Ashford (Middlesex) Hockey Club

Saturday 5th Nov: Newbury & Thatcham 3s 0 – 0 Ashford 3s

This Bonfire Night saw Ashford’s 3rd XI battle to a deserved goalless draw against Newbury & Thatcham. Given their poor results so far this season, Saturday’s match saw the team turn in a performance that was less about explosions of individual colour and brilliance and instead embodied the dogged and intense fire of team spirit and work ethic.

For much of the game both teams cancelled each other out: chances were few and far between as the battle in the middle of the pitch burned relentlessly. The game sparked inconsistently but, as the second period wore on, Ashford began to dominate in central midfield and there were some strong forays forward from these areas that heralded pleasing and fluid positional interchange from the forwards. These resulted in a number of short corners that Ashford were unfortunate not to capitalize on and special mention must go to the Newbury & Thatcham captain who gamely took a powerful Bhamra drive to the forehead via a vicious deflection off his stick!

The plaudits for only their second points of the season, however, must go to Ashford’s defensive players. Trialing a new-look back line and defensive-midfield partnership, Ashford were resilient, combative and increasingly communicative, ultimately deserving of their first clean sheet of the season. Let them feed this newfound fire with similar levels of desire and commitment as they go into November!

Saturday 5th Nov: Men’s 1s 4 (Digger, Jas, Luke & Alex) – Wycombe 0

After a draw and a defeat, the ‘Ford got back to winning ways beating Wycombe II 4-0 at the Lane on Saturday with goals from Andy Barnes, Jas Nijhar, Luke Cottrell and Alex Betts.

The win lifts them up from eighth to fourth in the table and illustrates just how close things are this year in Middx, Berks, Bucks, Oxon Regional 1.

The ‘Ford have now won more points in their six games so far this season than in their previous 44, which were admittedly at a higher level but hopefully, it does show that the tide is turning and that a revival is underway.

Saturday 5th Nov: Ladies 2s 4 – PHC Chiswick 2

Our first November game of the season brought the Ladies 2s back at home ground with a freshly swept pitch. With the absence of Captain Hannah Stokes we had our strong goalie Dyson to organise and bring ‘the master plan’. With an attacking game in mind within the first two minutes of the game we were awarded a short corner, a strong injection from Lynne Morgan to striker Gill brought a superb hit through the goalies legs to award Ashford their first goal. Throughout the rest of the first half Ashford managed to maintain control of the game with our solid defence consisting of Groomy, Hills, Alex Saunders and Sam Clarey pushing back Chiswick’s central attacking runs. More goal scoring chances during the first half saw Ashford dominating the game but failing to capitalise.

At the start of the second half Ashford had another set of attacking play and a short corner awarded in the second minute. Our occasional top goal scoring forward Jackie Parsons stepped up to receive the injection, with a rebound off the Chiswick goalie, Lynne hit home and bought the game to 2-0. Confidence was strong in the Ashford side and in the ninth minute Beth Jefferies swept in the third goal from another short corner on the left hand post. A determined oppo fought back taking advantage of a small blip in Ashford’s concentration; their quick passing down the right hand side soon beat our defence and bagged two goals. A draw looked imminent but Ashford soldiered on and with patience and resolve in the 34th minute a penetrating run from Becky Hewes saw a pass to Jackie Parsons who spotted Sam Clarey on p-spot for a final match winning goal.

Sat 29th October, Oxford 2 – Men’s 1s 2

Although the ‘Ford were disappointed not to have taken all three points, they could have returned from Oxford with nothing to show for their dominance in the opening and closing quarters of the match.

On their previous visit to the city the ‘Ford had the pleasure of playing on Oxford Hawks’ state-of -the-art water based surface. However, Oxford HC, the result of a summer merger involving the Rover and City clubs, use Oxford Poly’s rather worn and in places treacherous, leaf based pitch complete which cannot be trusted.

