Cray Valley PM v Ashford United. Southern Counties East Football League. 26th of February 2017.

Cray Valley PM  2                

Ashford United 5

 

From Ashford United’s Milton Keynes Correspondent

On the final Sunday of February, I finally made it to a game - so Happy New Year, everyone ! - and this was our second game at Badgers Sports Ground, in Eltham, against Cray Valley Paper Mills in five days.  The first of these matches had been in the Quarter Finals of the Southern Counties East League Cup, on Wednesday night, when a below strength Ashford United side easily won the contest 0-2. Today, with Crowborough Athletic going back to the top of the SCEFL table with a 2-1 victory over Erith Town, the previous day, there were league points at stake, and so Danny Lye put out his strongest team, which meant four changes from the mid-week side.

In team-sheet order, the starting XI was: Big George, Ryan James, Frazer Walker, Dave Botterill, Stuart West, Pat Kingwell, Ryan Palmer, Ben Davisson, Shaun Welford, Adrian Stone, Rory Hill. On the bench were strikers Brett Ince, Jason Goodchild and Luke Eldridge, along with Dan Stubbs and Harry Lavender, who made his debut, here, last Wednesday.

Cray Valley have, in the past, been a bit of a bogey side for Ashford United. In our first season in the SCEFL (2013-14), The Millers held us to a 1-1 draw at Homelands, then beat us home and away the following season (0-1 and 3-2); then, in the second game of the 2015-16 season, they thrashed us 5-1, at Badgers, in the FA Cup, which was a defeat that cost Paul Chambers his job as Manager. Since then, however, under Danny Lye, things had been different, with Ashford winning all four encounters, with the scores being 0-5, 1-0, 2-0 and 0-2. Furthermore, Cray Valley today met an Ashford side in a rich vein of form. Since losing 1-0 to Sheppey United on Boxing Day, Lye’s side had had a 100% record in the nine games played in 2017, scoring 30 goals and conceding just six. Everyone at Ashford United had also, very recently, been buoyed by a successful appeal to the FA to have its application for promotion to the Ryman League accepted.

The most important job for the visitors to do, this afternoon, was to persuade The Millers, early on, that there was going to be no prospect of any outcome other than a repeat of Wednesday night’s easy win. However, the opposite happened. Not only was the home team given the considerable encouragement of an early goal, but an incident on the stroke of half time meant that Cray Valley actually went in at the break with a one goal lead and with Ashford United reduced to ten men.

Although Ryan James wore the No.2 shirt, he actually seemed to have been given a fairly free role in midfield – and it was Rory Hill who, not for the first time this season, was most often seen in the right-back position, so he had clearly been given the job of wing-back. It was when dropping back into this area, to collect the ball from George Kamurasi, as early as the sixth minute, that Rory made a considerable rick, which led to Cray’s first goal. Taking far too long on the ball, Hill’s attempt at a long ball up-field was easily charged down by Aaron Rhule. Catching up with the ball near the by-line, Rhule’s cross into the centre came off Stuart West’s right foot and up onto his arm, and Referee Chris Myatt had no hesitation in pointing to the spot from which three penalties were to be taken, this afternoon. Up stepped Millers’ captain Jason Thompson, who hit a well-struck shot low, into the corner of the net, in spite of Big George diving the right way and almost getting a hand to the ball.

Throughout the first half, both before and after the opening goal, Ashford, kicking up the slope, but with a strong breeze behind them, were well on top, both in terms of possession and territorial advantage, and it was not long before the visitors were level. In the tenth minute, after a good, flowing move – and shortly after Ryan Palmer had seen a long-range shot saved by Jordan Carey, at his near post – Rory Hill sent in a deep cross which just eluded the head of Ryan James. Evidently, the ball had taken a deflection from a Cray Valley player, as a corner was awarded, on the left. Ben Davisson’s first cross was cleared, but the ball was soon returned into the home side’s penalty area, travelling all the way through to the far corner of the six-yard box, where Stuart West stuck the ball firmly into the net, with his right foot. Although the Ashford captain hasn’t been anything like as prolific for us as he was for Hollands & Blair, his previous club, this was his fourth goal of the season.

