We can't rely on other teams, says Lovell

Friday 16th April 2010

ASHFORD TOWN make one of their longest trips of the season to face Fleet Town tomorrow knowing that they still need three more points to guarantee their Ryman One South place next year, writes Mike Green.

After their Thursday night defeat to Whitstable, Steve Lovell’s side head for Hampshire knowing that there is still a job to be done.

Speaking to www.kentishfootball.co.uk after the derby defeat to the Oystermen, Lovell wasn’t a happy man.

He said: “I’m very frustrated – it’s almost like de ja vu! We don’t start games and we haven’t done all year and we got caught cold tonight! Sometimes we’ve been two goals down in seven minutes – tonight (and on Monday against the Met Police) it was only one but that was enough.

“Like Monday, we had most of the game after that – we were in control. Our keeper apart from the goal hasn’t had a shot to save whilst their keepers pulled off a couple of cracking saves and we’ve had two cleared off the line.

“But that’s the way it’s gone all year – it’s been a roller coaster of a season and I’ll just be glad when it’s all over.

“Both teams wanted the three points tonight for obvious reasons and only one team got them. But on the night they took their chance and we didn’t. And that’s a part of football!”

Facing up to their potential challenge ahead of gaining three points from the final week of the season to stay up, Lovell said, “We got to now go again for the next three games starting at Fleet on Saturday – we’ve still got a season to finish.

“It doesn’t matter how many teams go down from our league this year, we’ve got to go there and try to get the three points that we need to be safe.

“That said, if Sittingbourne can get anything at Walton Casuals on Saturday it doesn’t matter, but we can’t rely on other teams.

“I think a win for us tonight would have meant that we were a safe, and now that Whitstable have got the three points I think they’re very nearly safe. They need one more win and so do we, and it would be nice if both teams could do it and stay in the League, but its going to go down to the last week of the season and so its nail biting times.

“And to be quite honest, I don’t give two hoots to the way that we do it, so long as we do it!

“We’ve had our bad injuries this year and the boys have worked hard and tried hard and done their utmost best, and if we stay up and survive, it’ll be with the same side that finished sixth last year!”

Visit Ashford Town’s website: www.ashfordtownfc.co.uk

Fleet Town v Ashford Town

Ryman League Division One South

Saturday 17th April 2010

Kick Off 3:00pm

At Calthorpe Park, Crookham Road, Fleet, Hampshire GU51 5FA