Ashford Town FC
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ASHFORD TOWN 2
CHATHAM TOWN 1
Saturday 25th April 2010
When the fixture list appeared last summer we joked with some Chatham fans that this could be the game that decided which of our teams would get promoted. How wrong we were. The Chats arrived today in a safe position but Ashford needed a win to be sure of surviving.On a very warm afternoon in front of another disappointing crowd of 188 Steve Lovell selected his strongest eleven from those that were still fit. Even that was stretching things a bit far with Danny Lye named as a substitute whilst clearly in no position to play.Ashford were quick out of the blocks and went close in the 2nd and 5th minutes so it was no surprise when they opened the scoring on 7 minutes with a goal of genuine quality. Chris Borchescu started the move in mid-field then moved over to the right to receive a return pass. He then hit a long low hard cross into the Chatham box where MARK LOVELL smashed the ball home. Five minutes later Chatham mounted their first real attack. This came to nothing but they opened their account in the 15th minute. Home keeper Scott Chalmers-Stevens made a good save from Jordan Kiffin at the expense of a corner. This was delivered to the far post where an un-marked Chats captain, John Wilfort, powered his header into the net. In the 20th minute the Chats number 9, Ray Powell, was offered a free header which just clipped the top of the Ashford bar. From this moment until the end of the half Chatham dominated. Scottie made a great save from Powell and the home side were pinned back to such an extent that they did not reply with any sort of conviction for over a quarter of an hour. Ashford were giving the ball away cheaply and looked to be losing confidence. The old hoof and hope tactics started to re-appear with the ball going so far up in the air the referee was forced to check for volcanic ash. During this period ex Ashford striker Rob Denness put the ball in the net only to be ruled offside. Ashford woke up just before the break when first Tom Murphy headed over a long throw in the the same player hit a post with a rasping drive.I don't know what Steve Lovell and Hugo Langton said during the break but it sure worked wonders. Although Chatham had their moments it was a period where Ashford were the dominant force. On 50 minutes Mark Lovell tried a shot from distance which only just missed the target. Then he put in a fine header from a corner that went even closer. Ashford were putting together plenty of attacks but just when the faithful thought it was not their day they added a second goal. Once again it was one of real quality. Mark Lovell gathered the ball inside the Chats half and laid of an inch perfect pass to TOM MURPHY whose right foot thunderbolt gave Chat's keeper Richard Stroud no chance. Just after the hour mark Chatham started to ring the changes by putting on substitutes but apart from isolated moments it was still all Ashford. Scottie was called into action on 70 minutes but really earned his keep four minutes later with a world class stop. As the game entered the last ten minutes, Mark Lovell again went close and Lee Hockey headed over from a corner, but Ashford safely saw out time to win the game and assure Ryman League football for another season. On a day when a few home players were below their best it needed one or more players to put in a special performance. Chris Borchescu had one of his best games but the player who really delivered the goods today was Mark Lovell with a goal and an assist. I know I have been one of Mark's biggest critics of late for which I offer no apology, but today he was superb and I have no hesitation in naming him as my MOM.So the season ended in safety for the club but, in my opinion, no great cause for celebration as surely we had the right to expect the necessary points to be on the board several weeks ago.The Ashford team was as follows:- Scott Chalmers-Stevens, Carl Harrold, Laurence Harvey, Lee Hockey, Joe Fuller, Ronnie Dolan, Mitchell Sherwood, Ross Morley, Mark Lovell, Tom Murphy, Chris Borchescu. Subs not used = Callum Day, Ben Morley, Dan Scorer, Darren Ibrahim.MOM? As shown above, MARK LOVELL.
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