Kentish Express Ashford & District
United’s unwanted hat-trick
SHEPPEY ASHFORD UTD Ashford finished second best again against Sheppey in this Boxing Day Southern Counties East League top-of-the table clash.
An entertaining, end-to-end contest made good viewing for the 500-plus crowd at Holm Park but sadly not for United followers, who witnessed the Nuts & Bolts’ third reverse in three meetings between the clubs this year.
Defeat in the Kent Senior Trophy final in April was followed by a 2-1 loss in the league meeting at Homelands in August, while this latest reverse
‘The ball should have been cleared out of the ground’
– and Crowborough’s 3-0 win at Tunbridge Wells on Tuesday – combined to cut United’s lead at the top of Southern Counties East League Premier Division to only a point.
Almost 1700 supporters have watched t he t hree games between the sides, with this one decided by Richard Atkins’ seventh-minute strike. United
PWD L F A Ps Dorking W..... 25 18 3 4 60 26 57 Tooting ......... 26 16 5 5 71 39 53 Greenwich .... 26 16 2 8 56 35 50 Corinthian C .. 24 15 4 5 52 35 49 Hythe ............ 24 15 3 6 50 33 48 Carshalton .... 25 14 5 6 57 33 47 Walton Cas ... 26 13 5 8 57 41 44 Lewes........... 24 13 3 8 44 44 42 Sittingbrne .... 26 11 7 8 45 43 40 Cray Wdrs ..... 23 11 6 6 47 41 39 Hastings ....... 22 11 5 6 68 33 38 Horsham ....... 25 9 5 11 51 50 32 Whyteleafe.... 26 9 5 12 50 49 32 Faversham.... 22 9 2 11 43 32 29 South Park .... 19 9 2 8 38 31 29 E Grinstead ... 25 9 2 14 42 58 29 Chipstead ..... 26 8 3 15 35 50 27 Herne Bay ..... 23 7 5 11 36 49 26 Molesey ........ 25 6 8 11 36 65 26 Ramsgate ..... 25 7 4 14 37 50 25 Guernsey ...... 26 6 6 14 41 63 24 Chatham ....... 25 5 4 16 35 68 19 T Bridges ...... 24 4 3 17 31 60 15 Godalming .... 26 3 3 20 29 83 9
Carshalton 1 Tooting 1, Corinthian Casuals 0 Walton Casuals 0, Dorking Wanderers 5 Guernsey 2, Faversham 1 Sittingbourne 1, Greenwich 3 Cray Wanderers 1, Hastings 3 Lewes 0, Horsham 8 Godalming 1, Ramsgate 0 Herne Bay 2, Whyteleafe 3 Chipstead 0.
Chatham 1 Hythe 3, South Park 6 Molesey 2, Three Bridges 2 East Grinstead 4.
Chipstead v South Park, Guernsey v Corinthian Casuals, Herne Bay v Chatham.
Cray Wanderers v Ramsgate (1pm), East Grinstead v Greenwich (1pm), Godalming v Dorking Wanderers, Hythe v Faversham, Lewes v Three Bridges (1pm), Molesey v Horsham (1pm), Sittingbourne v Hastings (1pm), Tooting v Whyteleafe, boss Danny Lye wasn’t happy with his team’s defending for the winner.
He said: “The ball should have been cleared out of the ground.
“We had good possession and were on the front foot for much of the game but huffed and puffed and Sheppey are good on the counter-attack.”
Atkins’ winner came courtesy of a 20-yard dipping effort which flew in under the bar, giving goalkeeper George Kamurasi no chance. Clear-cut chances were few and far between in Walton Casuals v Carshalton.
Chipstead v Carshalton, Cray Wanderers v Chatham, East Grinstead v Hastings, Godalming v Three Bridges, Guernsey v South Park, Herne Bay v Faversham, Hythe v Ramsgate, Lewes v Horsham, Molesey v Dorking Wanderers, Sittingbourne v Greenwich, Tooting v Corinthian Casuals, Walton Casuals v Whyteleafe.
PWD L F A Ps Ashford ......... 20 15 1 4 58 19 46 Crowboro ...... 19 14 3 2 53 20 45 Sheppey ....... 22 14 3 5 44 27 45 Hollands & B . 20 12 6 2 42 25 42 AFC Croydon . 21 12 5 4 49 30 41 Sevenoaks .... 18 13 1 4 41 18 40 Cray Valley.... 20 12 1 7 51 28 37 Whitstable .... 20 11 0 9 47 33 33 Corinthian ..... 18 7 5 6 39 39 26 Rochester ..... 19 6 6 7 33 43 24 Croydon ........ 16 7 2 7 36 31 23 Canterbury.... 18 6 4 8 23 19 22 Lordswood.... 21 6 2 13 37 66 20 Bearsted ....... 20 5 3 12 27 45 18 Erith & Bel .... 19 4 5 10 32 42 17 Deal Town .... 18 4 5 9 24 41 17 Tun Wells...... 17 4 3 10 17 35 15 Erith Town .... 20 4 3 13 25 61 15 Beckenham .. 20 3 3 14 15 39 12 Fisher ........... 22 2 5 15 27 59 11
Hollands & Blair 1 Canterbury 3, Sheppey 1 Ashford 0.
AFC Croydon 4 Cray Valley 1, Bearsted 2 Rochester 1, Crowborough 3 Tunbridge Wells 0, Fisher 2 Beckenham 0, Whitstable 2 Deal 0.
Cray Valley v Crowborough, Lordswood v Bearsted (1pm).
Beckenham v AFC Croydon, Canterbury v Whitstable, Deal v Sheppey, Erith Town v Erith & Belvedere, Rochester v Hollands & Blair, Tunbridge Wells v Sevenoaks. the first half, with Sheppey’s Timmy Babbington going close to doubling the lead on the half-hour.
Home goalkeeper Dean Warford – a penalty shoot-out hero in the April final – denied Ashford on the hour, pushing the ball away for a corner as it looked like sneaking in the corner, with the visitors pressing for an equaliser.
Kamurasi stopped Sheppey adding to their lead inside the last 20 minutes.
The United keeper denied Atkins a second and then kept out fellow striker Dan Bradshaw’s effort, saving with his legs as the home striker chose placement instead of power.
Twenty-three goal Welford, playing despite a slight groin niggle, endured a frustrating afternoon, completed by seeing his late effort ruled out by an offside flag, which even Sheppey connections conceded was a tight decision.
Kamurasi, Walker (Eldridge 80mins), Wilson, Botterill, James, Kingwell, Palmer, Phillips, Welford, Ince (Stone 60mins), Hill. Subs not used: Savage, Fagg, Lye. 517