Eastbourne Town 0 Ashford Town 2
from Your Milton Keynes Correspondent
So we travel down to the Sussex coast for the penultimate game of the season, with the only issue to be settled being that of which mid-table berth we will eventually occupy. Normally, we’d expect there to be a rather end-of-term atmosphere surrounding this game, but, in these troubled times, it currently feels more like the lull before the summer storm. As well as Ashford Town’s own behind-the-scenes troubles, it is widely expected that there will be several football clubs from up and down the non-league pyramid – and beyond – who will either go into administration, be demoted a league or two, or go out of business altogether, and all as a result of off-the-field financial problems. With the full effects, on club chairmen, directors and sponsors, of the current economic recession probably yet to be felt, there is no way of knowing how many gaps and vacancies will be created above and below us, and next season’s divisional line-ups are anybody’s guess.
It is, of course, now well understood that fans of Ashford Town do not look upon the plight of others with detached sympathy, since the bell may well toll for our own club before the summer is out. I don’t know what goes on in the Boardroom at The Homelands - and it’s none of my business – but a few showers have already broken out, ahead of the main storm front. I reckon we noticed the first spots of rain on a Tuesday evening in Whitstable. After a run of 15 matches unbeaten, there was a sudden loss of form, which first became apparent during that crushing 4-1 defeat on the North Kent coast. Performances on the pitch got steadily worse, with only the occasional improved showing to mask the general trend, culminating in that dreadful defensive display at home to Corinthian-Casuals, which resulted in a 1-5 defeat. That shocking showing was put into perspective by the Casuals’ next result, just two days later, when they lost 0-5 at home to Croydon Athletic !
The point about these heavy defeats is that they happened in the face of some very ordinary opposition – and they befell a squad of players that has consistently shown this season that they are more than a match for any team in this division. In other words, there were all the signs that something was up! In most sports, strife and discontent off the pitch often manage to filter through and affect performance on the pitch – and lo ! There were soon revelations of a Boardroom split, and of fresh claims that there are still considerable sums of money owed to HM’s Ruthless Revenue. Most significant of all, in terms of what really concerns us fans – i.e. what happens on the pitch – was last week’s news in the local Press that Ashford’s players haven’t been paid for several weeks. Aha !
I don’t know how this is all going to end. I’m no expert on aviation, but I suspect that, when you’re flying high and the wheels come off, you can expect a rough landing ! All we can do, as fans, is to adopt the brace position, and ride out the turbulence that will soon come our way – and, of course, carry on supporting the team next season, regardless of who happens to be running the Club, who is wearing the green & white shirt, and which league we happen to be playing in !
I use the term “we” in the hope and (guarded) expectation that the merry band of Ashford people that has supported the team home and away this season will continue to do so – even if ambitions and playing budget are both going to be scaled down in the future. The level of support at away matches has been one of the high points of what has ultimately been a very disappointing season – and there was another good turn-out from the town today, in a crowd of 208.
This was actually just a little more than our hosts’ average league gate of 176, which is a very respectable average, considering that Eastbourne Town are currently in only their second season at this level, and the fact that this is one of THREE senior teams in the town; (Eastbourne Borough are mid-table in the Conference, whilst Eastbourne United Association currently top the Sussex league – but have declined to apply for eligibility for promotion to the Ryman League). Eastbourne Town have acquitted themselves well again this season, and were lying in 12th, just two points behind Ashford, at the start of today’s game, having finished 19th in their debut season.
Their ground isn’t one that meets with universal approval from visiting fans. This is partly due to the fact that the football stadium is tightly wedged into a corner of The Saffrons, a famous old sports complex that also caters for cricket, hockey, bowls and croquet, (and probably one or two other sports besides). The most common complaint appears to be that the only seated accommodation consists of a small, low block of blue plastic seats, behind one goal, and its one open side can be pretty draughty when the wind blows across the cricket ground, with only a porous, wooden fence between the dug outs and the mid-wicket boundary.
Although it’s all a bit odd, as a venue for footy, I like it. This is partly because I have fond childhood memories of popping down on the train to watch County Cricket matches – but I mainly like it for the scenic backdrop. Just as the French Derby is run with Chantilly Château in the background, and South Africa play cricket in the shadow of Table Mountain, Eastbourne Town’s ground is overlooked by Eastbourne Town Hall. This is a magnificent Victorian building, with a domed clock tower housing a clock which chimes on the quarter hour. In fact, the whole scene is very “unSittingbourne”.
There was a nice atmosphere in the ground today. Although the stiffish breeze was plenty fresh enough, it was a bright, sunny afternoon, and this reflected the mood of the party of Ashford Town fans, who were determined to enjoy the final R&J Coaches away day of the season. I should also say that the mood among the Ashford players and Management betrayed no hint of there being any behind-the-scenes problems at the Club. If it’s true that the players have not been paid of late, then it’s to the great credit of all concerned that they came across today as being a relaxed and coherent unit, and actually played some pleasing, flowing football which was as good as I’ve seen all season. It’s true that the Eastbourne players probably had half their mind on their summer holidays, but the fact that they rarely threatened the Ashford goal was still mostly due to a very solid performance by the back four of Jimmy Elford, Sean Ray and the two Brathwaite brothers – and also to a fairly commanding performance from Josh Willis, which included one or two very good saves.
There were few surprises in the line-up in front of the back five; the midfield consisted of Tony Browne on the right, Ryan Briggs and Danny Lye in the centre and Mitchell Sherwood on the left; Paul Jones was partnered by Craig Wilkins, up front. On the bench, we had Seb Barton, (who now seems to have been properly relegated to the role of No.2 goalkeeper), Charlie Glyde, Stanley Muguo, Jimmy Bottle and Nick Lovell – with brother Mark looking on, in the crowd.
The one familiar face in the Eastbourne Town line-up was their Skipper, Danny Simmonds, who was one of 48 players used by Ashford during the troubled 2005-6 season, when we finished 21st in the division; (this season, we’ve used only 31 players).
Ashford played up the slope in the first half, with the breeze blowing from right to left, as they went forward. The first attempt on goal of the match was made by the visitors, in the opening minute, when Mitchell Sherwood squared the ball to Ryan Briggs, who was well outside the penalty area. Briggs showed a disappointingly poor technique, skying his shot well over the bar. Ashford Manager Steve Lovell illustrated the light-hearted undertone to the game, as well as the harmless nature of the goal attempt, when he then shouted: “Have a shot, Briggo !!”. It raised smiles all round, but, in truth, Referee Austin might well have booked Briggo for time-wasting !
Eastbourne’s Jamie Salvidge had a weak shot, across the face of goal, in the fifth minute, but then, in the ninth, Ashford put together a move which really typified the freedom with which the players were playing this afternoon. The move went from left to right, rather like a passing movement in rugby, on the edge of the Eastbourne penalty area. It involved Paul Jones, then Daniel Brathwaite, then Craig Wilkins, who was then “guilty” of a pass that went slightly forward, to Tony Browne, who was just inside the area. The Browne Dog hit his shot firmly, from close range, but goalkeeper Russ Tanner did well to block the attempt.
The home side, playing in yellow shirts and royal blue shorts and sockies, had a corner which came to nothing, in the eleventh minute, but then had a rather better chance in the 18th. This came about as a result of Sean Ray, who otherwise had another excellent game in the centre of Ashford’s defence, gifting the ball to Gary Brockwell, inside his own half. Brockwell, in his 8th start of the season for Eastbourne, went haring off down the left flank, but Ray had recovered to cut out his eventual cross, as the near post. This resulted in a corner, on the left, after which the resulting cross was somehow flipped over the bar by the Ashford defence, for another corner, on the same side. Again, the ball was curled into the six-yard box, and Mitchell Sherwood had to make the clearance, with his back to the post he was guarding.
A couple of minutes later, Danny Simmonds tried a shot from an improbable distance. This looked to be a completely harmless effort, but Simmonds’ shot deflected off Sean Ray and fell fortuitously into the path of Peter Cooper. Suddenly, this became a clear-cut chance, with Cooper only having Josh Willis to beat, but Josh made an excellent save with his feet.
In the 24th minute, Ashford launched a flowing break, which went from the right side of the pitch to the left, and ended with Craig Wilkins finding Mitchell Sherwood, on the overlap. Mitch had space to run into, and just one defender to beat. He did the more difficult thing, showing good, natural foot-work, to go past the last man, but then, with the goalkeeper at his mercy, he rather tentatively chipped his shot over the bar. This was rather typical of a young man who seems to have long lost his confidence in front of goal; (that cracking volley into the back of the net at Walton & Hersham notwithstanding).
Danny Lye showed Mitch how it should be done, when he put Ashford ahead, in the 32nd minute. Daniel Brathwaite was the provider, from the left flank, picking out Lye with a low cross. With his back to goal, in the penalty area, Danny took one touch to control and turn, and then hit the ball firmly into the net, just inside the post, with his second touch. This was a hugely popular goal with the Ashford faithful – it was Danny’s fourth goal of the season, in what was his final game, given that he’ll be suspended for the game at home to Kingstonian, next Saturday.
Just two minutes later, Daniel Brathwaite had a good chance to make it 0-2. I must confess that I was still scribbling down the details of Danny Lye’s goal when I looked up to find that Brathers had been put through on goal, on the edge of the six-yard box, with just the ‘keeper to beat – but he didn’t quite have the striker’s nous to make it count.
Ashford continued to knock the ball around nicely, using both wide midfielders well. With just a couple of minutes remaining before the interval, a good period of pressure from the team in green & white culminated in the ball being spread wide, to Tony Browne. The Browne Dog showed a great piece of control, to bring it down, then chipped in a carefully measured cross – Danny Lye had again got himself forward, into a dangerous position, but his diving header was well caught by ‘keeper Russ Tanner.
So Ashford went in at the break just the one goal up – but it wasn’t long before they went further ahead. Just three minutes into the second half, the ball was fed in to Paul Jones, from the right touchline. Jonah was inside the penalty area, with his back to goal, so wasn’t immediately a threat to the Eastbourne goal. Nevertheless, his marker, Ben Putland, upended him in spectacular fashion. With Jones’s legs flailing in the breeze, this was the easiest decision that the referee had to make all afternoon – (although he had made quite a few very strange ones, including ending the first half after just 44 minutes and 45 seconds). So no doubt about the penalty award, and no argument about who would take the kick for Ashford, given that Mitchell Sherwood is reputed to have never missed a spot-kick in his life ! For those of us looking on, there’s always the nagging doubt that, well, surely he’s got to miss one eventually – but this never seems to enter Mitchell’s head, and he strolled up to the ball and side-footed it firmly into the top corner of the net. It was a wonderfully taken penalty, and chalked up a thirteenth goal of the season for the wide midfielder.
Although a proportion of these goals has come from the penalty spot, this total is still quite an achievement, considering the position in which he plays. During the past four seasons, only Paul Jones (who has top-scored with 15 this season) and George Fenwick (with his 18 in the 2006-7 season) have managed as many goals as this. Although I’ve always thought that Tony Browne is a better all-round player of the two, there’s no arguing with Mitch’s goal-scoring record, (and it is actually 18-3 to Mitch, over the past two seasons). However, the misgivings about the flaws in Mitchell’s game were then illustrated, just four minutes after he had put Ashford 0-2 ahead. Good work from Paul Jones and Tony Browne on the right ended with a cross finding Craig Wilkins, in the centre. Wilko quietly showed some very good touches this afternoon, and one of them was to now cushion a header down, to put Mitch through on goal. Would that superbly taken penalty have given Mitch the confidence to put his foot through the ball, and lash it into the net ? No, unfortunately. The tentative Mitchell Sherwood was back, and he again chipped the ball tamely over the bar. He might well have had a hat-trick this afternoon.
Another Ashford man who might have had three goals today was Danny Lye. In the 61st minute, Daniel Brathwaite played a long one-two with Sherwood, which took him from the half-way line to a few yards from the left corner flag. Daniel’s cross was a good one, and Lye got up well, but his header went just wide of the far post. Two minutes later, a deft, headed flick-on by Craig Wilkins set Paul Jones off, running into the penalty area; Jonah tried to poke the ball over Russ Tanner’s head, but the goalie made a good save. From the resulting corner, delivered by Ryan Briggs, Tony Browne was the first to the ball, at the near post, but his header went well wide.
Soon after Eastbourne’s Jamie Salvidge had sent a glancing header wide, and across the face of goal, it was time for Steve Lovell to make the first of his three substitutions, and he replaced Tony Browne with Charlie Glyde, in the 69th minute. This was quite an orthodox replacement, with Charlie taking up a position on the left side of midfield, and the right-footed Mitch Sherwood coming across to the right, but the second substitution, five minutes later, saw Paul Jones being replaced by Stanley Muguo, in a more surprising one-for-one swap up front.
Ashford never really looked like having their two-goal lead reduced, in spite of the home side showing plenty of attacking endeavour. Shortly before the withdrawal of Paul Jones, Jamie Salvidge had pulled a shot across the face of goal, from the left corner of the Ashford six-yard box, and, in the 76th minute, a foul by Daniel Brathwaite on full-back Luke Denton gave Eastbourne a free-kick, just outside the penalty area - but Gary Brockwell lifted his shot over the Ashford wall, and over the bar. Then, with ten minutes of normal time remaining, Adam Davidson put a good ball down the line for Brockwell to chase; Brockwell found Jamie Salvidge, with a good, square ball, but Salvidge was unable to salvage anything for his team, as he fluffed his shot.
In the 83rd minute, Elloitt Brathwaite went down, injured, after attempting to clear the ball from inside his own six-yard area. This provided the perfect opportunity for Jimmy Bottle to be introduced, for a late, cameo appearance. Immediately, Jimmy displayed his biggest asset – his pace. He went on a run down the left touchline, which took him all the way to the corner flag; he rounded the corner flag, and made his way along the by-line, past the area of seating behind the goal and out through the players’ entrance. He’d left his shirt in the dressing room !
Eventually, Elliott made his way to the dug out - apparently none the worse, in spite of having had fairly lengthy treatment on the pitch – and Jimmy actually made his entrance in the 86th minute, taking up a position on the right wing. This meant that Craig Wilkins dropped back into central defence, and a, by now, fairly threadbare Ashford squad ended the game with Mitch Sherwood partnering Stanley Muguo in attack.
The final chance of the game fell to the home side, in the third minute of injury time. An alleged hand-ball by Sean Ray provided Danny Simmonds with the opportunity of a free-kick, on the edge of the Ashford penalty area. He managed to curl the ball around the defensive wall, but was unable to grab a consolation goal against his former club, as Josh Willis capped a solid performance with a good catch.
Whilst the R&J Coaches Party prepared to end the season of away games with a pub crawl on the way back to Ashford, the team left the district of Eastbourne known as Little Chelsea with three points, which were enough to keep us in eighth place. With one game remaining, we can finish no higher than seventh, but no lower than tenth.
Elsewhere, Kingstonian beat Dulwich Hamlet 2-1 at home, in front of a crowd of 558. This victory ensured that the K’s are promoted as Champions – and that crowd has lifted them to the top of the attendances table for the division, with a final average home gate of 335. This relegates Ashford to second place in this table, with our average currently standing at 312 – but with the visit of the Champions to come on the season’s final day, next Saturday. I was rather hoping – entirely selfishly, on my Club’s behalf – that Kingstonian would be going to The Homelands with something still to play for, to ensure a bumper final crowd. (Come to that, I was hoping that Ashford would have something still to play for come this final game – but that’s all history now).
Let’s hope that our visitors at least make the trip with the intention of having an end-of-season party, so that it is, nevertheless, a great occasion. Afterwards, we can turn our attention to awaiting news of the various developments over the summer that will decide the Club’s immediate future – and await them with considerable interest, to say the least.
Man of the Match
(to go towards the Milton Keynes Bowl)
Danny Lye
Sunday, 19 April 2009
Sunday, 29 March 2009
Walton & Hersham v Ashford Town. Ryman Division One South. 28th of March 2009.
Walton & Hersham 2 Ashford Town 2
from Your Milton Keynes Correspondent
This was a hugely frustrating game to witness. After almost an hour’s play, Ashford were well in control, with a two-goal lead, with a poor Walton & Hersham side having failed to be of any threat to Seb Barton’s goal – but The Swans somehow managed to get back into the game, to share the points. However, Ashford’s travelling fans must have been cheered by a cracking goal from Mitchell Sherwood, which is probably the Goal of the Season, from what I’ve seen.
A few weeks ago, when the boys were pushing hard for a promotion spot, we would have been gnashing our teeth over the needless dropping of two points, but the current reality, with six games of the season (including this one) remaining, is that any faint hope of promotion via the play-offs was effectively ended by the 1-1 draw at Chipstead in mid-week – so all that is really at stake now for Ashford Town is whether we eventually finish 7th, 8th, 9th or 10th. Today we travelled to Walton-on-Thames with a determination to enjoy what remains of the season, given that, after Wednesday’s news of a seemingly irreparable rift in the boardroom, it’s not certain who will be leading us, on and off the pitch, come August. In spite of there being no official Supporters’ Club coach party to today’s game, there were still plenty of fans who made the trip from Ashford – which was just as well for our hosts, as otherwise the official attendance of 101 might have been even more embarrassing.
It was sad to see such a meagre smattering of people at the Sports Ground, Stompond Lane, since Walton & Hersham FC used to be a big club in non-league circles, and they were in the Ryman Premier Division just a couple of seasons ago. Nowadays, the club is barely bigger than local rivals Walton Casuals, certainly in terms of league position (14th, as opposed to 18th) and average league attendance, (132 plays 103). Whilst The Casuals have conspicuously modest facilities, Walton & Hersham has a ground that provides echoes of a more glorious past. Apart from having a decent-sized main stand, for this level, there are eight steps of concrete terracing on the opposite side of the pitch, which is covered for the entire length of the pitch. It isn’t difficult to imagine football being played here to huge crowds, in past decades.
It’s not a ground that pleases everyone, though. The main feature, a six-lane running track around the pitch, means that the crowd is separated from the playing area, and, in spite of there being a curved area of terracing at one end of the running track, it’s not realistic for traditionalists to watch the game from behind either of the goals. This is partly because of the presence of various bits of kit belonging to Walton Athletics Club, such as a hammer throwing safety cage, high jump mattresses, etc. Our elevated position at the back of the main stand afforded a good view of proceedings – which was a pleasant change to the worm’s eye view that we often have in the Ryman League. It was also a cosy place to shelter from the chilly, blustery breeze this afternoon, which rivalled the cold wind that’s currently emanating from the Ashford Town boardroom.
One bonus of travelling to footy in Walton-on-Thames is that it provides the perfect excuse to have lunch at “The Weir”, a pub by the banks of the river, at the end of the lane that leads to Walton Casuals’ ground. In fact, “The Weir” is now the watering-hole of choice for all venues in South West London, including the two Walton teams, the Met. Police, Corinthian Casuals and Kingstonian. Come back, Molesey ! All is forgiven !
Steve Lovell named the same team that played out the majority of the 1-1 draw at Chipstead on Tuesday: Seb Barton in goal, a back four of Jimmy Elford, Sean Ray, Craig Wilkins and Daniel Brathwaite, a midfield quartet of Mitchell Sherwood, Ryan Briggs, Stanley Muguo and Charlie Glyde, and Paul Jones and Shawn Beveney in attack. Substitutes today were Josh Willis, Elliott Brathwaite, Tony Browne and Orlando Smith. The injured Danny Lye and Jimmy Bottle – (Jimmy reckons that he’s about a week away from making a return) – were also in attendance.
With broken cloud and patches of blue sky overhead, early exchanges were fairly scrappy, with the home side unable to put anything resembling a passing movement together, and Ashford, in spite of having the majority of possession, not faring much better. The quality of the play certainly wasn’t helped by the very bumpy playing surface, which made on-the-deck football difficult. The visitors, playing in their green & white home kit, with Walton & Hersham in red shirts, red shorts and white sockies – it was a curiosity of today’s match that there were 40 white socks out there, worn by the 20 outfield players, and ten black socks, worn by the goalkeepers and the officials – did have a half-chance in the eighth minute. This came from a Ryan Briggs free-kick near the left touchline, halfway inside the Walton half. Briggo sent the ball high and long, into the penalty area. Skipper Sean Ray rose, largely unchallenged, to meet the cross, and headed the ball back across goal, where his defensive partner, Craig Wilkins, headed wide.
In the 19th minute, Ryan Briggs once again had the opportunity to pump the ball into the Walton & Hersham box, with a free-kick that was awarded when Byron Brown clattered Paul Jones from behind. Briggo’s initial ball forward was headed behind for a corner, on the left. This was taken short, to Daniel Brathwaite, whose first-time cross found Charlie Glyde in the area, but Charlie miscued what used to be called a “bicycle kick” in the old days.
Ashford opened the scoring, just as the sun came out, in the 22nd minute. A long free-kick, from inside the Ashford half, skidded off the head of Swans’ captain Jon Boswell, for a corner. Ryan Briggs’ initial cross was headed clear, but was chipped straight back into the penalty area, where Craig Wilkins directed what seemed to be a fairly tame header towards goal. Well, his attempt must have been accurate, as it went beyond the reach of goalkeeper Anthony Hall, and bounced three times before nestling in the far corner of the net. This was Wilko’s eighth goal of the season for Ashford, which is a very creditable contribution, given that he’s played at centre-back for at least half that time.
In the 25th minute, Shawn Beveney did some good work down by the right corner flag, turning past his man, before being pulled back – thanks to the Lino’s flag, Ashford were awarded a free-kick. Sean Ray got up well to meet the resulting cross, on about the six-yard box, and his header went just over the bar – but not without taking a deflection off the head of his marker, so it was an Ashford corner, on the right. This time, the cross was well claimed by Anthony Hall.