It was pretty much all Ashford for the remainder of the half, particularly for the next five minutes, with the visitors bombarding The Millers’ penalty area with a succession of corners and Shaun Welford long throws – but there was a shortage of clear-cut chances, and any shots on goal were weak. In fact, Jordan Carey, in the Cray goal, had little to do, up to half time, except make some regulation stops which amounted to little more than back-passes.

In spite of the distinct lack of “end-product”, there was little to bother Ashford, as it seemed to be just a matter of time before they would take a decisive lead, until Stuart West received a yellow card in the 38^th minute. This was for a late tackle, near the left touchline. This seemed a little harsh, given that it was West’s first foul in the game – but the presence of a man with a clip board, wearing an FA-branded coat, in the stand, might have influenced Mr Myatt’s decision. But the real cost of the incident was felt, by Ashford, some eight minutes later. With just over 45 minutes played, according to my watch, the usually flawless Pat Kingwell was, for once, caught in possession, deep inside his own half. With Enoch Adjei now clean through on goal, West came across and brought him down, right on the edge of the penalty area. There was a strong case for the Ashford skipper receiving a straight red card, but Myatt instead showed Stuart a yellow one, followed by a red.

Worse was to follow for Ashford, as Jason Thompson scored the best goal of the game, from the resulting free-kick. Because the kick was so close to the goal, in a fairly central position, it was not easy for the home captain to get the ball over the defensive wall and then under the bar, but he did so superbly, curling the ball into the top, far corner, giving George Kamurasi no chance.

So the visitors somehow managed to find themselves trailing at the break, after a half that they had completely dominated – and there was the real prospect that the race for the SCEFL title, and that one, precious promotion place, might take a decisive turn.

The fact that Ashford were able to turn the game around fairly readily, with four second half goals, and with just ten men, against the eighth-placed club in the division, speaks loudly about the gulf in standard that appears to exist between the top three or four SCEFL teams and the remainder. In fact, without the errors of judgement at the beginning and the end of the first half, a 0-6 score-line would have been a distinct possibility, and would not have flattered the visitors. However, the turnaround did not happen immediately, with the home side starting the second half on the front foot, and winning a couple of corners and a free kick – all of which were taken by their skipper, Jason Thompson. It was from the second of these corners that The Millers had a decent chance to extend their lead, with centre-forward Scott Riley getting to the ball ahead of George Kamurasi, but heading just over the bar.

Ashford’s enforced reorganisation had seen Ryan James dropping back into a back three that also included Pat Kingwell, (who had been passed the captain’s arm band), and Frazer Walker. That gave Rory Hill more freedom to go forward, and his run into the Cray Valley penalty box set up a half-chance for Adrianho, who rather scuffed his shot wide, in the 54^th minute, albeit with the consolation of winning a corner. It took a couple of minutes for the corner, on the left, to be taken, as Cray’s Ryan Fowler was down in the area, receiving treatment - Fowler was obviously quite seriously hurt, as he had to limp off immediately, to be replaced by Chandler Kasai. The game had entered the 56^th minute when Ben Davisson eventually swung the ball into the Cray Valley goalmouth, where Shaun Welford came charging in, barely inconvenienced by any marking, to head the ball into the corner of the net.

