Under 18 Pre-Season Match,
Training Pitch @ Short Lane
6th August 2008

This game was Ashford’s fourth friendly in two weeks.  Twenty-seven players have taken part in those games. The squad consisted of nine-second year youth players and seven first year players.

The game started, as many appear to do with this group of Ashford players in that Cobham had the majority of possession in the first twenty minutes of the game but never really threatened to score.  The Ashford players are drilled into defending together and appear to be grasping the instructions they are given. The confidence that Cobham built up in that period started to disappear when Mark Bitmead scored a goal with an excellent strike from just inside the penalty area into the far top corner. Cobham stilled had plenty of possession and moved the ball around well in their defensive third and into the midfield areas. However Danny Byron Alex Zamit Charlie Verdon and Bitmead were closing them down quickly in midfield and the Cobham attacks were often snuffed out. When Cobham did break through they came up against some good defending. In about the thirty fifth minute Ashford made it two nil with another excellent strike this time from left back Tom Butler who had supported the attack. He drilled a left foot shot into the bottom corner beating a very capable Cobham goalkeeper with power and accuracy.

Ashford made five changes just after half time. Off came Butler, Bitmead, Lowe-Simms, Wombwell and Verdon to be replaced by Baldock,Stanford,Kandebi,Jones and Loates.

Ashford now started to dominate the game easily dealing with Cobham’s attacks and creating numerous chances. Steve Streeter and Tom Snowden had settled into a strong central defensive partnership with Snowden especially having a really good game not only in his defending but also in his distribution. As the game developed both managers made a number of further substitution using the roll on roll off system. Ashford scored two further goals both coming from Jimmy Stanford who always brings something different and who in the manager’s opinion is definitely one to watch.