As it began to rain, the home side suffered a further reverse, when No.11 Byron Brown limped off, grimacing, to be replaced by Jordan Cheadle, on the left wing.
Charlie Glyde was penalised, with a minute left of the first half, apparently for showing his studs in a challenge on Julien Thompson, near the right touchline, level with his own 18-yard line. This was cause for concern, as Ashford have looked rather vulnerable when defending corners and crosses from free-kicks, but Craig Wilkins managed to deflect Cheadle’s free-kick behind for a corner, on the left, with his eye-brows. The Ashford defence was again unconvincing from the set-piece, as Jon Boswell got up to win a header from the resulting cross, but his effort looped just over the bar. Nevertheless, this was the nearest The Swans came to threatening Seb Barton’s goal in the first half, so Ashford were well worth their 0-1 lead at half time.
The second half began with a flurry of activity. Within the first minute and a half, Mitchell Sherwood had a left-foot shot from outside of the penalty area, which caused Anthony Hall to go down to his left, to make a comfortable diving save; then, at the other end, Julien Thompson shot from a similar distance, but his effort went well over the bar.
Ashford didn’t have to wait long, however, before they scored what appeared to be the clinching goal, even at this early stage. An awkward, bouncing ball, heading in the direction of the Walton & Hersham goal, was dinked over the head of a defender, by Charlie Glyde, to Paul Jones, in a central position. Jonah did something similar, finding Mitch Sherwood, on his right, on the corner of the penalty area. Mitchell hit a screaming volley, which never got more than three feet off the ground, low, into the back of the net. It was a great moment for a lad whose confidence has waned of late. It was also Mitch’s TWELFTH goal of the season – but most of these came before we’d finished our Christmas shopping.
Predictably, Ashford now began to knock the ball around with confidence, and, as the cloud overhead thickened and darkened, things started to look grim for the home side, as a major shellacking looked on the cards. The cry from the few Swans supporters who still care about this old club was: “Come on, make a game of it !”. And they did.
In the 58th minute, Craig Wilkins dealt with a raid down the right by heading the ball back to Seb Barton, but Seb’s despairing dive wasn’t enough to prevent the ball from going out for a corner. This seemingly innocuous incident was probably the turning-point in the match, as it opened the possibility of Ashford once again being embarrassed when defending a corner. It’s difficult to pin-point exactly who, or what, was at fault on this occasion, but the defence failed to effectively clear the initial cross, and, after briefly bouncing around the six-yard box, the ball was thumped into the net. The goal scorer was Julian Owusu-Bekoe, who had just come on as substitute for Scott Hassell whilst Walton & Hersham were preparing to take the corner.
So, with their first recognisable chance of the game, The Swans had brought the score back to 1-2, and there was a game on once again.
Mitchell Sherwood had his afternoon spoilt, in the 66th minute, when he was unlucky to be yellow-carded – this was for an honest tackle, in which he did go slightly over the top of the ball. Seconds later, after Walton & Hersham had replaced Charlie Emery with Jack Watkins, a long ball was launched into the Ashford penalty area, and was put behind for a corner, on the right – so it was again “squeaky bum time” for the defence. The initial cross was headed away by Sean Ray, but was immediately chipped back into the danger area. Seb Barton came for the ball, and lost it, under pressure from the experienced Julien Thompson. Seb sprawled on the ground – which is enough for eight out of ten cats and referees to blow up for a foul – but there was no whistle on this occasion, and Thompson turned towards goal, with the ‘keeper “not at home”. Inevitably, it was skipper Sean Ray who came across to cover at the near post, and turned Thompson’s side-footed shot behind, for another corner. Substitute Jordan Cheadle came across to the right, to swing the ball in with his left foot. Barton came out for the cross, but Sean Ray was there before him, heading the ball clear.
With the home side looking for an equaliser, with a 4-3-3 formation, Steve Lovell’s only substitution saw Orlando Smith replace Shawn Beveney, in a straight swap up front, in the 70th minute – and Walton & Hersham did level the scores, two minutes later. It was, admittedly, a good, incisive move that led to the goal. A quick ball forward was laid off into the path of Julian Owusu-Bekoe, who suddenly had a clear sight of goal; although Seb Barton got fingers to his firm shot, it wasn’t enough to prevent the ball from ending up in the corner of the net.
So it was now 2-2, with plenty of time left, and, although Ashford tried hard to reassert their grip on the game, the genie was out of the bottle, with a suitably encouraged home side now much more difficult to control.
In the 73rd minute, Stanley Muguo, who has looked competent, but hardly the man who is going to transform the effectiveness of our midfield, did well to turn out of a tight spot near the right corner flag, and feed the ball through to Mitch Sherwood. Mitch squared the ball to Charlie Glyde, who was just inside the penalty area, but the ball wouldn’t settle, on the awkward surface, and his left-foot shot went well over the bar. Two minutes later, Sherwood won a corner, on the right, and Charlie Glyde’s left-footed cross slipped through the ‘keeper’s hands, but went out for a corner, on the other side of the pitch. This time, Ryan Briggs’ cross failed to beat the first defender, at the near post.
It would be a slight exaggeration to say that Briggo had a ‘mare this afternoon, but he had a poor game, by the standards of his early-season form. He was badly caught in possession, in the 79th minute, by Jordan Cheadle, who left both Briggs and Muguo trailing in his wake, as he carried the ball through the central midfield area. Cheadle went down rather easily, a few yards outside the Ashford penalty area, but did enough to persuade Referee Alex Groves to blow his whistle, for a free-kick. The substitute took the kick himself, and also went across to take the corner, on the right, after his shot at goal was deflected, over the bar, off Ashford’s defensive wall. Seb Barton came out to collect the resulting cross, and, intercepting the ball above the head of Sean Ray, rather patted it down, and was a shade fortunate to be able to fall on the ball, to gather at the second attempt.
With two minutes of normal time remaining, Ryan Briggs was once again caught in possession in central midfield, and Julian Three-Names was off on a raid on the Ashford goal. He slipped the ball to Zak Graham, on his left, but the No.10 pulled his shot across the face of goal, and wide of the post. A minute later, Briggo had a chance to make amends, with a free-kick, about 25 yards out. Sean Ray challenged for the ball, and challenged again as the ball popped up into the air, but ‘keeper Anthony Hall managed to palm the ball out to safety, for a corner.
So 2-2 it finished, and that made it three successive draws away from home, each time against a team in the bottom half of the table, with Ashford so far failing to win away in 2009. When the final whistle was blown, it was the Walton & Hersham bench and supporters who cheered the loudest – but the Ashford players were later given a rousing reception, as they left the pitch, by the Ashford faithful. The players responded with some applause of their own, in a gesture which seemed to indicate that, whatever is going on behind the closed doors of the Boardroom, in terms of the basics of playing the game and supporting the team, it’s “business as usual”.
As on Tuesday night, Daniel Brathwaite and Sean Ray were strong candidates for Man of the Match – although Razor looked a little flat-footed for Walton & Hersham’s second goal – but Jimmy Elford pipped the pair of them, after another polished performance. With just two away games of the season remaining, the “leader board” for The Milton Keynes Bowl now reads,
Sean Ray 4
Jimmy Elford 3
Daniel Brathwaite 2
Ryan Briggs 2
James Humphreys 2
Paul Jones 2
It may or may not be significant that, of the 21 MoM awards given at away games this season, ten have gone to defenders, with only six going to the men in midfield.
Man of the Match
(to go towards the Milton Keynes Bowl)
Jimmy Elford
from Your Milton Keynes Correspondent
This was a hugely frustrating game to witness. After almost an hour’s play, Ashford were well in control, with a two-goal lead, with a poor Walton & Hersham side having failed to be of any threat to Seb Barton’s goal – but The Swans somehow managed to get back into the game, to share the points. However, Ashford’s travelling fans must have been cheered by a cracking goal from Mitchell Sherwood, which is probably the Goal of the Season, from what I’ve seen.
A few weeks ago, when the boys were pushing hard for a promotion spot, we would have been gnashing our teeth over the needless dropping of two points, but the current reality, with six games of the season (including this one) remaining, is that any faint hope of promotion via the play-offs was effectively ended by the 1-1 draw at Chipstead in mid-week – so all that is really at stake now for Ashford Town is whether we eventually finish 7th, 8th, 9th or 10th. Today we travelled to Walton-on-Thames with a determination to enjoy what remains of the season, given that, after Wednesday’s news of a seemingly irreparable rift in the boardroom, it’s not certain who will be leading us, on and off the pitch, come August. In spite of there being no official Supporters’ Club coach party to today’s game, there were still plenty of fans who made the trip from Ashford – which was just as well for our hosts, as otherwise the official attendance of 101 might have been even more embarrassing.
It was sad to see such a meagre smattering of people at the Sports Ground, Stompond Lane, since Walton & Hersham FC used to be a big club in non-league circles, and they were in the Ryman Premier Division just a couple of seasons ago. Nowadays, the club is barely bigger than local rivals Walton Casuals, certainly in terms of league position (14th, as opposed to 18th) and average league attendance, (132 plays 103). Whilst The Casuals have conspicuously modest facilities, Walton & Hersham has a ground that provides echoes of a more glorious past. Apart from having a decent-sized main stand, for this level, there are eight steps of concrete terracing on the opposite side of the pitch, which is covered for the entire length of the pitch. It isn’t difficult to imagine football being played here to huge crowds, in past decades.
It’s not a ground that pleases everyone, though. The main feature, a six-lane running track around the pitch, means that the crowd is separated from the playing area, and, in spite of there being a curved area of terracing at one end of the running track, it’s not realistic for traditionalists to watch the game from behind either of the goals. This is partly because of the presence of various bits of kit belonging to Walton Athletics Club, such as a hammer throwing safety cage, high jump mattresses, etc. Our elevated position at the back of the main stand afforded a good view of proceedings – which was a pleasant change to the worm’s eye view that we often have in the Ryman League. It was also a cosy place to shelter from the chilly, blustery breeze this afternoon, which rivalled the cold wind that’s currently emanating from the Ashford Town boardroom.
One bonus of travelling to footy in Walton-on-Thames is that it provides the perfect excuse to have lunch at “The Weir”, a pub by the banks of the river, at the end of the lane that leads to Walton Casuals’ ground. In fact, “The Weir” is now the watering-hole of choice for all venues in South West London, including the two Walton teams, the Met. Police, Corinthian Casuals and Kingstonian. Come back, Molesey ! All is forgiven !
Steve Lovell named the same team that played out the majority of the 1-1 draw at Chipstead on Tuesday: Seb Barton in goal, a back four of Jimmy Elford, Sean Ray, Craig Wilkins and Daniel Brathwaite, a midfield quartet of Mitchell Sherwood, Ryan Briggs, Stanley Muguo and Charlie Glyde, and Paul Jones and Shawn Beveney in attack. Substitutes today were Josh Willis, Elliott Brathwaite, Tony Browne and Orlando Smith. The injured Danny Lye and Jimmy Bottle – (Jimmy reckons that he’s about a week away from making a return) – were also in attendance.
With broken cloud and patches of blue sky overhead, early exchanges were fairly scrappy, with the home side unable to put anything resembling a passing movement together, and Ashford, in spite of having the majority of possession, not faring much better. The quality of the play certainly wasn’t helped by the very bumpy playing surface, which made on-the-deck football difficult. The visitors, playing in their green & white home kit, with Walton & Hersham in red shirts, red shorts and white sockies – it was a curiosity of today’s match that there were 40 white socks out there, worn by the 20 outfield players, and ten black socks, worn by the goalkeepers and the officials – did have a half-chance in the eighth minute. This came from a Ryan Briggs free-kick near the left touchline, halfway inside the Walton half. Briggo sent the ball high and long, into the penalty area. Skipper Sean Ray rose, largely unchallenged, to meet the cross, and headed the ball back across goal, where his defensive partner, Craig Wilkins, headed wide.
In the 19th minute, Ryan Briggs once again had the opportunity to pump the ball into the Walton & Hersham box, with a free-kick that was awarded when Byron Brown clattered Paul Jones from behind. Briggo’s initial ball forward was headed behind for a corner, on the left. This was taken short, to Daniel Brathwaite, whose first-time cross found Charlie Glyde in the area, but Charlie miscued what used to be called a “bicycle kick” in the old days.
Ashford opened the scoring, just as the sun came out, in the 22nd minute. A long free-kick, from inside the Ashford half, skidded off the head of Swans’ captain Jon Boswell, for a corner. Ryan Briggs’ initial cross was headed clear, but was chipped straight back into the penalty area, where Craig Wilkins directed what seemed to be a fairly tame header towards goal. Well, his attempt must have been accurate, as it went beyond the reach of goalkeeper Anthony Hall, and bounced three times before nestling in the far corner of the net. This was Wilko’s eighth goal of the season for Ashford, which is a very creditable contribution, given that he’s played at centre-back for at least half that time.
In the 25th minute, Shawn Beveney did some good work down by the right corner flag, turning past his man, before being pulled back – thanks to the Lino’s flag, Ashford were awarded a free-kick. Sean Ray got up well to meet the resulting cross, on about the six-yard box, and his header went just over the bar – but not without taking a deflection off the head of his marker, so it was an Ashford corner, on the right. This time, the cross was well claimed by Anthony Hall.
As it began to rain, the home side suffered a further reverse, when No.11 Byron Brown limped off, grimacing, to be replaced by Jordan Cheadle, on the left wing.
Charlie Glyde was penalised, with a minute left of the first half, apparently for showing his studs in a challenge on Julien Thompson, near the right touchline, level with his own 18-yard line. This was cause for concern, as Ashford have looked rather vulnerable when defending corners and crosses from free-kicks, but Craig Wilkins managed to deflect Cheadle’s free-kick behind for a corner, on the left, with his eye-brows. The Ashford defence was again unconvincing from the set-piece, as Jon Boswell got up to win a header from the resulting cross, but his effort looped just over the bar. Nevertheless, this was the nearest The Swans came to threatening Seb Barton’s goal in the first half, so Ashford were well worth their 0-1 lead at half time.
The second half began with a flurry of activity. Within the first minute and a half, Mitchell Sherwood had a left-foot shot from outside of the penalty area, which caused Anthony Hall to go down to his left, to make a comfortable diving save; then, at the other end, Julien Thompson shot from a similar distance, but his effort went well over the bar.
Ashford didn’t have to wait long, however, before they scored what appeared to be the clinching goal, even at this early stage. An awkward, bouncing ball, heading in the direction of the Walton & Hersham goal, was dinked over the head of a defender, by Charlie Glyde, to Paul Jones, in a central position. Jonah did something similar, finding Mitch Sherwood, on his right, on the corner of the penalty area. Mitchell hit a screaming volley, which never got more than three feet off the ground, low, into the back of the net. It was a great moment for a lad whose confidence has waned of late. It was also Mitch’s TWELFTH goal of the season – but most of these came before we’d finished our Christmas shopping.
Predictably, Ashford now began to knock the ball around with confidence, and, as the cloud overhead thickened and darkened, things started to look grim for the home side, as a major shellacking looked on the cards. The cry from the few Swans supporters who still care about this old club was: “Come on, make a game of it !”. And they did.
In the 58th minute, Craig Wilkins dealt with a raid down the right by heading the ball back to Seb Barton, but Seb’s despairing dive wasn’t enough to prevent the ball from going out for a corner. This seemingly innocuous incident was probably the turning-point in the match, as it opened the possibility of Ashford once again being embarrassed when defending a corner. It’s difficult to pin-point exactly who, or what, was at fault on this occasion, but the defence failed to effectively clear the initial cross, and, after briefly bouncing around the six-yard box, the ball was thumped into the net. The goal scorer was Julian Owusu-Bekoe, who had just come on as substitute for Scott Hassell whilst Walton & Hersham were preparing to take the corner.
So, with their first recognisable chance of the game, The Swans had brought the score back to 1-2, and there was a game on once again.
Mitchell Sherwood had his afternoon spoilt, in the 66th minute, when he was unlucky to be yellow-carded – this was for an honest tackle, in which he did go slightly over the top of the ball. Seconds later, after Walton & Hersham had replaced Charlie Emery with Jack Watkins, a long ball was launched into the Ashford penalty area, and was put behind for a corner, on the right – so it was again “squeaky bum time” for the defence. The initial cross was headed away by Sean Ray, but was immediately chipped back into the danger area. Seb Barton came for the ball, and lost it, under pressure from the experienced Julien Thompson. Seb sprawled on the ground – which is enough for eight out of ten cats and referees to blow up for a foul – but there was no whistle on this occasion, and Thompson turned towards goal, with the ‘keeper “not at home”. Inevitably, it was skipper Sean Ray who came across to cover at the near post, and turned Thompson’s side-footed shot behind, for another corner. Substitute Jordan Cheadle came across to the right, to swing the ball in with his left foot. Barton came out for the cross, but Sean Ray was there before him, heading the ball clear.
With the home side looking for an equaliser, with a 4-3-3 formation, Steve Lovell’s only substitution saw Orlando Smith replace Shawn Beveney, in a straight swap up front, in the 70th minute – and Walton & Hersham did level the scores, two minutes later. It was, admittedly, a good, incisive move that led to the goal. A quick ball forward was laid off into the path of Julian Owusu-Bekoe, who suddenly had a clear sight of goal; although Seb Barton got fingers to his firm shot, it wasn’t enough to prevent the ball from ending up in the corner of the net.
So it was now 2-2, with plenty of time left, and, although Ashford tried hard to reassert their grip on the game, the genie was out of the bottle, with a suitably encouraged home side now much more difficult to control.
In the 73rd minute, Stanley Muguo, who has looked competent, but hardly the man who is going to transform the effectiveness of our midfield, did well to turn out of a tight spot near the right corner flag, and feed the ball through to Mitch Sherwood. Mitch squared the ball to Charlie Glyde, who was just inside the penalty area, but the ball wouldn’t settle, on the awkward surface, and his left-foot shot went well over the bar. Two minutes later, Sherwood won a corner, on the right, and Charlie Glyde’s left-footed cross slipped through the ‘keeper’s hands, but went out for a corner, on the other side of the pitch. This time, Ryan Briggs’ cross failed to beat the first defender, at the near post.
It would be a slight exaggeration to say that Briggo had a ‘mare this afternoon, but he had a poor game, by the standards of his early-season form. He was badly caught in possession, in the 79th minute, by Jordan Cheadle, who left both Briggs and Muguo trailing in his wake, as he carried the ball through the central midfield area. Cheadle went down rather easily, a few yards outside the Ashford penalty area, but did enough to persuade Referee Alex Groves to blow his whistle, for a free-kick. The substitute took the kick himself, and also went across to take the corner, on the right, after his shot at goal was deflected, over the bar, off Ashford’s defensive wall. Seb Barton came out to collect the resulting cross, and, intercepting the ball above the head of Sean Ray, rather patted it down, and was a shade fortunate to be able to fall on the ball, to gather at the second attempt.
With two minutes of normal time remaining, Ryan Briggs was once again caught in possession in central midfield, and Julian Three-Names was off on a raid on the Ashford goal. He slipped the ball to Zak Graham, on his left, but the No.10 pulled his shot across the face of goal, and wide of the post. A minute later, Briggo had a chance to make amends, with a free-kick, about 25 yards out. Sean Ray challenged for the ball, and challenged again as the ball popped up into the air, but ‘keeper Anthony Hall managed to palm the ball out to safety, for a corner.
So 2-2 it finished, and that made it three successive draws away from home, each time against a team in the bottom half of the table, with Ashford so far failing to win away in 2009. When the final whistle was blown, it was the Walton & Hersham bench and supporters who cheered the loudest – but the Ashford players were later given a rousing reception, as they left the pitch, by the Ashford faithful. The players responded with some applause of their own, in a gesture which seemed to indicate that, whatever is going on behind the closed doors of the Boardroom, in terms of the basics of playing the game and supporting the team, it’s “business as usual”.
As on Tuesday night, Daniel Brathwaite and Sean Ray were strong candidates for Man of the Match – although Razor looked a little flat-footed for Walton & Hersham’s second goal – but Jimmy Elford pipped the pair of them, after another polished performance. With just two away games of the season remaining, the “leader board” for The Milton Keynes Bowl now reads,
Sean Ray 4
Jimmy Elford 3
Daniel Brathwaite 2
Ryan Briggs 2
James Humphreys 2
Paul Jones 2
It may or may not be significant that, of the 21 MoM awards given at away games this season, ten have gone to defenders, with only six going to the men in midfield.
Man of the Match
(to go towards the Milton Keynes Bowl)
Jimmy Elford
Wednesday, 25 March 2009
Chipstead v Ashford Town, Ryman League Division One South, 24th of March 2009.
Chipstead 1 Ashford Town 1
from Your Milton Keynes Food Critic
It was in the Surrey village of Chipstead that it all began, for Steve Lovell, as Manager of Ashford Town – in last season’s corresponding fixture, in November 2007. Replacing Clive Walker, Steve fielded a team that included an overweight, and clearly unfit, Adrianho up front, a disinterested Rob Gilman in defence and Rob Denness in midfield. Sixteen months on, with Daniel Brathwaite the sole survivor of that Tuesday evening’s entertainment, Steve turned off the A23, and travelled the short distance through commuter-belt Surrey to Chipstead, with his side nine points adrift of the play-off places, with his ambitions of promotion, given that only seven games of the season remained, all but dead. After his bold statement, at the start of the season, that nothing short of promotion would be good enough, I don’t think there’s any doubt that Steve, either publicly or privately, will consider our eventual league position (barring a miracle) to have been a failure.
