Ashford Scorers:
George Clutton FG (10 min), Jamie McFarlane FG (45mins ), James Webber PS (65min )
The second match for the year proved to be a very tight contest where both teams played some very good hockey. Chichester were to be the unknowns this season as they were newly promoted to the 1st division.
The first half saw Ashford take the lead in the 10th minute through a solo effort from George Clutton who stole the ball of their defence on their 25, ran to the top of the circle and slotted it into the bottom left corner. This was to be the only real joy for the Ashford team in the first half. Ashford had some good attacking raids that could have produce more goals however it wasn’t to be and Chichester managed to get on top and apply some pressure to the Ashford defence.
This pressure proved too much as Chichester scored from two well worked penalty corners mid-way through the first half. They then scored a third from open play that sparked the Ashford team into action. The end of the first half was dominated by Ashford raids on the Chichester goal but unfortunately opportunities were missed and would cost the Ashford team dearly. Half time saw Ashford down 3-1.
The second half started the way the first ended, with multiple attacking raids from Ashford on the Chichester defence. This was to be the pattern for most of the second half with Chichester creating only a few goal scoring opportunities in the second half. Ashford scored first in the second, through a well worked field goal being finished off by Jamie McFarland, taking the score to 3-2 with plenty of time to play. Ashford, still launching plenty of attacking on the Chichester defence, had a momentary lapse in concentration leading to a free hit, to Chichester, just outside Ashford’s defensive circle. This resulted in a neat deflection from a Chichester attacked taking them two goals clear once again.
The Ashford boys never gave up and earned a penalty stroke, neatly converted by James Webber, which put Ashford back within one goal with 5 minutes to play. Unfortunately Ashford couldn’t find the equalizer in the last minutes of the game despite having many opportunities to draw level.