Having equalised, a few misplaced passes, a few off-sides and a scrappy period of play caused Ashford’s charge to stall a little, and it was the home side that had the next clear chance to score. In the 62^nd minute, an unnecessary foul by Frazer Walker on Adjei gave Jason Thompson the opportunity to show his dead-ball skills again. With the free-kick near the corner of the penalty area, Thompson had the choice of going for goal or curling in a cross. In the event, he whipped in a fast, curling ball into the Ashford goalmouth, which might have been awkward for George Kamurasi if David Botterill had not bravely got his head to the ball, putting it behind, for a corner. The always excellent Botts was also there to head the resulting corner clear – but not before Thompson had walked across to take the kick with the measured pace of a pall bearer. In fact, throughout the second half, the home side very clearly appeared to take as much time out of the game as possible at every dead-ball situation, and every time that goalkeeper Carey had possession of the ball – which was probably a reflection of how they had rated their own chances of hanging on to their first-half lead.

Ashford took the lead, for the first time in the game, about mid-way through the second period. In the 66^th minute, a long throw from Shaun Welford wasn’t cleared by The Millers’ defence, and Adrianho’s shot from close range was blocked on the line, clearly by a hand, given that a penalty was awarded immediately. There was then a very lengthy and confusing period of play (or lack of it) as Referee Myatt called both left-back Danny Smith and Jason Thompson over to him. First, the Ref booked Smith, and then he showed Thompson a red card. From that, I would guess that Smith was booked for dissent, whilst Thompson was sent off for handling the ball on the line – but it might have been the other way around !  Anyway, the result was that the home skipper was sent trudging back to the dressing room, giving the unusual statistic of both captains in the match scoring a goal and then getting sent off.

Play was then held up for a lengthy debate, led by Jordan Carey, about where the penalty spot actually was. Then the lino on the far side called the Ref over to tell him of something that someone on the Cray Valley bench had said – and so Mr Myatt went off to the touchline to have a word, pointing a threatening finger in the direction of the changing rooms, but otherwise taking no action. After further discussions about the location of the penalty spot, it was fully five minutes before Shaun Welford was able to take the spot kick, and he thumped the ball home with his usual unstoppable power and accuracy. Carey, like Kamurasi earlier, dived the right way, but had no chance of keeping the ball out.

Just three minutes later, Shaun Welford latched onto a through-ball and it looked odds-on that he was going to complete his hat-trick, with only the goalkeeper to beat. He pushed the ball past the on-rushing Carey, who sent him crashing to the turf. It was a stone cold penalty, and it seemed likely that the ‘keeper would become the third player to be shown a red card, (in what was never a dirty or ill-tempered game), but the Ref decided that a yellow card was appropriate. Up stepped Welford to take the penalty. Surely, this would be his hat-trick, now ?!  No !  Amazingly, Shaun thumped his penalty attempt against the crossbar – but Adrian Stone was first to react, and got to the rebound before the Cray Valley defenders, took one touch and then tucked the ball into the net, off the post.

G-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-L !!  A-d-r-i-a-a-a-a-a-n-h-o-o-o-o-o-o-o !!

So that made the score 2-4, and there was just one more goal to come, in an incident-packed match – but the best piece of football in the entire afternoon came in the 77^th minute. Pat Kingwell played a long ball forward to Adrianho, who expertly cushioned a header into the path of Ben Davisson. Ben hit an absolute screamer, and it would have ended up in the roof of the net, but for a brilliant save by Carey, who tipped the ball over the bar.

But Shaun Welford was not to be denied his third hat-trick of the season – and probably the umpteenth of his career – and it came in trademark Welford fashion, in the 79^th minute. Dave Botterill, who, like Pat Kingwell, has a demeanour on the field that confirms that he has played at a higher level, whipped in a left-footed cross, from a corner on the right, which actually went straight into the net – although the Ref had already stopped play to have a word with a Cray Valley defender. So Botterill repeated the cross, and, this time, Welford charged in and headed home, from about three yards out, with the ‘keeper nowhere.

That was Shaun Welford’s 72^nd goal for Ashford, and his 35^th of the current season. That means that Welfs needs just 13 more goals, in a minimum of 14 matches, to break Stuart Zanone’s iconic all-time Ashford record of 47 in a season.