Our Directors, on the other hand – who were all absent this evening – will probably have a more pragmatic, long-term view of things, and just feel that arrival in the Promised Land will take a little longer than some people have expected. I also haven’t seen or heard much evidence of discontent or dejection among the Ashford fans, who are probably just happy to be able to follow a team that is in the top half of the table, and which wins more games than it loses. The travelling faithful were there in numbers again tonight, in spite of there being no R&J Coaches Supporters’ Club excursions in mid-week, and this swelled the attendance to 130 – which would have been well down in double-figures if the likes of Walton Casuals or Fleet Town had been the visitors. It was also great to see another good turn-out of Ashford Town’s youth teams – easily identifiable, in their green & black Club tops. If anyone needed evidence that The Management is making good progress in terms of the “bigger picture”, then this was it ! (I’m slightly concerned at some of the language skills they might have picked up behind the goal, but they all seemed to be having a whale of a time).
And what did Mr & Mrs Milton Keynes Correspondent think of the general situation last night ? Well, we were more than happy, as we had had a quite exceptional meal in the local pub, “The White Hart”. In plush, modernist surroundings, I had a pear, Roquefort and spinach salad, followed by a well-presented butternut squash risotto. The crowning glory of this main dish was the lavish sprig of foliage, (which I’m reliably informed was parsley), carefully placed on top by the chef as a decorative coup de grace for the ensemble – but, being from South Ashford, I ate it ! Mrs MKC pronounced her salmon creation to be the best she’d had on the Ryman League circuit, and the nice man behind the bar didn’t look at her as if she’d just arrived from outer space when she asked for a cranberry juice, so it was Gold Stars all round for “The White Hart”.
This hostelry is set in a very pretty location – easily the most rural setting that we visit. It all appears to be freightfully posh, with its large duck pond, its rugby union ground and its cricket pavilion. In truth, the football club is probably the poor relation of the village community, although they’ve done wonders to raise the ground to Ryman League standard; (this is Chipstead FC’s second season at this level, having risen from the Combined Counties League). There’s not a great deal at High Road – a small stand with dark green plastic seats, a brief shelter over the four steps of terracing behind one goal, at the end where the turnstiles are situated, and a narrow concrete path around the perimeter of the pitch, which just about allows two people to pass. All this is tightly hemmed in by a green, six-foot tall wind-break, that appears to be made of some sort of Hessian material. With the floodlights on at night-time, there is nothing to be seen beyond this perimeter fence, so it felt almost like the game was being played on the deck of an aircraft carrier. (The cold rain which swept across the ground towards the end of the match only served to reinforce this impression). As a final comment on the venue, I must say that the availability of ample parking was a relief, and a refreshing change from the hassles we have at Whyteleafe, Godalming, Worthing, Welling and Dartford, to name but a few.
The Chips started tonight’s game seemingly struggling, being third-bottom of the table. This was slightly surprising, given that they were quite impressive during their debut season in the Ryman League, and comfortably achieved a mid-table position. They made a promising start to this season, and had an FA Cup run that many of us would give our eye teeth for, culminating in a trip to Torquay United, in the Fourth Qualifying Round. They were just two points ahead of Burgess Hill Town and what is officially the “relegation zone”, but it seems almost certain that only one team will be relegated from our division this season, due to the detail of which clubs are eligible to be promoted from Step 5 of the non-league pyramid, and that team will obviously be Crowborough Athletic, who are 19 points adrift, having collapsed financially. Our hosts also started the game second-bottom of the six-match current form table – although Ashford were only two places above them in this table, which we had led by a street, just a few weeks ago.
Steve Lovell’s selection this evening was an interesting one. With only Mark Lovell and Jimmy Bottle unavailable, due to injury, there was the opportunity to pick from a strong squad of players, and it might be argued that we had our strongest possible front two and back five – Paul Jones and Shawn Beveney is as good a strike-pairing as there is in Ryman Division One South, and the defensive unit of Seb Barton in goal and a back four of Jimmy Elford, Craig Wilkins, Sean Ray and Daniel Brathwaite has been pretty dependable all season. Where there is probably still room for considerable improvement is in the midfield, and The Gaffer dropped Ryan Briggs and Orlando Smith to the bench this evening, opting for a central pairing of Danny Lye and recent arrival Stan Muguo, with Mitchell Sherwood on the right, and Charlie Glyde on the left. Apart from Mucu and Briggo, a strong bench featured Elliot Brathwaite, Tony Browne and goalkeeper Josh Willis.
On a chilly, breezy evening, Ashford made a bright start, setting off at a fast pace, but our first recognisable chance didn’t materialise until the tenth minute. Paul Jones, attacking the Chipstead penalty area from the left, was fouled, but still managed to square the ball to Danny Lye. Danny’s left-foot shot actually curled just wide of the goal, but Referee Smith’s whistle had already been blown, for a free-kick, just outside the penalty area. This was taken by Charlie Glyde, who hit the ball well with his left foot, but straight at the experienced, shaven-headed James Wastell, in the Chipstead goal.
Danny Lye’s shot on goal, which would have been in vain, was his last contribution to the game, as he had to be substituted as early as the 14th minute, being replaced by the reprieved Ryan Briggs. Chipstead Manager Nick English was also later forced into a premature substitution, having to replace Baptiste Bogle (I kid you not) with Reis Aslan, in the 37th minute. This suggested that the green & white hooped No.11 shirt had some sort of a curse on it this evening, as Bogle was only playing because of an injury to first-choice Jordan Kiffin – (and I’m not making these names up) – in the pre-match warm-up.
It’s fair to say that Ashford Town had the majority of possession, and territorial advantage, in the first half, with Chipstead occasionally looking dangerous on the break. The first of these breaks came in the 16th minute, and this was the closest that the Chips came to taking the lead in the match. The home side got behind the Ashford defence, with a raid down the right. With the ball being pulled back from the by-line, Seb Barton did extremely well to save a close-range shot, with his feet.
Whilst it’s not difficult to see what Steve Lovell’s trying to achieve with his team, encouraging a high-tempo, passing game, the only other chance that Ashford had to show for their first-half efforts was a long-range shot from Ryan Briggs, which was on target, but straight at the goalie. Whilst Paul Jones was Ashford’s brightest light in attack, showing great energy, and rarely giving the ball away, Shawn Beveney showed strength and determination - but little else tonight. The fact that the teams went in at half time with the score at 0-0 owed much to the fact that Ashford were generally “a bit thick” in the final third of the pitch, failing to do the obvious things, such as getting across the goalkeeper when the ball was crossed to the near post, or anticipating and reacting to the “second ball”.
Nevertheless, our boys did play some good stuff at times, and came close to scoring in the 48th minute. A good move down the right saw Mitchell Sherwood laying the ball wide for the overlapping Jimmy Elford. Jimmy, who had another good game, put in a good cross, which was met by a good header from Shawn Beveney, but this was well saved by Wastell. Shawn followed up by trying to knock in the rebound, but hit the post. Two minutes later, in a second half that was much more open than the first, a good move from Chipstead ended with a shot on the turn from Danny Oakins, which hit the inside of the post. On another day, the ball might well have rebounded into the net, but luck was on Seb Barton’s side on this occasion.
Mitchell Sherwood had a glimmer of an opportunity, in the 54th minute, when he had two successive shots blocked, from just inside the penalty area, but Ashford took the lead when their two outstanding players on the night combined, in the 64th minute. Daniel Brathwaite slipped the ball through for Paul Jones to run on to, in the inside left channel, and, with only the goalkeeper to beat, Jonah finished like a proper striker, planting the ball high, into the net.
This was probably a deserved lead for the visitors, on the overall balance of play, and, not for the first time this season, Ashford looked fairly comfortable in front – but Chipstead came back at us, with a good spell of attacking, in the last quarter of the game, just as light rain began to fall. First, in the 77th minute, a Craig Wilkins clearance conceded a corner, which Chris Head took, left-footed, on the right. The left-back’s high cross was met by centre-half Fred Fleming’s downward header, and, after some penalty area pinball, the ball hit the same post that Oakins had hit previously, and rebounded into Seb Barton’s arms.
Two minutes later, Ashford were not so fortunate, as another high cross from a corner from Head, on the right, was bundled in by Rick O’Shea, and Chipstead had scored. (Only kidding – his name is really Dominic O’Shea). Given that they had hit the frame of the goal on two previous occasions, it’s hard to begrudge the home side this equaliser.
Ashford very nearly replied immediately, in the 81st minute, when a slick passing move saw Paul Jones flick the ball on to Shawn Beveney, who laid the ball off to Daniel Brathwaite, who had continued his run, after starting the move. Daniel was clean through on goal, but his touch was that of a defender, rather than an accomplished striker, and he gave James Wastell the opportunity to come out and give him no space. Disappointingly, the ball cannoned off Daniel, and went out for a goal-kick.
As the cold rain intensified, Steve Lovell replaced Shawn Beveney with Tony Browne, who played wide on the right, with Mitch Sherwood joining Paul Jones as a second striker. Ashford played some bright football in pursuit of a winner, with The Browne Dog very much involved in our best moves, but, with the home side clearly intent on hanging on to the one point, the match finished at 1-1.
It was a close thing for Man of the Match between Daniel Brathwaite and Paul Jones – and Sean Ray and Jimmy Elford also caught the eye – but a split decision eventually went to Jonah, who was all over the pitch this evening. This was the second MoM award in away games this season for Paul, who is the current holder of the Milton Keynes Bowl; but he’ll be hard pushed to retain the Bowl this season, as he finds himself two behind Sean Ray, with just three away games remaining.
Man of the Match
(to go towards the Milton Keynes Bowl)
Paul Jones
from Your Milton Keynes Food Critic
It was in the Surrey village of Chipstead that it all began, for Steve Lovell, as Manager of Ashford Town – in last season’s corresponding fixture, in November 2007. Replacing Clive Walker, Steve fielded a team that included an overweight, and clearly unfit, Adrianho up front, a disinterested Rob Gilman in defence and Rob Denness in midfield. Sixteen months on, with Daniel Brathwaite the sole survivor of that Tuesday evening’s entertainment, Steve turned off the A23, and travelled the short distance through commuter-belt Surrey to Chipstead, with his side nine points adrift of the play-off places, with his ambitions of promotion, given that only seven games of the season remained, all but dead. After his bold statement, at the start of the season, that nothing short of promotion would be good enough, I don’t think there’s any doubt that Steve, either publicly or privately, will consider our eventual league position (barring a miracle) to have been a failure.
Our Directors, on the other hand – who were all absent this evening – will probably have a more pragmatic, long-term view of things, and just feel that arrival in the Promised Land will take a little longer than some people have expected. I also haven’t seen or heard much evidence of discontent or dejection among the Ashford fans, who are probably just happy to be able to follow a team that is in the top half of the table, and which wins more games than it loses. The travelling faithful were there in numbers again tonight, in spite of there being no R&J Coaches Supporters’ Club excursions in mid-week, and this swelled the attendance to 130 – which would have been well down in double-figures if the likes of Walton Casuals or Fleet Town had been the visitors. It was also great to see another good turn-out of Ashford Town’s youth teams – easily identifiable, in their green & black Club tops. If anyone needed evidence that The Management is making good progress in terms of the “bigger picture”, then this was it ! (I’m slightly concerned at some of the language skills they might have picked up behind the goal, but they all seemed to be having a whale of a time).
And what did Mr & Mrs Milton Keynes Correspondent think of the general situation last night ? Well, we were more than happy, as we had had a quite exceptional meal in the local pub, “The White Hart”. In plush, modernist surroundings, I had a pear, Roquefort and spinach salad, followed by a well-presented butternut squash risotto. The crowning glory of this main dish was the lavish sprig of foliage, (which I’m reliably informed was parsley), carefully placed on top by the chef as a decorative coup de grace for the ensemble – but, being from South Ashford, I ate it ! Mrs MKC pronounced her salmon creation to be the best she’d had on the Ryman League circuit, and the nice man behind the bar didn’t look at her as if she’d just arrived from outer space when she asked for a cranberry juice, so it was Gold Stars all round for “The White Hart”.
This hostelry is set in a very pretty location – easily the most rural setting that we visit. It all appears to be freightfully posh, with its large duck pond, its rugby union ground and its cricket pavilion. In truth, the football club is probably the poor relation of the village community, although they’ve done wonders to raise the ground to Ryman League standard; (this is Chipstead FC’s second season at this level, having risen from the Combined Counties League). There’s not a great deal at High Road – a small stand with dark green plastic seats, a brief shelter over the four steps of terracing behind one goal, at the end where the turnstiles are situated, and a narrow concrete path around the perimeter of the pitch, which just about allows two people to pass. All this is tightly hemmed in by a green, six-foot tall wind-break, that appears to be made of some sort of Hessian material. With the floodlights on at night-time, there is nothing to be seen beyond this perimeter fence, so it felt almost like the game was being played on the deck of an aircraft carrier. (The cold rain which swept across the ground towards the end of the match only served to reinforce this impression). As a final comment on the venue, I must say that the availability of ample parking was a relief, and a refreshing change from the hassles we have at Whyteleafe, Godalming, Worthing, Welling and Dartford, to name but a few.
The Chips started tonight’s game seemingly struggling, being third-bottom of the table. This was slightly surprising, given that they were quite impressive during their debut season in the Ryman League, and comfortably achieved a mid-table position. They made a promising start to this season, and had an FA Cup run that many of us would give our eye teeth for, culminating in a trip to Torquay United, in the Fourth Qualifying Round. They were just two points ahead of Burgess Hill Town and what is officially the “relegation zone”, but it seems almost certain that only one team will be relegated from our division this season, due to the detail of which clubs are eligible to be promoted from Step 5 of the non-league pyramid, and that team will obviously be Crowborough Athletic, who are 19 points adrift, having collapsed financially. Our hosts also started the game second-bottom of the six-match current form table – although Ashford were only two places above them in this table, which we had led by a street, just a few weeks ago.
Steve Lovell’s selection this evening was an interesting one. With only Mark Lovell and Jimmy Bottle unavailable, due to injury, there was the opportunity to pick from a strong squad of players, and it might be argued that we had our strongest possible front two and back five – Paul Jones and Shawn Beveney is as good a strike-pairing as there is in Ryman Division One South, and the defensive unit of Seb Barton in goal and a back four of Jimmy Elford, Craig Wilkins, Sean Ray and Daniel Brathwaite has been pretty dependable all season. Where there is probably still room for considerable improvement is in the midfield, and The Gaffer dropped Ryan Briggs and Orlando Smith to the bench this evening, opting for a central pairing of Danny Lye and recent arrival Stan Muguo, with Mitchell Sherwood on the right, and Charlie Glyde on the left. Apart from Mucu and Briggo, a strong bench featured Elliot Brathwaite, Tony Browne and goalkeeper Josh Willis.
On a chilly, breezy evening, Ashford made a bright start, setting off at a fast pace, but our first recognisable chance didn’t materialise until the tenth minute. Paul Jones, attacking the Chipstead penalty area from the left, was fouled, but still managed to square the ball to Danny Lye. Danny’s left-foot shot actually curled just wide of the goal, but Referee Smith’s whistle had already been blown, for a free-kick, just outside the penalty area. This was taken by Charlie Glyde, who hit the ball well with his left foot, but straight at the experienced, shaven-headed James Wastell, in the Chipstead goal.
Danny Lye’s shot on goal, which would have been in vain, was his last contribution to the game, as he had to be substituted as early as the 14th minute, being replaced by the reprieved Ryan Briggs. Chipstead Manager Nick English was also later forced into a premature substitution, having to replace Baptiste Bogle (I kid you not) with Reis Aslan, in the 37th minute. This suggested that the green & white hooped No.11 shirt had some sort of a curse on it this evening, as Bogle was only playing because of an injury to first-choice Jordan Kiffin – (and I’m not making these names up) – in the pre-match warm-up.
It’s fair to say that Ashford Town had the majority of possession, and territorial advantage, in the first half, with Chipstead occasionally looking dangerous on the break. The first of these breaks came in the 16th minute, and this was the closest that the Chips came to taking the lead in the match. The home side got behind the Ashford defence, with a raid down the right. With the ball being pulled back from the by-line, Seb Barton did extremely well to save a close-range shot, with his feet.
Whilst it’s not difficult to see what Steve Lovell’s trying to achieve with his team, encouraging a high-tempo, passing game, the only other chance that Ashford had to show for their first-half efforts was a long-range shot from Ryan Briggs, which was on target, but straight at the goalie. Whilst Paul Jones was Ashford’s brightest light in attack, showing great energy, and rarely giving the ball away, Shawn Beveney showed strength and determination - but little else tonight. The fact that the teams went in at half time with the score at 0-0 owed much to the fact that Ashford were generally “a bit thick” in the final third of the pitch, failing to do the obvious things, such as getting across the goalkeeper when the ball was crossed to the near post, or anticipating and reacting to the “second ball”.
Nevertheless, our boys did play some good stuff at times, and came close to scoring in the 48th minute. A good move down the right saw Mitchell Sherwood laying the ball wide for the overlapping Jimmy Elford. Jimmy, who had another good game, put in a good cross, which was met by a good header from Shawn Beveney, but this was well saved by Wastell. Shawn followed up by trying to knock in the rebound, but hit the post. Two minutes later, in a second half that was much more open than the first, a good move from Chipstead ended with a shot on the turn from Danny Oakins, which hit the inside of the post. On another day, the ball might well have rebounded into the net, but luck was on Seb Barton’s side on this occasion.
Mitchell Sherwood had a glimmer of an opportunity, in the 54th minute, when he had two successive shots blocked, from just inside the penalty area, but Ashford took the lead when their two outstanding players on the night combined, in the 64th minute. Daniel Brathwaite slipped the ball through for Paul Jones to run on to, in the inside left channel, and, with only the goalkeeper to beat, Jonah finished like a proper striker, planting the ball high, into the net.
This was probably a deserved lead for the visitors, on the overall balance of play, and, not for the first time this season, Ashford looked fairly comfortable in front – but Chipstead came back at us, with a good spell of attacking, in the last quarter of the game, just as light rain began to fall. First, in the 77th minute, a Craig Wilkins clearance conceded a corner, which Chris Head took, left-footed, on the right. The left-back’s high cross was met by centre-half Fred Fleming’s downward header, and, after some penalty area pinball, the ball hit the same post that Oakins had hit previously, and rebounded into Seb Barton’s arms.
Two minutes later, Ashford were not so fortunate, as another high cross from a corner from Head, on the right, was bundled in by Rick O’Shea, and Chipstead had scored. (Only kidding – his name is really Dominic O’Shea). Given that they had hit the frame of the goal on two previous occasions, it’s hard to begrudge the home side this equaliser.
Ashford very nearly replied immediately, in the 81st minute, when a slick passing move saw Paul Jones flick the ball on to Shawn Beveney, who laid the ball off to Daniel Brathwaite, who had continued his run, after starting the move. Daniel was clean through on goal, but his touch was that of a defender, rather than an accomplished striker, and he gave James Wastell the opportunity to come out and give him no space. Disappointingly, the ball cannoned off Daniel, and went out for a goal-kick.
As the cold rain intensified, Steve Lovell replaced Shawn Beveney with Tony Browne, who played wide on the right, with Mitch Sherwood joining Paul Jones as a second striker. Ashford played some bright football in pursuit of a winner, with The Browne Dog very much involved in our best moves, but, with the home side clearly intent on hanging on to the one point, the match finished at 1-1.
It was a close thing for Man of the Match between Daniel Brathwaite and Paul Jones – and Sean Ray and Jimmy Elford also caught the eye – but a split decision eventually went to Jonah, who was all over the pitch this evening. This was the second MoM award in away games this season for Paul, who is the current holder of the Milton Keynes Bowl; but he’ll be hard pushed to retain the Bowl this season, as he finds himself two behind Sean Ray, with just three away games remaining.
Man of the Match
(to go towards the Milton Keynes Bowl)
Paul Jones
Sunday, 1 March 2009
Croydon Athletic v Ashford Town. Ryman Division One South. 28th of February 2009.
Croydon Athletic 5 Ashford Town 1
from Your Milton Keynes Correspondent
I wish I’d had a pound for every time a fellow Ashford fan asked me, at Whitstable the other night, whether I thought we’d go top of the league in a few hours’ time. Well, we all know what happened to that idea, as we were soundly beaten, 4-1, by Whitstable Town, ending a record-equalling sequence of fifteen games unbeaten. “Top of the league ? You’re ‘avin’ a laugh !”, sang the home supporters. Cruel, but not too wide of the mark. Yet, we were lying second at the time, and were very much the form team in the division, having come with a wet sail from as low a position as 15th.
That all seems a very long time ago now, but, incredibly, it was only two games previous to today’s match at The Keith Tuckey Stadium; however, a defeat at home to Cray Wanderers last time out meant that we were down to seventh place this morning, and wins for most of the teams around us had given the distinct impression that the promotion door was rapidly closing. Today’s thrashing, a third successive defeat, has left dreams of a play-off place in tatters.
The transformation from looking near-certs for the play-offs and championship outsiders, to former contenders with not much more than a remote chance of scraping into the top five, has come very suddenly. It’s difficult to pin-point the reason for this sudden and dramatic loss of form, but it does appear that a very small first team squad (of only about fifteen senior players) has suddenly run out of steam, with injuries, suspensions and downright tiredness taking their toll. The major surprise is that it’s the defence that appears to have fallen apart – this is surprising because it had been the solid defence that had formed the bed-rock of that long and glorious run. In hindsight, therefore, the first falling stone in the avalanche was probably Daniel Brathwaite having to withdraw, with a hip injury, during the pre-match warm-up at Whitstable. This meant a hasty reshuffle of the defence, with Charlie Glyde filling in at left-back – and The Oystermen promptly scored the first of their four goals before some of us had had time to take our seat in the stand.
