U16's Squad

Back row L/R:- Kirk Howard, Ross Prebble, Michael Thomas, Ben Stevens, Ben Williams, Sam Strover, Kenny Lang,

Front row L/R:- Craig Puddefoot, Stuart Margeston, Sean Tong, Valmir Parallangaj, Samuel Fluester, Lewis Freeland.

Team Squad 2007 - 2008

Kirk Howard, Ross Prebble, Michael Thomas, Ben Stevens, Ben Williams, Sam Strover, Kenny Lang, Craig Puddefoot, Stuart Margeston, Sean Tong, Valmir Parallangaj, Lewis Freeland,Samuel Fluester, Hayden Murrell, Karl Towersey, Shaun Magri, Jake Paine,

Ashford Town U16's are looking for a manager to take over the running of the team. The team currently have a caretaker manager who will offer support to the incoming manager if required. The main requirement is commitment and dedication.

The U16's are also looking for new players to strengthen the squad. Anyone interested in either position can contact Vince Shell on 07746993960 or at vinceshll@aol.com

Margate 5 Ashford Town U16’s 3

Ashford Town’s young guns were defeated by a strong Margate outfit this weekend despite staging a miraculous second half comeback with only ten men.

Town travelled to the seaside missing five players and were only able to name one substitute. They made the worst possible start as they conceded an early goal after they failed to deal with a corner and the rebound was smashed home. Things didn't improve when minutes later Michael Thomas hobbled off the pitch being replaced by Sam Strover.

Just before the break Town conceded two more goals as the home side dominated in every department and then lost Jake Paine in a nasty challenge that left the striker needing lengthy treatment. Thomas hobbled back on the pitch struggling through to half-time.

At the interval Town were three down and reduced to ten men. The instructions for the second half were simple "win the second half". Town started with a 3-4-2 formation and immediately won an early penalty for handball which Stuart Margetson tucked away to reduce the deficit.

The goal seemed to have the desired effect as Town tore into the home side finally finding a rhythm to their play. Town wide men Sam Fluster and Kenny Lang were creating lots of space down the wings and it was Lang who fed the ball to Sam Strover down the right. Strover whipped in a cross which Lewis Freeland forced goal bound, the Gate keeper could only parry the ball into the path of Kirk Howard who fired home.

The back three of Strover, Karl Towersey and Captain Ross Prebble were intercepting any dangers and were instrumental in starting most of Town's attacking plays. The home side were reeling and were forced into several desperate clearances, from one of these clearances Town won a corner on the left and Stuart Margetson's inswinging corner flew into the opposite corner of the net to draw Town level.

Instead of Town sitting back they continued to press and twice Howard went close with good efforts. However, there was to be no fairytale ending as Margate grabbed the lead from a corner which Town keeper Ben Stevens felt he was impeded in his pursuit of the ball. Town again went looking for an equaliser and Margetson and Tong both went close before the home side grabbed the killer fifth goal which put paid to any hope of a comeback.

All ten players in the second half can take immense pride from their performances and so they can see it in black white - Second half Margate 2 Ashford Town 3. There were some excellent performances in the second half but Man of the Match went to Sean Tong for a peerless performance in the heart of the midfield.

Ashford Town: Stevens, Lang, Fluester, Margetson, Thomas, Towersey, Prebble (c) Tong, Freeland, Paine, Howard Sub Strover

Scorers: Margetson 2 (1 pen) Howard.

Commercial Tyres Man of the Match: Sean Tong

Borden Village 1 Ashford Town u 16’s 1

Town travelled to draw specialists Borden looking to gain the points that would take them above their opponents. The visitors were missing Hayden Murrell Sam Fluester and Kenny Lang through injury and had to reshuffle the team as a result, sticking to the 4-4-2 diamond formation that gave them success against Cray Valley.