Once a three-goal cushion had been established, Danny Lye took the opportunity to make some substitutions, with Dan Stubbs replacing Rory Hill in the 80^th minute and Luke Eldridge being sent on in place of Adrianho in the 83^rd minute. Shaun Welford was eventually substituted with 90 minutes of normal time completed – shortly after he had come close to scoring his fourth goal, and Ashford’s sixth, with a great header from a Ben Davisson corner, only to see his effort, from 15 yards out, saved by Carey. Welford’s substitution gave Brett Ince the opportunity to play out the six minutes that the Referee added on at the end.

So The Nuts & Bolts went back to the top of the SCEFL, although, in spite of having won 21 of their 26 league games so far, they still have plenty of work to do to finish ahead of Crowborough Athletic, who are just a point behind, with a game in hand.

One other point about Ashford’s two matches against Cray Valley PM this week is that the two sides are due to meet in the Final of the Kent Senior Trophy, on the 9^th of April – and, on the evidence of this week’s matches, it is difficult to imagine The Millers preventing Ashford United from winning their first silverware.

Tunbridge Wells v Ashford United. Southern Counties East League. 17th of December 2016.

Tunbridge Wells 0    

Ashford United 5

 

From Ashford United’s Milton Keynes Correspondent

A week before Christmas, with Ashford United leading the Southern Counties East League by a point, and it was off to one of my favourite fixtures – Tunbridge Wells away. I don’t know why it’s one of my favourites; maybe it’s because the Culverden Stadium is a proper footy ground, and, with Ashford United and Tunbridge Wells being two of the best supported teams in the league, there is always a decent crowd and a good atmosphere.

Usually, it is a competitive affair, with both clubs near the top of the table, but, strangely, Wells have struggled this season, and began the day only a few places off the bottom. In contrast, there was the possibility for Ashford to have a significant day in their push for the championship, with our nearest rivals, Crowborough Athletic and Sevenoaks Town, both in seemingly unstoppable form, playing each other.

It is not by mere chance, however, that I omitted to describe Ashford’s quest as a “promotion push”, given that Ashford United’s name was conspicuous by its absence from the list of clubs that had applied for promotion to Step 4 of the football pyramid, when the list of applicants was released, last week. The Management has very quickly announced an intention to appeal against this omission, but I will not be using the “P” word until the situation is resolved.

What was foremost in my mind, this morning, as I headed down the M1 – on a coach, for the first time ever for a footy trip – was how the players might react to the prospect of promotion being out of reach for another season, especially with so much geared towards “Project Promotion”, this time around. The signs yesterday had been very encouraging, with Ashford actually bringing in an extra player, from Ryman League Hythe Town. This was Ben Wilson, a 24 year-old left-back. This certainly delivered a strong message of “business as usual” to the fans, although I was initially concerned that Wilson’s addition to the squad might be at the expense of Frazer Walker, who had played on the left side of the defence in the previous four games. This was because I had been looking forward to announcing that Frazer is (probably) the first footballer to be named after two “Dad’s Army” characters. (There – I’ve said it). Maybe, I thought, The Management was just fearful of any talk of “We’re doomed !”.

As it turned out, Frazer not only appeared on parade this afternoon, but also retained his place in the starting line-up, in which the most notable absentees were Stuart West and Ben Davisson. (Ben was, nevertheless, present at the ground).

So, a reassuringly strong and familiar Ashford United line-up had George Kamurasi in goal, with Ryan James in central defence alongside Pat Kingwell, (who led the side today, in West’s absence), and Savage George and Private Walker on either side of them. Michael Phillips started in central midfield, with Dave Botterill, with the in-form Ryan Palmer on the right wing and Rory Hill, one of the players of the season, on the left. I am also delighted to report that my old hero, Adrian Stone, made his first start for Ashford United since his return to Homelands, up front with Shaun Welford.

On the bench, as well as new boy Ben Wilson – who is himself named after a member of the “Dad’s Army” platoon – were the assorted attacking options of Luke Miller, Luke Eldridge and Brett Ince. Danny Lye also named himself as a sub.

