FA Youth Cup Preliminary Round,
Short Lane Stadium
10th September 2008

There were few clues as to how this evening would progress from the opening moments, in which Ashford scored from their first meaningful attack.  Having been awarded a free kick, the hosts asked Jimmy Stanford to put into the danger area, with the mercurial forward finding George Baldock, whose tidy finish left visiting 'keeper Damian McCarthy with no chance.

Danny Byron and Stanford both fired over the crossbar as Ashford continued to dominate matters, although Byron's effort was helped upwards by McCarthy's hand.  However, Haringey were beginning to hit Ashford on the break, with Platini Lukenene hitting the side netting, then forcing Dane Buss into a reaction save in the 16th minute.  Ashford continued to play well in bursts and one such moment saw Alex Zammit shoot over the crossbar from twenty-five yards.  However, the visitors were looking increasingly strong and Gustavo Angel crashed a free kick off the Ashford crossbar with half an hour gone.

With Ashford now looking laboured, there was little surprise when the North Londoners levelled the match eight minutes before half.  An Ashford attack broke down near the visitors' dugout and Borough counter-attacked at speed, with the end result being a turn and shot from Michael Hand that Buss was unable to save.  The visitors had two opportunities to turn around in front, with Buss saving from Lukenene before Stanford was denied at the other end by a strong challenge as he bore down on goal.

Ashford started the second half well, and had a strong claim for a penalty waved away by referee Barry when George Baldock was held by his marker in the 50th minute.  Moments later Jimmy Stanford ran at the visiting defence and found space to shoot, only for McCarthy to make the save.

Haringey were now reliant on long-distance shots and set-pieces to test the Tangerines' defence, but were proving adept at hitting the target from distance and so had their hosts under pressure.  However, Ashford rode out the storm and again found Stanford, who narrowly missed the target twice in quick succession.  By this point, Baldock had been replaced by Luke Whiteman, who was making his debut for the club and the match was in the final ten minutes of "normal time".  With five of those minutes, Town looked to have been handed a chance to secure the victory when a Daryl Loates pass found Adam Fearn, who was brought down by McCarthy.  Mr Barry awarded a penalty but took no further action against the goalkeeper, despite there being a case for his having denied a goalscoring opportunity.  Jimmy Stanford took the spot-kick, but blazed it over the crossbar.  Stanford hit another shot over in the 89th minute, while Buss needed to make a save in stoppage time to ensure Ashford would have the extra half-hour.

Perhaps encouraged by the missed penalty, Borough started extra time strongly, with substitute Kevin Campbell and the excellent Hand both missing the target, while a 25 yard shot from Lukenene was tipped onto the post by Buss.  However, Ashford rallied and the match began to turn back in their favour, with Stanford causing havoc again and being brought down while bearing down on goal.  The 103rd minute incident saw Michael Cennaris booked for the foul, while the reaction of Borough's Shpresim Vulas was so vehement he was cautioned for dissent.  The resultant free kick fizzed across the face of goal.

With 107 minutes on the watch, the breakthrough finally came for Ashford when a Tom Snowden pass sent Luke Whiteman clean through on goal and although McCarthy got both hands to the substitute's shot, he was unable to stop it hitting the net.  Ashford looked much the stronger side and when, with five minutes remaining, the already-cautioned Vulas received a second booking for an appalling challenge, Haringey's task got all the trickier.  Vulas did not react well to the dismissal and there was a lengthy delay while the officials restored order.  After that, the game was essentially over as a contest, with Whiteman and Stanford both testing McCarthy, who also managed to clatter the post in attempting to keep his side in the game.

Ashford will now be at home to Harefield United in the next round, but will need to be much more clinical in front of goal if they are to continue their cup run.