There is only one piece of midweek action for the Club this week and that comes tomorrow evening (Wednesday), when Ashford Reserves play their first ever match in the Capital League, away to Wealdstone Res, kick-off 7.45 p.m.  Manager Ben Murray is on holiday in Portugal so the team will be under the control of Neil Cummings.  It is likely that the squad will consist of those 1^st Team squad players who need some game time plus a mixture of Under 18 players.

Belatedly, the Club welcomes our new groundsman Ben Jacobs who has built upon the good work done by Andy Frost, to produce an impressive surface.  Ben, as well as being a professional groundsman, also plays for Ashford’s tenants, Staines Lammas so he has an inbuilt interest in maintaining the excellent surface.  It is certainly doing the Lammas no harm as they swept to the top of the CCL with two wins over the weekend.

Also belatedly, we can report that the Under-18’s managed a 6-0 victory in last Thursday’s friendly against Hanworth Villa.  Here is Ben Murray’s report: 

“A Conor Moody brace, helped the Under 18s on their way to a decisive and comprehensive victory over at Hanworth Villa on Thursday night.
On a night where forward Jack Taylor made his first appearance of the season, the young tangerines provided the watching crowd with a strong and structured performance against determined and physical opponents.
The first goal came from a Mitchell Fountain strike early in the game, which allowed the lads to grow with confidence; followed by a fantastic strike by young winger Jamal, who struck an unstoppable effort from all over 30 yards.
Moody’s first goal of the evening gave Ashford their third, which included some encouraging link up play with Taylor.  Taylor himself scored the fourth and Moody scored Town’s fifth, which completed a spell of dominance where the goals were free flowing from the two forwards.  The final goal of the evening was scored by substitute forward Jabir Laraba, on his debut for the tangerines, who slotted home comfortably and making a run through the heart of the defence.
Manager Ben Murray added, “Tonight was a good workout. The lads have worked hard this week, we have had them in three times, but what is crucial is that all the lads are becoming available again, after the summer break. Mitch is really impressing in his gameplay, he’s intelligent and has great character and is a great addition to the squad. It’s good to see JT back and I’m really proud of the way that Conor Moody is performing. A few new lads have come in, noticeably Jabir, who has only just begun training after a broken ankle, but he is a clever player and one I am looking forward to working with.”

In the meantime Bairoh Conteh, just one of Ashford’s promising Under 18 squad has been called up by the County for their match this coming Sunday against Huntingdon FA, to be played on Sunday at Rayners Lane FC.