Central defensive rock Sean Ray limped off with a groin injury during the second half of that game, passed a fitness test just prior to the next game, at home to Cray Wanderers, and then pulled out during the warm-up. Again, the defence was all over the place, and Cray soon went two up, and comfortably hung on to that lead. It might have been significant that Razor was in the stand for this afternoon’s game, but he was the only significant absentee from a back five of Barton, Elford, Wilkins, Brathwaite and Brathwaite – and the defence was, frankly, shambolic. I always come clean and admit that my limited knowledge of the finer points of football doesn’t qualify me to offer any analysis of why things go so badly wrong, but I can report what I see, and that was a Croydon Athletic side that hadn’t scored in its previous three matches scoring almost at will this afternoon. The final tally was five, but it could have been several more, with players being unmarked at set pieces, and others breaking through the defensive line. I don’t know what it is, but there’s definitely something wrong at the back. That’s eleven goals conceded in the last three games – which rather speaks for itself.
Well, The Management has certainly made a move to begin to solve the problem of numbers, particularly up front, with yesterday’s signing of striker Shawn Beveney. Shawn had an indifferent, and injury-ridden, spell at Cray Wanderers earlier this season, during which he scored just two goals in 17 appearances. This is certainly out of character for the big centre-forward, certainly judging by his record of 32 goals in 61 appearances for Dulwich Hamlet, 22 in 41 internationals for Guyana and seven in twelve for Lewes. He comes to us on the back of a knee injury, (if you’ll forgive the mixing of metaphors), but, if fully fit, he’s likely to form what might be a very productive partnership with Paul Jones. (Jonah told me before today’s game that he’s never actually played alongside a big target man, so it’ll be interesting to see how things develop).
I must say that Beveney’s performance represented one of the few rays of light for Ashford Town this afternoon. Of course, he was ultimately unsuccessful, but he showed good strength, and the ability to hold the ball up, and generally did all the right things – laying the ball off, and spreading it wide when he needed to. He didn’t manage to score – but, then again, the service he received didn’t provide him with any obvious chances.
Shawn was partnered up front by on-loan Orlando Smith, a Jamaican – and we were hoping that this all-West Indian attack would have more teeth than the one currently on show in the test match in Barbados ! I’ve already named (and shamed ?) the back five. As for the midfield, there was the welcome news that Mitchell Sherwood was fit again, and he was preferred to Tony Browne, on the right. Danny Lye partnered Ryan Briggs in the centre, with Charlie Glyde out on the left.
Not a bad side, on paper, but the current threadbare nature of the squad was best illustrated by the personnel on the bench, since, joining Tony Browne, John Ralph and James Humphries were TWO reserve goalkeepers: Darren Ibrahim and Josh Willis. It’s great to see Josh named in the squad, though. Apparently, the only thing that is keeping him from being fully available for selection is his current inability to kick – so presumably the idea was that he might be able to come on and head us out of trouble, in an emergency !
If you want an illustration of the current depth of the injury crisis, then just look at the players we had in the crowd: Sean Ray, Paul Jones, Mark Lovell and Jimmy Bottle.
The one familiar face in the Croydon Athletic line-up was Robbie Ryan – and his lucid Dublin accent was very much in evidence, on the left of The Rams’ defence, throughout the game. He’s obviously not the player he was when he played for the likes of Millwall and Bristol Rovers, but he was plenty good enough to snuff out any threat from Mitch Sherwood – not that I can remember seeing Mitch skin any left-back and whip in a dangerous cross very often – and it was Charlie Glyde, on the left, who looked marginally more likely to get behind the Croydon back line.
There was little to choose between the two sides during a scrappy opening ten minutes, when there were many stoppages, notably for hand-balls. Ashford, attacking the end backing onto the crematorium, and wearing their green & white home strip, had the first recognisable chance of the game, in the 14th minute. Shawn Beveney chased a long clearance out of defence from Craig Wilkins, into the corner, and showed good pace and determination to get to the ball before his marker. The Guyana national captain pulled the ball back to Mitch Sherwood, who did actually whip in a cross, first time, which found Orlando Smith just inside The Rams’ penalty area. Orlando took a touch, and, after waiting for the ball to come down, rather hit his shot into the ground, so that the ball sat up nicely for goalkeeper Ross Flitney to make a comfortable catch.
Things began to go pear-shaped in the 16th minute, when Croydon Ath took the lead. The home side’s forwards were able to go around the outside of the Ashford defence all afternoon, and, in a sign of things to come, Sam Clayton received a diagonal, cross-field ball, on the left, and went past Jimmy Elford – but Jimmy recovered well, and got in a tackle, at the expense of a corner. The resulting cross was allowed to go all the way into the six-yard box, and found Shabazz Baidoo. Although he was no more than three yards from goal, Baidoo had plenty of work to do, as he had his back to goal, with Seb Barton close behind him. Nevertheless, the striker did brilliantly, hitting the bouncing ball into the back of the net, with a firm over-head kick.
Just a minute later, Croydon repeated the tactic of attacking the Ashford full-backs, and this time it was Daniel Brathwaite who was initially beaten by the diagonal ball, but he also recovered, conceding a corner, this time on the right. The corner was cleared, but only as far as Sam Clayton, who was just inside the Ashford penalty area. There was a distinct lack of closing down, as Clayton had all the time in the world to pick his spot, and thumped the ball into the net, with Seb Barton not moving.
Well, if there had been any lack of confidence or belief among the Ashford defenders before the game, now was the time for any doubts to be brutally exposed – and the home side set about doing just that, with some quick, confident passing. The next incision came in the 20th minute, with another fast raid down the right. The cross came in from the by-line, and was headed clear by Danny Lye, but only as far as Clayton, on the edge of the area. This time, however, the Croydon striker hit his shot wide, with the goal at his mercy. In the 23rd minute, Karl Murray sent Serge Makofo past Jimmy Elford and into the area, with a classic ball inside the full-back. Again, the Ashford defence was spared further embarrassment, for now, as Makofo skied a cross-cum-shot over the bar.
In the 26th minute, Tom Bolarinwa showed the footwork of a ballerina, as he brilliantly skinned Elliott Brathwaite, but big brother Daniel was there with a covering challenge, conceding a corner, on the right. As the cross came over, centre-half Richard Blackwell met the ball with a clean header – unchallenged, it must be said – but directed it straight at Seb Barton. Just as we turned our eyes upfield, confident that Seb had made a clean catch, he dropped the ball – and Jimmy Elford made a hurried clearance.
The half-hour mark passed, with still no real threat on the home side’s goal – and it was the Ashford goal that was again under attack, in the 31st minute. Right-back Joe Howe sent in a dangerous cross, from near to the corner flag, but Craig Wilkins did well to glance the ball away to safety, with little more than his eye brows, when it would have been easier for him to put it into Seb Barton’s net.
Ashford had to wait until the 34th minute before having their first real excursion into the Croydon penalty area. As the ball was cleared from the visitors’ half, Mitch Sherwood helped the ball on, into the path of Orlando Smith. The Jamaican was faced with one defender to beat, who successfully put the ball behind for a corner – which came to nothing. Orlando, who looked fairly lightweight today, and seemed to have a problem with keeping his footing, was on the ball again in the 44th minute. From 20 yards out, just beyond the corner of the penalty area, he turned and made space for a long-range shot, but this went just wide. Nevertheless, the effort at least raised spirits, and gave the travelling contingent behind the goal – which had been uncharacteristically quiet up to now – something to cheer about.
This might have provided something for the team to build upon during the interval, as Steve Lovell galvanised the troops for a long, uphill battle to get back into the game in the second half – but, scarcely believably, The Rams were to ram home their advantage with TWO more goals in first-half injury time.
The first of these – Croydon’s third – was a real heartbreaker. It’s one of those things that happens when things are going against you – or at least you imagine that it does – but this is a goal that might have been avoided. With 46 minutes showing on the electric scoreboard behind Seb Barton’s goal, Robbie Ryan chipped a left-footed ball into the area. This was actually pretty harmless, as there was no Croydon player anywhere near it. Seb could have comfortably dealt with this by coming off his line to claim the ball. Elliott Brathwaite could have dealt with the situation with a simple, cushioned header back to Seb. Unfortunately, (and you’ve guessed it), they did both – with the result that the ball trickled past the ‘keeper, and into the net.
Then, just as I’d finished writing down the details of the third goal, I looked up to find that the ball was already heading towards the Ashford goal. With the defence in complete disarray, Sam Clayton slipped the ball square to Shabazz Badoo, on the edge of the penalty area, and Badoo calmly slotted the ball into the net.
To explain how bad it felt to see the scoreboard showing “The Rams 4, Nuts Bolts 0”, in bright, amber characters, I can only say that it was like a throw-back to the “bad old days” – a near nostalgic experience, reminiscent of the time when we had a poor squad of players, and defeats like this were common-place.
Oh, yes. The scoreboard !
This presents me with a slight problem, as, once or twice in previous reports, I’ve referred to the existence of such a facility at Ryman League grounds merely as a joke. Of course, it’s plainly ridiculous that any ground at this level, particularly those that welcome an average crowd of about a hundred, should have such a high-tech display – but the Keith Tuckey Stadium REALLY DOES have an electronic scoreboard perched upon the corrugated iron shelter behind one of the goals. As well as showing the teams and the number of minutes played in each half, it’s sophisticated enough to provide an animated celebration (when the home side scores), complete with the sort of musical jingle you might expect. (After five, it gets a little annoying !).
The sub-text to this, of course, is that Croydon Athletic FC has come into some money – being taken over by property developers, I believe. It’s far too late in the current season for the new owners to make a push for promotion, but some improvements to the squad have already been made, and The Rams are certainly one of the most improved teams in our division since Christmas. I don’t think there’s any doubt that they’ll be contenders for promotion next season.
I must say that Ashford came out for the second half with renewed vigour, and the performance was an improvement on the first half – but not to the extent that there was any real sign that we might steal an unlikely point. Furthermore, Ashford first had to survive a scare in the opening seconds of the second period, when Sam Clayton and Shabazz Badoo almost got clean through the visitors’ defence with a one-two, but the return pass didn’t quite come off.
Ashford had a chance to pull a goal back in the 49th minute. Ryan Briggs took a free-kick, out on the left, curling the ball into The Rams’ goal mouth. This was headed clear, as far as Charlie Glyde, just inside the area. Charlie struck a left-footed shot really sweetly, but the ball cannoned off a maroon & white-shirted body, and went out for a corner. The resulting cross was again headed out to Charlie, this time about twelve yards out, and just to the right of goal. He again got his shot on target, with a hip-high, hooked effort, and this needed a great save from Ross Flitney.
As the new, expensive-looking floodlights started to make themselves visible against the darkening sky, in the 51st minute, Danny Lye was shown a yellow card. A minute later, a Ryan Briggs cross was headed behind for a corner, on the right. This was taken by Charlie Glyde, who whipped in a dangerous cross, right under Ross Flitneys crossbar. Flitney fumbled and dropped the ball, but the referee, not for the first or last time this afternoon, was over-protective of the ‘keeper, and blew his whistle for a foul which only he could have imagined.
Although the ref’s whistle was a source of frustration for the visitors, this positive start to the half was encouraging, and the travelling choir responded by providing vocal support. In the 55th minute, Shawn Beveney picked the ball up in the centre circle, and spread play wide, to Orlando Smith, on the right. Orlando now had the opportunity to run at the Croydon defence, and, after a couple of step-overs inside the penalty area, managed to get to the by-line. His cross was aimed towards Beveney, who had continued his run into the centre, but the ball broke to Charlie Glyde. Again, Charlie’s left-footed shot was on target, but ricocheted off a defender’s head, to safety.
Just before the hour mark, just as Croydon Athletic replaced Romauld Bouadji – a new signing from Carshalton – with Nathan Green, Jimmy Elford took a free-kick from inside the centre circle. The cross went beyond the far post, and was put out for a corner, on the left. This was again stuck right under Ross Flitney’s crossbar; the ‘keeper went down and the referee, (naturally), blew his whistle. It appeared that Daniel Brathwaite was the man penalised, and there followed a brief altercation between Daniel and Flitney. Just as naturally, this led to a mass scrum between all outfield players, but there was very little in this, and the whole thing was settled amicably – but it was good to see a bit if spirit from Daniel, and I’ll remove a couple of points from his Pink File, accumulated as a result of previous, glove-wearing offences.
In the 61st minute, Danny Lye scuffed a shot well wide of goal, from outside the penalty area, but Ashford pulled a goal back a minute later. This came from a free-kick, a few feet from the right corner of the Croydon area. This was taken by Charlie Glyde, who curled a left-footed cross to the foot of the near post – and Craig Wilkins was there, to bundle the ball over the line. This was by no means pretty, but it did the job, and, just as at the Belmont Ground, Whitstable, a Wilko goal had given Ashford a glimmer of hope that there might be a revival.
Just as at Whitstable, however, this turned out to be a forlorn hope, and Croydon’s four-goal advantage was restored within three minutes – and I must say that this was a really well-worked, and well-taken, goal. An Elliott Brathwaite tackle gave the home side a corner, on their right. This was taken short, to Danny Waldren, at the near corner of the Ashford area – a “Spurs corner”, to the cognoscenti – and Rams’ skipper Waldren immediately curled in a cross, which was helped on, into the far corner of the net, by the head of Karl Murray, giving Seb Barton no chance. It was a perfectly executed set-piece – but hardly original, so it probably wouldn’t have been unreasonable to have expected at least one member of the defending team to have been alive to the possibility !
Croydon’s Shabazz Badoo received a mysterious yellow card, in the 67th minute, and then each side made a substitution – James Humphreys came on for Ashford, in place of Danny Lye, in the 68th minute, and Croydon Ath Manager Tim O’Shea, (which sounds a bit like a shampoo), substituted Tom Bolarinwa with Michael Gordon, a minute later.
Croydon had a chance to go further ahead, in the 71st minute. Serge Makofo ran onto a ball threaded through in the inside-right position, and found himself inside the Ashford penalty area, with Craig Wilkins the second-last line of defence. He twisted and turned Wilko, before attempting to slot the ball in at the near post – but Seb Barton got down to make a good save. (I know it’s easy to be critical of the ‘keeper when the team loses 5-1, but I must say that this was quite a rare event, as Seb doesn’t seem to stop very many – in spite of whatever other qualities he may have, I suspect that he’s not as good a shot-stopper as one or two of his predecessors).
In the 72nd minute, James Humphreys, in his yellow boots, robbed fellow substitute Nathan Green, in the Croydon half, and the break was on. James fed Shawn Beveney, down the right, and the big Guyanese bore down on the home defence. There was support to his left, but Shawn tried a shot himself, and blasted it just over the bar.
At the other end, defensive frailties were in evidence once again, and Ashford really deserved to concede a sixth goal; (and I can scarcely believe that I’ve just written that). Croydon skipper Danny Waldren, from a free-kick on the right, in the 74th minute, curled the ball over a two-man wall, and found a team-mate unmarked, on the far edge of the six-yard box. This is a cross that Seb Barton really should have come out to claim, but he at least redeemed himself by getting down to make a good save, as the header was directed downwards and at his feet.
In case Steve Lovell was thinking that things couldn’t get any worse, he replaced Daniel Brathwaite with Tony Browne, in the 77th minute, and, by the way Daniel was flexing his legs, in the dug-out, this looked like it was probably a substitution made on the grounds of injury. Let’s hope it’s nothing serious, as Daniel was one Ashford player who certainly got his head down and tried, right to the time that he was taken off.
Ashford’s two West Indian strikers – being paired for the first time, remember – showed some persistence on the edge of the Croydon area, in the 79th minute, trying manfully to work an opening for a clear shot at goal. Eventually the ball was played square, to James Humphreys, who slipped the ball through to Beveney, now inside The Rams’ penalty area. Shawn’s efforts finally ended with a shot at goal, but one that he sliced wide of the target.
In the 82nd minute, Ashford once again deserved to go further behind, when the revamped defence, (with Tony Browne at right-back and Jimmy Elford now on the left), seemed to go AWOL. A deep cross from a corner, on the right, found a Croydon player completely unmarked, beyond the far post – but his effort was blocked, and, after a bit of a goalmouth scramble, the ball was cleared. Two minutes later, the hard-working, but largely ineffective, Mitchell Sherwood conceded a free-kick on the edge of the penalty area. This was ideally placed for a curling, right-footed attempt at goal. Faced with a three-man wall, Danny Waldren got his shot on target, and it needed a good, diving save from Seb Barton, at the far post – ex-Shrewsbury Town, Woking, Grays and Bromley midfielder Karl Murray got to the rebound first, but popped the ball over the bar.
Ashford did keep pressing forward to the end, and had a free-kick and a couple of corners during the three minutes of injury time, but, at 5-1, it was inevitably a case of rather going through the motions, and Ross Flitney was not troubled in the Croydon Athletic goal.
The Man of the Match award for Ashford really boiled down to two people – Charlie Glyde, who worked tirelessly on the left side of midfield, and looked as likely to score as anyone, and Shawn Beveney, who toiled away in a new cause, and did most things right. In the end, we gave it to the big man, on his Ashford debut. Well done, Shawn. Welcome to “The Titanic” !
So ended a rather miserable day, which had begun with the news that the M25 was blocked at Leatherhead, meaning that we had almost a three-hour journey to Croydon, most of it hacking through South London. Purely out of habit, I checked the results of the other promotion contenders when I got home – but I’m sure that promotion has gone now. For the record, our “target team”, i.e. the team that looks most likely to fill the fourth and final play-off position, is Merstham. They are now four points ahead of us, with two games in hand, and are absolutely flying, having beaten league leaders Kingstonian 2-0 this afternoon. We need a major loss of form from a few of the teams currently above us, to retain any lingering chance of scraping into the play-offs, and I can’t see that happening.
More importantly, Ashford need to get their own house in order. I don’t know what’s gone wrong, particularly with the defence, but, whether it’s on the pitch or in the dressing-room, it needs sorting out, pronto. I’ve always been fairly lukewarm on the imperative of getting promotion this season, but I’ve been hoping that we can at least stay in contention right to the end, to maintain that tremendous feel-good factor all the way to the final game of the season, at home to Kingstonian. Otherwise, a lot of people, who have had a lot of hope raised sky-high, are going to be bitterly disappointed.
Man of the Match
(to go towards the Milton Keynes Bowl)
Shawn Beveney
from Your Milton Keynes Correspondent
I wish I’d had a pound for every time a fellow Ashford fan asked me, at Whitstable the other night, whether I thought we’d go top of the league in a few hours’ time. Well, we all know what happened to that idea, as we were soundly beaten, 4-1, by Whitstable Town, ending a record-equalling sequence of fifteen games unbeaten. “Top of the league ? You’re ‘avin’ a laugh !”, sang the home supporters. Cruel, but not too wide of the mark. Yet, we were lying second at the time, and were very much the form team in the division, having come with a wet sail from as low a position as 15th.
That all seems a very long time ago now, but, incredibly, it was only two games previous to today’s match at The Keith Tuckey Stadium; however, a defeat at home to Cray Wanderers last time out meant that we were down to seventh place this morning, and wins for most of the teams around us had given the distinct impression that the promotion door was rapidly closing. Today’s thrashing, a third successive defeat, has left dreams of a play-off place in tatters.
The transformation from looking near-certs for the play-offs and championship outsiders, to former contenders with not much more than a remote chance of scraping into the top five, has come very suddenly. It’s difficult to pin-point the reason for this sudden and dramatic loss of form, but it does appear that a very small first team squad (of only about fifteen senior players) has suddenly run out of steam, with injuries, suspensions and downright tiredness taking their toll. The major surprise is that it’s the defence that appears to have fallen apart – this is surprising because it had been the solid defence that had formed the bed-rock of that long and glorious run. In hindsight, therefore, the first falling stone in the avalanche was probably Daniel Brathwaite having to withdraw, with a hip injury, during the pre-match warm-up at Whitstable. This meant a hasty reshuffle of the defence, with Charlie Glyde filling in at left-back – and The Oystermen promptly scored the first of their four goals before some of us had had time to take our seat in the stand.
Central defensive rock Sean Ray limped off with a groin injury during the second half of that game, passed a fitness test just prior to the next game, at home to Cray Wanderers, and then pulled out during the warm-up. Again, the defence was all over the place, and Cray soon went two up, and comfortably hung on to that lead. It might have been significant that Razor was in the stand for this afternoon’s game, but he was the only significant absentee from a back five of Barton, Elford, Wilkins, Brathwaite and Brathwaite – and the defence was, frankly, shambolic. I always come clean and admit that my limited knowledge of the finer points of football doesn’t qualify me to offer any analysis of why things go so badly wrong, but I can report what I see, and that was a Croydon Athletic side that hadn’t scored in its previous three matches scoring almost at will this afternoon. The final tally was five, but it could have been several more, with players being unmarked at set pieces, and others breaking through the defensive line. I don’t know what it is, but there’s definitely something wrong at the back. That’s eleven goals conceded in the last three games – which rather speaks for itself.
Well, The Management has certainly made a move to begin to solve the problem of numbers, particularly up front, with yesterday’s signing of striker Shawn Beveney. Shawn had an indifferent, and injury-ridden, spell at Cray Wanderers earlier this season, during which he scored just two goals in 17 appearances. This is certainly out of character for the big centre-forward, certainly judging by his record of 32 goals in 61 appearances for Dulwich Hamlet, 22 in 41 internationals for Guyana and seven in twelve for Lewes. He comes to us on the back of a knee injury, (if you’ll forgive the mixing of metaphors), but, if fully fit, he’s likely to form what might be a very productive partnership with Paul Jones. (Jonah told me before today’s game that he’s never actually played alongside a big target man, so it’ll be interesting to see how things develop).