I was interested to see who might be in the Tunbridge Wells line-up, given the club’s poor showing in the SCEFL this season – and was a little surprised to note the names of Perry Spackman and Jon Pilbeam, two of the heroes of that famous run to the FA Vase Final in 2013. Pilbeam is particularly a class act, and has played for Folkestone Invicta, among others, this season, since his brief spell with Ashford United in 2015-16, (when he scored two goals in five appearances, only one of which lasted for the full 90 minutes).

Although the air was pretty clear in Milton Keynes when the National Express coach left the city, at 9.35am, we hadn’t travelled very far south before it became fairly misty – and the mist was present for the remainder of the journey, and for the duration of today’s game.

But there was nothing dull about Ashford United’s performance, this afternoon. In fact, it was thoroughly polished, and the three points on offer were wrapped up by a first-half display that was as close to being perfect as you are ever likely to see. The home side looked outclassed and outgunned, but the whole Ashford team deserves credit for dominating a first 45 minutes during which they played good, controlled football, and barely gave Wells a sniff of a chance. At the other end, they always looked likely to score goals, with wingers Ryan Palmer and Rory Hill, and the hard-working Shaun Welford, posing a constant threat. At the end of the first half, Ashford had scored three well-taken goals, which effectively settled the game as a contest. (In fact, the only blot on an otherwise pristine afternoon was the sight of Ryan Palmer and Rory Hill wearing gloves, on what was a fairly mild day, for the time of year – get those bleedin’ gloves off !).

If there were any hint of anxiety or disappointment among the Ashford players, as a result of this week’s off-field issues, or any lack of commitment or purpose, then it was impossible to detect, on today’s performance. It would appear that Danny Lye has a squad that is both powering forward as a well-oiled machine, and unerring in its focus and togetherness. For that, Lyzee deserves a great deal of credit.

Although it was the front men who inevitably caught the eye, today, mention should also be made of Pat Kingwell and Ryan James, in the heart of the visitors’ defence, who glided through the game, effortlessly managing and snuffing out any offensive move that the home side made.

The prospect of a difficult afternoon for the Tunbridge Wells defence became apparent very early on, when Shaun Welford, in the opening seconds, got behind the home defence, with an expert turn. His first attempt at a cross, from well inside the Wells penalty area, rebounded back to him, after which his low shot was saved by goalkeeper Steve Lawrence. About a minute later, Welford again found his way behind the Tunbridge Wells back line, and had plenty of time to get his head up and measure a cross, from near the by-line. However, his attempted centre was intercepted, and ricocheted to Ryan Palmer, whose shot was blocked, at the expense of a corner.

The noisy band of Ashford supporters, who managed to sing for the entire 90 minutes, and then carried on in the bar afterwards, had a goal to cheer as early as the fifth minute – and this goal was simplicity itself, in its creation and execution. A long clearance from Big George Kamurasi was headed on by Shaun Welford into the path of Rory Hill, who was instantly through on goal, and had no trouble in slotting the ball past Lawrence.

As well as having scored 59 goals for Ashford, in a little under a season and a half, at the start of the day, Shaun Welford also demonstrates exemplary fitness and work rate. In the ninth minute, he popped up on the right flank, after a good team move, and sent in another dangerous cross. He found Rory Hill, well beyond the far post, whose controlled volley went straight at the ‘keeper, who nevertheless saved well.

On the right wing, Ryan Palmer was making left-back Ollie Black’s life a misery, seeming able to go past him at will. In the 19^th minute, Palms beat his man and sent in a cross, aimed at Rory Hill, who was waiting at the far post, but it was just too high for Hill’s diving header. Moments later, it was Rory with the ball at his feet – he managed to beat two defenders, but then blasted his shot across the face of goal.

