal, who had received an unexpected call-up to the first team. The goal apart, however, Sam’s handling and general performance this afternoon was pretty good, but his kicking was often dodgy – and, as stated in past match reports, he’s yet to convince me that he has as much ability as a shot-stopper as, say, Jake Whincup, (as a random example).
The set-back of conceding an early goal had the effect of raising Ashford’s game, after a fairly sloppy start. In the 21st minute, Paul Jones won a corner, near the corner flag, on the right – which was greeted with ironic cheers (you know the sort I mean) from the Ashford contingent behind the goal, who clearly thought that the home side had been getting the rub of Mr Austin’s decisions. The kick was taken, left-footed and in-swinging, by Daniel Brathwaite, but goalkeeper Winterton got up well to finger-tip the ball behind for another corner, this time on the other side. With Brathwaite taking Ashford’s corners on the right, Nick Barnes was entrusted with corners on the left, swinging the ball in from this side with his right foot. On this occasion, Lee Hockey got up well with a header, but his effort went wide, taking a deflection off another Ashford player on its way through. By the 24th minute, Ashford were beginning to get into their stride, and a good move ended with the ball being put out for a corner, on the left. Again Nick Barnes swung the ball in, and Lee Hockey rose to meet the ball, but it just would not “sit” for an Ashford player, and was cleared. [ Was it just a coincidence that, when we drafted two players in from Sittingbourne, one should look like Robin Hood, and the other should be called Sherwood ? ]
In the 26th minute, YMCA’s best player, James Grant, got to the by-line, with the aid of a good one-two, and managed to pull a dangerous ball back, but Daniel Brathwaite was there to clear his lines, from inside his own six-yard box. At the other end, two minutes later, Jimmy Bottle was adjudged to have been fouled by Richard Greenfield, but Nick Barnes’s curling free-kick went beyond the far post, and out for a goal-kick.
In the 29th minute, the home side very nearly went 2-0 in front. Greenfield had the ball on the right wing, and, in spite of being faced by Daniel Brathwaite, put in a good cross; giant centre-forward Ali Russell came charging in, and put a bullet-like header just wide of goal. Sam Moore wouldn’t have seen it if it had been on target, let alone stop it ! Soon after, the end-to-end nature of the game continued, with Jimmy Bottle winning another corner, on the left. All the big boys went up for this, but Nick Barnes’s cross failed to find a man in a yellow shirt, and the ball was cleared.
It was at about the half-hour mark that Mitch Sherwood and Jimmy Bottle swapped sides, and they stayed on the left and right, respectively, until both were substituted, separately, in the second half. Jimmy actually had a great chance to score, in the 40th minute, and the opportunity was set up by the hard-working Paul Jones. Jonah showed tremendous quality in whatever he did today – holding the ball up, bringing others into the game, turning and beating his marker, with only his finishing having room for improvement – and on this occasion his measured through-ball gave Jimmy, coming in from the right, a one-on-one situation with the goalkeeper. Jimmy was close to the by-line, so the angle was a tight one, but Chris Winterton in any case came out to save well with his feet. Seconds later, Jones put a similar ball through for Mark Lovell to run on to, but this time there was a little too much pace on the ball, and it went through to the ‘keeper.
Ashford’s final chance of the half came with 45 minutes up, on my watch. This was a Ryan Briggs shot from outside the penalty area, but this was always going over the bar. So the boys went in for tea and fairy cakes at half time with the score at 1-0 to our hosts, with some improvement required.
It’s fair to say that this improvement was duly delivered in the second half, and a much better performance from Ashford after the interval gave them what was probably a deserved victory, but the match really could have swung either way, and The Yellows were very nearly punished for a dozy start to the half. Within seconds of the restart, Ali Russell found himself with the ball at his feet, just outside the Ashford penalty area, and given plenty of time in which to decide what to do with it. Russell played an excellent diagonal ball inside the right-back, for James Grant, but Grant stabbed the ball just wide of the post.
Having survived this scare, Ashford started to assert themselves as an attacking force. In the 47th minute, Mark Lovell ran onto a ball over the top of the Horsham YMCA defence – there was no flag. Mark had time to consider his options, and cut the ball back to Paul Jones, whose shot was deflected over the bar by the leg of a defender. From the resulting in-swinging corner, from the right, Sean Ray got up well to meet the ball with his head, almost under the YMCA cross-bar, but could do no more than head the ball over. Two minutes later, another ball over the home defence was latched onto by Paul Jones, who showed great strength and skill to then turn inside his man (Martyn Flack), but his firm, right-footed shot was well saved by Winterton. Shortly after, Winterton, playing in his eighth game for YM, was in action again, as he saved a Sean Ray header at his near post, after a cross had come in from the left.
Ashford’s persistence paid off, after just seven second-half minutes. Jimmy Bottle did some good work on the right, cutting inside and into the YMCA area, before pulling the ball back to Ryan Briggs. Ryan transferred the ball onto his left foot, and then saw his shot deflected behind, for a corner, on the right. Skipper Sean Ray again got up well, to meet Daniel Brathwaite’s cross, and this time he found the back of the net, to score his first goal in Ashford colours.
From here on, both sides pressed forward in search of the three points, and, as previously noted, the match could have gone either way. There was certainly not as much between the sides as the respective wage-bills might suggest, and, on this showing, YMCA looked nothing like relegation candidates. In fact, they were considerably more impressive than some other sides I’ve seen this season from higher up in the league table – the likes of Leatherhead, Chatham and Sittingbourne immediately spring to mind. YM actually went close to regaining the lead almost immediately, in the 54th minute, and would have done, but for a good save by Sam Moore. A cross from the Horsham right found Ali Russell, in the centre, and he showed great strength to receive the ball, control it and hit it towards goal, from six yards out, but his effort was blocked by Sam Moore’s feet.
In the 56th minute, a Horsham corner on the right broke to James Grant, whose ambitious low shot from outside the area went wide. The left winger continued to be at the centre of the home side’s best work, and his cross, on the hour mark, led to an equally ambitious long-range volley from Andy Ottley, which also went wide. In between these two chances, Tom White had replaced Seb Kazemi, in the first substitution of the game, in the 58th minute.
The action continued at both ends of the pitch, and, in the 61st minute, Ryan Briggs, in the centre circle, sent Paul Jones off in pursuit of a through-ball in the inside-right channel. Jonah’s pace and strength got him to the ball first, but his attempted cross from the by-line was blocked. The resulting corner came to nowt. In the 65th minute, after another YMCA attack had broken down, Ashford had a chance to spring out of defence, and Nick Barnes released Jimmy Bottle down the right wing. Attacking at pace, Jimmy cut inside, to provide himself with a shooting chance, but he sliced his left-foot shot high and wide. Two minutes later, Paul Jones showed good control, and a good turn, when sending Jimmy off down the right again. Jimmy again cut inside, as is natural for a left-footer, and this time pulled the ball back to Jones, who steadied himself for a shot at goal from just outside the area – but there was to be no repeat of Boxing Day, as his firmly-hit strike went over the bar.
There was no time for Ashford to dwell on the missed opportunity, as, almost immediately, the YMCA was on the attack. A long ball found big Ali Russell – (it was quite an interesting physical contest between him and Sean Ray, I can tell you) – near the left corner of the Ashford penalty area. Russell’s knock-back found James Grant, who hit a great shot only just high and wide of the angle of the goal.
In the 69th minute, Steve Lovell made the first of three substitutions, putting Danny Lye on in place of Nick Barnes. I was actually quite surprised that Nick had started today, as he looked to have a very sore calf last Saturday, but he again looked good in central midfield – the strong man alongside play-maker Ryan Briggs. The Village People’s response was to replace Richard Greenfield with Tom Lyons, two minutes later. Then, in the 72nd minute, Walid Matata was sent on in place of Mitchell Sherwood, for Ashford, taking up a position wide on the left, with Jimmy Bottle remaining on the right.
The next Ashford chance came in the 73rd minute. A Nicky Humphrey throw-in found Mark Lovell, and the ex-Dover man played a one-two with Paul Jones, to give himself a shooting chance from an acute angle – but he completely miss-hit his shot, and the ball actually went out for a throw-in on the far side. Two minutes later, the YMCA defence, which was possibly tiring, gave the ball away to Walid Matata, presenting Ashford with a great opportunity. With plenty of options, and time in which to consider them all, Walid laid the ball off to Paul Jones, who in turn laid it off to Danny Lye, who was arriving fast, in the centre, but Danny could only sky the ball over the bar.
In the 76th minute, a long kick-out from Sam Moore made it all the way to the edge of the Horsham area, where it was picked up by Paul Jones. Jonah squared the ball to Walid Matata, whose quick feet nicked the ball inside a defender, and he was duly fouled, right on the line. This caused Mr Austin to produce the first yellow card of the afternoon. Ryan Briggs took responsibility for the free-kick, and went for power, hitting the ball hard, to the right of the wall, but also to the right of the post.
The visitors were gradually getting on top of YM, and, in the 79th minute, a good ball down the left flank from Daniel Brathwaite sent Paul Jones off on a run. Jonah was again very impressive with his pace, and got to the ball ahead of the Horsham defence. He then turned his man, getting the ball onto his favoured right foot, but he sliced his shot well wide. In the 83rd minute, the home side again gave the ball away in a dangerous position, and this time they were punished for it. The ball was immediately fed forward to Paul Jones, who beat one player, inside the penalty area, so giving himself just the goalkeeper to beat. Jonah elected to play a short, square pass to Mark Lovell, who knocked the ball in from about three yards. This was Mark’s fourth goal for Ashford – with two of them being late winners, away from home – and he could claim to be the Club’s top scorer this season, having already scored five for Dover.
The goal appeared to save Lovell from being substituted, as the Ashford bench had been poised with the No.10 card – but it was Jimmy Bottle who was the player to go off, with Rob Denness his replacement. Jimmy again looked dangerous with his pace in wide positions, but there wasn’t a great deal, in terms of crosses and chances created, in the “end product” column. Nevertheless, he rarely gave the ball away, and looks very much at home at this level, and can only improve from the extended run that he is having in the first team.
From this point, a third Ashford goal seemed more likely than a Horsham equaliser, and the home side were pinned back in their own half by three successive corners, each taken by Daniel Brathwaite, on the right. The first of these was won by Rob Denness, near the by-line, in the 85th minute – Sean Ray got up with the header, but it was deflected behind. The second was hit deep by Brathers, and went all the way through to Mark Lovell, whose shot flashed across the face of goal and beyond the far post. The third went straight to the feet of a defender, and was cleared – but valuable seconds had been used up.
In spite of Ashford’s eventual ascendancy, the result remained in the balance until the end, and YMCA created an excellent opportunity for themselves with just two minutes left of normal time. Shortly after Greg Palmer had replaced Alex Keaney, in YM’s final substitution, a ball over the top of the Ashford defence put James Grant through on goal. He squared the ball to Ali Russell, just inside the six-yard box, and we were grateful for a desperate saving tackle from Nicky Humphrey. There was barely time to breathe a sigh of relief, though, as Ashford soon broke out of defence – but the counter-attack was ended when Walid was tripped by Dean Carden, which earnt the YMCA right-back a yellow card. Daniel Brathwaite curled in the resulting free-kick, but this was punched clear by Chris Winterton.
The seconds ticked by, but, after losing out to a Sittingbourne equaliser in the 94th minute last Saturday – and there are many other recent examples of late equalisers that I could mention – nobody with a green & white heart was taking anything for granted. Horsham pressed forward in the 91st minute, and Sam Moore had to be alert to come off his line to intercept a through-ball – and received a kick on the thigh from a frustrated Ali Russell, for his trouble. This was a little bit naughty of the big striker, but he got away with a few stern words from the referee – as did Nicky Humphrey, for his protests.
As the game entered the 92nd minute, it was Ashford who were on the attack, with Rob Denness slipping the ball down the right touchline, for Paul Jones. Jonah’s run took him into the penalty-area, and a goal would have capped an excellent display from him this afternoon – but he opted for a square ball, which was cut out by YM skipper Glen Woodburn.
When Danny Austin finally blew the whistle to end the game there were one or two arms raised aloft by the Ashford players – on the face of it, a 1-2 victory against Horsham YMCA didn’t justify such a reaction, but it was good to see that this squad of players had enjoyed pulling together and coming from behind this afternoon, and I can see them doing nothing but improve as a unit during the second half of this season.
Paul Jones deservedly won the Man of the Match award this afternoon – but the decision wasn’t as much a shoo-in as some fellow observers had thought. Sean Ray was, as ever, a flawless rock in the centre of the defence, and the other lads in the back four all played well, (with Nicky Humphrey deserving to be mentioned in dispatches). It’s very pleasing to see the level of commitment from our ex-Dover players, in the wake of Clive Walker’s departure.
Our hosts will have been relieved to learn that Molesey also lost at home this afternoon, which keeps YM two points off the bottom. Unfortunately, the YMCA camp (no puns intended) will have been less pleased at the news that Walton Casuals won and Eastbourne Town got a point – so it’s likely to be uphill for our friends in Sussex from now on.
Man of the Match
(to go towards the Milton Keynes Bowl)
Paul Jones
Saturday, 29 December 2007
Sittingbourne v Ashford Town. Ryman Division One South. 29th of December 2007.
Sittingbourne 1 Ashford Town 1
from Your Milton Keynes Correspondent
The final away game of 2007 took us to the fairly familiar surroundings of Bourne Park. Last season’s fixtures dictated that we should come here on three occasions – once for the league match against champions-to-be Maidstone United, and twice for the corresponding league game against Sittingbourne, due to the first attempt being abandoned at half-time due to floodlight failure. A little ironically, it was Steve Lovell, Ashford Town’s current Manager, who was in charge, at the time, of an impressive Sittingbourne side that led 2-0 when the lights went out, (and when Jake Whincup, in the Ashford goal, ably negotiated a stay of execution for his team).