I must say that Beveney’s performance represented one of the few rays of light for Ashford Town this afternoon. Of course, he was ultimately unsuccessful, but he showed good strength, and the ability to hold the ball up, and generally did all the right things – laying the ball off, and spreading it wide when he needed to. He didn’t manage to score – but, then again, the service he received didn’t provide him with any obvious chances.
Shawn was partnered up front by on-loan Orlando Smith, a Jamaican – and we were hoping that this all-West Indian attack would have more teeth than the one currently on show in the test match in Barbados ! I’ve already named (and shamed ?) the back five. As for the midfield, there was the welcome news that Mitchell Sherwood was fit again, and he was preferred to Tony Browne, on the right. Danny Lye partnered Ryan Briggs in the centre, with Charlie Glyde out on the left.
Not a bad side, on paper, but the current threadbare nature of the squad was best illustrated by the personnel on the bench, since, joining Tony Browne, John Ralph and James Humphries were TWO reserve goalkeepers: Darren Ibrahim and Josh Willis. It’s great to see Josh named in the squad, though. Apparently, the only thing that is keeping him from being fully available for selection is his current inability to kick – so presumably the idea was that he might be able to come on and head us out of trouble, in an emergency !
If you want an illustration of the current depth of the injury crisis, then just look at the players we had in the crowd: Sean Ray, Paul Jones, Mark Lovell and Jimmy Bottle.
The one familiar face in the Croydon Athletic line-up was Robbie Ryan – and his lucid Dublin accent was very much in evidence, on the left of The Rams’ defence, throughout the game. He’s obviously not the player he was when he played for the likes of Millwall and Bristol Rovers, but he was plenty good enough to snuff out any threat from Mitch Sherwood – not that I can remember seeing Mitch skin any left-back and whip in a dangerous cross very often – and it was Charlie Glyde, on the left, who looked marginally more likely to get behind the Croydon back line.
There was little to choose between the two sides during a scrappy opening ten minutes, when there were many stoppages, notably for hand-balls. Ashford, attacking the end backing onto the crematorium, and wearing their green & white home strip, had the first recognisable chance of the game, in the 14th minute. Shawn Beveney chased a long clearance out of defence from Craig Wilkins, into the corner, and showed good pace and determination to get to the ball before his marker. The Guyana national captain pulled the ball back to Mitch Sherwood, who did actually whip in a cross, first time, which found Orlando Smith just inside The Rams’ penalty area. Orlando took a touch, and, after waiting for the ball to come down, rather hit his shot into the ground, so that the ball sat up nicely for goalkeeper Ross Flitney to make a comfortable catch.
Things began to go pear-shaped in the 16th minute, when Croydon Ath took the lead. The home side’s forwards were able to go around the outside of the Ashford defence all afternoon, and, in a sign of things to come, Sam Clayton received a diagonal, cross-field ball, on the left, and went past Jimmy Elford – but Jimmy recovered well, and got in a tackle, at the expense of a corner. The resulting cross was allowed to go all the way into the six-yard box, and found Shabazz Baidoo. Although he was no more than three yards from goal, Baidoo had plenty of work to do, as he had his back to goal, with Seb Barton close behind him. Nevertheless, the striker did brilliantly, hitting the bouncing ball into the back of the net, with a firm over-head kick.
Just a minute later, Croydon repeated the tactic of attacking the Ashford full-backs, and this time it was Daniel Brathwaite who was initially beaten by the diagonal ball, but he also recovered, conceding a corner, this time on the right. The corner was cleared, but only as far as Sam Clayton, who was just inside the Ashford penalty area. There was a distinct lack of closing down, as Clayton had all the time in the world to pick his spot, and thumped the ball into the net, with Seb Barton not moving.
Well, if there had been any lack of confidence or belief among the Ashford defenders before the game, now was the time for any doubts to be brutally exposed – and the home side set about doing just that, with some quick, confident passing. The next incision came in the 20th minute, with another fast raid down the right. The cross came in from the by-line, and was headed clear by Danny Lye, but only as far as Clayton, on the edge of the area. This time, however, the Croydon striker hit his shot wide, with the goal at his mercy. In the 23rd minute, Karl Murray sent Serge Makofo past Jimmy Elford and into the area, with a classic ball inside the full-back. Again, the Ashford defence was spared further embarrassment, for now, as Makofo skied a cross-cum-shot over the bar.
In the 26th minute, Tom Bolarinwa showed the footwork of a ballerina, as he brilliantly skinned Elliott Brathwaite, but big brother Daniel was there with a covering challenge, conceding a corner, on the right. As the cross came over, centre-half Richard Blackwell met the ball with a clean header – unchallenged, it must be said – but directed it straight at Seb Barton. Just as we turned our eyes upfield, confident that Seb had made a clean catch, he dropped the ball – and Jimmy Elford made a hurried clearance.
The half-hour mark passed, with still no real threat on the home side’s goal – and it was the Ashford goal that was again under attack, in the 31st minute. Right-back Joe Howe sent in a dangerous cross, from near to the corner flag, but Craig Wilkins did well to glance the ball away to safety, with little more than his eye brows, when it would have been easier for him to put it into Seb Barton’s net.
Ashford had to wait until the 34th minute before having their first real excursion into the Croydon penalty area. As the ball was cleared from the visitors’ half, Mitch Sherwood helped the ball on, into the path of Orlando Smith. The Jamaican was faced with one defender to beat, who successfully put the ball behind for a corner – which came to nothing. Orlando, who looked fairly lightweight today, and seemed to have a problem with keeping his footing, was on the ball again in the 44th minute. From 20 yards out, just beyond the corner of the penalty area, he turned and made space for a long-range shot, but this went just wide. Nevertheless, the effort at least raised spirits, and gave the travelling contingent behind the goal – which had been uncharacteristically quiet up to now – something to cheer about.
This might have provided something for the team to build upon during the interval, as Steve Lovell galvanised the troops for a long, uphill battle to get back into the game in the second half – but, scarcely believably, The Rams were to ram home their advantage with TWO more goals in first-half injury time.
The first of these – Croydon’s third – was a real heartbreaker. It’s one of those things that happens when things are going against you – or at least you imagine that it does – but this is a goal that might have been avoided. With 46 minutes showing on the electric scoreboard behind Seb Barton’s goal, Robbie Ryan chipped a left-footed ball into the area. This was actually pretty harmless, as there was no Croydon player anywhere near it. Seb could have comfortably dealt with this by coming off his line to claim the ball. Elliott Brathwaite could have dealt with the situation with a simple, cushioned header back to Seb. Unfortunately, (and you’ve guessed it), they did both – with the result that the ball trickled past the ‘keeper, and into the net.
Then, just as I’d finished writing down the details of the third goal, I looked up to find that the ball was already heading towards the Ashford goal. With the defence in complete disarray, Sam Clayton slipped the ball square to Shabazz Badoo, on the edge of the penalty area, and Badoo calmly slotted the ball into the net.
To explain how bad it felt to see the scoreboard showing “The Rams 4, Nuts Bolts 0”, in bright, amber characters, I can only say that it was like a throw-back to the “bad old days” – a near nostalgic experience, reminiscent of the time when we had a poor squad of players, and defeats like this were common-place.
Oh, yes. The scoreboard !
This presents me with a slight problem, as, once or twice in previous reports, I’ve referred to the existence of such a facility at Ryman League grounds merely as a joke. Of course, it’s plainly ridiculous that any ground at this level, particularly those that welcome an average crowd of about a hundred, should have such a high-tech display – but the Keith Tuckey Stadium REALLY DOES have an electronic scoreboard perched upon the corrugated iron shelter behind one of the goals. As well as showing the teams and the number of minutes played in each half, it’s sophisticated enough to provide an animated celebration (when the home side scores), complete with the sort of musical jingle you might expect. (After five, it gets a little annoying !).
The sub-text to this, of course, is that Croydon Athletic FC has come into some money – being taken over by property developers, I believe. It’s far too late in the current season for the new owners to make a push for promotion, but some improvements to the squad have already been made, and The Rams are certainly one of the most improved teams in our division since Christmas. I don’t think there’s any doubt that they’ll be contenders for promotion next season.
I must say that Ashford came out for the second half with renewed vigour, and the performance was an improvement on the first half – but not to the extent that there was any real sign that we might steal an unlikely point. Furthermore, Ashford first had to survive a scare in the opening seconds of the second period, when Sam Clayton and Shabazz Badoo almost got clean through the visitors’ defence with a one-two, but the return pass didn’t quite come off.
Ashford had a chance to pull a goal back in the 49th minute. Ryan Briggs took a free-kick, out on the left, curling the ball into The Rams’ goal mouth. This was headed clear, as far as Charlie Glyde, just inside the area. Charlie struck a left-footed shot really sweetly, but the ball cannoned off a maroon & white-shirted body, and went out for a corner. The resulting cross was again headed out to Charlie, this time about twelve yards out, and just to the right of goal. He again got his shot on target, with a hip-high, hooked effort, and this needed a great save from Ross Flitney.
As the new, expensive-looking floodlights started to make themselves visible against the darkening sky, in the 51st minute, Danny Lye was shown a yellow card. A minute later, a Ryan Briggs cross was headed behind for a corner, on the right. This was taken by Charlie Glyde, who whipped in a dangerous cross, right under Ross Flitneys crossbar. Flitney fumbled and dropped the ball, but the referee, not for the first or last time this afternoon, was over-protective of the ‘keeper, and blew his whistle for a foul which only he could have imagined.
Although the ref’s whistle was a source of frustration for the visitors, this positive start to the half was encouraging, and the travelling choir responded by providing vocal support. In the 55th minute, Shawn Beveney picked the ball up in the centre circle, and spread play wide, to Orlando Smith, on the right. Orlando now had the opportunity to run at the Croydon defence, and, after a couple of step-overs inside the penalty area, managed to get to the by-line. His cross was aimed towards Beveney, who had continued his run into the centre, but the ball broke to Charlie Glyde. Again, Charlie’s left-footed shot was on target, but ricocheted off a defender’s head, to safety.
Just before the hour mark, just as Croydon Athletic replaced Romauld Bouadji – a new signing from Carshalton – with Nathan Green, Jimmy Elford took a free-kick from inside the centre circle. The cross went beyond the far post, and was put out for a corner, on the left. This was again stuck right under Ross Flitney’s crossbar; the ‘keeper went down and the referee, (naturally), blew his whistle. It appeared that Daniel Brathwaite was the man penalised, and there followed a brief altercation between Daniel and Flitney. Just as naturally, this led to a mass scrum between all outfield players, but there was very little in this, and the whole thing was settled amicably – but it was good to see a bit if spirit from Daniel, and I’ll remove a couple of points from his Pink File, accumulated as a result of previous, glove-wearing offences.
In the 61st minute, Danny Lye scuffed a shot well wide of goal, from outside the penalty area, but Ashford pulled a goal back a minute later. This came from a free-kick, a few feet from the right corner of the Croydon area. This was taken by Charlie Glyde, who curled a left-footed cross to the foot of the near post – and Craig Wilkins was there, to bundle the ball over the line. This was by no means pretty, but it did the job, and, just as at the Belmont Ground, Whitstable, a Wilko goal had given Ashford a glimmer of hope that there might be a revival.
Just as at Whitstable, however, this turned out to be a forlorn hope, and Croydon’s four-goal advantage was restored within three minutes – and I must say that this was a really well-worked, and well-taken, goal. An Elliott Brathwaite tackle gave the home side a corner, on their right. This was taken short, to Danny Waldren, at the near corner of the Ashford area – a “Spurs corner”, to the cognoscenti – and Rams’ skipper Waldren immediately curled in a cross, which was helped on, into the far corner of the net, by the head of Karl Murray, giving Seb Barton no chance. It was a perfectly executed set-piece – but hardly original, so it probably wouldn’t have been unreasonable to have expected at least one member of the defending team to have been alive to the possibility !
Croydon’s Shabazz Badoo received a mysterious yellow card, in the 67th minute, and then each side made a substitution – James Humphreys came on for Ashford, in place of Danny Lye, in the 68th minute, and Croydon Ath Manager Tim O’Shea, (which sounds a bit like a shampoo), substituted Tom Bolarinwa with Michael Gordon, a minute later.
Croydon had a chance to go further ahead, in the 71st minute. Serge Makofo ran onto a ball threaded through in the inside-right position, and found himself inside the Ashford penalty area, with Craig Wilkins the second-last line of defence. He twisted and turned Wilko, before attempting to slot the ball in at the near post – but Seb Barton got down to make a good save. (I know it’s easy to be critical of the ‘keeper when the team loses 5-1, but I must say that this was quite a rare event, as Seb doesn’t seem to stop very many – in spite of whatever other qualities he may have, I suspect that he’s not as good a shot-stopper as one or two of his predecessors).
In the 72nd minute, James Humphreys, in his yellow boots, robbed fellow substitute Nathan Green, in the Croydon half, and the break was on. James fed Shawn Beveney, down the right, and the big Guyanese bore down on the home defence. There was support to his left, but Shawn tried a shot himself, and blasted it just over the bar.
At the other end, defensive frailties were in evidence once again, and Ashford really deserved to concede a sixth goal; (and I can scarcely believe that I’ve just written that). Croydon skipper Danny Waldren, from a free-kick on the right, in the 74th minute, curled the ball over a two-man wall, and found a team-mate unmarked, on the far edge of the six-yard box. This is a cross that Seb Barton really should have come out to claim, but he at least redeemed himself by getting down to make a good save, as the header was directed downwards and at his feet.
In case Steve Lovell was thinking that things couldn’t get any worse, he replaced Daniel Brathwaite with Tony Browne, in the 77th minute, and, by the way Daniel was flexing his legs, in the dug-out, this looked like it was probably a substitution made on the grounds of injury. Let’s hope it’s nothing serious, as Daniel was one Ashford player who certainly got his head down and tried, right to the time that he was taken off.
Ashford’s two West Indian strikers – being paired for the first time, remember – showed some persistence on the edge of the Croydon area, in the 79th minute, trying manfully to work an opening for a clear shot at goal. Eventually the ball was played square, to James Humphreys, who slipped the ball through to Beveney, now inside The Rams’ penalty area. Shawn’s efforts finally ended with a shot at goal, but one that he sliced wide of the target.
In the 82nd minute, Ashford once again deserved to go further behind, when the revamped defence, (with Tony Browne at right-back and Jimmy Elford now on the left), seemed to go AWOL. A deep cross from a corner, on the right, found a Croydon player completely unmarked, beyond the far post – but his effort was blocked, and, after a bit of a goalmouth scramble, the ball was cleared. Two minutes later, the hard-working, but largely ineffective, Mitchell Sherwood conceded a free-kick on the edge of the penalty area. This was ideally placed for a curling, right-footed attempt at goal. Faced with a three-man wall, Danny Waldren got his shot on target, and it needed a good, diving save from Seb Barton, at the far post – ex-Shrewsbury Town, Woking, Grays and Bromley midfielder Karl Murray got to the rebound first, but popped the ball over the bar.
Ashford did keep pressing forward to the end, and had a free-kick and a couple of corners during the three minutes of injury time, but, at 5-1, it was inevitably a case of rather going through the motions, and Ross Flitney was not troubled in the Croydon Athletic goal.
The Man of the Match award for Ashford really boiled down to two people – Charlie Glyde, who worked tirelessly on the left side of midfield, and looked as likely to score as anyone, and Shawn Beveney, who toiled away in a new cause, and did most things right. In the end, we gave it to the big man, on his Ashford debut. Well done, Shawn. Welcome to “The Titanic” !
So ended a rather miserable day, which had begun with the news that the M25 was blocked at Leatherhead, meaning that we had almost a three-hour journey to Croydon, most of it hacking through South London. Purely out of habit, I checked the results of the other promotion contenders when I got home – but I’m sure that promotion has gone now. For the record, our “target team”, i.e. the team that looks most likely to fill the fourth and final play-off position, is Merstham. They are now four points ahead of us, with two games in hand, and are absolutely flying, having beaten league leaders Kingstonian 2-0 this afternoon. We need a major loss of form from a few of the teams currently above us, to retain any lingering chance of scraping into the play-offs, and I can’t see that happening.
More importantly, Ashford need to get their own house in order. I don’t know what’s gone wrong, particularly with the defence, but, whether it’s on the pitch or in the dressing-room, it needs sorting out, pronto. I’ve always been fairly lukewarm on the imperative of getting promotion this season, but I’ve been hoping that we can at least stay in contention right to the end, to maintain that tremendous feel-good factor all the way to the final game of the season, at home to Kingstonian. Otherwise, a lot of people, who have had a lot of hope raised sky-high, are going to be bitterly disappointed.
Man of the Match
(to go towards the Milton Keynes Bowl)
Shawn Beveney
Saturday, 14 February 2009
Sittingbourne v Ashford Town. Ryman Division One South. 14th of February 2009.
Sittingbourne 1 Ashford Town 1
from Your Milton Keynes Correspondent
Today’s Kent derby at Bourne Park was a genuine promotion “six-pointer”. That said, both teams will have been fairly happy with a point for this 1-1 draw, but Ashford Town Manager Steve Lovell might be forgiven for wondering what might have been. Before the Brickies’ equaliser, with their first real chance of the game, in the 71st minute, the visitors looked in complete control. With the Metropolitan Police and league leaders Kingstonian drawing 2-2 at Imber Court this afternoon, a 0-1 victory would have elevated Ashford to the top of the division.
I can’t remember the last time that Ashford Town actually sat on top of the table, but I do know that we’ve endured many seasons of either mid-table nothingness, or relegation struggles when a mid-table position has been something to dream of, so it’s simply wonderful that we have a team that is very much in the thick of it, at the right end of the table, for a change. With the situation so tight at the top this season, and with the team in fine form, there’s every chance that this fight for a play-off place will carry on until the final game of the season.
It was also nice, after all the snow and rain of recent weeks, to actually have a game to go and watch, and the sun shone for the duration of our journey down the M1, around the M25, along the M20 (avoiding the M2, which was chocker), and then North, up the A249. Our usual practice when the boys are playing at Bourne Park is to get some scran in the centre of Sittingbourne; today, however, we decided to avoid running the gauntlet of the dirty glasses in Wetherspoons, and broke our journey at a Harvester pub in Dartford, where the food never disappoints.
We arrived at the ground just after 2pm, and another large contingent of Ashford Town supporters was already in evidence – thanks mainly to the R&J Coaches coach party. The visitors certainly appeared to comfortably outnumber the home fans, in a crowd of 337 – Sittingbourne’s second-highest gate of the season so far.
I refuse to be rude about Bourne Park, as we always get a friendly welcome here, but I’d be failing in my duty if I didn’t portray it as a stark contrast to the more leafy destinations on the roster, such as Fleet, Chipstead and Whyteleafe. All of these grounds are downright rustic compared with Bourne Park, which is situated deep into an industrial estate, tucked behind the greyhound stadium. If this were a back-drop to a TV drama, it would be described as “gritty”, and there would be coppers chasing baddies all over the place. This is a land of corrugated steel sections, cold steel railings, breeze-blocked outbuildings and portacabins. From the small, but cosy, main stand, the view consists of large warehouse units and rows and rows of metal racks storing blue, yellow and green plastic pipes. In the foreground, off-set a few yards from the half-way line, is a much smaller, rather ramshackle, stand, which is home to The Brickies’ “Kop”. Perhaps more importantly, the pitch was looking in pretty good nick, considering the recent monsoons and the fact that ground-sharing Maidstone United also have two teams playing on this surface. There were a few slightly muddy areas, but it looked pretty good for mid-February, and it certainly played very well throughout the match.
The casual observer might have expected this fixture to have had a little extra edge to it, given that Steve Lovell was returning to the club that he left about mid-way through last season, especially considering that he lured as many as seven players from Sittingbourne to The Homelands, in his wake. Well, that wasn’t the case – mostly due to the fact that almost all of the players that followed Steve to Ashford have either since been released, or are currently unavailable for selection. In fact, the only former Sittingbourne player in the Ashford starting line-up today was Mitch Sherwood, with Bradley Spice, (son of The Brickies’ Chairman), on the bench. If anything, Ashford Town’s Sittingbourne connections added to the camaraderie of the occasion, and it was good to see Bradley touch palms with one of his former team-mates as the teams came out for the second half, and to witness the injured Mark Lovell, another former Brickie, exchanging pleasantries with the lady on the turnstiles, who clearly remembered him. The home side actually had one former Ashford player in their starting line-up, with Ryan Andrews at right-back.
Mark wasn’t the only currently-sidelined Ashford player to be in attendance at Bourne Park this afternoon. Top scorer Paul Jones, alas, had not recovered from the hamstring strain he suffered in mid-week, so was a spectator today. The suspended Tony Browne was also there, with his short & sharp new hair-cut, and both Jimmy Bottle and goalkeeper Josh Willis were in the main stand. Steve Lovell did, however, have the services of skipper Sean Ray, after his one-match ban, so Razor returned to the centre of the defence, alongside Elliott Brathwaite. As usual, Elliott’s brother Daniel was at left-back, Jimmy Elford was at right-back and Ryan Briggs occupied the centre of midfield. The strength and battling qualities of Danny Lye were preferred, alongside Briggs, to the silkier, creative talent of James Humphries, so James was on the bench. The in-form Charlie Glyde was deployed on the left side of midfield, with Mitch Sherwood, who scored on Tuesday, on the right. The return of Sean Ray to the side meant that his former defensive side-kick, Craig Wilkins, was again selected as a centre-forward, alongside new loan signing Orlando Smith. Joining James Humphries and Bradley Spice on a four-man bench were Ian Batten and goalkeeper Darren Ibrahim.