In the 21^st minute, the inevitable happened, with Black fouling Palmer, preventing him from going past him once again, down the right, and this earned the Wells defender a good ticking off from the referee. The man in charge had an excellent game, keeping his cards in his pocket. A minute later, it was Rory Hill’s turn to be fouled, and the ref had some more work to do when Hill reacted angrily – again, good man management won the day. The foul did present Ashford with a free-kick, right on the edge of the Wells penalty area, which Hill took himself – whipping his shot over the four-man wall, but just wide of goal.

It was good to see Mickey Phillips orchestrating operations from central midfield – especially given that he managed to complete a 90-minute shift, in spite of appearing to be singled out with some heavy late tackles early on. A regular outlet for Phillips was Ryan Palmer, and the former club captain fed Palms, on the right, in the 24^th minute. The right-winger was again faced by Ollie Black, but, this time, he checked and pulled the ball back to Dave Botterill, whose deep cross found Adrian Stone – but Adrianho managed no more than a tame shot, straight at Steve Lawrence.

The afternoon soon improved for Adrianho, however, when, in the 28^th minute, the former Ashford Town favourite scored his first goal since his return to us – in what was to be his first full 90 minutes. The opportunity was instigated by a Mickey Phillips cross, from the right, which found the head of Rory Hill, who came flying in from the left wing. He connected well with his header, but his effort was somehow blocked on the line. The ball broke to Adrianho, who had the composure to pick his spot, before thumping the ball home.

G-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-L !!  A-d-r-i-a-a-a-a-a-n-h-o-o-o-o-o-o-o !!

Ashford went further ahead in the 31^st minute, and it was no surprise to see Shaun Welford getting onto the scoresheet yet again. Savage George, the right-back, went on a good run through the Tunbridge Wells half, and slid the ball through to Welford, in the inside-right channel. Attempting a cross from the by-line, the Assistant Manager appealed for a penalty as the ball hit the defender’s hand – but the lino was unmoved. However, Welfs was soon placated, when he was able to rise above the Wells defence and get on the end of the resulting corner, with a trademark downward header. Steve Lawrence managed to get something on the ball, but was unable to prevent it from going into the net. It’s not easy to keep up with Welford’s scoring, but that’s now 23 goals for the season. When Shaun was pulled off at half time – I will rephrase that. When Shaun was substituted at half time, he had scored 60 goals at a rate of 82 minutes per goal, which is comfortably better than a goal a game.

Welford’s strike partner, Adrian Stone, continued to have chances. In the 38^th minute, he tried a low, right-footed shot from about the edge of the area, which was just wide, taking a slight nick off a defender. Two minutes later, a diagonal ball from inside the Ashford half by Ryan James, who, very thoughtfully, in the mist, was wearing luminous, green boots, put Adrianho through on goal – but his low shot was easily saved by the ‘keeper.

The first glimmer of a chance for the home side didn’t present itself until the 41^st minute, and this came as a result of a rare mistake by Pat Kingwell. As a Tunbridge Wells attack reached the edge of the Ashford United penalty area, Kingwell slightly mistimed his tackle on the home side’s No.15, (who had sneaked on as a substitute, unannounced, from the mist-shrouded benches, on the far side). The resulting free-kick, in a central position, was taken by Jon Pilbeam, whose shot was deflected off the defensive wall, and onto the post, with George Kamurasi a mere spectator.

A minute before half time, Shaun Welford almost made it four, when he came steaming in from the left, to meet a deep Ryan Palmer cross – but his header was deflected wide. That was the final significant action of the half, in which a thoroughly impressive performance by Ashford appeared to have ensured that they would be top of the SCEFL for Christmas.

By far the biggest threat to Ashford leaving The Culverden with the three points was the gathering fog. Visibility was definitely reduced during the second period, making it difficult to identify players on the far side, but it never really looked likely that the game would be abandoned. (I later discovered that two other games in the SCEFL that were being played in the Weald of Kent, this afternoon, at Homelands and at Beasted, were abandoned !).