It is a fact that neither Sittingbourne nor Ashford have so far flourished, on the field of play, since Lovell’s switch to The Homelands. He guided The Brickies to a haul of 22 points from 13 league games, and they have managed just twelve points from nine games since his departure; since taking over from Clive Walker at Ashford, Steve has managed just five points from eight league games, which compares with Clive’s record of 18 from twelve.
Nevertheless, both performances and results have steadily improved under Steve Lovell, with the two most recent displays – the 1-2 victory at Kingstonian and the excellent showing, albeit in the context of a 1-2 defeat, at home to Dover on Boxing Day – providing particular grounds for optimism. The broad consensus from the latter match appears to have been that we deserved at least a point against what appears to be far and away the best side in the division this year. (The more obnoxious of Dover’s fans have been belly-aching for more than two years about their team being too good for Ryman Division One South – now, at last, it seems that they’re right !). I can also tell you that we won’t meet many better sides than Kingstonian, who were fourth in the table this morning, for the remainder of the season, so we approached today’s fixture in a positive frame of mind.
Sittingbourne, however, having experienced a brief slump after (fairly amicably) parting company with Steve Lovell, have recently been showing signs of regaining their momentum under new manager, and non-league goal-scoring legend, Gary Abbott, and were ninth this morning, having gained a 0-2 victory at Whitstable on Boxing Day. There was therefore every expectation that this was going to be a close game.
One of the charms of watching non-league football lies in the variety of back-drops that different grounds have. Molesey, Burnham and Burgess Hill Town, for example, have a ground that nestles within a residential area, and so their football is played against a background of local houses – a bit like Essella Park used to be. Whyteleafe’s ground, in leafy Surrey, is surrounded by trees. Ashford Town (Middlesex), located on the Southern edge of Heathrow Airport, play in the shadow of a row of enormous fuel tanks, whilst there is a good view of the crematorium from the main stand at Croydon Athletic. Bourne Park, home of Sittingbourne FC, is situated at the end of an industrial estate, and football here is played to a backdrop of warehousing and light industrial units. On the opposite side to the main stand, there was the usual array of stored materials in the yards – green, blue and yellow plastic pipes and sheets, stacked on pallets – as well as the shell of an enormous new warehouse under construction. (This could be a cue for the joke about the dyslexic pimp who bought a warehouse, but I’ll leave that for another day). The footy ground very much blends into this scenery, being delineated on all four sides by a corrugated steel fence, with portakabins used to house the turnstiles and bar areas. All in all, more “gritty” than picturesque.
The single stand at Bourne Park, which gives a good, elevated view of proceedings, provided welcome shelter from the chilly breeze that was blowing this afternoon, but the best news of the day was that the weather forecast of “sunshine and showers” was only half correct – we barely saw a cloud all day, and it was appropriate that we entered the ground to the strains of ELO’s “Mr Blue Sky”. The pitch today looked a little bumpy, and there were a few sanded patches on one side, but I’m reliably informed that the surface was nowhere near as difficult to play on as our own pitch, at The Homelands. With the breeze not materially affecting the way the game was played, it’s actually pretty difficult to work out why this was such a terrible game ! Maybe Ashford were experiencing the hang-over from the excellent effort they put in against Dover on Boxing Day, but both sides looked very flat this afternoon.
The story of the game, in a nut-shell, was that Ashford took the lead in the seventh minute, with Mark Lovell scoring, on his return to Bourne Park, with a well-taken goal from open play. Neither side really looked like scoring again – certainly not for the next 87 minutes - with Ashford dominating for the most part. When Sittingbourne had a player sent off, with about an hour gone, it appeared that a dire match was finally over, as a contest. Then, after three minutes of injury time had been played, Walid Matata missed a simple chance to slot the ball past the goalkeeper to make it 0-2, and The Brickies duly went up the other end and equalised. The visitors might have felt aggrieved to have missed out on victory today – and it’s true to say that, if Jamie Riley had saved Hicham Akhazzan’s shot, then it would have been Jamie’s first save of the match – but Ashford’s overall performance didn’t really merit all three points.
The lack-lustre performance certainly cannot be blamed on Steve Lovell tinkering around with the line-up, as we started with the same eleven that took the field against Dover: Jamie Riley in goal; a back four of Nicky Humphrey, Sean Ray, Lee Hockey and Daniel Brathwaite; a midfield quartet of Mitchell Sherwood, Ryan Briggs, Nick Barnes and Jimmy Bottle; and Mark Lovell and Paul Jones up front. The substitutes today were Sam Moore (the ‘keeper), Tony Browne, Danny Lye, Rob Denness and Walid Matata – Lee Spiller and Aron Freeman were also in attendance, in their civvies.
With Mitchell Sherwood and Lee Hockey having been regulars for Sittingbourne earlier in the season, and Jamie Riley having played here on loan, there was one ex-Ashford player in The Brickies’ line-up – Danny Eason, who impressed for our Reserves earlier in the season, started in goal for Sittingbourne for the second time since joining them a few weeks ago. The other familiar face was that of Steve Nolan, formerly Assistant Manager to Clive Walker at The Homelands, who was doing his “Andy Gray” bit in the Press Box, working as expert summariser for BBC Radio Kent.
One thing that can be said of Ashford Town is that they at least tried to get the ball on the ground and pass it around, but, whilst this enabled them to keep possession for short periods, it was never slick or incisive – with the exception of the build-up which led to our goal, in the seventh minute. This first action of any note since the kick-off saw Mitchell Sherwood on a run down the right wing. He broke through Sittingbourne skipper Joe Dowley’s tackle, and squared the ball to Paul Jones. Jonah pushed a measured pass behind The Brickies’ defence, for Mark Lovell to run on to, and the former Sittingbourne and Dover striker got to the ball just before Danny Eason, stabbing it into the corner of the net.
Ashford then enjoyed a spell of ascendancy, on the back of this goal, with Paul Jones looking the livelier of our attacking options. In the tenth minute, Jonah was fouled by Dowley, near the right corner flag, but Jimmy Bottle hit the resulting free-kick too long. Then, in the 13th minute, Nick Barnes hit a long ball into the same corner, for Jones to chase, but the Sittingbourne defence cleared the ball for a throw-in. Nicky Humphrey’s long throw, into the penalty area, was forced behind for a corner, on the right, and skipper Sean Ray got up well to meet the resulting left-footed cross from Jimmy Bottle, but Razor could do no more than head the ball high over the bar. (You know that we had very few real chances, when Your Correspondent makes a point of describing the throw-ins !). In the 25th minute, a long ball from the back four from Lee Hockey was allowed, by the home defence, to travel all the way to Paul Jones, who picked the ball up near the by-line, but a good tackle put the ball behind for a corner, on the right. Again it was Jimmy Bottle who came across to swing the ball in, left-footed, and this time it was Nicky Humphrey who could only head the ball up into the air.
The only real threat to the Ashford goal in the first half-hour came in the 18th minute, when Jamie Riley caught a long, hanging cross on his goal-line, only to drop the ball over the line as he was being challenged by a Sittingbourne forward – whether or not a foul had been committed, there was always going to be a 100% probability that Mr Smith, the Referee, would blow up for a foul.
In the 30th minute, Sean Ray bundled over Tunisian striker Sabeur Trabelsi, in the centre circle. The resulting free-kick was chipped into the Ashford area, and headed away by Nicky Humphrey. The ball fell to full-back Toby Ashmore, just outside the penalty area, but his low shot was always going well wide. A minute later, Sean Ray rather body-checked Trabelsi on the right-hand touchline, whilst attempting to shield the ball out for an Ashford throw – and was shown a yellow card, presumably for an accumulation of offences. Anthony Hogg took the free-kick, aiming for Trabelsi, in the Ashford area, but Ray managed to get his body in the way, at the expense of a corner. This time, a left-footed cross was swung in from the right, and was homing in on the near post - Jamie Riley kept the ball out, but there was a bit of “bat & pad” with the upright.
With little creative football being produced by either side, it appeared that the best chance of another goal would come from a set-piece, but Jack Baines and Anthony Hogg did manage to combine with a sweet one-two, deep in the Ashford half, and were rewarded with a corner, on the left. This resulted in a deep cross, which travelled all the way through to Joe Dowley, on the far edge of the area – but he crossed the ball straight into the hands of Jamie Riley.
Ashford’s best chance of extending their lead in the first half came in the 39th minute. Again, it was Paul Jones who was the instigator, picking the ball up just inside the Sittingbourne half, and going on a run down the left channel. As always, Jonah looked strong in possession, and, after one challenge had bounced off him, he pulled the ball back from the by-line. Mark Lovell let the ball run to Ryan Briggs, who skied his left-footed shot, from about 20 yards out, high over the bar.
Steve Lovell made one enforced change at half time – Danny Lye replaced Nick Barnes, who had picked up a calf injury which looked pretty sore as he hobbled off into the car park at the end of the game.
This substitution preceded a second half that was probably even more scrappy than the first, with most of the few noteworthy incidents during the next 45 minutes being cards of various colours being waved at players by the referee. Both teams did, however, have a squeak of a chance shortly after the restart. In the 48th minute, a ball forward found Hicham Akhazzan, half-way inside the Ashford half – he slipped a through-ball to his strike-partner Sabeur Trabelsi, whose first touch had all the finesse of a fork-lift truck, so that Jamie Riley was able to usher the ball behind for a goal-kick. At the other end, a minute later, Lee Hockey, who is the image of the current Robin Hood, took a long throw, from near the right corner flag – but, though Danny Lye got his head to the ball, on the front edge of the six-yard box, he could do no more than pop the ball over the bar.
The first of a rash of yellow cards was shown to Sabeur Trabelsi, in the 55th minute, after he had left his foot in on Daniel Brathwaite, after Daniel had affected a clearance. Four minutes later, Joe Dowley was booked for a foul on Mitchell Sherwood, and then Referee Smith reached for his pocket again, in the 61st minute, after a coming-together between Trabelsi and Sean Ray. It seemed a fairly innocuous incident, and it wasn’t clear which way the free-kick would be awarded, but Trabelsi it was who was shown his second yellow card, which was quickly followed by a red one. (It was actually a fairly rich shade of pink – fuchsia maybe – but the Tunisian got the message, and trooped off to the dressing-room). Amid the uproar from the home supporters in the main stand, Sean turned and indicated that an elbow had been used.
As previously noted, the general feeling was that this incident effectively ended the game as a contest – on the grounds that Sittingbourne had looked poor, and had made little impact on the Ashford defence with all eleven men on the pitch. (Your Correspondent made a note to himself, at the time, to the effect that this would now be a REALLY EMBARRASSING game not to win !). It was certainly a shame for Trabelsi, who had been involved in a promising move for Sittingbourne, in the 57th minute, just prior to his dismissal. He had spread the ball wide to Jack Baines, on the left, who had found Hicham Akhazzan, in the centre, with a good cross, but Akhazzan’s flicked header was comfortably caught by Jamie Riley.
In the 75th minute, with little or nothing happening for Ashford, Steve Lovell made a double-substitution, replacing Paul Jones and Mark Lovell with Rob Denness and top-scorer Walid Matata – (which he probably would have done even if the good-sized group of Ashford supporters behind the goal had not been singing Walid’s name !). This is actually the first time that Lovell Jnr has been substituted during his Ashford career to date – and may or may not have had something to do with the fact that he had picked up a yellow card for leaving a foot in on Billy Manners, in the 66th minute.
Gary Abbott soon responded with some substitutions of his own, replacing Jack Baines with Steve Hafner, in the 77th minute, and Dave Milton with James Campbell, in the 79th minute.
Campbell was soon involved in what passed for “the action” in this match, when, in the 81st minute, he spread the ball wide to Akhazzan, on the left – but, faced by Nicky Humphrey, the ex-Chatham forward tried a speculative shot from outside the area, which went well wide. As the home side increasingly committed themselves forward, in search of an equaliser, Mitchell Sherwood broke from a deep position, in the 86th minute, carrying the ball through the centre circle and finding Jimmy Bottle in space, on the left. Jimmy certainly caught the eye with his pace this afternoon, but, in all honesty, he produced very little end-product; (and it might be significant that Toby Ashmore, who had the job of marking him, was named as Sittingbourne’s Man of the Match). On this occasion, however, Jimmy did manage to get around his man and put in a dangerous cross, aiming for Walid at the far post, but the home defence managed to head the ball behind, for a corner, on the right. Jimmy went across to take the kick, but Paul Ainsworth was there to head his cross clear.
As full-time approached, it appeared that Ashford were in the process of winding up what is referred to in modern parlance as an “ugly victory”, playing possession football, with one eye on the (imaginary) clock. With 90 minutes up on my watch, a patient build-up concluded with Ryan Briggs threading a diagonal ball through for Rob Denness to run on to, but the Lino had his flag up before The Menace slid the ball into the net.
Then came the cruel twist to the tale, deep into injury time. In the 93rd minute, Danny Eason miss-hit a clearance, straight to Mitchell Sherwood, who immediately put Walid Matata through on goal, with a diagonal pass. Walid opened up his body, to sweep the ball over young Danny, and into the net, but his attempt went wide. A 0-2 scoreline would have flattered Ashford this afternoon, but a clinching goal from their hero would have delighted the Ashford contingent behind the goal. So we would have to settle for a hard-fought, if uninspiring, 0-1 victory – except that the story didn’t end there. As the game entered the 94th minute, Sittingbourne were awarded a free-kick, mid-way into the Ashford half. There was a shot at goal, and the ball seemed to stick under the foot of Hicham Akhazzan, who then turned and fired it past Jamie Riley.