The ‘Ford began brightly and moving the ball well from defence, through midfield and into attack, created a number of openings. From their set pieces, though, they found a keeper in fine form and efforts from Alex Betts and Phil Lewis were well saved until Ryan Holland snapped up a rebound from close in..

Oxford responded by crowding the midfield and in doing so muscled their way into contention. A mis-hit penalty corner just before the interval squared things up and the home side took the lead early in the second half from a corner awarded only after vociferous appeals from the home bench.

The ‘Ford managed to play their way back into the game as Oxford tired but it looked like their efforts would come to nothing until Phil Lewis found a way through from a late penalty corner to earn a share of the points.

Ashford Ladies 3s – Home to PHC Chiswick, WON 3-0 (Chloe Russell, Nicki Davis, Nikki Croxon)

So the Ladies 3’s were at home against Chiswick and we were ready for a good game! We started off strong, attacking down the right side hard with Chloe Russell working extra hard to get the ball down the line to Megan Hurley. Not long into the game this worked and the ball got back to Chloe in the D and she took a shot at the goal from an angle that didn’t seem possible to score from but she did and we were winning 1-0. This was just what we needed . In the second half we continued to all work hard and the attack came from the right and left side with Jenny Tippell in the middle fighting strong to get the ball up the pitch. Ellie Watson displayed some beautiful skills alongside Jenny as she went round their players without any trouble. Then Abi Frith got a break on the left and after going round a few people, got the ball to Nicky Davis who hit it at the goal for their goalkeeper to try and keep it away but Nicky was too quick and there was our second goal!

Our defence remained strong throughout the game with Charlie Poulter in goal making some saves but we didn’t have much to worry about with our defence working hard to clear the ball. We had a few chances to score, one of which was Chloe Russell showing true commitment when she dived for the ball but unfortunately missed and hurt her elbow. We also lost our left back, Irene Okello to injury for 10 mins but she came back on fighting and got the ball down the wing which then went into the D for Nikki Croxon to score her first goal of the season making it 3-0! Brilliant result for Ashford 3’s ! The start of many wins to come!

Ashford Ladies 2s – Away to Eastcote, lost 5-1 (Becky Hewes)

This week’s game saw the Ladies 2s travel over to regular rivals Eastcote. With two blinding wins under our belts we were buzzing for win number three. Even if we were in white! The first half started off with Ashford having the main possession and another win looked promising. With some fast breakaways our rivals they soon got their first goal. Hungry to come back Sam Clarey and Man of the Match Jules Steer, made some great attacking runs through the middle. Shots towards goal were many but Ashford struggled to score. A much worn out side finished the first half 3-0 down but fought to keep heads up with our loud supporter Jacqui Bashford.

The second half started with strong attacks from the Eastcote side who in turn added 3 more goals to their tally for the first part of the second half. Strong defending from Hilary Hull and Alex Saunders saw Ashford hold their ground to push back any more attacking runs from the opposition. With the ball now out of our half Molly Davis and Cath Evans made an excellent pairing down the right wing to see some goal scoring opportunities worry the oppo. Eventually with another tough attack down the right wing Jules Steer picked up the ball at p-spot for Becky Hewes to slap the ball bottom corner for a goal.

For what was a tough match for the Ashford side this was a very positive game with the entire team playing really well. Even if we did have Alex hit on the head with a ball, Sam winding herself and Nicola ‘Groomy’ Groom running out of water because she drinks likes a fish. Did I mention we were in ‘unlucky white’?

Ashford Men 2s – Away to Gerrards Cross, lost 3-0.

