Kentish Express Ashford & District
United face top test
LEADERS NEXT FOR FORM SIDE
Ashford United manager Tommy Warrilow has labelled his side’s recent form as ‘a great achievement’, after they picked up a further two wins in just four days during the past week.
The Nuts & Bolts are now once again looking strong to qualify at least for this season’s Isthmian South East playoffs, and they remain within touching distance of this weekend’s opponents Hastings at the top of the division.
Second-place United, who are also a whopping 13 points clear of play-off outsiders Whyteleafe in sixth, travel to East Sussex this weekend hoping to close the gap at the top to just one point by the final whistle, something Warrilow says they can accomplish.
“I still think we can do better, but we’re picking up and we’re winning, so hopefully going into the latter part of the season it’s a good omen,” he said.
“Only losing one out of our last 10 is a great achievement, especially winning nine of those games, and only Hythe are near us with that, so the good thing is that we go into Saturday in a good vein of form.
“You can’t really ask for much more than that, but obviously the next game will be another difficult one.
“We’ll have training later this week and go through some bits, and then go onto Saturday where we’ll give it our best shot – injury-wise everyone should be fit apart from those out long-term.”
Hastings, who have won just one of their last four league matches, will face an Ashford side fresh from their 5-0 thrashing of East Grinstead on Saturday, as well as a resilient 1-0 win at rivals Sittingbourne on Tuesday evening.
It means the Homelands squad have now picked up 24 points from the last 27 available, and Warrilow insists the three points picked up against the Brickies was another important step for the team in their pursuit of success this campaign.
The league’s manager of the month for January added: “Obviously winning 5-0 last Saturday was a really good result, but Tuesday was a really important one because everybody knows that it is a difficult place to go.
“It was never going to be pretty – it was always about winning ugly and getting that win, because Sittingbourne are a good side who break well, so it was a massive three points for us.
“We were good defensively and clean sheets are what win you leagues, but as I keep saying, if we eliminate mistakes, take our chances and concentrate on us, we’ll make it a lot easier for ourselves going forward.”
■ Match reports, page 38