It’s difficult to gauge the precise reaction of the Ashford fans to this late equaliser, as it appeared that, unusually, none of them went for a drink in the bar afterwards – which might, in itself, be a clue to the level of disappointment with the team’s performance this afternoon. It’s certainly a shame that the fair number of fans who had travelled from Ashford this afternoon had to witness a surprisingly low-key performance from the lads, especially after the good showing on Boxing Day. The only way that I can reconcile the two performances is to suggest that the Dover game took plenty out of the players, both mentally and physically – we’ll certainly be looking for a marked improvement against second-bottom Horsham YMCA (no puns intended) in a week’s time.
In the interests of balance, I should also point out that Sittingbourne looked a poor outfit today, and didn’t, in my opinion, deserve a point from this game – but I’m absolutely certain that this was not a typical performance from our hosts, as they wouldn’t be in the top half of the table if they couldn’t do better than this.
One other snippet of information, which caught my eye recently: did you know that Ashford are yet to be defeated by more than one goal away from home in the league this season ? The only away defeat by more than one goal to date has come in the FA Cup, when we went down 2-0 to Erith & Belvedere – the only two survivors from that game in the starting line-up this afternoon were Nicky Humphrey and Nick Barnes. Hope that keeps the anoraks happy.
Man of the Match
(to go towards the Milton Keynes Bowl)
Ryan Briggs
from Your Milton Keynes Correspondent
The final away game of 2007 took us to the fairly familiar surroundings of Bourne Park. Last season’s fixtures dictated that we should come here on three occasions – once for the league match against champions-to-be Maidstone United, and twice for the corresponding league game against Sittingbourne, due to the first attempt being abandoned at half-time due to floodlight failure. A little ironically, it was Steve Lovell, Ashford Town’s current Manager, who was in charge, at the time, of an impressive Sittingbourne side that led 2-0 when the lights went out, (and when Jake Whincup, in the Ashford goal, ably negotiated a stay of execution for his team).
It is a fact that neither Sittingbourne nor Ashford have so far flourished, on the field of play, since Lovell’s switch to The Homelands. He guided The Brickies to a haul of 22 points from 13 league games, and they have managed just twelve points from nine games since his departure; since taking over from Clive Walker at Ashford, Steve has managed just five points from eight league games, which compares with Clive’s record of 18 from twelve.
Nevertheless, both performances and results have steadily improved under Steve Lovell, with the two most recent displays – the 1-2 victory at Kingstonian and the excellent showing, albeit in the context of a 1-2 defeat, at home to Dover on Boxing Day – providing particular grounds for optimism. The broad consensus from the latter match appears to have been that we deserved at least a point against what appears to be far and away the best side in the division this year. (The more obnoxious of Dover’s fans have been belly-aching for more than two years about their team being too good for Ryman Division One South – now, at last, it seems that they’re right !). I can also tell you that we won’t meet many better sides than Kingstonian, who were fourth in the table this morning, for the remainder of the season, so we approached today’s fixture in a positive frame of mind.
Sittingbourne, however, having experienced a brief slump after (fairly amicably) parting company with Steve Lovell, have recently been showing signs of regaining their momentum under new manager, and non-league goal-scoring legend, Gary Abbott, and were ninth this morning, having gained a 0-2 victory at Whitstable on Boxing Day. There was therefore every expectation that this was going to be a close game.
One of the charms of watching non-league football lies in the variety of back-drops that different grounds have. Molesey, Burnham and Burgess Hill Town, for example, have a ground that nestles within a residential area, and so their football is played against a background of local houses – a bit like Essella Park used to be. Whyteleafe’s ground, in leafy Surrey, is surrounded by trees. Ashford Town (Middlesex), located on the Southern edge of Heathrow Airport, play in the shadow of a row of enormous fuel tanks, whilst there is a good view of the crematorium from the main stand at Croydon Athletic. Bourne Park, home of Sittingbourne FC, is situated at the end of an industrial estate, and football here is played to a backdrop of warehousing and light industrial units. On the opposite side to the main stand, there was the usual array of stored materials in the yards – green, blue and yellow plastic pipes and sheets, stacked on pallets – as well as the shell of an enormous new warehouse under construction. (This could be a cue for the joke about the dyslexic pimp who bought a warehouse, but I’ll leave that for another day). The footy ground very much blends into this scenery, being delineated on all four sides by a corrugated steel fence, with portakabins used to house the turnstiles and bar areas. All in all, more “gritty” than picturesque.
The single stand at Bourne Park, which gives a good, elevated view of proceedings, provided welcome shelter from the chilly breeze that was blowing this afternoon, but the best news of the day was that the weather forecast of “sunshine and showers” was only half correct – we barely saw a cloud all day, and it was appropriate that we entered the ground to the strains of ELO’s “Mr Blue Sky”. The pitch today looked a little bumpy, and there were a few sanded patches on one side, but I’m reliably informed that the surface was nowhere near as difficult to play on as our own pitch, at The Homelands. With the breeze not materially affecting the way the game was played, it’s actually pretty difficult to work out why this was such a terrible game ! Maybe Ashford were experiencing the hang-over from the excellent effort they put in against Dover on Boxing Day, but both sides looked very flat this afternoon.
The story of the game, in a nut-shell, was that Ashford took the lead in the seventh minute, with Mark Lovell scoring, on his return to Bourne Park, with a well-taken goal from open play. Neither side really looked like scoring again – certainly not for the next 87 minutes - with Ashford dominating for the most part. When Sittingbourne had a player sent off, with about an hour gone, it appeared that a dire match was finally over, as a contest. Then, after three minutes of injury time had been played, Walid Matata missed a simple chance to slot the ball past the goalkeeper to make it 0-2, and The Brickies duly went up the other end and equalised. The visitors might have felt aggrieved to have missed out on victory today – and it’s true to say that, if Jamie Riley had saved Hicham Akhazzan’s shot, then it would have been Jamie’s first save of the match – but Ashford’s overall performance didn’t really merit all three points.
The lack-lustre performance certainly cannot be blamed on Steve Lovell tinkering around with the line-up, as we started with the same eleven that took the field against Dover: Jamie Riley in goal; a back four of Nicky Humphrey, Sean Ray, Lee Hockey and Daniel Brathwaite; a midfield quartet of Mitchell Sherwood, Ryan Briggs, Nick Barnes and Jimmy Bottle; and Mark Lovell and Paul Jones up front. The substitutes today were Sam Moore (the ‘keeper), Tony Browne, Danny Lye, Rob Denness and Walid Matata – Lee Spiller and Aron Freeman were also in attendance, in their civvies.
With Mitchell Sherwood and Lee Hockey having been regulars for Sittingbourne earlier in the season, and Jamie Riley having played here on loan, there was one ex-Ashford player in The Brickies’ line-up – Danny Eason, who impressed for our Reserves earlier in the season, started in goal for Sittingbourne for the second time since joining them a few weeks ago. The other familiar face was that of Steve Nolan, formerly Assistant Manager to Clive Walker at The Homelands, who was doing his “Andy Gray” bit in the Press Box, working as expert summariser for BBC Radio Kent.
One thing that can be said of Ashford Town is that they at least tried to get the ball on the ground and pass it around, but, whilst this enabled them to keep possession for short periods, it was never slick or incisive – with the exception of the build-up which led to our goal, in the seventh minute. This first action of any note since the kick-off saw Mitchell Sherwood on a run down the right wing. He broke through Sittingbourne skipper Joe Dowley’s tackle, and squared the ball to Paul Jones. Jonah pushed a measured pass behind The Brickies’ defence, for Mark Lovell to run on to, and the former Sittingbourne and Dover striker got to the ball just before Danny Eason, stabbing it into the corner of the net.
Ashford then enjoyed a spell of ascendancy, on the back of this goal, with Paul Jones looking the livelier of our attacking options. In the tenth minute, Jonah was fouled by Dowley, near the right corner flag, but Jimmy Bottle hit the resulting free-kick too long. Then, in the 13th minute, Nick Barnes hit a long ball into the same corner, for Jones to chase, but the Sittingbourne defence cleared the ball for a throw-in. Nicky Humphrey’s long throw, into the penalty area, was forced behind for a corner, on the right, and skipper Sean Ray got up well to meet the resulting left-footed cross from Jimmy Bottle, but Razor could do no more than head the ball high over the bar. (You know that we had very few real chances, when Your Correspondent makes a point of describing the throw-ins !). In the 25th minute, a long ball from the back four from Lee Hockey was allowed, by the home defence, to travel all the way to Paul Jones, who picked the ball up near the by-line, but a good tackle put the ball behind for a corner, on the right. Again it was Jimmy Bottle who came across to swing the ball in, left-footed, and this time it was Nicky Humphrey who could only head the ball up into the air.
The only real threat to the Ashford goal in the first half-hour came in the 18th minute, when Jamie Riley caught a long, hanging cross on his goal-line, only to drop the ball over the line as he was being challenged by a Sittingbourne forward – whether or not a foul had been committed, there was always going to be a 100% probability that Mr Smith, the Referee, would blow up for a foul.
In the 30th minute, Sean Ray bundled over Tunisian striker Sabeur Trabelsi, in the centre circle. The resulting free-kick was chipped into the Ashford area, and headed away by Nicky Humphrey. The ball fell to full-back Toby Ashmore, just outside the penalty area, but his low shot was always going well wide. A minute later, Sean Ray rather body-checked Trabelsi on the right-hand touchline, whilst attempting to shield the ball out for an Ashford throw – and was shown a yellow card, presumably for an accumulation of offences. Anthony Hogg took the free-kick, aiming for Trabelsi, in the Ashford area, but Ray managed to get his body in the way, at the expense of a corner. This time, a left-footed cross was swung in from the right, and was homing in on the near post - Jamie Riley kept the ball out, but there was a bit of “bat & pad” with the upright.
With little creative football being produced by either side, it appeared that the best chance of another goal would come from a set-piece, but Jack Baines and Anthony Hogg did manage to combine with a sweet one-two, deep in the Ashford half, and were rewarded with a corner, on the left. This resulted in a deep cross, which travelled all the way through to Joe Dowley, on the far edge of the area – but he crossed the ball straight into the hands of Jamie Riley.
Ashford’s best chance of extending their lead in the first half came in the 39th minute. Again, it was Paul Jones who was the instigator, picking the ball up just inside the Sittingbourne half, and going on a run down the left channel. As always, Jonah looked strong in possession, and, after one challenge had bounced off him, he pulled the ball back from the by-line. Mark Lovell let the ball run to Ryan Briggs, who skied his left-footed shot, from about 20 yards out, high over the bar.
Steve Lovell made one enforced change at half time – Danny Lye replaced Nick Barnes, who had picked up a calf injury which looked pretty sore as he hobbled off into the car park at the end of the game.
This substitution preceded a second half that was probably even more scrappy than the first, with most of the few noteworthy incidents during the next 45 minutes being cards of various colours being waved at players by the referee. Both teams did, however, have a squeak of a chance shortly after the restart. In the 48th minute, a ball forward found Hicham Akhazzan, half-way inside the Ashford half – he slipped a through-ball to his strike-partner Sabeur Trabelsi, whose first touch had all the finesse of a fork-lift truck, so that Jamie Riley was able to usher the ball behind for a goal-kick. At the other end, a minute later, Lee Hockey, who is the image of the current Robin Hood, took a long throw, from near the right corner flag – but, though Danny Lye got his head to the ball, on the front edge of the six-yard box, he could do no more than pop the ball over the bar.
The first of a rash of yellow cards was shown to Sabeur Trabelsi, in the 55th minute, after he had left his foot in on Daniel Brathwaite, after Daniel had affected a clearance. Four minutes later, Joe Dowley was booked for a foul on Mitchell Sherwood, and then Referee Smith reached for his pocket again, in the 61st minute, after a coming-together between Trabelsi and Sean Ray. It seemed a fairly innocuous incident, and it wasn’t clear which way the free-kick would be awarded, but Trabelsi it was who was shown his second yellow card, which was quickly followed by a red one. (It was actually a fairly rich shade of pink – fuchsia maybe – but the Tunisian got the message, and trooped off to the dressing-room). Amid the uproar from the home supporters in the main stand, Sean turned and indicated that an elbow had been used.
As previously noted, the general feeling was that this incident effectively ended the game as a contest – on the grounds that Sittingbourne had looked poor, and had made little impact on the Ashford defence with all eleven men on the pitch. (Your Correspondent made a note to himself, at the time, to the effect that this would now be a REALLY EMBARRASSING game not to win !). It was certainly a shame for Trabelsi, who had been involved in a promising move for Sittingbourne, in the 57th minute, just prior to his dismissal. He had spread the ball wide to Jack Baines, on the left, who had found Hicham Akhazzan, in the centre, with a good cross, but Akhazzan’s flicked header was comfortably caught by Jamie Riley.
In the 75th minute, with little or nothing happening for Ashford, Steve Lovell made a double-substitution, replacing Paul Jones and Mark Lovell with Rob Denness and top-scorer Walid Matata – (which he probably would have done even if the good-sized group of Ashford supporters behind the goal had not been singing Walid’s name !). This is actually the first time that Lovell Jnr has been substituted during his Ashford career to date – and may or may not have had something to do with the fact that he had picked up a yellow card for leaving a foot in on Billy Manners, in the 66th minute.
