Ashford Town 2-1 Chatham Town - We've got our just rewards by staying in the League - Lovell

Saturday 24th April 2010

ASHFORD TOWN 2-1 CHATHAM TOWN
Ryman League Division One South
Saturday 24th April 2010
Stephen McCartney reports from Homelands Stadium

ASHFORD TOWN scraped over the finishing line with a crucial final-day win to maintain their Ryman League status - with a derby day success over Chatham Town at a warm and sunny Homelands Stadium.

Going into the game on the back of four straight defeats, Ashford needed a win over the Medway side - or rely on Walton Casuals losing to play-off chasing Leatherhead - but Ashford did the business and 38 points proved to be enough as Walton Casuals (34 points) and Eastbourne Town (29) both finished inside the relegation zone after 42 games.

Striker Mark Lovell eased the nerves as his eighth goal of an injury ravaged campaign gave the home side an early lead, before Chatham skipper John Wilfort headed home from a corner just seven minutes later, but striker Tom Murphy smashed home a second half winner, as the side in green and white received a standing ovation at the final whistle.

“Yes, we did it in the end,” a relieved Steve Lovell told www.kentishfootball.co.uk afterwards.

“I thought Chatham came here and gave us a good game, fought really hard but we took the lead, although we gave them a sloppy goal.

“I felt the second half belonged to us. It was a just a matter of time, I think, we got the goal. We did so I’m very, very happy.”

Ashford created a couple of chances as Joe Fuller and Ross Morley were both off target following Chris Borchescu corners before they took a seventh minute lead.

A move involving Borchescu, Mitchell Sherwood and Carl Harrold resulted in Borchescu driving in a cross into the penalty area and Lovell swept the ball past Richard Stroud with his right-foot from six-yards out.

The manager added: “Sometimes you can score a little bit too early and when you get in front nature takes over and you want to hang onto this and stop playing. We took a backwards step, which is understandable.

“There’s a lot of young lads out there who haven’t been in this position before but I must admit we came out and took the game to them and had a really good go of it and scored a really good second goal. I think on the day we thoroughly deserved the win.”

But seventeenth-placed Chatham Town levelled following their first corner of the game just seven minutes later.

Left-back Ashley Probets swung in a corner from the right with his left-foot and he found Wilfort lurking at the far post and his bullet header beat goalkeeper Scott Chalmers-Stevens at his near post.

Chatham squandered some good chances with headers from inside the box in what was a good spell.

An unmarked Powell grazed the top of the crossbar from eight-yards after he met Ryan Laker’s cross from the right.

Brad Potter, Powell (twice) went close with headers following balls into the box from Jordan Kiffin, Denness and Probets.

Chatham Town boss Alex O’Brien told www.kentishfootball.co.uk afterwards that they should have put away these decent chances.

“The thing that’s cursed us all season is we can’t score goals when we’re on top,” he bemoaned.

“We scored today from a dead ball but other than that we had a lot of the ball but we don’t hit the target or score goals.

“The downfall this season is we just let in too many silly goals and we don’t score enough goals.”

But Ashford should have regained the lead just before the break when Murphy had a couple of good chances.

A long throw into the penalty area from skipper Lee Hockey dropped to Murphy, who was lurking on the edge of the penalty area, but his shot sailed over the bar.

Murphy then slammed a shot agonisingly against the near post from the right-hand side of the penalty area.

Manager Steve Lovell and his assistant Hugo Langton were told that Walton Casuals were drawing Leatherhead as they both walked off the pitch.

This news obviously had the desired effect as they sent their players out for the second half in determined fashion to finish off the job.

“It’s the same team talk that that I do most weeks,” added Lovell. “I think we’ve just got to do the percentage things on a pitch that is quite hard because of the weather, it’s bobbly, you can’t play football on it.”

The Welshman added: “The more you play in their half the more mistakes they make and the more corners and free-kicks we’re going to get, long throws we got. In the end we got our goals, which we thoroughly deserved.”