With the match effectively settled in the first 45 minutes, both teams can probably be forgiven for letting the intensity of the game drop slightly in the second half. Ashford certainly afforded themselves the luxury of making a couple of substitutions at the break, with Luke Miller replacing Shaun Welford, and Ben Wilson making his début, in place of Frazer Walker; (I just love that “Dad’s Army” connection). Wilson immediately looked a good player, although it’s probably not surprising that a Ryman League player should so easily slot into a winning team at this level. To emphasise his immediate impact on the Ashford fans, Ben had his own song, within about half an hour of coming on !

As both teams appeared to be going through the motions, to some extent, there was more time to sit with hands in pockets, as the temperature gradually fell. The only chances of note prior to Ashford’s fourth goal, which came in the 67^th minute, were a glancing header wide of goal by Ryan James, from a Mickey Phillips corner, in the 58^th minute, and a long-range shot by Pat Kingwell, in the 66^th minute, which was wide.

United’s fourth goal was scored by Ryan Palmer, his fourth goal in as many games, having failed to score in his twelve previous appearances. Adrianho ran onto a chip over the Tunbridge Wells defence, and, well inside the 18-yard box, passed up the chance of having a shot and pulled the ball back to Palmer – who shot hard and low, into the far corner of the net.

In the 69^th minute, with the fog thickening, an unidentifiable player – I think it was Adrianho – beat two Tunbridge Wells players, before getting in a shot, from inside the Wells area, which was blocked by Lawrence at his near post. Seconds later, Danny Lye made his final substitution, replacing Rory Hill with Luke Eldridge. Unhelpfully, Luke has now been shorn of his blond ponytail, creating the potential for confusion with Ben Wilson – who has a Luke Eldridge-style blond ponytail !

There were some opportunities for Tunbridge Wells to grab a consolation goal, with George Kamurasi having to do some work to maintain a precious clean sheet. In the 79^th minute, substitute Luke Carpenter took a corner, on the right. Wells skipper Tom Bryant came flying across the penalty area, and met the low cross (almost) perfectly, flicking the ball goalwards with his right foot, but hitting the bar. Three minutes later, Jon Pilbeam sent in a good shot, on the turn, which Kamurasi gathered well, low down.

Just a minute before time, Wells had an even better chance to pull a goal back, and it was again Jon Pilbeam who showed his class with a well-balanced turn & shot, after a good Tunbridge Wells move. This time, George Kamurasi had to make an even better save, the ball breaking to Ryan Crandley, who blasted wide when he really should have scored.

Just prior to this, in the 86^th minute, it was Ashford who nearly added to their total, when, after a not exceptionally fast break, Mickey Phillips, Luke Miller and Ryan Palmer found themselves with a 3 v 2 situation, with Tunbridge Wells strangely exposed at the back. Phillips passed to Miller, and Miller laid the ball into the path of Ryan Palmer, on his right, whose low shot was well saved by the ‘keeper.

But it wasn’t long before the visitors completed their afternoon’s work with a fifth goal, which didn’t flatter them, given the dominance of their performance – and it was Ben Wilson who rounded off an impressive first appearance with a goal, in the first minute of injury time. Luke Miller, from well inside the Tunbridge Wells penalty area, and to the left of goal, laid the ball back to Wilson, who was joining the attack from defence. The ex-Hythe Town man hit a good shot, which hit the post. Strangely, the rebound went to Miller, who returned the ball to Wilson, so that he could have another go !  This time, Ben eyed up the opposite side if the goal – and drilled his shot into the far corner.

An excellent day for Ashford United improved further with the news that, at a misty Greatness Park, the Sevenoaks v Crowborough game had finished 1-1, meaning that both of Ashford’s rivals had dropped points. Sheppey United managed to lose 2-1 at Cray Valley PM, and so Ashford will be four points clear at the top of the table when they travel to play Sheppey on Boxing Day.