Gary Abbott soon responded with some substitutions of his own, replacing Jack Baines with Steve Hafner, in the 77th minute, and Dave Milton with James Campbell, in the 79th minute.
Campbell was soon involved in what passed for “the action” in this match, when, in the 81st minute, he spread the ball wide to Akhazzan, on the left – but, faced by Nicky Humphrey, the ex-Chatham forward tried a speculative shot from outside the area, which went well wide. As the home side increasingly committed themselves forward, in search of an equaliser, Mitchell Sherwood broke from a deep position, in the 86th minute, carrying the ball through the centre circle and finding Jimmy Bottle in space, on the left. Jimmy certainly caught the eye with his pace this afternoon, but, in all honesty, he produced very little end-product; (and it might be significant that Toby Ashmore, who had the job of marking him, was named as Sittingbourne’s Man of the Match). On this occasion, however, Jimmy did manage to get around his man and put in a dangerous cross, aiming for Walid at the far post, but the home defence managed to head the ball behind, for a corner, on the right. Jimmy went across to take the kick, but Paul Ainsworth was there to head his cross clear.
As full-time approached, it appeared that Ashford were in the process of winding up what is referred to in modern parlance as an “ugly victory”, playing possession football, with one eye on the (imaginary) clock. With 90 minutes up on my watch, a patient build-up concluded with Ryan Briggs threading a diagonal ball through for Rob Denness to run on to, but the Lino had his flag up before The Menace slid the ball into the net.
Then came the cruel twist to the tale, deep into injury time. In the 93rd minute, Danny Eason miss-hit a clearance, straight to Mitchell Sherwood, who immediately put Walid Matata through on goal, with a diagonal pass. Walid opened up his body, to sweep the ball over young Danny, and into the net, but his attempt went wide. A 0-2 scoreline would have flattered Ashford this afternoon, but a clinching goal from their hero would have delighted the Ashford contingent behind the goal. So we would have to settle for a hard-fought, if uninspiring, 0-1 victory – except that the story didn’t end there. As the game entered the 94th minute, Sittingbourne were awarded a free-kick, mid-way into the Ashford half. There was a shot at goal, and the ball seemed to stick under the foot of Hicham Akhazzan, who then turned and fired it past Jamie Riley.
It’s difficult to gauge the precise reaction of the Ashford fans to this late equaliser, as it appeared that, unusually, none of them went for a drink in the bar afterwards – which might, in itself, be a clue to the level of disappointment with the team’s performance this afternoon. It’s certainly a shame that the fair number of fans who had travelled from Ashford this afternoon had to witness a surprisingly low-key performance from the lads, especially after the good showing on Boxing Day. The only way that I can reconcile the two performances is to suggest that the Dover game took plenty out of the players, both mentally and physically – we’ll certainly be looking for a marked improvement against second-bottom Horsham YMCA (no puns intended) in a week’s time.
In the interests of balance, I should also point out that Sittingbourne looked a poor outfit today, and didn’t, in my opinion, deserve a point from this game – but I’m absolutely certain that this was not a typical performance from our hosts, as they wouldn’t be in the top half of the table if they couldn’t do better than this.
One other snippet of information, which caught my eye recently: did you know that Ashford are yet to be defeated by more than one goal away from home in the league this season ? The only away defeat by more than one goal to date has come in the FA Cup, when we went down 2-0 to Erith & Belvedere – the only two survivors from that game in the starting line-up this afternoon were Nicky Humphrey and Nick Barnes. Hope that keeps the anoraks happy.
Man of the Match
(to go towards the Milton Keynes Bowl)
Ryan Briggs
Sunday, 25 November 2007
Metropolitan Police v Ashford Town. Ryman Division One South. 24th of November 2007.
Metropolitan Police 1 Ashford Town 1
from Your Milton Keynes Correspondent
My fourth visit to Imber Court to see us take on the Metropolitan Police – and the three previous visits have involved seeing the boys lose on each occasion, by scores of 3-2, 2-1 and 2-1. So the omens weren’t particularly good ! This was Ashford’s 20th game of the season, in all competitions – but, more pertinently, it was Steve Lovell’s fifth in charge.
By all accounts, there were signs last time out that Steve’s team is starting to get it together, with an encouraging draw at home to Burgess Hill Town. There were two other important aspects of that 1-1 draw. Firstly, it broke the sequence of us having lost every game in which we had conceded first; incredibly, Mark Lovell’s debut goal, in the 89th minute, was our first equaliser of the season ! Secondly, the starting line-up was the first not to contain any of last season’s squad, so it really did signal the start of a new era.
Of course, many of those who played last Saturday were players brought in by Clive Walker, but Lovell has started to implant his own personnel – starting, in text book style, with the “spine” of the team: a new goalie, who made his debut today, a strong, commanding centre-back, a midfield playmaker and a centre-forward. All of these I was seeing for the first time today. Sean Ray, the centre-half signed from Hastings, is the most obvious addition – partly because of his size, but mostly because of his sheer presence. Even as the players warmed up before the game, it was obvious to me which one “Razor” was, without him having to be pointed out. As he’s been Man of the Match on both occasions that he’s played for Ashford Town to date, I was also expecting a fairly imposing performance today, and wasn’t disappointed. He was a colossus at the back this afternoon, and looks to be an excellent signing for a Club that’s had a very nervous-looking defence all season.
Many of the defensive problems – we’ve only managed two clean sheets all season, and none since the third game – have stemmed from a lack of confidence in the goal-keeper, and The Management moved decisively to address this issue by shelling out some hard cash when signing Jamie Riley from East Thurrock United on Monday. Again, this looks to be an excellent investment, as Jamie really looks the part. A David James lookalike, Jamie pulled off a candidate for the Save of the Season, late in the first half, so has started to repay the investment already.
Ryan Briggs – who apparently suffers a lot from Ryan Giggs jokes, (although I’m old enough to mainly associate the name with speedway) – also impressed. He looked comfortable with the ball at his feet, and seemed to enjoy having the responsibility of the role of playmaker. At the head of the spine, Mark Lovell had the demeanor of a striker, and is sure to score more goals for us – in spite of missing a candidate for Sitter of the Season today ! Of Steve Lovell’s two other signings, it’s difficult to evaluate Mitchell Sherwood, a right-sided midfield player from Sittingbourne, as he rarely saw the ball this afternoon, and our old favourite, Paul Jones, still needs to regain full fitness before showing us what he can do.
Arguably, however, Steve Lovell’s most important addition on show this afternoon was TEAMWORK – that intangible “twelfth man”. Seemingly by magic, Ashford Town morphed into a side playing patient, passing football – certainly one which was unrecognisable from the collection of strangers that took the field at Chipstead a short while ago ! Actually, (at the risk of this sounding like a report from one of the Reserves’ games), this was a great game to watch, between two good, passing sides. I was very impressed with our hosts. If anything, they were the better side, with their passing being a shade quicker, enabling them to move the ball around the pitch at greater speed, and they looked very incisive when in the final third of the pitch. In the circumstances, therefore, this was very much a point gained for Ashford. The fact that The Met equalised as late as the 87th minute made it feel as if something had been taken away, of course, but 1-1 was a fair result overall, especially with The Police hitting the woodwork three times.
Here’s today’s line-up in full. We had Jamie Riley in goal, with a back four of (from right to left) Tony Brown, Rob Gillman, Sean Ray and Daniel Brathwaite; the midfield quartet in a 4-4-2 set-up was Mitch Sherwood, Nick Barnes, Ryan Briggs and Jimmy Bottle; Mark Lovell and Rob Denness were up front. (In other words, it was the same team that started on Saturday, against Burgess Hill, except for the ‘keeper). On the subs bench we had the deposed Sam Moore, Kevin Lott, Nicky Humphrey, Walid Matata and Paul Jones. Lee Spiller, Aron Freeman and Danny Lye were all at the ground as civilians, whilst Steve Sodje and Joe Hitchings were on duty for the Ressies.
The first occasion that the Boys in Blue hit the frame of the goal was in the third minute, when Chris Meikle’s close-range shot, from an acute angle, eluded Riley’s left hand, but rebounded back off the near post, with a “ping”. It should, however, have been Ashford who took an early lead, in the seventh minute, after a move that was beautiful in its simplicity and its incisiveness. It began with a long ball from Ryan Briggs, from inside his own half, which sent Jimmy Bottle on a chase down the left wing. Jimmy got to the ball before the defender, rounding his man and getting to the by-line. He looked up and picked out Mark Lovell, on the edge of the six-yard box, with a perfect, low cross. Any sort of clean contact with a boot would have put the ball into the back of the net, but Mark somehow got it stuck under his feet, allowing it to trickle to Will Packham, in the Police goal.
Whilst the build-up play from both sides was pleasing to watch, both sides also found it hard to get shots on target. Nick Barnes, who was the dominant presence in central midfield for Ashford, particularly in the first half, attempted an ambitious shot from inside the centre circle, in the tenth minute – although he struck the ball well, his effort went wide. A minute later, the home side had a free-kick, right on the edge of the penalty area, after Tony Browne had brought down Craig Carley. This resulted in James Greenaway blasting the ball well over the bar. Then, in the thirteenth minute, The Blues’ Scott Corbett sliced a shot, from outside the area, well wide.
There were two other brief scares for Ashford, mid-way through the first half. Tony Browne, who’s been prone to the odd howler this season, (and who will be missing the Kent Senior Cup tie against Tonbridge Angels on Tuesday, after Saturday’s red card), very nearly passed the ball straight to Craig Carley, in the 16th minute. This was not a great idea, given that Carley has so far scored 14 goals in 20 starts this season, but Daniel Brathwaite saved the situation with a full-stretch interception. In the 25th minute, a through-ball which nutmegged Rob Gillman seemed to present Dave Stevens with a one-on-one with the ‘keeper, but the Lino’s flag was immediately up for off-side.
Although Ashford looked good when having the ball, it’s probably fair to say that The Met had the most possession in the first 45 minutes. (It’s also interesting to note that The Blues seemed fairly comfortable in their 3-5-2 formation, especially since our national side seems to be all at sea with anything other than 4-4-2 !). Our hosts’ best move was probably seen in the 29th minute. A quick interchange of passes on the edge of the Ashford penalty area ended with Michael Cobden being put through on goal, but Jamie Riley was quickly off his line, and did well to block Cobden’s shot.
It was noticeable this afternoon that, when the long ball was used by Ashford, it was invariably aimed towards the corners. A good example was Sean Ray’s booming diagonal ball for Jimmy Bottle to chase, down the left wing, in the 32nd minute. Jimmy, who was a handful for The Police throughout the game, got to the ball first, near the corner flag, but was worried out of it by the defender.
When Tony Browne conceded a corner, when blocking a cross, in the 39th minute, it was actually the first time that the home side had been on the attack for several minutes, with Ashford having enjoyed a brief period of control. The Met were, however, about to really start to buzz, as they finished the first half strongly. From the resulting corner, Tony Browne was beaten in the air, the ball being nodded down to Craig Carley, who wasted a golden opportunity by shooting well over the bar. Two minutes later, Dave Stevens rounded both Daniel Brathwaite and Sean Ray, on the right side of the penalty area, and delivered a good cross from the by-line. Jamie Riley did well to block the initial effort, but then, after a brief goalmouth scramble, the ball fell to James Greenaway, whose well-struck shot, from about 16 yards out, seemed destined for the far corner of the net. That was when Jamie pulled off the diving save that confirmed to us all that we now have the services of a top-class goalkeeper.
But the danger had not yet passed, as The Police had a corner. Whilst the Ashford defence repelled the initial cross, the ball broke to Craig Carley, who hit the bar with a great shot from outside the penalty area.
Ashford will have been quite pleased to go in at half time with the score at 0-0, but actually had the final chance of the half. With 45 minutes up on my watch, Daniel Brathwaite led a break by releasing Jimmy Bottle down the left – a break that was ended when Jimmy was upended, in a position that was about level with the 18 yard line. Nick Barnes took the resulting free-kick, curling in a teasing, in-swinging cross towards the far post, but neither Sean Ray nor Mark Lovell, who both went flying in, could get the vital touch.
Although the home side had an early corner, which came to nothing, it was Ashford – playing with Mitch Sherwood switched to the left and Jimmy on the right - who had the first recognisable chance of the second half, in the 48th minute. Mark Lovell laid a firm pass forward off to Rob Denness, but Rob, who’s due to miss next Saturday’s game against Walton & Hersham, as a result of clocking up five yellow cards for the season, rather hurried his shot, and sliced wide. The Met’s Michael Cobden then had a sight of goal in the 55th minute, but his firm, low shot went across the face of goal – with Jamie Riley in control, watching the ball as it went wide.
The first substitution of the game came in the 62nd minute, when Nicky Humphrey replaced Tony Browne. I thought, momentarily, that Steve Lovell might be forced into another, enforced reshuffle, when Nick Barnes lunged into a tackle with a hint of twofootedness, just a minute later – but it was at the cost of no more than a free-kick, and the referee seemed unconcerned, so it must have looked worse than it actually was. The free-kick, which was about 15 yards inside the Ashford half, was quickly taken by Craig Carley, who tried to catch Jamie Riley napping, but The Blues’ top scorer’s lob was just too high.
In the 66th minute, Walid Matata replaced Rob Denness, who had worked hard, without ever threatening to score or create a chance. Then, three minutes later, Jamie Riley made his first and only error, when he misjudged a chipped cross. Whilst he should have caught the ball comfortably, he could do no more, at full stretch, than flip the ball out to Craig Carley, who hit the post with a shot from about twelve yards.