So this was my first sight of Orlando Smith – universally known as “Mucu”, it seems – a Jamaican forward or left-sided midfielder who comes to us on a month’s loan from Welling United, in the Conference South. My first impressions ? Well, the first thing that struck me was that, in appearance, he looks unnervingly like Shaun Bradshaw – but, thankfully, that’s where the similarity ends. Given that Orlando comes to us straight from Welling’s first team, it was no surprise that he stood out as being the quality player on the pitch this afternoon. He looks very skilful with the ball at his feet, and showed the ability to go past players without seeming to think about it too much. (The problem, of course, is how to harness that obvious ability for the good of the team). Knowing also that Mucu hasn’t actually scored for The Wings this season, it wasn’t surprising that he didn’t always get it right in front of goal. If there were reports from Tuesday night’s game, against Godalming, that he was a bit shy of shooting, he certainly compensated too much the other way this afternoon, having some fairly ambitious attempts when he might have looked up and sought other options. He also looks like he might be a little enigmatic, occasionally seeming to have lapses in concentration, and allowing himself to become wound up by the sly elbows that he received from the opposition this afternoon. Nevertheless, a player of Orlando’s obvious quality can do nothing but good for Ashford Town, so let’s hope that he goes back to Welling, (if he has to), having rediscovered his goal-scoring touch.
It was certainly the fleet-footed, dribbling runs, and occasional deft touches, of Orlando Smith that stood out in a very unexceptional first half, which provided little evidence that this was a top-of-the-table clash between the teams lying second and seventh in the table. In truth, there was only one team in it in the first 45 minutes, with the few half-chances that did occur being created by the visitors. Ashford’s back five was fairly untroubled, except for a slight mix-up in the seventh minute, when Jimmy Elford had to deal with a long, diagonal ball into the penalty area. At first, it wasn’t clear whether he and Seb Barton were on the same wavelength, but Jimmy managed to chest the ball close enough to Seb for him to be able to gather it safely.
Ashford, playing in their green & white home strip, certainly had the majority of possession in the first half, against a Sittingbourne side that turned out in their familiar colours of red & black stripes, with shorts and sockies the same shade of black as those worn by both goalkeepers and all three officials. (So much for being precious about avoiding colour clashes !). To the uninitiated, it might have looked like Hibs taking on AC Milan.
In spite of having the ball for the longest, and having several corners and free-kicks, The Nuts ‘n’ Bolts rarely threatened the Sittingbourne goal in the first half. Elliott Brathwaite got up well to meet a Charlie Glyde corner, in the tenth minute, but was unable to direct his effort downwards, and Ryan Briggs sent a free-kick all the way through to goalkeeper Matt Read, five minutes later. That free-kick was expertly “bought” by Orlando Smith, who, just a minute later, sliced a speculative long-range shot well wide of goal, (to ironic cheers from the home supporters). This was closely followed by Charlie Glyde scuffing a tame shot straight at Read, and then, in the 19th minute, Orlando beat one defender pretty easily, to get himself into the Sittingbourne penalty area, but was denied by a good, covering tackle.
In the 24th minute, Ryan Briggs hit a free-kick straight into a Brickies wall, after Charlie Glyde had been felled by a late challenge from Colin Richmond, but Charlie had the ball in the Sittingbourne net, a minute later. This began with Orlando Smith spreading the ball wide to Mitchell Sherwood, who saw plenty of the ball, on the right, today. Mitch’s cross was headed up in the air, and Referee Allum’s whistle had blown well before Glyde hit the ball into the net.
On a bright afternoon of blue sky and broken cloud, the football was still failing to match the weather conditions when, in the 31st minute, Smith easily danced around Joe Dowley, only to slice his shot well wide, from just outside the Sittingbourne penalty area. In the 36th minute, Ashford had a corner, on the left, but this actually led to the home side’s one glimmer of a chance before half time. As the ball was cleared, the break was on, with No.9 Tom Bradbrook carrying the ball through the centre circle. This was a two-against-two situation, with the prolific Richard Brady peeling off wide, to Bradbrook’s left – but the two Ashford defenders who had stayed back did a good job, holding a good line and catching Brady offside as the ball was fed through to him.
Centre-half Joe Dowley was fortunate to get away with not being shown a yellow card, after a cynical trip on Smith, after Orlando had slipped past him with some quick footwork, and looked to be away. However, Ashford did fashion a shooting chance on the stroke of half time. A throw-in from Daniel Brathwaite, who is the nearest we have to a long-throw specialist, now that Lee Hockey has gone to Chatham, was nodded on to Mitch Sherwood, in the centre of the penalty area. Mitch showed good technique in turning and shooting in one movement, but his low effort went straight at the goalie.
Brickies’ Manager Gary Abbott made a substitution at half time, (and a wise one, as it turned out), replacing the anonymous Hicham Akhazzan with Nick Reeves – but the whole complexion of the game changed when Ashford scored, just seconds after the restart. After combining well with Mitch Sherwood, on the right flank, Jimmy Elford sent over a high, hanging cross. Matt Read should have dealt with this, but, under an aerial challenge from Craig Wilkins, merely patted the ball to Orlando Smith, who was waiting on the edge of the penalty area. Orlando volleyed the ball low, into the empty net. Striking the ball cleanly, he made taking the chance look easy – but I can think of one or two current Ashford players that I’m pleased the ball didn’t fall to, at the moment.
Although the goal was well taken, Read should certainly shoulder some of the blame, and his confidence wasn’t helped when he was guilty of a complete “air shot” when attempting a clearance, just seconds later. Orlando probably had this in mind when, in the 48th minute, after a Sittingbourne corner had been cleared, he attempted a hopeful shot almost from the halfway line – but this time his execution was all wrong, and the shot went nowhere near the goal.
There was another great piece of work from Smith in the 52nd minute, when a deft flick from him sent Craig Wilkins clean through on goal. Well, Wilko is no whippet, but, despite the fact that he had some ground to make up to catch up with the ball, he managed to get there before the chasing Sittingbourne defence – only to shoot well wide.
The first piece of quality work we saw from the home side came in the 53rd minute. A good passing movement on the edge of the Ashford penalty area ended with Nick Reeves curling a rapidly-dipping shot just past the angle of post and bar. A minute later, however, the visitors had an even better opportunity to score. This time it was Ryan Briggs who was the exponent of the curling ball, bending a cross behind the Sittingbourne back line, which simply begged to be headed into the net. The cross found both Craig Wilkins and Charlie Glyde unmarked, beyond the far post, and it was Charlie whose header lacked any direction.
The Brickies had a great opportunity themselves, in the 58th minute, and this was presented to them by Sean Ray and Elliott Brathwaite, who both otherwise had a towering game in the centre of Ashford’s defence. A through ball into the Ashford penalty area clearly needed dealing with, and Brathwaite, in an attempt to hoof clear, hit the ball straight at Ray. The ball broke nicely for Tom Bradbrook, who, in spite of being outside the penalty area, now had a clear sight of goal – but sliced his shot wide, and the way he reacted by clasping his hands to his head afterwards told its own story ! It would have been a slightly fortunate way for Sittingbourne to equalise, but there was no doubt that the home side was very much starting to come into the game, albeit without troubling the Ashford defence unduly.
The next opportunity fell to the visitors, however, and Joe Dowley once again benefited from referee Allum’s leniency when he deliberately handled the ball to intercept a through-ball just outside the Sittingbourne penalty area, in the 69th minute. When Dowley was called to one side by the ref, it appeared certain that he was going to be shown a yellow card – after all, deliberate hand-ball is usually an automatic booking – but no further action was taken. From the resulting free-kick, Ryan Briggs this time managed to lift the ball over the wall, but his effort was also just too high.
Sittingbourne were beginning to command more possession, and started to pass the ball around, building patiently. One such build-up resulted in substitute Nick Reeves shooting just wide, from outside the area, in the 74th minute. The home side’s equaliser, in the 76th minute, coming shortly after big Elie Kayembe had been thrown on as sub in place of Mark De Bolla, resulted from a good passing move involving Sittingbourne’s two substitutes. Nick Reeves sent Kayembe through to the by-line, and the Congolese striker sent in a dangerous cross, which Richard Brady somehow bundled into the net, at the near post. This sparked an immediate protest from Seb Barton and the Ashford defence, who all felt that the goal should have been disallowed, (apparently because the ‘keeper had had the ball kicked from his grasp), but Mr Allum was unmoved. So 1-1 it was, and Ashford had once again, for the fifth successive game, found a way to concede a goal, (albeit just the one goal in each case).
If the referee had reduced his chances of receiving a Valentine’s Day card from any of the Ashford Town supporters, his goose was well and truly cooked, almost straight after the restart, when he booked Mitchell Sherwood for what appeared to be a perfectly legitimate attempt to challenge in the air for the ball. Given the leniency that Mr Allum had previously shown to Joe Dowley, this appeared to be very inconsistent.
The game really might have gone either way after the Sittingbourne equaliser, as the play gradually became more stretched. Shortly after Richard Brady had been put clean through on goal, in the 83rd minute, only to see the lino’s flag raised for off-side, it was Ashford’s turn to put together a decent passing movement. This resulted in Mitchell Sherwood’s attempted cross, from the right, being put behind for a corner. This was swung in, left-footed, by Charlie Glyde, and Sean Ray got up well, directing his header on target, but Matt Read redeemed himself, after his earlier error, tipping the ball onto the post, before Tom Bradbrook hoofed it away, from off the goal line.
Orlando Smith gave way to ex-Brickie Bradley Spice, in the 84th minute, in Steve Lovell’s only substitution of the game, after a performance that mixed high-quality skill with squandered opportunities. A minute later, Ashford were very nearly caught on the break. Daniel Brathwaite lost the ball, well upfield, when attacking down the left flank. Rio Alderton quickly spread the ball to Richard Brady, on the left, and the Player-Assistant-Manager’s cross found Tom Bradbrook, sliding in at the far post after arriving at pace, but Bradbrook put the ball wide.
The home side was certainly finishing the game the stronger, and at last started to look like promotion challengers, with right-back Ryan Andrews coming close, in the 87th minute. Meeting a cross from the left, Andrews had a great chance to snatch all three points, against his former club, but smashed the ball into the side-netting. Two minutes later, Elie Kayembe again had the ball in a dangerous position, just on the corner of the Ashford six-yard box. He squared the ball into the goalmouth, where Seb Barton came to claim. There was a brief scramble as the ball squirmed out of Seb’s grasp, but the Ashford defence eventually cleared.
Into injury time, and still Sittingbourne pressed forward. With 92 minutes on my watch, Colin Richmond, who was soon to be named as The Brickies’ Man of the Match, sent in a low, hard shot, which was saved by Seb Barton, diving to his left. But the real scare for Ashford came seconds later. A cross, from the right, was cleared, solidly enough by the visiting defence, but only as far as Tom Bradbrook. His low shot beat Seb Barton, but was cleared off the line by Jimmy Elford. The ball rebounded straight to Richard Brady, who had earlier scored his 15th league goal of the season, and his firm shot was once again saved on the line by Elford. This time it was Colin Richmond who found the ball at his feet, and he shot just wide of the angle of post and bar.
This was an heroic climax to the game for Jimmy, but he had already done enough to be named as the MK Man of the Match, for another solid and polished performance. This was not, however, a straight-forward decision, as Sean Ray and Elliott Brathwaite both impressed at the back, and Danny Lye had a strong, hard-working game in midfield.
Elsewhere, results in and around the play-off zone went more or less to form, with promotion contenders drawing against one another and beating teams from lower down the division – the exception was at Leatherhead, where The Tanners did us a favour by beating Fleet Town 2-0. Ashford went down a place, to third, as a result of today’s exertions, but, with the top six teams spread over just four points, it’s extremely tight at the top. With Kingstonian, Fleet and Worthing all having pretty easy home games over the next two or three days, it’s crucial for Ashford to take all three points when they travel to face an improving Whitstable Town side on Tuesday night.
Man of the Match
(to go towards the Milton Keynes Bowl)
Jimmy Elford
from Your Milton Keynes Correspondent
Today’s Kent derby at Bourne Park was a genuine promotion “six-pointer”. That said, both teams will have been fairly happy with a point for this 1-1 draw, but Ashford Town Manager Steve Lovell might be forgiven for wondering what might have been. Before the Brickies’ equaliser, with their first real chance of the game, in the 71st minute, the visitors looked in complete control. With the Metropolitan Police and league leaders Kingstonian drawing 2-2 at Imber Court this afternoon, a 0-1 victory would have elevated Ashford to the top of the division.
I can’t remember the last time that Ashford Town actually sat on top of the table, but I do know that we’ve endured many seasons of either mid-table nothingness, or relegation struggles when a mid-table position has been something to dream of, so it’s simply wonderful that we have a team that is very much in the thick of it, at the right end of the table, for a change. With the situation so tight at the top this season, and with the team in fine form, there’s every chance that this fight for a play-off place will carry on until the final game of the season.
It was also nice, after all the snow and rain of recent weeks, to actually have a game to go and watch, and the sun shone for the duration of our journey down the M1, around the M25, along the M20 (avoiding the M2, which was chocker), and then North, up the A249. Our usual practice when the boys are playing at Bourne Park is to get some scran in the centre of Sittingbourne; today, however, we decided to avoid running the gauntlet of the dirty glasses in Wetherspoons, and broke our journey at a Harvester pub in Dartford, where the food never disappoints.
We arrived at the ground just after 2pm, and another large contingent of Ashford Town supporters was already in evidence – thanks mainly to the R&J Coaches coach party. The visitors certainly appeared to comfortably outnumber the home fans, in a crowd of 337 – Sittingbourne’s second-highest gate of the season so far.
I refuse to be rude about Bourne Park, as we always get a friendly welcome here, but I’d be failing in my duty if I didn’t portray it as a stark contrast to the more leafy destinations on the roster, such as Fleet, Chipstead and Whyteleafe. All of these grounds are downright rustic compared with Bourne Park, which is situated deep into an industrial estate, tucked behind the greyhound stadium. If this were a back-drop to a TV drama, it would be described as “gritty”, and there would be coppers chasing baddies all over the place. This is a land of corrugated steel sections, cold steel railings, breeze-blocked outbuildings and portacabins. From the small, but cosy, main stand, the view consists of large warehouse units and rows and rows of metal racks storing blue, yellow and green plastic pipes. In the foreground, off-set a few yards from the half-way line, is a much smaller, rather ramshackle, stand, which is home to The Brickies’ “Kop”. Perhaps more importantly, the pitch was looking in pretty good nick, considering the recent monsoons and the fact that ground-sharing Maidstone United also have two teams playing on this surface. There were a few slightly muddy areas, but it looked pretty good for mid-February, and it certainly played very well throughout the match.
The casual observer might have expected this fixture to have had a little extra edge to it, given that Steve Lovell was returning to the club that he left about mid-way through last season, especially considering that he lured as many as seven players from Sittingbourne to The Homelands, in his wake. Well, that wasn’t the case – mostly due to the fact that almost all of the players that followed Steve to Ashford have either since been released, or are currently unavailable for selection. In fact, the only former Sittingbourne player in the Ashford starting line-up today was Mitch Sherwood, with Bradley Spice, (son of The Brickies’ Chairman), on the bench. If anything, Ashford Town’s Sittingbourne connections added to the camaraderie of the occasion, and it was good to see Bradley touch palms with one of his former team-mates as the teams came out for the second half, and to witness the injured Mark Lovell, another former Brickie, exchanging pleasantries with the lady on the turnstiles, who clearly remembered him. The home side actually had one former Ashford player in their starting line-up, with Ryan Andrews at right-back.
Mark wasn’t the only currently-sidelined Ashford player to be in attendance at Bourne Park this afternoon. Top scorer Paul Jones, alas, had not recovered from the hamstring strain he suffered in mid-week, so was a spectator today. The suspended Tony Browne was also there, with his short & sharp new hair-cut, and both Jimmy Bottle and goalkeeper Josh Willis were in the main stand. Steve Lovell did, however, have the services of skipper Sean Ray, after his one-match ban, so Razor returned to the centre of the defence, alongside Elliott Brathwaite. As usual, Elliott’s brother Daniel was at left-back, Jimmy Elford was at right-back and Ryan Briggs occupied the centre of midfield. The strength and battling qualities of Danny Lye were preferred, alongside Briggs, to the silkier, creative talent of James Humphries, so James was on the bench. The in-form Charlie Glyde was deployed on the left side of midfield, with Mitch Sherwood, who scored on Tuesday, on the right. The return of Sean Ray to the side meant that his former defensive side-kick, Craig Wilkins, was again selected as a centre-forward, alongside new loan signing Orlando Smith. Joining James Humphries and Bradley Spice on a four-man bench were Ian Batten and goalkeeper Darren Ibrahim.
So this was my first sight of Orlando Smith – universally known as “Mucu”, it seems – a Jamaican forward or left-sided midfielder who comes to us on a month’s loan from Welling United, in the Conference South. My first impressions ? Well, the first thing that struck me was that, in appearance, he looks unnervingly like Shaun Bradshaw – but, thankfully, that’s where the similarity ends. Given that Orlando comes to us straight from Welling’s first team, it was no surprise that he stood out as being the quality player on the pitch this afternoon. He looks very skilful with the ball at his feet, and showed the ability to go past players without seeming to think about it too much. (The problem, of course, is how to harness that obvious ability for the good of the team). Knowing also that Mucu hasn’t actually scored for The Wings this season, it wasn’t surprising that he didn’t always get it right in front of goal. If there were reports from Tuesday night’s game, against Godalming, that he was a bit shy of shooting, he certainly compensated too much the other way this afternoon, having some fairly ambitious attempts when he might have looked up and sought other options. He also looks like he might be a little enigmatic, occasionally seeming to have lapses in concentration, and allowing himself to become wound up by the sly elbows that he received from the opposition this afternoon. Nevertheless, a player of Orlando’s obvious quality can do nothing but good for Ashford Town, so let’s hope that he goes back to Welling, (if he has to), having rediscovered his goal-scoring touch.
It was certainly the fleet-footed, dribbling runs, and occasional deft touches, of Orlando Smith that stood out in a very unexceptional first half, which provided little evidence that this was a top-of-the-table clash between the teams lying second and seventh in the table. In truth, there was only one team in it in the first 45 minutes, with the few half-chances that did occur being created by the visitors. Ashford’s back five was fairly untroubled, except for a slight mix-up in the seventh minute, when Jimmy Elford had to deal with a long, diagonal ball into the penalty area. At first, it wasn’t clear whether he and Seb Barton were on the same wavelength, but Jimmy managed to chest the ball close enough to Seb for him to be able to gather it safely.
Ashford, playing in their green & white home strip, certainly had the majority of possession in the first half, against a Sittingbourne side that turned out in their familiar colours of red & black stripes, with shorts and sockies the same shade of black as those worn by both goalkeepers and all three officials. (So much for being precious about avoiding colour clashes !). To the uninitiated, it might have looked like Hibs taking on AC Milan.
In spite of having the ball for the longest, and having several corners and free-kicks, The Nuts ‘n’ Bolts rarely threatened the Sittingbourne goal in the first half. Elliott Brathwaite got up well to meet a Charlie Glyde corner, in the tenth minute, but was unable to direct his effort downwards, and Ryan Briggs sent a free-kick all the way through to goalkeeper Matt Read, five minutes later. That free-kick was expertly “bought” by Orlando Smith, who, just a minute later, sliced a speculative long-range shot well wide of goal, (to ironic cheers from the home supporters). This was closely followed by Charlie Glyde scuffing a tame shot straight at Read, and then, in the 19th minute, Orlando beat one defender pretty easily, to get himself into the Sittingbourne penalty area, but was denied by a good, covering tackle.
In the 24th minute, Ryan Briggs hit a free-kick straight into a Brickies wall, after Charlie Glyde had been felled by a late challenge from Colin Richmond, but Charlie had the ball in the Sittingbourne net, a minute later. This began with Orlando Smith spreading the ball wide to Mitchell Sherwood, who saw plenty of the ball, on the right, today. Mitch’s cross was headed up in the air, and Referee Allum’s whistle had blown well before Glyde hit the ball into the net.
On a bright afternoon of blue sky and broken cloud, the football was still failing to match the weather conditions when, in the 31st minute, Smith easily danced around Joe Dowley, only to slice his shot well wide, from just outside the Sittingbourne penalty area. In the 36th minute, Ashford had a corner, on the left, but this actually led to the home side’s one glimmer of a chance before half time. As the ball was cleared, the break was on, with No.9 Tom Bradbrook carrying the ball through the centre circle. This was a two-against-two situation, with the prolific Richard Brady peeling off wide, to Bradbrook’s left – but the two Ashford defenders who had stayed back did a good job, holding a good line and catching Brady offside as the ball was fed through to him.
Centre-half Joe Dowley was fortunate to get away with not being shown a yellow card, after a cynical trip on Smith, after Orlando had slipped past him with some quick footwork, and looked to be away. However, Ashford did fashion a shooting chance on the stroke of half time. A throw-in from Daniel Brathwaite, who is the nearest we have to a long-throw specialist, now that Lee Hockey has gone to Chatham, was nodded on to Mitch Sherwood, in the centre of the penalty area. Mitch showed good technique in turning and shooting in one movement, but his low effort went straight at the goalie.
Brickies’ Manager Gary Abbott made a substitution at half time, (and a wise one, as it turned out), replacing the anonymous Hicham Akhazzan with Nick Reeves – but the whole complexion of the game changed when Ashford scored, just seconds after the restart. After combining well with Mitch Sherwood, on the right flank, Jimmy Elford sent over a high, hanging cross. Matt Read should have dealt with this, but, under an aerial challenge from Craig Wilkins, merely patted the ball to Orlando Smith, who was waiting on the edge of the penalty area. Orlando volleyed the ball low, into the empty net. Striking the ball cleanly, he made taking the chance look easy – but I can think of one or two current Ashford players that I’m pleased the ball didn’t fall to, at the moment.
