Ashford Town 0-2 Merstham - Lovell takes positives to build on

Wednesday 19th August 2009

ASHFORD TOWN 0-2 MERSTHAM
Ryman League Division One South
Wednesday 19th August 2009
Stephen McCartney reports from Homelands Stadium

ASHFORD TOWN boss Steve Lovell rued missed chances as his side lost their second successive league game that leaves his club at the foot of the Ryman League Division One South table after just 180 minutes of football.

The Nuts & Bolts were thumped 7-0 by Croydon Athletic on their travels on the opening day of the season - but the Kent side put in a much better performance against Merstham, which pleased Lovell.

“First half we had a number of chances and decisions that didn’t go our way, two penalties at least, a clear cut penalty that the referee didn’t give,” Lovell told www.kentishfootball.co.uk afterwards.

“When the luck’s not with you, it’s not with you, and I thought the boys tonight were brilliant.

“We played a lot better than we did Saturday, when everyone was down. We played some really decent football and they scored two late goals - smash and grab I think.

“Merstham were quite quick but they didn’t cause us many problems. We had a lot of possession, a lot of clear cut chances, but we can’t put the ball in the net and that’s the main thing.

“Score a few goals and we’ll be fine,” he added. “So there’s a lot of positives to come out of tonight. We’ll go into Saturday with a little bit more confidence, obviously we haven’t won the game but it’s a long season - we’ve got 40 games to go.

“The main thing was to have an improvement on tonight from Saturday and we definitely had that and people here tonight would definitely had seen that.”

Lovell made just one change from the side that were trounced by a Croydon Athletic side that arrived at Whitstable Town tonight by the England team bus before beating the Oystermen 5-0 at Belmont Road, with Carl Harrold slotting in at right-back in place of Ryan Norman.

And the Homelands faithful would have only recognised skipper Ryan Briggs, Mitchell Sherwood, Paul Jones, substitute goalkeeper Darren Ibrahim and Lee Hockey (who has returned following a spell with Chatham Town) from last season’s squad, although Danny Lye (suspended) and Antony Browne and Mark Lovell were ruled out through injury.

On a sultry evening at Homelands, the home side created the better openings against a Merstham side that held last season’s beaten play-off finalists, Metropolitan Police to a 2-2 draw at the weekend.

Unfortunately for Ashford, they lacked the killer instinct in front of goal, with Paul Jones playing as the lone striker in a 4-5-1 formation before the break, before being partnered by former Tunbridge Wells midfielder, Joe Fuller after the interval.

The hardworking Jones was desperately unlucky not to open his goalscoring account for the new season when he turned and drove a third minute angled right-footed shot, which bounced agonisingly against the foot of the far post, summing up the Nuts & Bolts’ luck at present.

Nick Smith, who played up front for Kent League side Erith & Belvedere last season, was playing on the left of a five-man midfield, and having picked up the ball following Ross Morley’s mazy run, Smith’s left-footed drive deflected just past the foot of the near post.

The first goalkeeper activity, meanwhile, arrived in the 23rd minute when Ashford stopper Scott Chalmers-Stevens made a fine double save to thwart a Merstham side that looked dangerous out wide.

The former Margate and Dover Athletic goalkeeper flung himself to his left to prevent Adam Moriarty’s right-footed angled drive from 30-yards finding the far corner and the goalkeeper recovered to block Michael Gordon’s driven follow up.

Ashford went in at the break with Fuller squandering a hat-trick of decent chances.

Smith’s pass released Fuller in the 29th minute but his shot was comfortably saved by veteran keeper Ian Chatfield.

Fuller then skied a couple of efforts, the best chance coming after Ryan Briggs’ drive called the 36-year-old stopper into action.

Lovell, who sent his team out early, changed his formation at the break, pushing Fuller up alongside Jones - and the pair probed for their first goal of the new campaign.

The closest the home side came was in the 50th minute when Briggs’ corner from the right was swung in towards Hockey at the near post, who powered his header just wide from close in.

Smith was then played in behind the Merstham defence, but cracked his shot from an acute angle over the top of the near post.

Chalmers-Stevens was equal to Jermaine McGlashan’s powerful header in the 62nd minute and at the other end, Mitchell Sherwood’s hooked volleyed shot from 25-yards was straight at Chatfield after the goalkeeper had punched Hockey’s throw straight to his right-foot.

But Merstham went on to grab two goals in the final seventeen minutes to complete what Lovell described as a “smash-and-grab.”

The Surrey side broke down the right and the cross was met by a powerful header at the far post from substitute Zak Graham, which gave Chalmers-Stevens no chance.

And they grabbed a flattering second in the 84th minute when John Hamsher slammed a right-footed penalty past Chalmers-Stevens despairing dive after defender John Guest, who is on loan from Dartford, gave away a penalty.

Chalmers-Stevens prevented Merstham rubbing more salt into Ashford’s wounds to deny David Smith - and when he was beaten by Gordan’s lob - he had impressive right-back Harrold to thank for getting back on the line to clear.

Lovell insists his side will turn tonight’s promising performance into wins - starting against Godalming Town at Homelands on Saturday.

“You produce chances for them and they’ll stick them in the net - and we will do,” he vowed.

“Once we start scoring, we’ll start winning games.”

Lovell added: “I’ll build on tonight, more on tonight’s game than Saturday, as there were more positives out of it.

“The players are dejected but you’ve got to roll your sleeves up, there’s no point feeling sorry for yourselves.

“I think the boys responded from Saturday’s performance and done well and should’ve won the game.

“We had enough chances to win the game, but we didn’t, so we’ll come back on Saturday and try and do it then!”

Ashford Town: Scott Chalmers-Stevens, Carl Harrold, Lee Hockey, John Guest, Bryan Pearce, Ryan Briggs, Mitchell Sherwood, Joe Fuller, Ross Morley (Kevin Swaisland 85), Paul Jones, Nick Smith.

Subs: Jon Ralph, Ricky McDonnell, Ben Robbins, Darren Ibrahim.

Booked: John Guest 83

Merstham: Ian Chatfield, Stuart Harte, Adam Moriarty, Craig Vernon, John Hamsher, Michael Gordon, Des Boateng, Jack Smelt (Zak Graham 55), Mu Maan (Julian Owusu-Bekoe 55), Jermaine McGlashan (David Smith 86).

Sub: Tom Hughes.

Goals: Zak Graham* 73, John Hamsher 84 (pen)

Attendance: 216

Referee: Mr Alex Neil (Cheam, Surrey)

Assistants: Mr Mark Ford (Cheam, Surrey) & Mr Simeon Potter (Sutton, Surrey)

*Zak Graham was adjudged to have scored the first goal on Merstham FC’s website