Cove 2 Ashford 4

[smoking-gun]

A big well done to Ashford,4 wins on the trot and improving all the time.

The team still has to learn not to sit back and think this is easy, because at 2-0 up after 7 minutes of play that is what Ashford did,giving to much time and space to the Cove mid field and their forwards

For which Ashford where rightly punished conceding two goals which let Cove back into the game and we went in at half time hanging on and Cove with their tails up in the air.

I don't know what Ben Murray said to the boys but what ever it was it worked, because 35seconds from the restart Ashford scored to make it 2-3 and were now showing proper respect to their opponents,Cove tried to bring it back and upped the pressure on Ashford's defence,which held firm,when the 4th goal went in Ashford did not sit back this time and saw the game out.

Ashford's mid field looked much better with the return of Max Webb.just a question what was Dan Fleming doing out on the left wing,the man scored 30 plus goals last season?

[fatboyatmfc]

I think Max was playing at centre back. Dan was moved out to the left when Bitz was subbed, I guess to give Brad some game time up top.

 

We need to be more ruthless with teams when we have them on the rack. At 2-0 and creating chances every attack we took our foot off the gas. If you gift a team a goal it changes their mentality and then gives them a chance back into the game. Don't give teams anything! Hopefully that will be a learning curve for the rest of the season.

That said, it was very hot and a bone hard bobbly pitch!

Three welcome points and by what I hear teams will have to go to Cove when the pitch gets very heavy. They are quite a big strong side and will take points off people for sure.

I thought Beads was excellent all game and rightly deserved the supporters M of M award.

[manurgrate]

Cove looked like a team lacking in confidence, so much so that Ashford could have been 4 or 5 up by the 25 minute mark. However we took our foot off the pedal and to Cove's credit they  came back at us with their pacy front runners including Cyril ( can't remember his surname), who with us a couple of years back, scoring their first. We seemed to be at sixes and sevens for a spell before half  time but re-organised after the break and were soon  4-2 up after some stunningly inept Cove defending with their centre half trying to pass across his own goal a foot from the line for our fourth.

 

After that we got our passing together and could have scored a few more, also the  defence was much more solid against a spirited Cove team. It was a very competitive match, well refereed in  what must have been very gruelling conditions for the players

 

Jack Beadle thoroughly deserved his man of the match award.

 

.

[smoking-gun]

Forgot to mention,I was chatting to a Cove supporter at the game and I asked him just what had happened to the team that played so well last season and why are they now sitting bottom of the league? His reply was the team from last season have all gone to Hartney Wintney(which explains why they are top of the league) and the team Ashford faced were all brand new.

[Swifty]

I don't know what Hartley Wintney would need to do groundwise to apply for promotion (I haven't been there for years), but Cove's players may well have decided to move elsewhere after the club announced they weren't applying for promotion last season due to economic / financial reasons. It was noticeable that, once that announcement was made, Cove's form dipped alarmingly.

[B378]

I spoke with a work colleague, who's involved at Hartley Wintney. He's under the impression that they wouldn't have to do any ground improvements.