Ashford Town 2-3 Hastings United - We must start getting wins, insists Adlington - EXCLUSIVE

ASHFORD TOWN 2-3 HASTINGS UNITED
Ryman League Division One South
Tuesday 13^th March 2007
Stephen McCartney reports from The Homelands

Hastings United leapfrogged over Maidstone United into top spot in the Ryman League Division One South table with a workmanlike victory with ten-men tonight.

Ashford Town climbed out of the drop zone on Saturday for the first time since the end of January when a pre-match team talk from former Premiership star Ian Wright inspired them to a vital win over Godalming Town on Saturday.

And right-back Tom Adlington, making his 150^th appearance for the Kent club before being forced off the pitch at half-time with an ankle injury, admitted slack defending cost them dear.

“Very disappointing to go off in the way I had to go off at half-time,” Adlington, whose expected to be out for up to three weeks said EXCLUSIVELY to www.kentishfootball.co.uk after their fourteenth league defeat of the season keeps Ashford in the bottom three.

“The result was more important to me than anything else. We done well to get back into it at two-all. We should have shut shop then but they got a very good goal.  Maybe we weren’t tight enough and it’s killed us in the last few minutes.”

But Ashford took the lead, against the run of play, when Walid Matata broke the deadlock inside fourteen minutes of a game where goalscoring chances were at a premium.

The former Dover Athletic and Folkestone Invicta striker chased Kevin Lott’s ball down the middle and captalised on a mistake from visiting goalkeeper Lee Worgan before tapping into an empty net from six-yards to score his fourth goal in Ashford colours.

Hastings almost levelled within two minutes when Danny Ellis’ angled drive just cleared Jake Whincup’s crossbar.

And Russell Eldridge’s in-swinging corner was hacked off the line by an alert Lott as Hastings applied early pressure.

But the east Sussex side levelled proceedings after 21 minutes, although striker Ade Olorunda looked offside before he scored his 12^th goal of the season.

A ball over the top of Ashford’s defence caught out Marc Cumberbatch and Olorunda went on to fire the ball past Whincup from eight-yards.

The striker drove a left-footed shot past the left upright from twenty-yards following a counter attack after Ian Ross’ left-footed free-kick was blocked by the wall at the other end of the pitch.

Whincup had to be alert when he cut out Ellis’ low centre, which was destined to be stabbed into the net by the tricky striker Olorunda from close range.

But Hastings deservedly went into the half-time interval with the lead when midfielder Tim Olorunda headed his fourth goal of the season seconds before the whistle was blown by Rochester Referee Mr Ian Cooper.

Former Tonbridge Angels’ midfielder Lee Carey’s in-swinging corner was met by Tim Olorunda’s glancing header from four yards which went over a crowded goal-mouth and went in just beneath the crossbar.

Hastings went close from their first corner of the second half when skipper Sean Ray headed Eldridge’s corner over the bar.

Ray was, however, booked for bringing down Ashford star Simon Glover when he burst past him in the middle of the park.

And yellow turned to red within two minutes when the defender brought down George Fenwick just a yard outside his penalty area after the fifteen-goal striker latched onto a ball over the top from blonde sixteen-year-old midfielder Joe Hitchings.

Substitute Anthony Allman squandered the excellent chance from the resulting 56th minute free-kick when he blazed his right-footed shot over.

But Ashford Town levelled proceedings from their only corner of the game in the 63rd minute through Marc Cumberbatch's third goal of the campaign.

Lott's driven free-kick went through a crowd of players and Cumberbatch was on hand to stab the ball into the net from six-yards at the far post.

Playing against ten-men Ashford were expected to run their visitors’ ragged, but strike partners Matata and Fenwick failed to cause any problems.

And the Kent side were left broken hearted when lone striker Sam Adams scored a superb strike with eight minutes remaining.

The former Rye striker captalised on slack defending from Cumberbatch before turning and striking a superb left footed shot from eighteen yards which flew past a stunned Whincup.

Ashford now had four men up front, Matata, Fenwick and substitutes Lee Ealham and Ken Jarrett-Elliott in a bid to salvage a much needed point.

But shots from outside the box from Jarrett-Elliott and Hitchings were off target, leaving them hanging just above the drop zone.

“We got a good result Saturday, probably not our best performance tonight against a side that’s challenging for the title,” admitted Adlington.

“To take them all the way to the last ten minutes we’ve done well.”

Adlington insists his team-mates must turn their games in hand into wins as they now play fourteen league games, and at least one Kent Senior Cup tie, in just 47 days.

They travel to Leatherhead on Saturday, and Adlington said: “We’ve got to get a result ok. That’s all there is too it.

“We’ve got quite a big squad with about 20-21 players so everybody’s going to take their turn.”

Adlington, meanwhile, believes the boardroom shuffle yesterday “can only be good” for The Homelands club.

He added: “It can only be good can’t it? Take the club forward. I think they’re here for the long term aren’t they from what we can tell - we’ll just see what happens.”

The club’s new Director of Football Strategy, Ian Wright offered words of inspiration in the team-talk before Saturday’s vital 2-1 win over fellow strugglers Godalming Town.

“We got introduced to him before the game and he made a few comments and said he came from grass roots football down to this sort of level and he wants to put a bit back from where he benefited from.”