FA Cup winner with Blues enjoys another Wembley celebration 15 years later
He won the FA Cup with Pompey – now a former favourite has returned to Wembley to add an FA Vase medal to his trophy cabinet.
Ascot United secured a 1-0 triumph over defending champions Newport Pagnell Town on Sunday afternoon through Kai Walters’ header 10 minutes from time.
It completed a treble for the ninth-tier Berkshirebased club, who this season also claimed the Combined Counties League Premier Division North title and the League Cup.
And more silverware for their goalkeeping coach – Jamie Ashdown.
Now aged 42, the former Pompey man was a first-team regular in the first half of the season, yet now focuses on coaching duties.
Rhys Forster was in goal for Sunday’s Wembley final victory, with Sam Negus backup, but Ashdown was also the bench among club staff for the showpiece occasion.
And, like 15 years ago against Cardiff, it ended in a 1-0 victory for the former Reading man’s side.
In May 2008, Ashdown was among the substitutes as Harry Redknapp’s men claimed the FA Cup for the first time in 69 years through Kanu’s goal.
He had been selected for the final three Premier League matches entering the final, with the Blues losing all three.
Ashdown was then replaced by a fit-again David James for Wembley, played in front of a record-breaking attendance of 89,874.
Nonetheless, he still received a medal, albeit for a short while before it was stolen during celebrations back at the team hotel.
Having taken off his suit jacket to dance, with the medal inside, he later discovered it had been taken – although the FA would deliver a replacement.
Ashdown would go on to make 123 appearances for the Blues, before being released on a free transfer in the summer of 2012 after eight years on the south coast.
He went on to play for Leeds, Crawley and Oxford United before retiring in 2016 following an unsuccessful trial at Pompey under Paul Cook.
However, after turning to coaching, he returned to firstteam football at Ascot last season – and now has another Wembley triumph to cherish.