Striker Mark Lovell bent a right-footed effort from the edge of the penalty box, which arrowed over the crossbar inside the first five minutes of the second half as Ashford were camped in their opponents half for most of the second period.

He then met an in-swinging corner from the right from Borchescu with a bullet header at the far post, which cleared the crossbar.

But Murphy’s fifth and most important goal of the season arrived in the 61st minute to put Ashford on the brink of survival.

Lovell slipped the ball in between two of Chatham’s central defenders and with Richard Avery lagging behind, Murphy went on and smashed a low right-footed drive across the keeper and into the bottom left-hand corner.

Chatham were almost gifted a goal when Chalmers-Stevens was at the right place to prevent his team-mate, left-back Laurence Harvey powering a header into his own net, following yet another set-piece from Probets.

Chalmers-Stevens pulled off his best save of the game in the final seventeen minutes as he clawed out a powerful header from substitute Thomas Hill at the far post after a cross from the right from Denness.

Lovell and Hockey both headed over following two Borchescu corners late on but there was a huge sigh of relief at the final whistle as Ashford Town kept their Ryman League status and can now look forward to a more successful campaign next season.

Lovell said:” “The last three or four weeks have been a nightmare. I must admit it’s been very, very tough for everybody at the football club.

“It’s been a tough year on the field with injuries. It’s been the worst I’ve known in my managerial career, having so many injuries to key men and not just for two or three weeks, three or four months so we dug in.

“The youngsters have come in and done a great job. They’ve given everything, absolutely everything and I’m just pleased they got their just rewards at the end and kept us in the league.”

O’Brien insisted he wanted his side to win the game.

“First and foremost, fair play to Ashford because I think if I was on the other end it would be a very, very bad day,” he said.

“The first half was very even but the second half the way they came at us, the way they worked hard, I thought on the day there was only going to be one team that won it and rightly so.

“You can look at it, it’s helping out a Kent side but I wanted to win the game. The way we got into the boys heads was to send the team down, to work hard and win a game of football.

“Fair play to Ashford they upped their ante and they deserved three points.”

Despite his competitive self, keeping Whitstable and Ashford in the Ryman League will benefit all Kent clubs in this division next season.

“That’s a positive coming out of (today’s defeat) I suppose,” said O’Brien, “I always try and put a positive on things. At least we’ve got to come here again and they’ve got to come to us and they’re big days and they’re massive games.”

O’Brien was then asked which player has stood out during the course of a disappointing season.

“To be honest, I think we’ve missed Brad Potter,” came his reply. “When Brad Potter was injured for so long we missed him in the midfield because he compliments (Matt) Solly.

“Solly’s a fantastic footballer and he has been for a lot of years and he’s still got gears in him but Brad works well with Solly because his work-rate and his determination and we missed him.

“But if someone said to me on the spot who I think has done well and that would be Ashley Probets.

“His played every game bar one, I think, he shrugs of injuries, he gets on with it. He does what his told. Sometimes his dead balls are frightening but if someone said to me hand on heart who I think has been our consistent player it would be Ashley Probets.”

Ashford Town: Scott Chalmers-Stevens, Carl Harrold, Laurence Harvey, Lee Hockey, Joe Fuller, Ronnie Dolan, Mitchell Sherwood, Ross Morley, Mark Lovell, Tom Murphy, Chris Borchescu.
Subs: Callum Day, Ben Morley, Dan Scorer, Danny Lye, Darren Ibrahim.

Goals: Mark Lovell 7, Tom Murphy 61

Chatham Town: Richard Stroud, Darryl Hollington (Bobby Dixey 78), Ashley Probets, Matt Solly, Richard Avery, John Wilfort (Ben Payne 62), Ryan Laker, Brad Potter, Ray Powell, Rob Denness, Jordan Kiffin (Thomas Hill 69)
Subs: James Lyons, Dean Ruddy.

Goal: John Wilfort 14

Attendance: 188
Referee: Mr Gary Croft (Battle, East Sussex)
Assistants: Mr Nick Dunn (Deal) & Mr Mark Graves (Deal)