Kentish Express Ashford & District
Victory still elusive
Ashford are still in search of their first win in London South East 2 following a 29-5 defeat to Old Alleynians last Saturday.
Any memories of a dry, warm September were lost as the teams took the field to a backdrop of heavy rain and a wind blowing end-to-end down the pitch.
Ashford showed a number of changes to the previous Saturday, with chairman John Norman covering son Charlie’s absence, a new second-row pairing of Lewis Dempsey and Jake Begg, Charlie Colman at stand-off, Andy Ticehurst shifting from wing to centre, and the welcome return of Farai Myezwa on the right wing.
The visitors had the early advantage of playing with the elements, and mounted a series of attacks.
But a combination of mistakes, probably due in large measure to the conditions and good defensive work by Ashford, kept the scoreboard blank until the 12th minute when Alleynians converted a penalty.
The following 20 minutes continued in much the same vein, with Alleynians monopolising possession and territory, but with no reward.
On the half-hour, Ashford moved play upfield into the Alleynians half, but only briefly.
When under pressure, the visitors played a kick and chase game, looking to pin Ashford into their half.
After 35 minutes, one such kick was fielded by Will Blyth, who tried to counter-attack with a kick ahead, but it was sliced infield and, caught in the wind, made little yardage.
His efforts to retrieve the ball proved unsuccessful, and from the spillage, Alleynians kicked through into the Ashford 22, retrieved the ball and scored the first try of the game.
With the conversion, this gave the visitors a 10-0 lead.
Despite some late efforts by Ashford to claw back the deficit, the score remained unchanged at half-time.
Playing with the elements, Ashford were hopeful of mounting a serious secondhalf challenge, but from the kick-off their task was made more difficult as a failure to collect the grubber kick off again provided an opportunity for Alleynians to kick through, retrieve possession and score their second try.
The visitors maintained momentum in the following minutes, taking play five minutes later deep into the Ashford 22, and a series of forward drives set up an opportunity for their scrumhalf to dive for the line. With the subsequent conversion, Alleynians increased their led to 22-0.
The following 10 minutes saw the home side seeking to reduce the deficit, and following a strong driving run by Marc Huxted, Alleynians conceded a penalty that was quickly taken by scrum-half Rhys Fussell whose pass set up Ticehurst to drive over.
Old Alleynians had the final say by scoring a bonuspoint try.