Having been thrashed the previous week, due to possibly the worst Ashford performance in recent years, we were not overly confident in getting a positive result this week against a top four team in this league. But as we started on Beaconsfield High School beach, which doubles up as a hockey astro on weekends, there was a distinct difference in mind-set than weeks past, for once we were up for the game. And it showed, we started the game strongly, with Steve Taylor and Robbie Grant utilising their pace and stick skills, and Jack Hayes running GX defence ragged. Ironically, our dominance was also our downfall. Having created a terrific opening and getting into GX D, we gave the ball away cheaply, and had over committed. GX slipped 3 or 4 passes and the ball was in the back of our net. Half time and one down, we were disappointed we weren’t ahead, we came out of the blocks after half time superbly again creating opportunities through Matt Samouel and the returning Paul ‘Shar’ Neyton. But again after dominating the period of play we gave away a cheap short corner and were punished. Being 2 down with 15 to go Ashford pushed on, but were once more caught out on the break have lost possession in the opposing 25.

A much better performance from the red and blacks, but having dug ourselves into a bit of a hole, we are going to have to keep up this level of performance to get out of trouble. Starting with Maidenhead at home next week.

A down and up weekend for the ‘Ford as they lost in the league to Wallingford on Saturday but recovered well to beat fellow regional leaguers Eastcote in the EHB Trophy 24 hours later.

Pride often comes before a fall and maybe the ‘Ford were a little too confident after winning their previous two league games. They probably had the better of the scoreless first half but as they went in search of all three points after the interval they lost their shape and Wallingford capitalised on defensive errors with two late goals.

A chastening experience and when Eastcote took an early lead on Sunday a bad weekend looked on the cards. The ‘Ford defence in which Phil Lewis was outstanding stood their ground and gradually the midfield took control. The composure on the ball and patience going forward which was missing a day earlier returned and Jas Nijhar, who always had a threatening look about him, netted the equaliser from close range.

Luke Cottrell, who had an excellent game in midfield, put the ‘Ford in front from the spot soon after the interval and though Eatcote managed to equalise, the ‘Ford went back in front through Phil Lewis. A second from the youngster 15 minutes from time put the ‘Ford well clear and set the seal on a fine team performance. On Saturday, there was only one real candidate for the team’s man of the match award and that was Darren Cole. but against Eastcote most of the team had legitimate claims for the accolade and it was Lewis who took it.

So, the ‘Ford players and their supporters, who were at eastcote in force, will be huddled around their transistors hoping for a home tie when the draw for the last 32 is made on 5Live.

Finally, thanks to Andy ‘Shaggy’ Sonden for providing cover from the bench for both matches and only getting ten minutes of pitch time on Saturday and none on Sunday. It requires a degree of selflessness that few hockey players seem to possess and is much appreciated, as were the efforts of Dave Eastbury who travelled to Eastcote direct from his Sunday football match for just two minutes of action.

Ashford Ladies 1s League – Home vs Mill Hill, drew 1-1 (Maria Cavilla)

Saturday saw Ashford ladies 1′s face (at the start of the day) league leaders Winchmore Hill and Enfield 1′s. A change to the line up saw Maria Cavalia start up front with Captain Lucy Uttley with Kim Downs playing in the left midfield role. It was also a case of half term “itus” as a number of the team were struggling with various bugs and aches and pains!

Ashford had memories of a bad loss against this team last season, so were determined to play far better. With Jacqui Bashford and Nicky Benedict intending to mark tightly in midfield and a strong back four of Wendy Baker, Kim Fry, Emma Hynes and Sophie Smart, Ashford started the game well. With the push back Maria drove forward and put Hill under pressure. Ashford earned a short corner early on that lead straight to another but the Hill defense cleared. They coped well with the Ashford pressure and passed the ball effectively producing attacking opportunities themselves that resulted in great saves from keeper Sam Grant.

Youngster Rasna Sandhu linked well in midfield, creating more attacking play, with Elize Brown coming on to the forward line. Ashford were forced to absorb a lot of pressure from Hill’s right side of the pitch, but kept them out. Half time saw the score remain at 0-0.

Early on in the second half Ashford conceded a somewhat frustrating goal, with all our team “freeze” when we hoped we had heard a whistle for a Hill foul in the D only for the oppo to play on a put the ball away! Lucy Uttley moved into left midfield and link well with Maria up front but even though Ashford earned a number of shorts and created chances Hill held firm.
Finally with only minutes to go Ashford forced another short corner that Maria converted. Ashford were delighted and with strong defensive play from Tracey Holland and man of the match Kim Fry held onto the 1-1 draw, celebrating much to Hill’s frustration at the end of the game.

