| Reserve Team football is not about results - it's about players. That can mean blooding youngsters in order to help their development, or giving game time to First Team players who need match practice for whatever reason. Here at Ashford, it usually means both. However, the emphasis is then on those players to grasp the opportunity they have been given to play and, in the case of members of the First Team Squad, put pressure on those ahead of them. Coming just a day after the First Team's win at Hendon, this was a great opportunity for a raft of senior players, including Gavin Bamford, Brett Cooper, Jon Palmer, Scott Todd and Scott Weight to prove their readiness for a return to the starting line-up, while Craig Ross was making his comeback from injury and Russell Canderton was again included. Sadly, in the main, that opportunity was missed. The opening stages of the game were end-to-end but without any shots on goal until the seventeenth minute, when Adam Foulser headed a corner against the bar for Ashford. The next scoring opportunity did not arise until twelve minutes later, when the visitors Dean Papali capitalised on a slip by Foulser to fire past Craig Ross. With thirty-four minutes played, the visitors should have had a second goal when Papali headed a corner against the crossbar.  With the score 1-0 to the visitors at the break, Manager Glynn Stephens (pictured) had his plans disrupted with the revelation that Craig Ross was still troubled by his thigh injury, so he was replaced by Dan Cox.
Ashford began the second half in more positive fashion, but without looking like troubling the Stones defence until the 57th minute, when a Scott Todd free kick was only just saved by Sam Leggett. Ironically, it was this attack that lead to the Stones second goal, as the stopper's long clearance saw Foulser and Cox get into a tangle, Cox fail to claim a ball he had called for and Wealdstone's Ade Kelani tap into the empty net. Ashford had the better of the game after that and enjoyed the lion's share of possession. Todd beat two defenders before shooting at Leggett in the 61st minute and shortly after that a James shot and the subsequent corner had the Stones scrambling back. After that brief flurry, the Tangerines were disappointing at the sharp end, with Todd shooting every time he got near the goal when on at least one occasion the pass may have been the better option. The closest anyone came to anyone goal was an 89th minute effort from visiting substitute Callum Martin, who was clean through in acres of spaces, only for Cox to save his shot. The result was nothing less than league-leaders Wealdstone deserved for a good performance from their young team. For Ashford boss Glynn Stephens, who was celebrating his birthday, this was food for thought rather than jelly and ice cream. | 
Saturday, 31 July 2010