Although the goal was well taken, Read should certainly shoulder some of the blame, and his confidence wasn’t helped when he was guilty of a complete “air shot” when attempting a clearance, just seconds later. Orlando probably had this in mind when, in the 48th minute, after a Sittingbourne corner had been cleared, he attempted a hopeful shot almost from the halfway line – but this time his execution was all wrong, and the shot went nowhere near the goal.
There was another great piece of work from Smith in the 52nd minute, when a deft flick from him sent Craig Wilkins clean through on goal. Well, Wilko is no whippet, but, despite the fact that he had some ground to make up to catch up with the ball, he managed to get there before the chasing Sittingbourne defence – only to shoot well wide.
The first piece of quality work we saw from the home side came in the 53rd minute. A good passing movement on the edge of the Ashford penalty area ended with Nick Reeves curling a rapidly-dipping shot just past the angle of post and bar. A minute later, however, the visitors had an even better opportunity to score. This time it was Ryan Briggs who was the exponent of the curling ball, bending a cross behind the Sittingbourne back line, which simply begged to be headed into the net. The cross found both Craig Wilkins and Charlie Glyde unmarked, beyond the far post, and it was Charlie whose header lacked any direction.
The Brickies had a great opportunity themselves, in the 58th minute, and this was presented to them by Sean Ray and Elliott Brathwaite, who both otherwise had a towering game in the centre of Ashford’s defence. A through ball into the Ashford penalty area clearly needed dealing with, and Brathwaite, in an attempt to hoof clear, hit the ball straight at Ray. The ball broke nicely for Tom Bradbrook, who, in spite of being outside the penalty area, now had a clear sight of goal – but sliced his shot wide, and the way he reacted by clasping his hands to his head afterwards told its own story ! It would have been a slightly fortunate way for Sittingbourne to equalise, but there was no doubt that the home side was very much starting to come into the game, albeit without troubling the Ashford defence unduly.
The next opportunity fell to the visitors, however, and Joe Dowley once again benefited from referee Allum’s leniency when he deliberately handled the ball to intercept a through-ball just outside the Sittingbourne penalty area, in the 69th minute. When Dowley was called to one side by the ref, it appeared certain that he was going to be shown a yellow card – after all, deliberate hand-ball is usually an automatic booking – but no further action was taken. From the resulting free-kick, Ryan Briggs this time managed to lift the ball over the wall, but his effort was also just too high.
Sittingbourne were beginning to command more possession, and started to pass the ball around, building patiently. One such build-up resulted in substitute Nick Reeves shooting just wide, from outside the area, in the 74th minute. The home side’s equaliser, in the 76th minute, coming shortly after big Elie Kayembe had been thrown on as sub in place of Mark De Bolla, resulted from a good passing move involving Sittingbourne’s two substitutes. Nick Reeves sent Kayembe through to the by-line, and the Congolese striker sent in a dangerous cross, which Richard Brady somehow bundled into the net, at the near post. This sparked an immediate protest from Seb Barton and the Ashford defence, who all felt that the goal should have been disallowed, (apparently because the ‘keeper had had the ball kicked from his grasp), but Mr Allum was unmoved. So 1-1 it was, and Ashford had once again, for the fifth successive game, found a way to concede a goal, (albeit just the one goal in each case).
If the referee had reduced his chances of receiving a Valentine’s Day card from any of the Ashford Town supporters, his goose was well and truly cooked, almost straight after the restart, when he booked Mitchell Sherwood for what appeared to be a perfectly legitimate attempt to challenge in the air for the ball. Given the leniency that Mr Allum had previously shown to Joe Dowley, this appeared to be very inconsistent.
The game really might have gone either way after the Sittingbourne equaliser, as the play gradually became more stretched. Shortly after Richard Brady had been put clean through on goal, in the 83rd minute, only to see the lino’s flag raised for off-side, it was Ashford’s turn to put together a decent passing movement. This resulted in Mitchell Sherwood’s attempted cross, from the right, being put behind for a corner. This was swung in, left-footed, by Charlie Glyde, and Sean Ray got up well, directing his header on target, but Matt Read redeemed himself, after his earlier error, tipping the ball onto the post, before Tom Bradbrook hoofed it away, from off the goal line.
Orlando Smith gave way to ex-Brickie Bradley Spice, in the 84th minute, in Steve Lovell’s only substitution of the game, after a performance that mixed high-quality skill with squandered opportunities. A minute later, Ashford were very nearly caught on the break. Daniel Brathwaite lost the ball, well upfield, when attacking down the left flank. Rio Alderton quickly spread the ball to Richard Brady, on the left, and the Player-Assistant-Manager’s cross found Tom Bradbrook, sliding in at the far post after arriving at pace, but Bradbrook put the ball wide.
The home side was certainly finishing the game the stronger, and at last started to look like promotion challengers, with right-back Ryan Andrews coming close, in the 87th minute. Meeting a cross from the left, Andrews had a great chance to snatch all three points, against his former club, but smashed the ball into the side-netting. Two minutes later, Elie Kayembe again had the ball in a dangerous position, just on the corner of the Ashford six-yard box. He squared the ball into the goalmouth, where Seb Barton came to claim. There was a brief scramble as the ball squirmed out of Seb’s grasp, but the Ashford defence eventually cleared.
Into injury time, and still Sittingbourne pressed forward. With 92 minutes on my watch, Colin Richmond, who was soon to be named as The Brickies’ Man of the Match, sent in a low, hard shot, which was saved by Seb Barton, diving to his left. But the real scare for Ashford came seconds later. A cross, from the right, was cleared, solidly enough by the visiting defence, but only as far as Tom Bradbrook. His low shot beat Seb Barton, but was cleared off the line by Jimmy Elford. The ball rebounded straight to Richard Brady, who had earlier scored his 15th league goal of the season, and his firm shot was once again saved on the line by Elford. This time it was Colin Richmond who found the ball at his feet, and he shot just wide of the angle of post and bar.
This was an heroic climax to the game for Jimmy, but he had already done enough to be named as the MK Man of the Match, for another solid and polished performance. This was not, however, a straight-forward decision, as Sean Ray and Elliott Brathwaite both impressed at the back, and Danny Lye had a strong, hard-working game in midfield.
Elsewhere, results in and around the play-off zone went more or less to form, with promotion contenders drawing against one another and beating teams from lower down the division – the exception was at Leatherhead, where The Tanners did us a favour by beating Fleet Town 2-0. Ashford went down a place, to third, as a result of today’s exertions, but, with the top six teams spread over just four points, it’s extremely tight at the top. With Kingstonian, Fleet and Worthing all having pretty easy home games over the next two or three days, it’s crucial for Ashford to take all three points when they travel to face an improving Whitstable Town side on Tuesday night.
Man of the Match
(to go towards the Milton Keynes Bowl)
Jimmy Elford
Sunday, 25 January 2009
Dulwich Hamlet v Ashford Town. Ryman Division One South. 24th of January 2009.
Dulwich Hamlet 1 Ashford Town 1
from Your Milton Keynes Correspondent
Today’s fixture away to Dulwich Hamlet took us deep into South London – not for our longest trip in the calendar, but certainly for the slowest and most arduous. On our two previous trips to Champion Hill, we’ve gone clockwise around the M25, over the Dartford Bridge, off at Junction 3 and then crawled our way through South East London. Today, we decided to do something different, approaching Dulwich from the West, using the M3 as our spur off the M25. Leaving Milton Keynes shortly before 11.30am, all began well, since, having been the bane of our life for the past two season, the roadworks on the Luton section of the M1 are now complete. Helped by four broad, free-flowing lanes of speeding traffic, we passed Heathrow after about half an hour’s drive. There was soon some delay as we competed for space with the middle-classes of England in the Twickenham area – it seems that both Harlequins and Rosslyn Park were playing catch at home – and we sort of made it up as we went along after that, but we arrived at the ground just before 2pm, and claimed a much-coveted space in the stadium’s car park.
One other snag about the trip to Dulwich is that there is not a convenient pub that does decent food on the way to the ground. Instead, we sought much-needed sustenance, in the form of a coffee and a sandwich, in the Starbucks that is housed within the Sainsburys store right next-door to the ground.
I’m very glad that we did, as we bumped into former Ashford Town Manager John Cumberbatch. A former player at The Hamlet, John was able to update us on how some of the former Ashford players are getting on at Champion Hill. He reported that his son Marc, the Dulwich Hamlet captain, has been playing well at the moment, but that Walid Matata has suffered from a succession of injuries. I enquired about John-Paul Collier, but the news of J-P is that he is currently nursing a fairly serious cruciate injury, having played just the one game for the club, (in which he scored).
Today’s hosts are actually going through a tough time with injuries, particularly with their strikers, and the official team news was that top-scorer Laurent Hamici, who has knocked in 13 league goals so far this season – a total currently bettered only by Kingstonian’s Bobby Traynor – was on the injury list. The anecdotal info from a Dulwich Hamlet fan was that the home side was to be represented up front by a defender and a midfielder.
There were no such problems for Steve Lovell, except for the fact that his injured-again son Mark was present at the ground in a purely supportive capacity – and the fact that Steve was himself laid up in bed, meaning that Assistant Manager Hugo Langton took sole control of the team today. With an otherwise full squad to pick from, the only real intrigue these days, as far as team selection is concerned, revolves around who partners Ryan Briggs in central midfield: Charlie Glyde, Danny Lye or James Humphries ? Well, today the shirt was given to Charlie Glyde – unsurprisingly, probably, given his reportedly good display at home to Burgess Hill Town on Saturday.
The full, familiar line-up, with subs, therefore, was: Barton, Elford, Brathwaite D, Brathwaite E, Ray (capt.), Browne, Briggs, Glyde, Sherwood, Jones and Wilkins, with Ibrahim, Lye, Humphries, Bottle and Spice on the bench. The presence of Darren Ibrahim in the dug-out as sub goalie tells us that the luckless Josh Willis is still not fit – Josh was prowling around Champion Hill this afternoon, probably reflecting on what he wouldn’t give to have a chance of keeping goal behind that very solid back four !
For those who haven’t had the benefit of visiting this ground, the main feature here is the main stand. I always find this beige brick-built structure, with “DHFC” embossed in large letters, to be deeply impressive. I can’t say many nice things about the pitch, unfortunately. It looked to be very muddy in the centre, and also in both penalty areas, with divots throughout, even before the kick-off. Having passed a precautionary 10am inspection, it was a good guess that it had soaked up plenty of rain recently, and those who had walked on it reported it to be very soft under foot. This prepared us for the fact that today’s game might be a bit of a battle, rather than a feast of fluid football – which was a shame, given that it was a bright, windless afternoon, which was otherwise ideal for footy.
Given the temperature reading of 6ºC, it was surprisingly mild, sitting at the back of the stand, warmed by a watery, setting sun. There was also a cacophony of colour, down on the pitch, with the home side in pink shirts, navy blue sleeves, shorts and sockies, contrasting with the yellow shirts, green shorts and yellow socks of the visitors – with the added splash of colour provided by the yellow ball and Walid Matata’s famous yellow boots, (although the latter were mostly tucked under the Dulwich bench today).
One slightly unusual thing about the Dulwich Hamlet squad today was that all 16 players, with the exception of the goalkeeper, were black. It doesn’t make any difference to anything – it’s just unusual, that’s all.
More to the point, Dulwich looked a decent side this afternoon, and they made a fast start to the match, no doubt fired up by Manager Craig Edwards to rise to the challenge of facing a team that had won its previous seven league games on the trot. They had a corner in the opening seconds, which was strongly headed clear by Sean Ray – not for the last time this afternoon. The ball fell to Daryl Plummer, on the edge of the area. His first stab at the ball was a complete air shot, but he had time to connect with a second attempt, which he pulled wide.
Although Dulwich had most possession in the opening quarter of an hour, when Ashford did have the ball they knocked it around with an instinctive fluency that only develops when players’ confidence is high and they’re comfortable with playing in a settled team. The home side certainly wasn’t afraid to shoot from long range, but their execution was fairly poor, which effectively nullified their early efforts. Stanley Muguo was one of the worst culprits; he hit a long-range shot well wide, in the twelfth minute, after Sean Ray had headed a corner clear, and then, in the 16th minute, he attempted a shot from even further out, which missed by twice as much. (I won’t make any Mr Magoo jokes – but it’s tempting !). A minute later, big No.9 Cedric Ngakam picked the ball up straight from a Seb Barton kick-out, and careered forward, through the Ashford half. With the visitors’ defence pushing upfield, expecting the ball to have sailed forward over their head, there were plenty of good options for Ngakam to invite a team-mate to run into space, but he instead attempted a shot from long range, which missed the target.
By the 27th minute, with Ashford’s final ball being poor, there had been no threat to either goalkeeper – nor had there been any hint of indiscipline or animosity between the two sides. That all changed in an instant, when Tony Browne made a poor tackle on Daryl Plummer. Contrary to some reports elsewhere, it was not two-footed, but it was over the top of the ball – and it was probably not insignificant that it happened right in front of the Dulwich Hamlet bench. Immediately, some of the home side’s substitutes and officials crossed the white line to vent their disapproval of the challenge – but it was former Ashford Town left-back Nathan Simpson who rushed up to “strike the first blow”. Everything happened in a few frantic moments, and we all see these things differently, but my take was that Simpson somehow managed to keep his hands by his side, and merely “chested” Browney away – but there were others there who speak of seeing a punch thrown, and I wouldn’t argue with what they say they saw.
Simpson was merely shown the yellow card, so we might deduce from that that Referee Ian Crouch saw, (or rather didn’t see), the same as me. Tony Browne was sent off the old-fashioned way. No silly red card. No prolonged lecture as a prelude to the sending off by a would-be celebrity ref grandstanding to the cameras. Referee Crouch immediately just gestured in the direction of the nearby dressing rooms, telling Browne to be on his way. Skipper Sean Ray was also booked during the prolonged delay. I don’t know the reason for the booking, but I have to say that the referee handled the whole incident pretty well. It wasn’t the worst tackle I’ve seen on a football pitch, and I didn’t see it as being a stone-cold red card, but the tackle was late, and it was over the top of the ball, so it was probably the correct decision.
Worse was to follow for Ashford. Play eventually restarted, on the half-hour mark, with a free-kick to Dulwich, close to the touchline. Benson Paka pumped the kick long, into the Ashford penalty area. The ball was allowed to go all the way to the far post. Although I couldn’t see exactly what happened, from the back of the stand – I really must invest in some Peter O’Sullevan binoculars – it appeared that Seb Barton was struggling to deal with the situation, and Junior Kaffo somehow managed to bundle the ball into the back of the net. Regardless of the detail, it was Dulwich Hamlet 1 Ashford Town 0.
So, from riding the wave of an unbeaten run of eleven games that had seen them rise to third in the table, Ashford were suddenly faced with a real test of their character and resolve, (not to mention quality). The immediate problem was having to come from a goal down, with ten men, against one of the better teams in the division. More long term, Steve Lovell would have the conundrum of how to cope with the breaking up of his settled side. I’m convinced that consistency of team selection, which has been made possible by consistency of player availability, has made a major contribution to the achievement of consistency in terms of results over the past few weeks. Although Steve still has a strong squad to pick from, that all-important continuity is about to come to an end to some extent. Razor’s yellow card was his fifth of the season, meaning that he will be suspended for one game, due to the totting-up system. Depending on the detail of the referee’s report, Tony Browne will be banned for one, two or maybe three games.
The immediate solution to going a man down this afternoon was for Craig Wilkins to revert to being a defender, filling in at right-back, with Jimmy Elford moving up to occupy the gap left by the Browne Dog on the right side of midfield. We therefore played out the remainder of the half with a 4-4-1 formation, but Mitch Sherwood pushed up, whenever possible, so that it was sometimes more 4-3-2. (Thinking further ahead, with Steve Lovell’s seven-day approach for a striker, as cover in the squad, still “live”, it is likely that Wilko will find himself deployed rather more in defence than attack whilst Steve Lovell negotiates this short period of turbulence).
In spite of the home side’s numerical advantage, the next clear-cut chance fell to the team in yellow and green – and it was our best chance of the half, which really should have been converted. Jimmy Elford attempted a long-range shot, from outside the area, in the 36th minute, which was deflected into the path of Mitch Sherwood, just inside the penalty area. With only goalkeeper Jamie Lunan to beat, I think there’s a pretty strong consensus among Ashford Town watchers that the free-scoring Mitch Sherwood we had playing for us early on in the season would have stuck this past Lunan without too much fuss. Unfortunately, the confidence just doesn’t seem to be there at the moment, and the effort was tentative, and the save was made. Mitch did manage to pick up the rebound, but the Dulwich defence shepherded him away from goal, and the chance was gone.
One thing I should mention, however, is that, although it’s a long time since Mitchell has looked a potent goal threat, he did a great deal of good work defensively today, putting in some good, biting tackles.
The ten men of Ashford soldiered on to half time without further loss, in terms of goals, but there was the worrying sight of Skipper Sean Ray seeming to injure a shoulder, in the 44th minute. Sean took the ball into the Dulwich half, with a lumbering, but determined, run, and, as the home bench hurriedly loaded the big gun with the tranquiliser darts, it took the combined efforts of two players to body-check him to the ground. After flexing the shoulder a few times, our man-mountain rose from the ground, and the free-kick, which was launched into the Dulwich penalty area, led to two successive Ryan Briggs corners – but both were headed clear by the defence.
So, after three minutes of added time at the end of the first half, the two teams trooped in with Dulwich Hamlet leading 1-0.
It was certainly a test for stand-in Manager, Hugo Langton, to respond tactically to the Browne Dog’s sending off, and Hugo responded by replacing right-back Jimmy Elford with striker Bradley Spice, to restore a positive, two-man attack. The versatile Craig Wilkins remained at right-back, and Mitchell Sherwood switched to the right side of what initially looked to be a three-man midfield, but left-back Daniel Brathwaite pushed up the left flank whenever he could, so it was either a 4-3-2, or a 3-4-2, formation, depending on when you were looking.
Early on in the second half, Ashford seemed to catch the Dulwich Shooting Wide Disease, with Ryan Briggs aiming an ambitious lob well wide of the target, and Mitch Sherwood slicing a right-foot shot wide, in the 49th minute. A minute later, Brathwaite D was yellow-carded for a late tackle on Peter Martin, (which was a further reminder of how suspensions might yet derail Ashford’s push for a play-off place), but the whole momentum of the match swung in the 52nd minute, when the visitors equalised. The goal was simplicity itself, and stemmed from a straight-forward kick-out by Jamie Lunan. He got good distance with the kick, which found Craig Wilkins, just inside the Ashford half. Wilko met the ball with one of the most amazing headers, for distance, I’ve ever seen, as it found Paul Jones, in space, just outside the “D” of the Dulwich penalty area. Jonah took his time to line up his shot, and, with Lunan barely having had time to regain his position, thumped the ball firmly into the net, about a foot inside the far post. That’s now eleven goals for Paul in the league, as he climbs higher up the Ryman Division One South table of goal scorers.
For a time, it looked like Ashford had every chance of going on to take this game, with the whole psychology of the match turned on its head. Almost immediately, Charlie Glyde had a shooting chance, but was disappointed to scuff his shot well wide. In-form Charlie was visibly even more disappointed, in the 56th minute, when Hugo Langton replaced him with Danny Lye in what was a very courageous, tactical substitution – and it was good to see that Hugo immediately took the time to explain to Charlie precisely why the change had been made.
The psychological pendulum swung a little further away from the home side, in the 57th minute, when ‘keeper Jamie Lunan fluffed control of a gentle backpass, and allowed the ball to trickle over his goal line. All of the R&J Coaches away-day party saw that the ball had crossed the line, and so did the Lino, who was perfectly positioned, by the corner flag, so a corner was awarded. The kick was swung into the six-yard box by Ryan Briggs, from the left, and the ball popped up in the air off somebody’s head or shoulder. Elliott Brathwaite was positioned right underneath the ball, but somehow managed to head it over the bar, from about three yards out.
Dulwich soon recovered their composure, and got back into the game, and had a free-kick in a dangerous position, about ten yards outside the penalty area, when Mitch Sherwood was guilty of a late tackle on former Ashford captain Marc Cumberbatch, in the 60th minute – but the attempted shot went straight into the Ashford wall.
Illuminated by floodlights that were as watery as the Winter sun had been in the first half, the play was not for the faint-hearted, with strong challenges flying in from both teams, and the pitch not becoming any easier to play on - but Dulwich centre-half Shayne Mangodza thoroughly deserved a yellow card when cynically bringing down Paul Jones, in the 65th minute. Ashford looked to be developing a two-against-two situation as Jones chased a ball down the right flank, when Mangodza, wearing what looked to be a silk, navy blue swimming cap, bundled him over. Unfortunately, Daniel Brathwaite rather wasted the free-kick, from the corner of the penalty area.
In the 71st minute, Dulwich rose above the under-foot conditions and put together a flowing passing movement which culminated in a clear-cut chance, in the centre of the Ashford area, but Mitch Sherwood did well to come sweeping across with a covering interception. Seb Barton was unable to prevent the ball from trickling over the by-line, but the resulting corner was headed clear.