Next week sees the half term break, so Ashford are back in action on 5th Nov away to Hampstead and Westminster 4′s.

For the second week running Ashford earned a hard fought draw, but the win was what we were after!

With a change to the strike force, the forward line saw Jackie Parsons teaming up with Captain Lucy Uttley. Ashford made the best possible start….After 5mins Nicky Benedict drove down the right, playing a powerful ball into the D that beat the Staines defenders leaving Lucy to put away on her reverse stick side. Yes, just what we had planned to do 

Then followed a series of short corners, both sides had strikes that produced great keeping from both the Ashford and Staines Gk’s. Staines mounted further pressure on Ashford but strong defending from man of the match Sophie Smart, Kim Fry and Tracey Holland, with further saves from keeper Sam Grant kept Staines out. We saw the return of half marathon queen Wendy Baker to the team, coming on to help the midfield stay firm from the pressure Staines were exerting.

Ashford then produced some exciting attacking play, Lucy having a shot cleared off the line and Clare Emmerton narrowly missing too. Staines forced a short corner at which club captain Emma Hynes ran out to clear only to get hit on the foot which forced her off the pitch. We won’t talk about where else poor Emma got hit, but I’m sure she’ll show off her bruise on Saturday!?

Ashford held onto the 1-0 lead at half time and started the second half strongly with Jackie Parsons striking only to be saved again by the Staines keeper once again. Rasna Sanhdu continues to develop her confidence as a 1’s player on the right side and held her own against some aggressive Staines play.

Staines then put the pressure on Ashford and finally broke through the defence to equalise. However Ashford came straight back with Kim Downs narrowly missing, then Jacqui Bashford forced her way down the right and into the D to cross to Lucy who fired home.

With only 10 minutes to go Staines managed to equalise and then it Ashford did their best to steal the win, but to no avail so the final score ended up 2-2. A fair result overall?

Ashford face top of the table Winchmore Hill and Enfield 1’s on Saturday, so come on you REDS!

Sat 15th October – PHC Chiswick 1 Ashford 1st XI 3

In terms of possession and territorial advantage, this was a game of two halves. The ‘Ford, one up after two minutes and three to the good after 20 were full value for their 3-1 half time but had to batten down the hatches after the break as PHCC adopted a far more robust approach to things. The scoreless second half was down to a what we have, we hold approach from the visitors based on disciplined defence from front to back and on the rare occasions PHCC did break through they found either Andy Barnes or Adam Smith barring their way.

Alex Betts scored from the ‘Ford’s first penalty corner and Jas Nijhar’s fifth in three games a few minutes later was given some help by the keeper. Andy Barnes calmly slotted his second of the season from the spot after a foul on Chris Bolton and although PHCC pulled one back they never really capitalised on having the lion’s share of the ball after that.
So, three points for the “Ford from what is always a difficult trip to the forbidding surroundings of the Linford Christie Stadium in the shadow of Wormwood Scrubs Prison. The experience was, however, brightened somewhat by PHCC’s warm welcome and convivial post match hospitality.

Sat 15th October – Ashford 5s away to Eastcote, won 7-1

A comfortable victory for Ashford 5th XI at Eastcote in an otherwise even match. Goals from young Sam Betts put Ashford two up at half time, with good work from Chris Taylor in the Ashford goal keeping the Eagles at bay. Ashford continued the good work in the 2nd half taking advantage of a fairly weak defence, with further goals from Joe Muldoon, Sam Betts(2), Jim Berressem and Kulvir Singh, with Eastcote finally netting a goal late in the game. The final score of 7 – 1 flattered Ashford, who for once converted every opportunity to come away with a satisfying victory

Preseason Friendly: Bracknell 1s (6) vs. Ashford 2s (1)

With Captain Elliott ‘Podge’ Smith sidelined due to work commitments it fell to Vice Captain Adam Husband to try and nullify the threat of a Bracknell 1s side playing at their home pitch just beside the eponymous leisure centre.