Walid Matata had been on the field for about six minutes when he put Ashford in front – and this was a well-worked goal. Jimmy Bottle had the ball on the right side of the field, in the 72nd minute. Whilst Nicky Humphrey showed great energy, haring off down the flank, on an overlap, Jimmy cut inside, onto his left foot. His deep cross found Matata, who laid the ball off to Mark Lovell. Mark set the ball up again for Walid, who took his time to side-foot the ball into the corner of the net, for his seventh goal of the season.
This set-back caused The Police to redouble their efforts – somebody’s comment about “all guns blazing” was inappropriate, given recent events – and Craig Carley beat the off-side trap, running onto a chipped through-ball, in the 74th minute. He caught up with the ball by the by-line, and pulled it back with a good cross, but Nicky Humphrey, running back, was there to nod behind for a corner. With Daniel Brathwaite behind the goal receiving treatment from Mo Alvi as the corner came across, Sean Ray headed clear. The luckless Daniel actually left the field two minutes later, to be replaced by Kevin Lott; this caused a bit of a reshuffle in defence, as Nicky Humphrey moved across to left-back, so that Kevin could fill in as a makeshift right-back. (It’ll be interesting to see who plays at full-back on Tuesday if Daniel’s not fit, with Aron Freeman already on the injury list and Tony Browne due to miss the match due to suspension).
Walid Matata was certainly the man on fire at this time. He ran onto a ball from Ryan Briggs, down the right touchline, in the 78th minute, and took possession of it near the corner flag – another example of the Ashford Town strategy of stretching the opposition with these balls into the corners. With space very tight, Walid nevertheless managed to beat two defenders, but was fouled as he was about to carry the ball along the by-line. Nick Barnes and Jimmy Bottle worked a short free-kick between them, and Jimmy was body-checked as he attempted to dribble the ball into the area. The resulting free-kick, right on the line, came to nothing.
At the other end, Craig Carley once again showed his pace, in the 80th minute, chasing a ball from the half-way line from the impressive Steve Sutherland. Carley got to the ball before the Ashford defence – which still isn’t over-endowed with pace – but his shot, from an acute angle, was comfortably saved by Jamie Riley.
Making their only substitution of the game in the 81st minute, (with Jon Daly replacing Martyn Lee), the home side equalised just three minutes from time. This came from a free-kick, just inside the Ashford penalty area. A long cross was headed down, into the mixer, and fell to Steve Sutherland, with his back to goal, somewhere near the penalty spot. He flipped the ball over his right shoulder, probably with the intention of causing some mayhem at the far post, and was delighted to see the ball loop over Jamie Riley’s head and plop into the corner of the net. I don’t want to tread the sour grapes too much by overemphasising the possible flukiness of this goal, as our hosts deserved to equalise, on the overall evidence of the game, but it was a slightly cruel way for Steve Lovell to be denied his first victory, and for Jamie Riley to miss out on a clean sheet on his debut.
There was an exciting finish to this entertaining game, as both sides pressed for a winner, but 1-1 was the final score. The point lifts the Met Police up one place, to sixth, in the table, whilst Ashford Town remain in 13th, now level on points with four other teams.
A couple of post scripts to today’s game. Firstly, it appears that the brief revival of the noisy travelling away support for Ashford Town seems to have fizzled out, for we were back to the handful of die-hards behind the goal today. Maybe the absentees are a bit shy of The Law ! Secondly, you might have noticed that there is barely a reference to today’s Referee – Mr Smith. That’s because he had an exemplary game, doing the job quietly and efficiently. No fuss. No theatrics. No yellow cards.
Man of the Match
(to go towards the Milton Keynes Bowl)
Nick Barnes
from Your Milton Keynes Correspondent
My fourth visit to Imber Court to see us take on the Metropolitan Police – and the three previous visits have involved seeing the boys lose on each occasion, by scores of 3-2, 2-1 and 2-1. So the omens weren’t particularly good ! This was Ashford’s 20th game of the season, in all competitions – but, more pertinently, it was Steve Lovell’s fifth in charge.
By all accounts, there were signs last time out that Steve’s team is starting to get it together, with an encouraging draw at home to Burgess Hill Town. There were two other important aspects of that 1-1 draw. Firstly, it broke the sequence of us having lost every game in which we had conceded first; incredibly, Mark Lovell’s debut goal, in the 89th minute, was our first equaliser of the season ! Secondly, the starting line-up was the first not to contain any of last season’s squad, so it really did signal the start of a new era.
Of course, many of those who played last Saturday were players brought in by Clive Walker, but Lovell has started to implant his own personnel – starting, in text book style, with the “spine” of the team: a new goalie, who made his debut today, a strong, commanding centre-back, a midfield playmaker and a centre-forward. All of these I was seeing for the first time today. Sean Ray, the centre-half signed from Hastings, is the most obvious addition – partly because of his size, but mostly because of his sheer presence. Even as the players warmed up before the game, it was obvious to me which one “Razor” was, without him having to be pointed out. As he’s been Man of the Match on both occasions that he’s played for Ashford Town to date, I was also expecting a fairly imposing performance today, and wasn’t disappointed. He was a colossus at the back this afternoon, and looks to be an excellent signing for a Club that’s had a very nervous-looking defence all season.
Many of the defensive problems – we’ve only managed two clean sheets all season, and none since the third game – have stemmed from a lack of confidence in the goal-keeper, and The Management moved decisively to address this issue by shelling out some hard cash when signing Jamie Riley from East Thurrock United on Monday. Again, this looks to be an excellent investment, as Jamie really looks the part. A David James lookalike, Jamie pulled off a candidate for the Save of the Season, late in the first half, so has started to repay the investment already.
Ryan Briggs – who apparently suffers a lot from Ryan Giggs jokes, (although I’m old enough to mainly associate the name with speedway) – also impressed. He looked comfortable with the ball at his feet, and seemed to enjoy having the responsibility of the role of playmaker. At the head of the spine, Mark Lovell had the demeanor of a striker, and is sure to score more goals for us – in spite of missing a candidate for Sitter of the Season today ! Of Steve Lovell’s two other signings, it’s difficult to evaluate Mitchell Sherwood, a right-sided midfield player from Sittingbourne, as he rarely saw the ball this afternoon, and our old favourite, Paul Jones, still needs to regain full fitness before showing us what he can do.
Arguably, however, Steve Lovell’s most important addition on show this afternoon was TEAMWORK – that intangible “twelfth man”. Seemingly by magic, Ashford Town morphed into a side playing patient, passing football – certainly one which was unrecognisable from the collection of strangers that took the field at Chipstead a short while ago ! Actually, (at the risk of this sounding like a report from one of the Reserves’ games), this was a great game to watch, between two good, passing sides. I was very impressed with our hosts. If anything, they were the better side, with their passing being a shade quicker, enabling them to move the ball around the pitch at greater speed, and they looked very incisive when in the final third of the pitch. In the circumstances, therefore, this was very much a point gained for Ashford. The fact that The Met equalised as late as the 87th minute made it feel as if something had been taken away, of course, but 1-1 was a fair result overall, especially with The Police hitting the woodwork three times.
Here’s today’s line-up in full. We had Jamie Riley in goal, with a back four of (from right to left) Tony Brown, Rob Gillman, Sean Ray and Daniel Brathwaite; the midfield quartet in a 4-4-2 set-up was Mitch Sherwood, Nick Barnes, Ryan Briggs and Jimmy Bottle; Mark Lovell and Rob Denness were up front. (In other words, it was the same team that started on Saturday, against Burgess Hill, except for the ‘keeper). On the subs bench we had the deposed Sam Moore, Kevin Lott, Nicky Humphrey, Walid Matata and Paul Jones. Lee Spiller, Aron Freeman and Danny Lye were all at the ground as civilians, whilst Steve Sodje and Joe Hitchings were on duty for the Ressies.
The first occasion that the Boys in Blue hit the frame of the goal was in the third minute, when Chris Meikle’s close-range shot, from an acute angle, eluded Riley’s left hand, but rebounded back off the near post, with a “ping”. It should, however, have been Ashford who took an early lead, in the seventh minute, after a move that was beautiful in its simplicity and its incisiveness. It began with a long ball from Ryan Briggs, from inside his own half, which sent Jimmy Bottle on a chase down the left wing. Jimmy got to the ball before the defender, rounding his man and getting to the by-line. He looked up and picked out Mark Lovell, on the edge of the six-yard box, with a perfect, low cross. Any sort of clean contact with a boot would have put the ball into the back of the net, but Mark somehow got it stuck under his feet, allowing it to trickle to Will Packham, in the Police goal.
Whilst the build-up play from both sides was pleasing to watch, both sides also found it hard to get shots on target. Nick Barnes, who was the dominant presence in central midfield for Ashford, particularly in the first half, attempted an ambitious shot from inside the centre circle, in the tenth minute – although he struck the ball well, his effort went wide. A minute later, the home side had a free-kick, right on the edge of the penalty area, after Tony Browne had brought down Craig Carley. This resulted in James Greenaway blasting the ball well over the bar. Then, in the thirteenth minute, The Blues’ Scott Corbett sliced a shot, from outside the area, well wide.
There were two other brief scares for Ashford, mid-way through the first half. Tony Browne, who’s been prone to the odd howler this season, (and who will be missing the Kent Senior Cup tie against Tonbridge Angels on Tuesday, after Saturday’s red card), very nearly passed the ball straight to Craig Carley, in the 16th minute. This was not a great idea, given that Carley has so far scored 14 goals in 20 starts this season, but Daniel Brathwaite saved the situation with a full-stretch interception. In the 25th minute, a through-ball which nutmegged Rob Gillman seemed to present Dave Stevens with a one-on-one with the ‘keeper, but the Lino’s flag was immediately up for off-side.
Although Ashford looked good when having the ball, it’s probably fair to say that The Met had the most possession in the first 45 minutes. (It’s also interesting to note that The Blues seemed fairly comfortable in their 3-5-2 formation, especially since our national side seems to be all at sea with anything other than 4-4-2 !). Our hosts’ best move was probably seen in the 29th minute. A quick interchange of passes on the edge of the Ashford penalty area ended with Michael Cobden being put through on goal, but Jamie Riley was quickly off his line, and did well to block Cobden’s shot.
It was noticeable this afternoon that, when the long ball was used by Ashford, it was invariably aimed towards the corners. A good example was Sean Ray’s booming diagonal ball for Jimmy Bottle to chase, down the left wing, in the 32nd minute. Jimmy, who was a handful for The Police throughout the game, got to the ball first, near the corner flag, but was worried out of it by the defender.
When Tony Browne conceded a corner, when blocking a cross, in the 39th minute, it was actually the first time that the home side had been on the attack for several minutes, with Ashford having enjoyed a brief period of control. The Met were, however, about to really start to buzz, as they finished the first half strongly. From the resulting corner, Tony Browne was beaten in the air, the ball being nodded down to Craig Carley, who wasted a golden opportunity by shooting well over the bar. Two minutes later, Dave Stevens rounded both Daniel Brathwaite and Sean Ray, on the right side of the penalty area, and delivered a good cross from the by-line. Jamie Riley did well to block the initial effort, but then, after a brief goalmouth scramble, the ball fell to James Greenaway, whose well-struck shot, from about 16 yards out, seemed destined for the far corner of the net. That was when Jamie pulled off the diving save that confirmed to us all that we now have the services of a top-class goalkeeper.
But the danger had not yet passed, as The Police had a corner. Whilst the Ashford defence repelled the initial cross, the ball broke to Craig Carley, who hit the bar with a great shot from outside the penalty area.
Ashford will have been quite pleased to go in at half time with the score at 0-0, but actually had the final chance of the half. With 45 minutes up on my watch, Daniel Brathwaite led a break by releasing Jimmy Bottle down the left – a break that was ended when Jimmy was upended, in a position that was about level with the 18 yard line. Nick Barnes took the resulting free-kick, curling in a teasing, in-swinging cross towards the far post, but neither Sean Ray nor Mark Lovell, who both went flying in, could get the vital touch.
Although the home side had an early corner, which came to nothing, it was Ashford – playing with Mitch Sherwood switched to the left and Jimmy on the right - who had the first recognisable chance of the second half, in the 48th minute. Mark Lovell laid a firm pass forward off to Rob Denness, but Rob, who’s due to miss next Saturday’s game against Walton & Hersham, as a result of clocking up five yellow cards for the season, rather hurried his shot, and sliced wide. The Met’s Michael Cobden then had a sight of goal in the 55th minute, but his firm, low shot went across the face of goal – with Jamie Riley in control, watching the ball as it went wide.
The first substitution of the game came in the 62nd minute, when Nicky Humphrey replaced Tony Browne. I thought, momentarily, that Steve Lovell might be forced into another, enforced reshuffle, when Nick Barnes lunged into a tackle with a hint of twofootedness, just a minute later – but it was at the cost of no more than a free-kick, and the referee seemed unconcerned, so it must have looked worse than it actually was. The free-kick, which was about 15 yards inside the Ashford half, was quickly taken by Craig Carley, who tried to catch Jamie Riley napping, but The Blues’ top scorer’s lob was just too high.
In the 66th minute, Walid Matata replaced Rob Denness, who had worked hard, without ever threatening to score or create a chance. Then, three minutes later, Jamie Riley made his first and only error, when he misjudged a chipped cross. Whilst he should have caught the ball comfortably, he could do no more, at full stretch, than flip the ball out to Craig Carley, who hit the post with a shot from about twelve yards.
Walid Matata had been on the field for about six minutes when he put Ashford in front – and this was a well-worked goal. Jimmy Bottle had the ball on the right side of the field, in the 72nd minute. Whilst Nicky Humphrey showed great energy, haring off down the flank, on an overlap, Jimmy cut inside, onto his left foot. His deep cross found Matata, who laid the ball off to Mark Lovell. Mark set the ball up again for Walid, who took his time to side-foot the ball into the corner of the net, for his seventh goal of the season.