As the pitch became browner and browner, there was a sign, in the 73rd minute, of how tiring it was to play on, when Paul Jones went down with cramp. In fact, it was at about this point that the ten men of Ashford appeared to start to tire, and the one-man advantage began to take its toll, as Dulwich finished the stronger. This late ascendancy was undoubtedly helped by the fact that Manager Craig Edwards took full advantage of having three substitutions up his sleeve, periodically bolstering his side with fresh legs. He made his first substitution as late as the 77th minute, when he replaced Daryl Plummer with Daniel Francis, and his side could, and should, have scored, just two minutes later. A cross from the left touchline was superbly whipped in by Nathan Simpson, almost placed on the head of Cedric Ngakam, in the centre, about ten yards out, but Cedric powered his header over the bar.
That was the signal for Craig Edwards to introduce an old favourite of the Ashford crowd – Walid Matata. Walid scored 16 goals for Ashford during the two previous seasons, at a rate of a goal every 220 minutes, which is a rate that has only been bettered in recent years by George Fenwick (of the strikers who have made it into double figures). There were a few boos from the knot of Ashford fans behind the goal, but undoubtedly all in fun.
Although there was plenty of defending for Ashford to do in the closing minutes, we did have our moments at the other end. In the 82nd minute, a long free-kick from about the half-way line was aimed towards Bradley Spice and Danny Lye, in the Dulwich penalty area, but the ball wouldn’t settle for either of them, and eventually rolled past the post, for a goal kick. Two minutes later, Bradley Spice won a corner, on the right, and attempted an ambitious back-header from the resulting cross, from Ryan Briggs, but the effort went well wide.
Everyone was back defending, in the 85th minute, after a Craig Wilkins trip gave Dulwich a free-kick, close to the left touchline, about ten yards from the corner flag. Seb Barton appeared to take the resulting cross cleanly, but then dropped the ball, before catching up with it before any damage could be done. It’s undoubtedly a tribute to the Ashford defence to point out that this was Seb’s most significant contribution in the second half, as I can’t remember him having to make a save during this time.
The home side’s final substitution saw Sol Pinnock replace big Junior Kaffo, in the 88th minute, to play the final two minutes of normal time, plus the three minutes of second-half injury time. Ashford managed to hang on for a well-deserved point, but it’s fair to say that Dulwich Hamlet probably had the better chances to take the three points after Ashford had equalised. Perhaps the best of these chances came in the 93rd, and final, minute. A cross from the right was headed away from the visitors’ goalmouth, but found Stanley Muguo, on the edge of the area. Mr Muguo squinted in the direction of a gaping goal, but hit a firm shot over the bar.
So the boys certainly came through the stern test of character that was set for them when they suffered the double blow of Tony Browne’s 27th-minute sending off and going behind from the resulting free-kick. I don’t think that anyone in the crowd of 270 – the second-highest league attendance of the season here at Champion Hill – thought that 1-1 was not a fair result. It was also a result that both sides might privately have been fairly happy with before the game started, with both harbouring ambitions of a play-off place at the end of the season. Well, neither side had such ambitions harmed by today’s result, as, incredibly, all of the teams in and around the play-off zone drew this afternoon. The only team in the top half of the table not to do so was leaders Kingstonian, who play tomorrow (Sunday), at home to Walton Casuals.
Well, the run of seven consecutive victories had to end some time, but at least Ashford extended their unbeaten run in the league to twelve games. Another impressive statistic is that the Nuts & Bolts remain unbeaten in league matches on a Saturday since we threw away a two-goal lead at Corinthian Casuals on the 6th of September !
Whilst Nathan Simpson was announced as the home side’s Man of the Match, our award could have gone to any one of the lads who did another solid job in the back four. Sean Ray just shaded it today, becoming the first player to be named as MoM in away games three times this season, so Razor now leads the race for the Milton Keynes Bowl.
Man of the Match
(to go towards the Milton Keynes Bowl)
Sean Ray
from Your Milton Keynes Correspondent
Today’s fixture away to Dulwich Hamlet took us deep into South London – not for our longest trip in the calendar, but certainly for the slowest and most arduous. On our two previous trips to Champion Hill, we’ve gone clockwise around the M25, over the Dartford Bridge, off at Junction 3 and then crawled our way through South East London. Today, we decided to do something different, approaching Dulwich from the West, using the M3 as our spur off the M25. Leaving Milton Keynes shortly before 11.30am, all began well, since, having been the bane of our life for the past two season, the roadworks on the Luton section of the M1 are now complete. Helped by four broad, free-flowing lanes of speeding traffic, we passed Heathrow after about half an hour’s drive. There was soon some delay as we competed for space with the middle-classes of England in the Twickenham area – it seems that both Harlequins and Rosslyn Park were playing catch at home – and we sort of made it up as we went along after that, but we arrived at the ground just before 2pm, and claimed a much-coveted space in the stadium’s car park.
One other snag about the trip to Dulwich is that there is not a convenient pub that does decent food on the way to the ground. Instead, we sought much-needed sustenance, in the form of a coffee and a sandwich, in the Starbucks that is housed within the Sainsburys store right next-door to the ground.
I’m very glad that we did, as we bumped into former Ashford Town Manager John Cumberbatch. A former player at The Hamlet, John was able to update us on how some of the former Ashford players are getting on at Champion Hill. He reported that his son Marc, the Dulwich Hamlet captain, has been playing well at the moment, but that Walid Matata has suffered from a succession of injuries. I enquired about John-Paul Collier, but the news of J-P is that he is currently nursing a fairly serious cruciate injury, having played just the one game for the club, (in which he scored).
Today’s hosts are actually going through a tough time with injuries, particularly with their strikers, and the official team news was that top-scorer Laurent Hamici, who has knocked in 13 league goals so far this season – a total currently bettered only by Kingstonian’s Bobby Traynor – was on the injury list. The anecdotal info from a Dulwich Hamlet fan was that the home side was to be represented up front by a defender and a midfielder.
There were no such problems for Steve Lovell, except for the fact that his injured-again son Mark was present at the ground in a purely supportive capacity – and the fact that Steve was himself laid up in bed, meaning that Assistant Manager Hugo Langton took sole control of the team today. With an otherwise full squad to pick from, the only real intrigue these days, as far as team selection is concerned, revolves around who partners Ryan Briggs in central midfield: Charlie Glyde, Danny Lye or James Humphries ? Well, today the shirt was given to Charlie Glyde – unsurprisingly, probably, given his reportedly good display at home to Burgess Hill Town on Saturday.
The full, familiar line-up, with subs, therefore, was: Barton, Elford, Brathwaite D, Brathwaite E, Ray (capt.), Browne, Briggs, Glyde, Sherwood, Jones and Wilkins, with Ibrahim, Lye, Humphries, Bottle and Spice on the bench. The presence of Darren Ibrahim in the dug-out as sub goalie tells us that the luckless Josh Willis is still not fit – Josh was prowling around Champion Hill this afternoon, probably reflecting on what he wouldn’t give to have a chance of keeping goal behind that very solid back four !
For those who haven’t had the benefit of visiting this ground, the main feature here is the main stand. I always find this beige brick-built structure, with “DHFC” embossed in large letters, to be deeply impressive. I can’t say many nice things about the pitch, unfortunately. It looked to be very muddy in the centre, and also in both penalty areas, with divots throughout, even before the kick-off. Having passed a precautionary 10am inspection, it was a good guess that it had soaked up plenty of rain recently, and those who had walked on it reported it to be very soft under foot. This prepared us for the fact that today’s game might be a bit of a battle, rather than a feast of fluid football – which was a shame, given that it was a bright, windless afternoon, which was otherwise ideal for footy.
Given the temperature reading of 6ºC, it was surprisingly mild, sitting at the back of the stand, warmed by a watery, setting sun. There was also a cacophony of colour, down on the pitch, with the home side in pink shirts, navy blue sleeves, shorts and sockies, contrasting with the yellow shirts, green shorts and yellow socks of the visitors – with the added splash of colour provided by the yellow ball and Walid Matata’s famous yellow boots, (although the latter were mostly tucked under the Dulwich bench today).
One slightly unusual thing about the Dulwich Hamlet squad today was that all 16 players, with the exception of the goalkeeper, were black. It doesn’t make any difference to anything – it’s just unusual, that’s all.
More to the point, Dulwich looked a decent side this afternoon, and they made a fast start to the match, no doubt fired up by Manager Craig Edwards to rise to the challenge of facing a team that had won its previous seven league games on the trot. They had a corner in the opening seconds, which was strongly headed clear by Sean Ray – not for the last time this afternoon. The ball fell to Daryl Plummer, on the edge of the area. His first stab at the ball was a complete air shot, but he had time to connect with a second attempt, which he pulled wide.
Although Dulwich had most possession in the opening quarter of an hour, when Ashford did have the ball they knocked it around with an instinctive fluency that only develops when players’ confidence is high and they’re comfortable with playing in a settled team. The home side certainly wasn’t afraid to shoot from long range, but their execution was fairly poor, which effectively nullified their early efforts. Stanley Muguo was one of the worst culprits; he hit a long-range shot well wide, in the twelfth minute, after Sean Ray had headed a corner clear, and then, in the 16th minute, he attempted a shot from even further out, which missed by twice as much. (I won’t make any Mr Magoo jokes – but it’s tempting !). A minute later, big No.9 Cedric Ngakam picked the ball up straight from a Seb Barton kick-out, and careered forward, through the Ashford half. With the visitors’ defence pushing upfield, expecting the ball to have sailed forward over their head, there were plenty of good options for Ngakam to invite a team-mate to run into space, but he instead attempted a shot from long range, which missed the target.
By the 27th minute, with Ashford’s final ball being poor, there had been no threat to either goalkeeper – nor had there been any hint of indiscipline or animosity between the two sides. That all changed in an instant, when Tony Browne made a poor tackle on Daryl Plummer. Contrary to some reports elsewhere, it was not two-footed, but it was over the top of the ball – and it was probably not insignificant that it happened right in front of the Dulwich Hamlet bench. Immediately, some of the home side’s substitutes and officials crossed the white line to vent their disapproval of the challenge – but it was former Ashford Town left-back Nathan Simpson who rushed up to “strike the first blow”. Everything happened in a few frantic moments, and we all see these things differently, but my take was that Simpson somehow managed to keep his hands by his side, and merely “chested” Browney away – but there were others there who speak of seeing a punch thrown, and I wouldn’t argue with what they say they saw.
Simpson was merely shown the yellow card, so we might deduce from that that Referee Ian Crouch saw, (or rather didn’t see), the same as me. Tony Browne was sent off the old-fashioned way. No silly red card. No prolonged lecture as a prelude to the sending off by a would-be celebrity ref grandstanding to the cameras. Referee Crouch immediately just gestured in the direction of the nearby dressing rooms, telling Browne to be on his way. Skipper Sean Ray was also booked during the prolonged delay. I don’t know the reason for the booking, but I have to say that the referee handled the whole incident pretty well. It wasn’t the worst tackle I’ve seen on a football pitch, and I didn’t see it as being a stone-cold red card, but the tackle was late, and it was over the top of the ball, so it was probably the correct decision.
Worse was to follow for Ashford. Play eventually restarted, on the half-hour mark, with a free-kick to Dulwich, close to the touchline. Benson Paka pumped the kick long, into the Ashford penalty area. The ball was allowed to go all the way to the far post. Although I couldn’t see exactly what happened, from the back of the stand – I really must invest in some Peter O’Sullevan binoculars – it appeared that Seb Barton was struggling to deal with the situation, and Junior Kaffo somehow managed to bundle the ball into the back of the net. Regardless of the detail, it was Dulwich Hamlet 1 Ashford Town 0.
So, from riding the wave of an unbeaten run of eleven games that had seen them rise to third in the table, Ashford were suddenly faced with a real test of their character and resolve, (not to mention quality). The immediate problem was having to come from a goal down, with ten men, against one of the better teams in the division. More long term, Steve Lovell would have the conundrum of how to cope with the breaking up of his settled side. I’m convinced that consistency of team selection, which has been made possible by consistency of player availability, has made a major contribution to the achievement of consistency in terms of results over the past few weeks. Although Steve still has a strong squad to pick from, that all-important continuity is about to come to an end to some extent. Razor’s yellow card was his fifth of the season, meaning that he will be suspended for one game, due to the totting-up system. Depending on the detail of the referee’s report, Tony Browne will be banned for one, two or maybe three games.
The immediate solution to going a man down this afternoon was for Craig Wilkins to revert to being a defender, filling in at right-back, with Jimmy Elford moving up to occupy the gap left by the Browne Dog on the right side of midfield. We therefore played out the remainder of the half with a 4-4-1 formation, but Mitch Sherwood pushed up, whenever possible, so that it was sometimes more 4-3-2. (Thinking further ahead, with Steve Lovell’s seven-day approach for a striker, as cover in the squad, still “live”, it is likely that Wilko will find himself deployed rather more in defence than attack whilst Steve Lovell negotiates this short period of turbulence).
In spite of the home side’s numerical advantage, the next clear-cut chance fell to the team in yellow and green – and it was our best chance of the half, which really should have been converted. Jimmy Elford attempted a long-range shot, from outside the area, in the 36th minute, which was deflected into the path of Mitch Sherwood, just inside the penalty area. With only goalkeeper Jamie Lunan to beat, I think there’s a pretty strong consensus among Ashford Town watchers that the free-scoring Mitch Sherwood we had playing for us early on in the season would have stuck this past Lunan without too much fuss. Unfortunately, the confidence just doesn’t seem to be there at the moment, and the effort was tentative, and the save was made. Mitch did manage to pick up the rebound, but the Dulwich defence shepherded him away from goal, and the chance was gone.
One thing I should mention, however, is that, although it’s a long time since Mitchell has looked a potent goal threat, he did a great deal of good work defensively today, putting in some good, biting tackles.
The ten men of Ashford soldiered on to half time without further loss, in terms of goals, but there was the worrying sight of Skipper Sean Ray seeming to injure a shoulder, in the 44th minute. Sean took the ball into the Dulwich half, with a lumbering, but determined, run, and, as the home bench hurriedly loaded the big gun with the tranquiliser darts, it took the combined efforts of two players to body-check him to the ground. After flexing the shoulder a few times, our man-mountain rose from the ground, and the free-kick, which was launched into the Dulwich penalty area, led to two successive Ryan Briggs corners – but both were headed clear by the defence.
So, after three minutes of added time at the end of the first half, the two teams trooped in with Dulwich Hamlet leading 1-0.
It was certainly a test for stand-in Manager, Hugo Langton, to respond tactically to the Browne Dog’s sending off, and Hugo responded by replacing right-back Jimmy Elford with striker Bradley Spice, to restore a positive, two-man attack. The versatile Craig Wilkins remained at right-back, and Mitchell Sherwood switched to the right side of what initially looked to be a three-man midfield, but left-back Daniel Brathwaite pushed up the left flank whenever he could, so it was either a 4-3-2, or a 3-4-2, formation, depending on when you were looking.
Early on in the second half, Ashford seemed to catch the Dulwich Shooting Wide Disease, with Ryan Briggs aiming an ambitious lob well wide of the target, and Mitch Sherwood slicing a right-foot shot wide, in the 49th minute. A minute later, Brathwaite D was yellow-carded for a late tackle on Peter Martin, (which was a further reminder of how suspensions might yet derail Ashford’s push for a play-off place), but the whole momentum of the match swung in the 52nd minute, when the visitors equalised. The goal was simplicity itself, and stemmed from a straight-forward kick-out by Jamie Lunan. He got good distance with the kick, which found Craig Wilkins, just inside the Ashford half. Wilko met the ball with one of the most amazing headers, for distance, I’ve ever seen, as it found Paul Jones, in space, just outside the “D” of the Dulwich penalty area. Jonah took his time to line up his shot, and, with Lunan barely having had time to regain his position, thumped the ball firmly into the net, about a foot inside the far post. That’s now eleven goals for Paul in the league, as he climbs higher up the Ryman Division One South table of goal scorers.
For a time, it looked like Ashford had every chance of going on to take this game, with the whole psychology of the match turned on its head. Almost immediately, Charlie Glyde had a shooting chance, but was disappointed to scuff his shot well wide. In-form Charlie was visibly even more disappointed, in the 56th minute, when Hugo Langton replaced him with Danny Lye in what was a very courageous, tactical substitution – and it was good to see that Hugo immediately took the time to explain to Charlie precisely why the change had been made.
The psychological pendulum swung a little further away from the home side, in the 57th minute, when ‘keeper Jamie Lunan fluffed control of a gentle backpass, and allowed the ball to trickle over his goal line. All of the R&J Coaches away-day party saw that the ball had crossed the line, and so did the Lino, who was perfectly positioned, by the corner flag, so a corner was awarded. The kick was swung into the six-yard box by Ryan Briggs, from the left, and the ball popped up in the air off somebody’s head or shoulder. Elliott Brathwaite was positioned right underneath the ball, but somehow managed to head it over the bar, from about three yards out.
Dulwich soon recovered their composure, and got back into the game, and had a free-kick in a dangerous position, about ten yards outside the penalty area, when Mitch Sherwood was guilty of a late tackle on former Ashford captain Marc Cumberbatch, in the 60th minute – but the attempted shot went straight into the Ashford wall.
Illuminated by floodlights that were as watery as the Winter sun had been in the first half, the play was not for the faint-hearted, with strong challenges flying in from both teams, and the pitch not becoming any easier to play on - but Dulwich centre-half Shayne Mangodza thoroughly deserved a yellow card when cynically bringing down Paul Jones, in the 65th minute. Ashford looked to be developing a two-against-two situation as Jones chased a ball down the right flank, when Mangodza, wearing what looked to be a silk, navy blue swimming cap, bundled him over. Unfortunately, Daniel Brathwaite rather wasted the free-kick, from the corner of the penalty area.
In the 71st minute, Dulwich rose above the under-foot conditions and put together a flowing passing movement which culminated in a clear-cut chance, in the centre of the Ashford area, but Mitch Sherwood did well to come sweeping across with a covering interception. Seb Barton was unable to prevent the ball from trickling over the by-line, but the resulting corner was headed clear.
As the pitch became browner and browner, there was a sign, in the 73rd minute, of how tiring it was to play on, when Paul Jones went down with cramp. In fact, it was at about this point that the ten men of Ashford appeared to start to tire, and the one-man advantage began to take its toll, as Dulwich finished the stronger. This late ascendancy was undoubtedly helped by the fact that Manager Craig Edwards took full advantage of having three substitutions up his sleeve, periodically bolstering his side with fresh legs. He made his first substitution as late as the 77th minute, when he replaced Daryl Plummer with Daniel Francis, and his side could, and should, have scored, just two minutes later. A cross from the left touchline was superbly whipped in by Nathan Simpson, almost placed on the head of Cedric Ngakam, in the centre, about ten yards out, but Cedric powered his header over the bar.
That was the signal for Craig Edwards to introduce an old favourite of the Ashford crowd – Walid Matata. Walid scored 16 goals for Ashford during the two previous seasons, at a rate of a goal every 220 minutes, which is a rate that has only been bettered in recent years by George Fenwick (of the strikers who have made it into double figures). There were a few boos from the knot of Ashford fans behind the goal, but undoubtedly all in fun.
Although there was plenty of defending for Ashford to do in the closing minutes, we did have our moments at the other end. In the 82nd minute, a long free-kick from about the half-way line was aimed towards Bradley Spice and Danny Lye, in the Dulwich penalty area, but the ball wouldn’t settle for either of them, and eventually rolled past the post, for a goal kick. Two minutes later, Bradley Spice won a corner, on the right, and attempted an ambitious back-header from the resulting cross, from Ryan Briggs, but the effort went well wide.
Everyone was back defending, in the 85th minute, after a Craig Wilkins trip gave Dulwich a free-kick, close to the left touchline, about ten yards from the corner flag. Seb Barton appeared to take the resulting cross cleanly, but then dropped the ball, before catching up with it before any damage could be done. It’s undoubtedly a tribute to the Ashford defence to point out that this was Seb’s most significant contribution in the second half, as I can’t remember him having to make a save during this time.
The home side’s final substitution saw Sol Pinnock replace big Junior Kaffo, in the 88th minute, to play the final two minutes of normal time, plus the three minutes of second-half injury time. Ashford managed to hang on for a well-deserved point, but it’s fair to say that Dulwich Hamlet probably had the better chances to take the three points after Ashford had equalised. Perhaps the best of these chances came in the 93rd, and final, minute. A cross from the right was headed away from the visitors’ goalmouth, but found Stanley Muguo, on the edge of the area. Mr Muguo squinted in the direction of a gaping goal, but hit a firm shot over the bar.
So the boys certainly came through the stern test of character that was set for them when they suffered the double blow of Tony Browne’s 27th-minute sending off and going behind from the resulting free-kick. I don’t think that anyone in the crowd of 270 – the second-highest league attendance of the season here at Champion Hill – thought that 1-1 was not a fair result. It was also a result that both sides might privately have been fairly happy with before the game started, with both harbouring ambitions of a play-off place at the end of the season. Well, neither side had such ambitions harmed by today’s result, as, incredibly, all of the teams in and around the play-off zone drew this afternoon. The only team in the top half of the table not to do so was leaders Kingstonian, who play tomorrow (Sunday), at home to Walton Casuals.
Well, the run of seven consecutive victories had to end some time, but at least Ashford extended their unbeaten run in the league to twelve games. Another impressive statistic is that the Nuts & Bolts remain unbeaten in league matches on a Saturday since we threw away a two-goal lead at Corinthian Casuals on the 6th of September !
Whilst Nathan Simpson was announced as the home side’s Man of the Match, our award could have gone to any one of the lads who did another solid job in the back four. Sean Ray just shaded it today, becoming the first player to be named as MoM in away games three times this season, so Razor now leads the race for the Milton Keynes Bowl.
Man of the Match
(to go towards the Milton Keynes Bowl)
Sean Ray
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