Ashford started with the wind in their sails, and fired off an early broadside, with Mark Bell just unable to fashion an outcome from the right-hand side of the circle. The tide quickly turned in Bracknell’s favour however, and as they warmed to their slick passing game the Ashford work rate dropped, with only Matt Samouel in central midfield providing any sort of attacking outlet for the embattled red and blacks. A series superbly timed tackles from centre backs Graham Smart and Paul ‘Shah’ Neyton were keeping Ashford in the game at this point, but despite weathering the storm of a series of short corners – owing much to the lightning reflexes of John ‘The Cat’ Hunt in goal – they were soon behind; a swift Bracknell switch leaving the Ashford rearguard marooned.

Rather than a wake-up call, the first goal heralded a disastrous period of play for the away team; Bracknell’s right midfield in particular appeared to be able to maraud with impunity down the flank, and by half-time they were five goals to the good.

The second half threatened to see a deluge turn into a flood, but an Ashford side showing more grit that the first 35 minutes battened down the hatches and finally began to catch the current, partly due to a half-time reshuffle that saw David ‘Crabhands’ Eastbury move back into the centre of midfield. The incise running of youngster Adesh Aulakh in the forward free role was causing the Bracknell rearguard some real problems, and as Ashford put all hands to the wheel, they saw a number of chances go begging, Andy ‘Shaggy’ Sonden just unable to put the ball away on the reverse after nicking it from a prostrate ‘keeper.

Just desserts were finally served with 20 minutes to play however; some fine movement from James Maitland – playing his first game after three years adrift at university – helped win a penalty corner which Billy Bassett duly cannoned onto the backboard, and even though a brilliant individual effort from Bracknell’s left half saw them plunder one final goal, Ashford’s second-half performance against a team who play their hockey a league higher will offer a real confidence boost as they set sail into the 2011-12 season proper against Banbury on Saturday.

MENS 1st XI. Thursday 22nd Home vs Amersham & Chalfont, won 2-1. Saturday 24th away to Barnes, 1-1

After a heavy defeat the previous weekend, the ‘Ford recovered well and ended their five match pre-season programme with a home win and an away draw.

They had beaten midweek visitors to the Lane, Amersham & Chalfont 5-0 in their opening practice fixture and when Chris Bolton opened the scoring after ten minutes and Ryan Holland won a penalty stroke shortly afterwards a similar score looked on the cards. However, Holland after put the stroke high, wide and not very handsome. A & C broke away and were contentiously awarded a similar award which was converted to give the visitors and equaliser they did not deserve. Instead of holding the comfortable lead that their slick hockey merited, the’ Ford changed ends level. More flowing hockey followed in the second half and eventually Bolton netted his second for a morale boosting 2-1 win.

On Saturday, the ‘Ford travelled to meet Barnes, also relegated from South Premier 2 last season and welcomed back Andy Barnes, Jas Nijhar, Matt Emmerton, Elliott Symes and new recruit from the north west, Andy Tunna and for once fielded something approaching a full strength side. Alex Betts set the tone with a fine penetrating run down the left and the ‘Ford dominated the early exchanges with some neat, patient hockey. So, the away fans must have thought it was deja-vu all over again when Barnes capitalised on a slack pass into midfield and scored with a shot that really should have been saved. However, unlike so often in the past couple of seasons the floodgates did not open and the ‘Ford defence held firm.

They actually dominated the second half, scored a fine equlaiser through Jas Nijhar and went close on several more occasions.

The league season starts next week and after an encouraging pre-season and several new players, things do not look quite so bleak for the men in black. Current fitness level need to be improved but for once the light at the end of a tunnel may not be an oncoming locomotive.