The game was pretty even possession wise throughout the first half with Town creating the better chances and Lewis Freeland caused the Borden defence problems with his pace. Town thought they had taken the lead when Freeland chased a loose ball by the corner flag and delivered an inch perfect cross to the head of Jake Paine who nodded the ball into the Borden net. The linesman then, maybe as an afterthought, raised his flag to inform the referee that the ball had already crossed the byline and the goal was disallowed much to the disgust of the Town players.

Inconsistent refereeing seemed to disrupt the game as both teams fell foul of some puzzling decisions as the referee seemed determined to stamp his authority on the game as players from both sides were spoken to with alarming regularity. With the end of the half approaching Town started to flag so Ross Prebble and Paine made way for Kirk Howard and Ben Williams.

Town started the second half in determined mood and took the game to their opponents as they changed to a flat 4-4-2 as they looked to impose themselves. Freeland was again causing the home side headaches as he harried and hassled the Borden defence and he narrowly fired wide. Just as Town looked to be getting on top they lost Karl Towersey through injury and once again had to reshuffle. Prebble then went close after he turned the defence inside out before firing at the keeper.

Town eventually took the lead with the move of the match Craig Puddefoot won the ball inside his own half and fed a pass through to Sean Tong who played the ball out wide to Paine. Paine played a low cross into the area to the feet of Sam Strover who found Kirk Howard on the edge of the box and the striker fired home an unstoppable shot to give Town the lead.

As Town pressed for a second they lost Captain Michael Thomas through injury and once again they had to reshuffle the pack. Borden then created a rare attack and despite having several chances to clear the danger the inevitable happened and the ball was hammered home for the equaliser. Town incensed by the injustice then pushed forward but found a goalkeeper in inspired form as both Howard and Freeland broke through only to see their goalbound efforts well saved.

Another smart move from the right saw the ball worked towards Sean Tong who turned his marker and fired in a shot that was tipped over the bar. Town nearly went home pointless when a chance fell to Borden at the home but despite being a virtual spectator Ben Stevens was equal to the effort and Town had to settle for a point.

Despite creating the better chances but having to settle for a point Town will take heart from their performance. They had to reshuffle their pack several times but still produced a disciplined performance.

Town: Stevens, Puddefoot, Parallangaj, Margetson, Thomas (C), Towersey, Tong, Prebble, Freeland, Paine, Strover subs (both used) Williams, Howard.

Scorer: Howard

Commercial Tyres Man of the Match: Lewis Freeland.

Ashford Town U16's 4 Cray Valley U16's 2 - Kent County FA Youth Cup Rnd 1

After last weeks drubbing at the hands of league leaders Canterbury City. Town welcomed back Hayden Murrel and Karl Towersey in the starting line-up and also changed the formation to 4-4-2 with a diamond shape in midfield. Town signalled their intentions early on as they played a high tempo passing game on the ground which left the visitors struggling to gain any possession. However it was a fine individual goal from Sam Strover which opened the scoring as he dribbled across the box and worked an opening before firing in a low shot which squeezed past the Cray keeper. The visitors hit back immediately as a long ball over the top caused confusion in the Town defence and keeper Ben Stevens failed to collect and the ball was rolled home for the equaliser. Town immediately struck back and a well struck Michael Thomas free-kick just evaded the onrushing Ross Prebble at the far post. This was a temporary reprieve as good work by Lewis Freeland and Strover earnt a free kick on the right which was driven home by Michael Thomas to restore the lead for Town. The visitors were struggling to control the pace and movement of the Town front two Freeland and Strover and Freeland nearly increased the lead when he latched onto Stuart Margetsons through ball but shot narrowly wide. Karl Towersey then tested the Cray keeper with a long range effort which forced a good save. Town then increased their lead when Stevens goal kick was controlled by Towersey who found Strover in a central position. Strover found his strike partner Lewis Freeland who outpaced the Cray defence and rolled the ball into the visitors net to give Town a 3-1 lead. With full backs Kenny Lang and Sam Fluester finding lots of room down the flanks a number of Town attacks were starting from this position and when Lang found Sean Tong down the right Tong picked out a great run from Prebble who saw his low shot well saved. With Town centre backs Thomas and Hayden Murrell coping with the visitors aerial threats Town pushed on for further goals. It was Thomas who created confusion in the Cray box when he delivered a teasing long throw which was scrambled as far as Margetson who saw his shot crash off the upright. The end of the half saw keeper Stevens make a couple of excellent saves but Town were pressing and the pace of Freeland nearly paid dividends as he twice went close to increasing the Town lead. So Town went into the break 3-1 up after dominating the first half.