This set-back caused The Police to redouble their efforts – somebody’s comment about “all guns blazing” was inappropriate, given recent events – and Craig Carley beat the off-side trap, running onto a chipped through-ball, in the 74th minute. He caught up with the ball by the by-line, and pulled it back with a good cross, but Nicky Humphrey, running back, was there to nod behind for a corner. With Daniel Brathwaite behind the goal receiving treatment from Mo Alvi as the corner came across, Sean Ray headed clear. The luckless Daniel actually left the field two minutes later, to be replaced by Kevin Lott; this caused a bit of a reshuffle in defence, as Nicky Humphrey moved across to left-back, so that Kevin could fill in as a makeshift right-back. (It’ll be interesting to see who plays at full-back on Tuesday if Daniel’s not fit, with Aron Freeman already on the injury list and Tony Browne due to miss the match due to suspension).
Walid Matata was certainly the man on fire at this time. He ran onto a ball from Ryan Briggs, down the right touchline, in the 78th minute, and took possession of it near the corner flag – another example of the Ashford Town strategy of stretching the opposition with these balls into the corners. With space very tight, Walid nevertheless managed to beat two defenders, but was fouled as he was about to carry the ball along the by-line. Nick Barnes and Jimmy Bottle worked a short free-kick between them, and Jimmy was body-checked as he attempted to dribble the ball into the area. The resulting free-kick, right on the line, came to nothing.
At the other end, Craig Carley once again showed his pace, in the 80th minute, chasing a ball from the half-way line from the impressive Steve Sutherland. Carley got to the ball before the Ashford defence – which still isn’t over-endowed with pace – but his shot, from an acute angle, was comfortably saved by Jamie Riley.
Making their only substitution of the game in the 81st minute, (with Jon Daly replacing Martyn Lee), the home side equalised just three minutes from time. This came from a free-kick, just inside the Ashford penalty area. A long cross was headed down, into the mixer, and fell to Steve Sutherland, with his back to goal, somewhere near the penalty spot. He flipped the ball over his right shoulder, probably with the intention of causing some mayhem at the far post, and was delighted to see the ball loop over Jamie Riley’s head and plop into the corner of the net. I don’t want to tread the sour grapes too much by overemphasising the possible flukiness of this goal, as our hosts deserved to equalise, on the overall evidence of the game, but it was a slightly cruel way for Steve Lovell to be denied his first victory, and for Jamie Riley to miss out on a clean sheet on his debut.
There was an exciting finish to this entertaining game, as both sides pressed for a winner, but 1-1 was the final score. The point lifts the Met Police up one place, to sixth, in the table, whilst Ashford Town remain in 13th, now level on points with four other teams.
A couple of post scripts to today’s game. Firstly, it appears that the brief revival of the noisy travelling away support for Ashford Town seems to have fizzled out, for we were back to the handful of die-hards behind the goal today. Maybe the absentees are a bit shy of The Law ! Secondly, you might have noticed that there is barely a reference to today’s Referee – Mr Smith. That’s because he had an exemplary game, doing the job quietly and efficiently. No fuss. No theatrics. No yellow cards.
Man of the Match
(to go towards the Milton Keynes Bowl)
Nick Barnes
Sunday, 11 November 2007
Croydon Athletic v Ashford Town. Ryman Division One South. 10th of November 2007.
Croydon Athletic 2 Ashford Town 1
from Your Milton Keynes Correspondent
Croydon Athletic away – and new Manager Steve Lovell’s first game in charge of Ashford Town. Yes, I know that he was officially in the plate for Tuesday night’s defeat away at Chipstead, but Mr Lovell was really no more than a spectator on that occasion. The new man’s approach seemed very much to be to pick the side and then watch and see what they could do – and it wasn’t much. He will already have been aware that he inherits, from Clive Walker, a very talented squad of players; probably second only in Ryman Division 1 South to that of Dover Athletic. (And when he gets round to seeing the Reserves play, he’ll no doubt discover that he has TWO richly talented squads at his disposal). But the stand-out feature of Tuesday’s performance was that, in spite of there being plenty of effort and spirit shown by the 14 players who took the field, there was barely a semblance of team-work, strategy or collective know-how. If a team’s ability is a product of the natural talent that each individual has, and the added value of team-work and tactics that can be imposed by the management, then anything that Steve Lovell can do to provide the players with some direction and pattern of play is likely to make Ashford Town a very competitive side in this division.
In the early stages of Tuesday’s game, there were signs that Ashford might overcome their hosts purely on the strength of the ability of individual players, with Walid Matata and Jimmy Bottle in particular showing flashes of brilliance, going past opponents with ease. Rob Denness also looked dangerous when coming forward from midfield, and a visibly unfit Adrian Stone showed some glimpses of his obvious talent. But it was never going to be enough, with the team not functioning as a unit – and, Rob Gillman’s headed goal from a corner, in the 81st minute, apart, the Chipstead goalie never had a shot to save.
Gillman “did OK” at the back. He looked classy and composed, and sometimes made the job of defending look easy, but I couldn’t help getting the impression that he was doing no more than put in an honest shift, to just about justify his week’s wages. With his ability, his presence and his potential leadership qualities, (I think I’m right in saying that he was captain of Luton Town Reserves at the age of seventeen), Rob could probably pick these players up by the scruff of the neck, and carry them forwards – if he could be bothered.
For the record, the leader out on the pitch on Tuesday night was Nick Barnes.
Croydon Athletic away is not a fixture that I particularly look forward to – mainly on the grounds that it’s a pain to get to. For our previous two visits, for league games in the 2004-5 and 2005-6 seasons, it took an hour to get to the Keith Tuckey Stadium from Junction 7 of the M25. After the road works on the A23, there was the labyrinth of residential streets, choked with parked cars, to pick our way through, then the secret, single-track lane at the end of Mayfield Road, notorious for its pot-holes, which eventually leads to the ground. Well, the road works are gone now, which wipes 15 minutes off the journey, and I notice that some resurfacing work has been done to the access road since two seasons ago, but it’s still a bugger to get to. I think that Salman Rushdie missed a trick when he was in hiding several years ago. If he’d hung around in the main stand here, nobody would have found him ! (I notice that Rushdie has now brought out another book – this one’s entitled “Mike Tyson is a Twat”).
On arrival at the stadium, it’s actually quite a pleasant place to be. Except for when sitting in the wind tunnel of a main stand, there is shelter from the worst of the elements. There’s a good bar, with plenty of large screens showing footy, and a well-equipped kitchen that has a more extensive menu than most places on the circuit. (Just don’t expect a smile from either place, as that’s not part of the deal). It’s all a notch above the bare-minimum level of facility you get at the newly-promoted places, such as Chipstead and Walton Casuals.
The venue actually nestles in a sports ground, between Croydon Cemetery and the crematorium. The large, square, brick chimney of the crem overlooks the pitch, on the opposite side to the main stand. At least there’s a certain “sense of place” here. Tuesday night’s game at Chipstead could have been played anywhere – with the pitch being tightly hemmed in by a windbreak made of some black, Hessian-like material, there was nothing but impenetrable darkness beyond. It really did fell like the game was being played on the deck of an aircraft carrier on Tuesday. It was certainly cold enough. We’re well into November now, of course, and the few trees that lined the ground here today, in Thornton Heath, hanging on to the last few brown leaves, reminded me of Ashford Town fans, in denial about the fact that the season is already one-third over.
The new Manager made several changes to the team for this match – and some of these raised an eyebrow or two. His policy seemed to be to go for experience, with recalls in the starting line-up for Club Captain Lee Spiller, Daniel Brathwaite and Tony Browne, and a second start for Adrianho – even though all four are coming back from injury. This meant consigning some of our brightest young talents – Jimmy Bottle, Joe Hitchings, Barry Gardner and Kevin Lott - to the bench. Jake Whincup was also named as a substitute, with Sam Moore starting, in goal. (Of course, the Lovell strategy might simply have been to have a look at as many players as possible !). There was certainly a fluidity about the formation, as it changed throughout the game, with players swapping positions and swapping sides, but Ashford began the match with a 4-4-2 set-up consisting of the following personnel (from right to left): Sam in goal; Tony Browne, Rob Gillman, Nicky Humphrey and Aron Freeman at the back; Nick Barnes, Rob Denness, Lee Spiller and Daniel Brathwaite in midfield; Walid Matata and Adrianho up front. Graham Porter and Danny Lye, both on the injury list, were in attendance and able to take part in the pre-match warm-up, but there was no place in the sixteen for either Joby Thorogood – (guess who was angry and upset about that !) – and Steve Sodje. Both looked glum and disappointed as they watched the Sunderland-Newcastle game in the bar at 2.30pm.
It was a cool, but sunny, afternoon, with not much breeze, so conditions were right for a good game of football. Ashford, in all yellow, had an early chance, in the third minute, when Daniel Brathwaite ran onto a quick throw-in, into the Croydon penalty area. Daniel had a chance to cross the ball to Walid Matata, in the centre, but he instead put the ball straight into the hands of goalkeeper Sam Mott. (A bit confusing, having Sam Moore in one goal and Sam Mott in the other, but let’s see how we get on).
It was the home side, playing in a mostly maroon strip, but with that characteristic broad, white stripe on the shirt (à la Birmingham City in the 1970s), that was first to settle into their game, and started to play some nice football. Their first dangerous attack came in the ninth minute, when Tony Browne had to head behind for a corner, at the far post. The resulting cross was punched clear by Sam Moore. A minute later, Athletic had another chance, but this time it was rather presented to them by some sloppy work at the back by the Ashford defence. Tony Browne attempted to launch a ball forward, but this was charged down by Luke Adams. It looked like Rob Gillman was there to tidy up, but he was a little too casual, and the speedy Moses Ademola nicked it away from him, and was through on goal. Ademola hit a firmly-struck shot, straight at Sam Moore, but Sam still did well to turn the ball over the bar. The 20-year-old ‘keeper continued his good start to the game five minutes later, when Jordan Kiffin beat the Ashford off-side trap. Sam was quickly off his line, and got to the ball first, the ball cannoning off Kiffin’s shins, to safety.
Ashford showed plenty of positive intent, with Danny Brathwaite pushing well forward on the left, and Rob Denness occasionally moving up to join the front two, from midfield – but our first really good attack didn’t materialise until the 24th minute. This began with a well-won header by Tony Browne, with Adrianho following that up by getting up well to nod the ball on to Walid Matata. Adrian’s header appeared to have put Walid through with a one-on-one with the goalie, but Bradley Duke did really well with the covering tackle, at the expense of a corner. This was taken, on the right, by Daniel Brathwaite – the “New Ian Ross”, with his quality, left-footed delivery – whose deep cross found Rob Denness beyond the far post. Rob seemed to be taking too long to let the bouncing ball settle, but he eventually hooked a right-foot shot, hip-high, against the cross-bar.
Our boys were starting to play some nice football themselves, when the home side had another chance to open the scoring. Again it was Jordan Kiffin who broke clear, into the Ashford penalty area, chased this time by Nicky Humphrey, in the 27th minute. Again the shot was well-hit and on target, but Sam Moore made another good save. Three minutes later, the other Sam, in the other goal, had to make a save. Walid Matata, who had just swapped sides with Adrianho, picked the ball up on the left. He moved a few yards infield, and then hit a good, right-footed shot on target, but Sam Mott did his job well. Seconds later, Mott did well to punch a cross clear, taking out Daniel Brathwaite, who was challenging him in the air, in the process. Daniel was on the floor for a long time, receiving attention to his right shoulder, but was able to continue.
In the 35th minute, by which time Brathwaite had transferred to the right side of midfield, still pushing well forward, with Lee Spiller on the left, Ashford broke forward from a defensive clearance from Sam Moore. With four yellow shirts in an advanced position, Rob Denness laid the ball off, setting it up nicely for Lee Spiller, who chipped the ball forward. Nick Barnes challenged for the ball, which broke to Walid Matata, and Walid’s attempted lob went just over the bar.
Shortly after Liam Shirley had received the first yellow card of the game, for a very late tackle on Aron Freeman – The Rams had both a Shirley and a Debrah in their line-up today, as well as a Jordan and a Moses in attack – Ashford were caught out by a quickly-taken free-kick by Gareth Graham, the Croydon Athletic skipper. The ginger-haired Graham, who is his team’s play maker, driving force and inspiration, fed the ball down the left touchline, to the unmarked Luke Adams, in the 40th minute. Adams put in a decent cross to Moses Ademola, who failed to get his header on target – but his effort was from quite a way out, and he would have done well to beat Sam Moore from there.
With a minute to go before half-time – not including the seven minutes of first-half injury time that were added – Ashford took the lead, and this was really a goal from nothing. Left-back Michael Harney should have comfortably dealt with the situation, chasing the ball towards the corner flag, but he instead allowed Walid Matata to steal it away from him. Carrying the ball to the by-line, Walid pulled it back to Rob Denness, who was arriving fast, in the centre, and The Menace smashed the ball into the roof of the net. Rob’s fifth goal of the season – he’s now just one behind Walid – clearly delighted the Ashford travelling support, which was again uncharacteristically vocal. There were 20 supporters behind Sam Mott’s goal – 19 plus Steve Sodje, that is – which is more than we’ve had for many seasons.
There was an additional problem, almost immediately, for the home side, when Martin Debrah went off injured, to be replaced by Reis Aslan, and they might have gone further behind when Nick Barnes created a good shooting chance for himself, with 50 minutes on the watch. Nick picked the ball up, from wide on the left, and bulldozed his way through three tackles, but he completely miss-hit his shot, which trickled tamely wide.
