Fifth-place is not a bad return, says Ashford United boss Paul Chambers

ASHFORD UNITED boss Paul Chambers wants to finish their inaugural Kent Invicta League season off on a high with victory over Rusthall at Homelands tomorrow.

 

United are on a nine-game unbeaten run and they last lost on February 2.

The turnaround in fortunes came too late for a promotion push but a top-five finish, which they’ll guarantee with a win on home soil, has satisfied Chambers.

Chambers told www.ashfordunited.co.uk: “Hopefully we can turn them over and that’d mean we’d finish at least fifth.

“It’s not a bad return considering how we started the season.

“We’ve learned a lot and we know what the league is about now. If we can keep the same sort of squad and add three or four new players so we’ve got strength in depth we’ll be looking strong.

“The players know what the league is about now and there are plenty of young lads that have learned a lot. We went on a decent run but we’ve drawn too many games and that’s what has cost us.”

It was the same old story at Sutton Athletic on Saturday. Without ace marksman Mo Takaloo, United struggled to score despite creating plenty of chances. A draw wasn’t the end of the world for Chambers, however.

Chambers said: “We did alright but we still missed an out and out goal-scorer, someone who could put ball in the net.

“If we had Tak in the last few weeks we’d have probably won the games that we’ve drawn.

“There are no complaints from me because we battled hard and it’s just one of those things. You have to score goals to win football matches and we didn’t do that. But the boys put on a good show and I was pleased with their efforts.”

Saturday’s visitors Rusthall sit elventh in the Kent Invicta League table.

Chambers said: “We beat them at their place so hopefully we can do the same again. None of the injured lads are back so we won’t see them back until next year now.”

The club also revealed that they’ve entered both the FA Cup and FA Vase and are awaiting confirmation as to whether their entries have been accepted.

Secretary Elaine Orsbourne said: “There’s been a mountain of paperwork to sort through but we’ve entered them both and we’re hopeful we’ll be accepted. The FA Cup is a great competition and it’d be an honour to host FA Cup games back at the Homelands again.

“We have also entered the FA Youth Cup, which is really important too. The youngsters are the future of the club so it’ll be good for them to play in such a prestigious competition.”

Article courtesy of Jack Wilson - www.ashfordunited.co.uk

Ashford United  v   Rusthall
Kent Invicta League
Saturday 28^th April 2012
Kick Off 3:00pm
At Homelands Stadium, Ashford Road, Kingsnorth TN26 1NJ