The second half started slowly with Town playing some neat possession football with the visitors looking to use the long ball to breach the Town defence. Town were still looking to take the game to their opponents and Sean Tong was unfortunate to see his shot deflected after he controlled superbly and fired a goalbound shot. At the other end keeper Stevens was equal to anything that the visitors threw at him and the defence were not giving the Cray forwards any space to employ the long ball. The game was effectively ended when Strover set off down the left beat two defenders and pulled the ball back for Stuart Margetson who unleashed an unstoppable shot into the net to give Town a 4-1 lead. With Town in a comfortable position the full backs Lang and Fluester made way for Kirk Howard and Ben Williams and Freeland made way for debutant Nathan Mansfield. Cray had a few more chances but once again Stevens was equal to them and on the one occasion he was beaten Tong cleared off the line. Town went down to 10 men with 3 minutes to go as Prebble limped off and during this time Cray grabbed a consolation goal but Town held on and moved through to the next round of the cup.

This was a fine team performance from Town but man of the match went to Sam Strover who terrorised the Cray defence with his running from deep.

Town: Stevens, Lang, Fluester, Towersey, Thomas (C), Murrell, Tong, Margetson, Strover, Freeland, Prebble. subs (all used) Howard, Williams, Mansfield.

Scorers: Strover, Thomas, Freeland, Margetson.

Commercial Tyres Man of the Match: Sam Strover

Last week three members of our successful Under 16 side attended Kent Trials. Hayden Murrell, Karl Towersey and Ben Stevens all attended and hope to be selected for the next round of trials.. Another member of the squad Michael Stevens was also invited along but couldn't attend due to injury, however he did receive a phone call and has been asked to join the next round.

All at Ashford Town Football Club would like to wish all of the Under 16's all the very best of luck and hope to see them representing their county soon.

Well I did warned you that defeat was round the corner and we achieved it with a 3-2 defeat today. To be honest we did not deserved to lose or win and part of the reason we have lost is mine.

When we took the lead 1-2 I should have put an extra defender and close the door quicker and proceed by counter attack seconds prior to doing just that they equalised. We then lost it in the dying minutes while trying to push to get our lead back. I really need to get a blackboard and explain with drawing what I want as I'm missing words to make me understood by the players I do apologize for that and will do my best to sort this out quickly.

Back onto the players, you already know about the fitness situation but we also need to work on finishing our action into goals and get rid of this keeping the ball to myself stuff that only exhaust all our energy and do not produce fluidity in our game.

The way we played today and last week made me realise that you do not understand me, so I will do my bit to make myself clearer but expect also from you better discipline and commitment in training that is your part. By looking at our position in our league it is going to be a close race between all of us to win it. I am sure I’m right in saying that defeat was round the corner but I can also say that I do believe we can win it because we have the basis to be a strong contenders and we will just do it.

To explain also why I am making so many changes is because I'm trying to keep all the players that able to deliver on the pitch as much as they can for the all the 90 minutes by resting players instead of keeping you on the pitch and burn you out in one half and then limping the remaining one.

The only part I avoid to change as much as possible is the centre back and centre midfield players as they are a strategic part of any team. So do not get upset to be taken off, think team and not personal, as I said many times now we win as a team and lose as a team, remember that is important, especially in football. We are still 3 points behind the leaders so we are still in it and we will be until the end make no mistake about that.