So we went in at half time 0-1 up, and there were certainly some encouraging signs of things starting to gel together. So what went wrong ? How did we contrive to lose this one ?
Well, there is now a very telling statistic – we’ve taken the lead in no fewer than TWELVE of the 17 games that we’ve played this season, and have managed to win only five of them. Even more damning, I think, is the fact that we’ve lost all five of the games in which we’ve initially gone behind, and, quite unbelievably, there hasn’t been a single occasion to date when we’ve actually scored an equaliser. Does this suggest a lack of fighting spirit and/or application ? I think it’s more likely to be a question of the team sitting back a little once ahead – mentally switching off.
One or two people have suggested that it might be a case of a lack of physical fitness, especially with several players currently recovering from injury. Well, that certainly was not the case this afternoon, as this match was lost in the third quarter. Croydon Athletic certainly asserted early on in the second half. They had a corner, on the right, in the 48th minute. As with all dead-ball kicks, this was taken by Gareth Graham; his cross was headed away by Nick Barnes, and Moses Ademola’s ambitious shot, from well outside the area, was sliced high and wide. A minute later, “Ginge” took a free-kick, in the centre of the Ashford half, spreading it wide to Reis Aslan, on the right. Aslan’s attempted cross was blocked by Aron Freeman, for another corner. This time, Graham’s cross found Liam Shirley unmarked in the centre, but his free header was booted away by Aron at the near post.
In the 52nd minute, Shirley played the ball forward to Ademola, who collected the ball on the edge of the “D”, turned and then put his shot well wide. A minute later, a Croydon player again had the chance to score with a free header from a corner. This time, Graham’s cross was met by Duke Bradley, who put his header wide, from about ten yards out. The peer really should have scored, and Ashford’s lead was really only intact because of our opponents’ incompetence in front of goal – but this didn’t last for long. The Rams’ equaliser came in the 58th minute, from an attack down the right. A low cross wasn’t cleared by the Ashford defence, and Luke Adams had all the time in the world, on the edge of the six-yard box, to power the ball under Sam Moore. Sam made a valiant attempt to save it, but the ball ricocheted off the underside of his body, and up into the roof of the net.
By this time, Ashford’s formation had already looked more 4-3-3 than 4-4-2, with Rob Denness taking forward positions, in support of the front two. On the hour mark, Rob was fouled, half-way inside the Croydon half, and to the right. This is definitely Daniel Brathwaite territory, and he curled a dangerous cross into the goalmouth. Rob Gillman got up well to meet the ball with his head, but the ball rather popped up in the air – if he’d known where the ball was, he could have turned on it and shot, but the ball landed behind him and was cleared. Ashford’s best chance of scoring in the second half certainly appeared to be through a Rob Gillman header from a Daniel Brathwaite cross, (which was, of course, how the goal came at Chipstead). The pair tried again, in the 64th minute, with the free-kick being from a similar position – Daniel’s cross was aiming for Gillman’s head, but Sam Mott came out well to collect the ball, under pressure from both Gillman and Humphrey.
Croydon Athletic’s winner came in the 67th minute, and, depending on your viewpoint, it was either sheer brilliance from Jordan Kiffin, or a fluke. Yes, I’m afraid it was Ronaldinho and David Seaman all over again ! Kiffin picked the ball up on the left touchline, and sent in what looked to be no more than a dangerous cross to the far post. Sam Moore appeared to be watching the ball out for a goal-kick, but it hit the post, high up, and went in. I looked over Jordan, and he was celebrating the goal as if he’d intended it as a shot – but I’m not convinced. From an Ashford stand-point, however, I think we must put this down as a goal-keeping misjudgement, but I’m sure that not everyone would agree.
The home side’s response, almost immediately, was to replace Luke Adams with Nathan Campbell, and, as two Ashford substitutes were getting stripped off and ready for action, Sam Moore launched a long clearance into the Croydon half, in the 70th minute. Adrianho did well to get up and head the ball on, and Rob Denness met the flick-on with his own head, after which a defender clattered into him after the ball had gone. Referee Smith’s immediate reaction was to stop play, so that Rob could have attention for an injury to his head, (and he was OK to continue, after treatment). What baffles me, however, is why this wasn’t a stone-cold bonking penalty, given that the ball had gone, and the incident happened in the penalty area.
A minute later, Steve Lovell showed a Lotta Bottle with a double-substitution – Kevin Lott and Jimmy Bottle coming on for Lee Spiller and Adrianho. This meant that Rob Denness joined Walid Matata up front, with Jimmy on the left of midfield and Daniel Brathwaite moving across to the right. The skipper’s armband was passed to Nicky Humphrey. It was no surprise that Adrianho was one of the players to make way, as, in spite of occasionally making a contribution with his strength in the air, he still looks a long way from being match fit. His substitution was greeted with a chorus of “We want Sodj” from the Steve Sodje Fan Club behind the goal. (On the subject of the afternoon’s musical entertainment, there was also a brief rendition of “One Clive Walker; there’s only one Clive Walker” – which I thought was a bit premature, given that the new man in charge was only in his second game).
Whilst Rob Gillman, Nicky Humphrey and Aron Freeman all played pretty well at the back today, I’m afraid that the returning Tony Browne had a thoroughly bad day at the office. One moment he’d probably like to forget was in the 74th minute, when he was caught in possession by Moses Ademola, deep inside his own half. Ademola had the fairly simple task of then putting a team-mate through on goal, but he instead gave the ball straight to Nicky Humphrey. Keep taking the tablets, Moses !
Richard Blackwell became the second Croydon Athletic player to be shown a yellow card, in the 81st minute, after quite a nasty late tackle on Kevin Lott – in a match that had very little nastiness in it. From the resulting free-kick, on the right and about 18 yards out, Daniel Brathwaite’s good cross to the far post was headed behind for a corner, on the left. This time, Nick Barnes floated the ball long, beyond the far post, where the in-coming Jimmy Bottle met the ball with his head, but his effort was blocked. Five minutes later, yet another Daniel Brathwaite free-kick from a wide-right position found Rob Gillman in the penalty area, but, although Rob’s head was first to the ball, he couldn’t get any direction on the header, and as he lay on the ground, having taken a knock, there was a brief goalmouth scramble before the ball was cleared.
In the 88th minute, Gillman had some defending to do, and, for once, Moses Ademola beat him to the ball, and was through on goal. Cutting in from the left, Ademola shot, but Sam Moore made another good save. The home side then had another couple of corners in quick succession, before the end of normal time, but both of these were cleared.
With the electronic scoreboard at the Crematorium End of the ground showing that five minutes of injury time were to be played, Ashford’s next glimmer of a chance came in the 92nd minute. This came after a surprisingly painstaking build-up from the visitors – given that night was drawing in, and we were running out of time – and this resulted in a corner, on the right, which was curled into the mixer by Daniel Brathwaite. Rob Gillman again got up, in front of the goalkeeper, but couldn’t get his header on target. The ball broke to Brathwaite, whose cross was cleared as far as Rob Denness, who hit his shot like a rocket, only to see it thud into the body of a defender. There was a suggestion that the ball might have come off the lad’s elbow, but not even the most optimistic Ashford supporter had any real hopes of us getting a penalty from this.
Victory at the final whistle was greeted with arms aloft from many of the Croydon Athletic players; not because they were hanging on particularly desperately – I think it was more a case of this result ending a run of four consecutive defeats. The three points for The Rams lifts them from 17th to 13th in the table. Ashford drop down to 12th, so the total impact of our two defeats this week has been to cost us one place in the table.
So Steve Lovell begins his stint as Manager with two defeats – after his predecessor ended with a run of five games unbeaten in the league. But let’s not be fooled by any of this. Whilst many of the Ashford fans in today’s crowd of 112 will have gone home disappointed with the result – and probably with many aspects of the performance – it should be emphasised that Lovell is still very much at the reconnaissance stage. Whilst we’re all strapped into the spaceship and waiting for take-off, and have been for some time now, Steve has very shrewdly made sure that he used no fewer than 18 players in the two games for which he has been in charge, and clearly has his mind focused on the long-term mission.
Rob Denness was given the nod as Man of the Match – scored a goal, hit the bar, should’ve had a penalty and never stopped working, both in midfield and in attack. In terms of who’s going to receive the Milton Keynes Bowl for most MoM performances in away matches, at the end of the season, we now have NINE joint leaders, with one medal each !
Man of the Match
(to go towards the Milton Keynes Bowl)
Rob Denness
from Your Milton Keynes Correspondent
Croydon Athletic away – and new Manager Steve Lovell’s first game in charge of Ashford Town. Yes, I know that he was officially in the plate for Tuesday night’s defeat away at Chipstead, but Mr Lovell was really no more than a spectator on that occasion. The new man’s approach seemed very much to be to pick the side and then watch and see what they could do – and it wasn’t much. He will already have been aware that he inherits, from Clive Walker, a very talented squad of players; probably second only in Ryman Division 1 South to that of Dover Athletic. (And when he gets round to seeing the Reserves play, he’ll no doubt discover that he has TWO richly talented squads at his disposal). But the stand-out feature of Tuesday’s performance was that, in spite of there being plenty of effort and spirit shown by the 14 players who took the field, there was barely a semblance of team-work, strategy or collective know-how. If a team’s ability is a product of the natural talent that each individual has, and the added value of team-work and tactics that can be imposed by the management, then anything that Steve Lovell can do to provide the players with some direction and pattern of play is likely to make Ashford Town a very competitive side in this division.
In the early stages of Tuesday’s game, there were signs that Ashford might overcome their hosts purely on the strength of the ability of individual players, with Walid Matata and Jimmy Bottle in particular showing flashes of brilliance, going past opponents with ease. Rob Denness also looked dangerous when coming forward from midfield, and a visibly unfit Adrian Stone showed some glimpses of his obvious talent. But it was never going to be enough, with the team not functioning as a unit – and, Rob Gillman’s headed goal from a corner, in the 81st minute, apart, the Chipstead goalie never had a shot to save.
Gillman “did OK” at the back. He looked classy and composed, and sometimes made the job of defending look easy, but I couldn’t help getting the impression that he was doing no more than put in an honest shift, to just about justify his week’s wages. With his ability, his presence and his potential leadership qualities, (I think I’m right in saying that he was captain of Luton Town Reserves at the age of seventeen), Rob could probably pick these players up by the scruff of the neck, and carry them forwards – if he could be bothered.
For the record, the leader out on the pitch on Tuesday night was Nick Barnes.
Croydon Athletic away is not a fixture that I particularly look forward to – mainly on the grounds that it’s a pain to get to. For our previous two visits, for league games in the 2004-5 and 2005-6 seasons, it took an hour to get to the Keith Tuckey Stadium from Junction 7 of the M25. After the road works on the A23, there was the labyrinth of residential streets, choked with parked cars, to pick our way through, then the secret, single-track lane at the end of Mayfield Road, notorious for its pot-holes, which eventually leads to the ground. Well, the road works are gone now, which wipes 15 minutes off the journey, and I notice that some resurfacing work has been done to the access road since two seasons ago, but it’s still a bugger to get to. I think that Salman Rushdie missed a trick when he was in hiding several years ago. If he’d hung around in the main stand here, nobody would have found him ! (I notice that Rushdie has now brought out another book – this one’s entitled “Mike Tyson is a Twat”).
On arrival at the stadium, it’s actually quite a pleasant place to be. Except for when sitting in the wind tunnel of a main stand, there is shelter from the worst of the elements. There’s a good bar, with plenty of large screens showing footy, and a well-equipped kitchen that has a more extensive menu than most places on the circuit. (Just don’t expect a smile from either place, as that’s not part of the deal). It’s all a notch above the bare-minimum level of facility you get at the newly-promoted places, such as Chipstead and Walton Casuals.
The venue actually nestles in a sports ground, between Croydon Cemetery and the crematorium. The large, square, brick chimney of the crem overlooks the pitch, on the opposite side to the main stand. At least there’s a certain “sense of place” here. Tuesday night’s game at Chipstead could have been played anywhere – with the pitch being tightly hemmed in by a windbreak made of some black, Hessian-like material, there was nothing but impenetrable darkness beyond. It really did fell like the game was being played on the deck of an aircraft carrier on Tuesday. It was certainly cold enough. We’re well into November now, of course, and the few trees that lined the ground here today, in Thornton Heath, hanging on to the last few brown leaves, reminded me of Ashford Town fans, in denial about the fact that the season is already one-third over.
The new Manager made several changes to the team for this match – and some of these raised an eyebrow or two. His policy seemed to be to go for experience, with recalls in the starting line-up for Club Captain Lee Spiller, Daniel Brathwaite and Tony Browne, and a second start for Adrianho – even though all four are coming back from injury. This meant consigning some of our brightest young talents – Jimmy Bottle, Joe Hitchings, Barry Gardner and Kevin Lott - to the bench. Jake Whincup was also named as a substitute, with Sam Moore starting, in goal. (Of course, the Lovell strategy might simply have been to have a look at as many players as possible !). There was certainly a fluidity about the formation, as it changed throughout the game, with players swapping positions and swapping sides, but Ashford began the match with a 4-4-2 set-up consisting of the following personnel (from right to left): Sam in goal; Tony Browne, Rob Gillman, Nicky Humphrey and Aron Freeman at the back; Nick Barnes, Rob Denness, Lee Spiller and Daniel Brathwaite in midfield; Walid Matata and Adrianho up front. Graham Porter and Danny Lye, both on the injury list, were in attendance and able to take part in the pre-match warm-up, but there was no place in the sixteen for either Joby Thorogood – (guess who was angry and upset about that !) – and Steve Sodje. Both looked glum and disappointed as they watched the Sunderland-Newcastle game in the bar at 2.30pm.
It was a cool, but sunny, afternoon, with not much breeze, so conditions were right for a good game of football. Ashford, in all yellow, had an early chance, in the third minute, when Daniel Brathwaite ran onto a quick throw-in, into the Croydon penalty area. Daniel had a chance to cross the ball to Walid Matata, in the centre, but he instead put the ball straight into the hands of goalkeeper Sam Mott. (A bit confusing, having Sam Moore in one goal and Sam Mott in the other, but let’s see how we get on).
It was the home side, playing in a mostly maroon strip, but with that characteristic broad, white stripe on the shirt (à la Birmingham City in the 1970s), that was first to settle into their game, and started to play some nice football. Their first dangerous attack came in the ninth minute, when Tony Browne had to head behind for a corner, at the far post. The resulting cross was punched clear by Sam Moore. A minute later, Athletic had another chance, but this time it was rather presented to them by some sloppy work at the back by the Ashford defence. Tony Browne attempted to launch a ball forward, but this was charged down by Luke Adams. It looked like Rob Gillman was there to tidy up, but he was a little too casual, and the speedy Moses Ademola nicked it away from him, and was through on goal. Ademola hit a firmly-struck shot, straight at Sam Moore, but Sam still did well to turn the ball over the bar. The 20-year-old ‘keeper continued his good start to the game five minutes later, when Jordan Kiffin beat the Ashford off-side trap. Sam was quickly off his line, and got to the ball first, the ball cannoning off Kiffin’s shins, to safety.
Ashford showed plenty of positive intent, with Danny Brathwaite pushing well forward on the left, and Rob Denness occasionally moving up to join the front two, from midfield – but our first really good attack didn’t materialise until the 24th minute. This began with a well-won header by Tony Browne, with Adrianho following that up by getting up well to nod the ball on to Walid Matata. Adrian’s header appeared to have put Walid through with a one-on-one with the goalie, but Bradley Duke did really well with the covering tackle, at the expense of a corner. This was taken, on the right, by Daniel Brathwaite – the “New Ian Ross”, with his quality, left-footed delivery – whose deep cross found Rob Denness beyond the far post. Rob seemed to be taking too long to let the bouncing ball settle, but he eventually hooked a right-foot shot, hip-high, against the cross-bar.
Our boys were starting to play some nice football themselves, when the home side had another chance to open the scoring. Again it was Jordan Kiffin who broke clear, into the Ashford penalty area, chased this time by Nicky Humphrey, in the 27th minute. Again the shot was well-hit and on target, but Sam Moore made another good save. Three minutes later, the other Sam, in the other goal, had to make a save. Walid Matata, who had just swapped sides with Adrianho, picked the ball up on the left. He moved a few yards infield, and then hit a good, right-footed shot on target, but Sam Mott did his job well. Seconds later, Mott did well to punch a cross clear, taking out Daniel Brathwaite, who was challenging him in the air, in the process. Daniel was on the floor for a long time, receiving attention to his right shoulder, but was able to continue.
In the 35th minute, by which time Brathwaite had transferred to the right side of midfield, still pushing well forward, with Lee Spiller on the left, Ashford broke forward from a defensive clearance from Sam Moore. With four yellow shirts in an advanced position, Rob Denness laid the ball off, setting it up nicely for Lee Spiller, who chipped the ball forward. Nick Barnes challenged for the ball, which broke to Walid Matata, and Walid’s attempted lob went just over the bar.
Shortly after Liam Shirley had received the first yellow card of the game, for a very late tackle on Aron Freeman – The Rams had both a Shirley and a Debrah in their line-up today, as well as a Jordan and a Moses in attack – Ashford were caught out by a quickly-taken free-kick by Gareth Graham, the Croydon Athletic skipper. The ginger-haired Graham, who is his team’s play maker, driving force and inspiration, fed the ball down the left touchline, to the unmarked Luke Adams, in the 40th minute. Adams put in a decent cross to Moses Ademola, who failed to get his header on target – but his effort was from quite a way out, and he would have done well to beat Sam Moore from there.
With a minute to go before half-time – not including the seven minutes of first-half injury time that were added – Ashford took the lead, and this was really a goal from nothing. Left-back Michael Harney should have comfortably dealt with the situation, chasing the ball towards the corner flag, but he instead allowed Walid Matata to steal it away from him. Carrying the ball to the by-line, Walid pulled it back to Rob Denness, who was arriving fast, in the centre, and The Menace smashed the ball into the roof of the net. Rob’s fifth goal of the season – he’s now just one behind Walid – clearly delighted the Ashford travelling support, which was again uncharacteristically vocal. There were 20 supporters behind Sam Mott’s goal – 19 plus Steve Sodje, that is – which is more than we’ve had for many seasons.
There was an additional problem, almost immediately, for the home side, when Martin Debrah went off injured, to be replaced by Reis Aslan, and they might have gone further behind when Nick Barnes created a good shooting chance for himself, with 50 minutes on the watch. Nick picked the ball up, from wide on the left, and bulldozed his way through three tackles, but he completely miss-hit his shot, which trickled tamely wide.
So we went in at half time 0-1 up, and there were certainly some encouraging signs of things starting to gel together. So what went wrong ? How did we contrive to lose this one ?
Well, there is now a very telling statistic – we’ve taken the lead in no fewer than TWELVE of the 17 games that we’ve played this season, and have managed to win only five of them. Even more damning, I think, is the fact that we’ve lost all five of the games in which we’ve initially gone behind, and, quite unbelievably, there hasn’t been a single occasion to date when we’ve actually scored an equaliser. Does this suggest a lack of fighting spirit and/or application ? I think it’s more likely to be a question of the team sitting back a little once ahead – mentally switching off.
One or two people have suggested that it might be a case of a lack of physical fitness, especially with several players currently recovering from injury. Well, that certainly was not the case this afternoon, as this match was lost in the third quarter. Croydon Athletic certainly asserted early on in the second half. They had a corner, on the right, in the 48th minute. As with all dead-ball kicks, this was taken by Gareth Graham; his cross was headed away by Nick Barnes, and Moses Ademola’s ambitious shot, from well outside the area, was sliced high and wide. A minute later, “Ginge” took a free-kick, in the centre of the Ashford half, spreading it wide to Reis Aslan, on the right. Aslan’s attempted cross was blocked by Aron Freeman, for another corner. This time, Graham’s cross found Liam Shirley unmarked in the centre, but his free header was booted away by Aron at the near post.
In the 52nd minute, Shirley played the ball forward to Ademola, who collected the ball on the edge of the “D”, turned and then put his shot well wide. A minute later, a Croydon player again had the chance to score with a free header from a corner. This time, Graham’s cross was met by Duke Bradley, who put his header wide, from about ten yards out. The peer really should have scored, and Ashford’s lead was really only intact because of our opponents’ incompetence in front of goal – but this didn’t last for long. The Rams’ equaliser came in the 58th minute, from an attack down the right. A low cross wasn’t cleared by the Ashford defence, and Luke Adams had all the time in the world, on the edge of the six-yard box, to power the ball under Sam Moore. Sam made a valiant attempt to save it, but the ball ricocheted off the underside of his body, and up into the roof of the net.
By this time, Ashford’s formation had already looked more 4-3-3 than 4-4-2, with Rob Denness taking forward positions, in support of the front two. On the hour mark, Rob was fouled, half-way inside the Croydon half, and to the right. This is definitely Daniel Brathwaite territory, and he curled a dangerous cross into the goalmouth. Rob Gillman got up well to meet the ball with his head, but the ball rather popped up in the air – if he’d known where the ball was, he could have turned on it and shot, but the ball landed behind him and was cleared. Ashford’s best chance of scoring in the second half certainly appeared to be through a Rob Gillman header from a Daniel Brathwaite cross, (which was, of course, how the goal came at Chipstead). The pair tried again, in the 64th minute, with the free-kick being from a similar position – Daniel’s cross was aiming for Gillman’s head, but Sam Mott came out well to collect the ball, under pressure from both Gillman and Humphrey.
Croydon Athletic’s winner came in the 67th minute, and, depending on your viewpoint, it was either sheer brilliance from Jordan Kiffin, or a fluke. Yes, I’m afraid it was Ronaldinho and David Seaman all over again ! Kiffin picked the ball up on the left touchline, and sent in what looked to be no more than a dangerous cross to the far post. Sam Moore appeared to be watching the ball out for a goal-kick, but it hit the post, high up, and went in. I looked over Jordan, and he was celebrating the goal as if he’d intended it as a shot – but I’m not convinced. From an Ashford stand-point, however, I think we must put this down as a goal-keeping misjudgement, but I’m sure that not everyone would agree.
The home side’s response, almost immediately, was to replace Luke Adams with Nathan Campbell, and, as two Ashford substitutes were getting stripped off and ready for action, Sam Moore launched a long clearance into the Croydon half, in the 70th minute. Adrianho did well to get up and head the ball on, and Rob Denness met the flick-on with his own head, after which a defender clattered into him after the ball had gone. Referee Smith’s immediate reaction was to stop play, so that Rob could have attention for an injury to his head, (and he was OK to continue, after treatment). What baffles me, however, is why this wasn’t a stone-cold bonking penalty, given that the ball had gone, and the incident happened in the penalty area.
A minute later, Steve Lovell showed a Lotta Bottle with a double-substitution – Kevin Lott and Jimmy Bottle coming on for Lee Spiller and Adrianho. This meant that Rob Denness joined Walid Matata up front, with Jimmy on the left of midfield and Daniel Brathwaite moving across to the right. The skipper’s armband was passed to Nicky Humphrey. It was no surprise that Adrianho was one of the players to make way, as, in spite of occasionally making a contribution with his strength in the air, he still looks a long way from being match fit. His substitution was greeted with a chorus of “We want Sodj” from the Steve Sodje Fan Club behind the goal. (On the subject of the afternoon’s musical entertainment, there was also a brief rendition of “One Clive Walker; there’s only one Clive Walker” – which I thought was a bit premature, given that the new man in charge was only in his second game).
Whilst Rob Gillman, Nicky Humphrey and Aron Freeman all played pretty well at the back today, I’m afraid that the returning Tony Browne had a thoroughly bad day at the office. One moment he’d probably like to forget was in the 74th minute, when he was caught in possession by Moses Ademola, deep inside his own half. Ademola had the fairly simple task of then putting a team-mate through on goal, but he instead gave the ball straight to Nicky Humphrey. Keep taking the tablets, Moses !
Richard Blackwell became the second Croydon Athletic player to be shown a yellow card, in the 81st minute, after quite a nasty late tackle on Kevin Lott – in a match that had very little nastiness in it. From the resulting free-kick, on the right and about 18 yards out, Daniel Brathwaite’s good cross to the far post was headed behind for a corner, on the left. This time, Nick Barnes floated the ball long, beyond the far post, where the in-coming Jimmy Bottle met the ball with his head, but his effort was blocked. Five minutes later, yet another Daniel Brathwaite free-kick from a wide-right position found Rob Gillman in the penalty area, but, although Rob’s head was first to the ball, he couldn’t get any direction on the header, and as he lay on the ground, having taken a knock, there was a brief goalmouth scramble before the ball was cleared.
In the 88th minute, Gillman had some defending to do, and, for once, Moses Ademola beat him to the ball, and was through on goal. Cutting in from the left, Ademola shot, but Sam Moore made another good save. The home side then had another couple of corners in quick succession, before the end of normal time, but both of these were cleared.
With the electronic scoreboard at the Crematorium End of the ground showing that five minutes of injury time were to be played, Ashford’s next glimmer of a chance came in the 92nd minute. This came after a surprisingly painstaking build-up from the visitors – given that night was drawing in, and we were running out of time – and this resulted in a corner, on the right, which was curled into the mixer by Daniel Brathwaite. Rob Gillman again got up, in front of the goalkeeper, but couldn’t get his header on target. The ball broke to Brathwaite, whose cross was cleared as far as Rob Denness, who hit his shot like a rocket, only to see it thud into the body of a defender. There was a suggestion that the ball might have come off the lad’s elbow, but not even the most optimistic Ashford supporter had any real hopes of us getting a penalty from this.
Victory at the final whistle was greeted with arms aloft from many of the Croydon Athletic players; not because they were hanging on particularly desperately – I think it was more a case of this result ending a run of four consecutive defeats. The three points for The Rams lifts them from 17th to 13th in the table. Ashford drop down to 12th, so the total impact of our two defeats this week has been to cost us one place in the table.
So Steve Lovell begins his stint as Manager with two defeats – after his predecessor ended with a run of five games unbeaten in the league. But let’s not be fooled by any of this. Whilst many of the Ashford fans in today’s crowd of 112 will have gone home disappointed with the result – and probably with many aspects of the performance – it should be emphasised that Lovell is still very much at the reconnaissance stage. Whilst we’re all strapped into the spaceship and waiting for take-off, and have been for some time now, Steve has very shrewdly made sure that he used no fewer than 18 players in the two games for which he has been in charge, and clearly has his mind focused on the long-term mission.
Rob Denness was given the nod as Man of the Match – scored a goal, hit the bar, should’ve had a penalty and never stopped working, both in midfield and in attack. In terms of who’s going to receive the Milton Keynes Bowl for most MoM performances in away matches, at the end of the season, we now have NINE joint leaders, with one medal each !
Man of the Match
(to go towards the Milton Keynes Bowl)
Rob Denness
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