| Given that Sutton United were the first-ever winners of the Surrey Premier Cup back in 1983 and have graced a total of twelve finals - winning a record eight - it would be fair to say that they have a liking for this tournament. Of course, Ashford were winners of the competition, as a First Team, back in 1990, while the Reserves had a thrilling run to last season's Final, so this might have been called a "big" game. Quite why, therefore, the Surrey FA chose to appoint the youthful and inexperienced Daniel Robathan to referee the game will remain beyond the understanding of this reporter, Mr Robathan having refereed Ashford's Quarter Final with Westfield last season and not having a particularly good game. He again failed to impress on this chilly evening and gifted both sides a goal each. Of course, that still leaves a five goal winning margin for the hosts, so the man in black cant be blamed for this unhappy exit from the Cup. Sutton are always strong opposition and a depleted Ashford side were always going to face an uphill struggle to reach Round Three.  Having said that, Sutton were forced to make a late change to their team sheet after Tom Hughes suffered an allergic reaction and was replaced by Perry Langran. The first third of the match saw the two sides relatively evenly matched, with Jimmy Stanford providing an early threat for the Tangerines. However, the hosts took the lead in the 33rd minute when Ashford failed to deal with a short corner and allowed Stuart Young to shoot beyond Dane Buss.
A George Baldock header from a free kick forced a save from Joe McLaughlin before the Us doubled their advantage five minutes before half time. Again, the goal came from imperfect defending at a set piece, as Ashford struggled to deal with a corner and allowed Sam Stannard to shoot through a crowd of players and into the net. Three minutes later and it was 3-0 when Buss came to claim a Bentley Graham cross but had the ball headed out of his hands by Daniel Harding, to the fury of the visiting contingent. The allowance of seven seconds of stoppage time suggested that Mr Robathan was as keen for the first half to end as the men in Tangerine & White. Forty-six seconds into the forty-sixth minute, it was game over when Sutton added their fourth goal. Jack Mesure ran at the Town defence before firing across Buss and into the net. That wasn't enough to stop Ashford playing, with a Martin Jackson shot from distance drifting wide. Just after the hour it was five when the hosts hit Ashford on the break and Graham shot home. Ashford attempted to make a substitution at this point, but the change was delayed as Mr Robathan attempted to dismiss Ashford boss Glynn Stephens for comments made by someone in the stand when Buss was booked for his reaction to being awarded a free kick for an identical challenge to that which created Sutton's third goal. It is worth noting that not only did Stephens remain in situ but no further action was taken by the referee at the time. Five down and with few options on the bench, Ashford had little alternative except to keep plugging away and Jackson's set pieces provided their main threat, although Mr Robathan awarded Sutton a penalty eight minutes from time. Tom Kavanagh took the spot-kick and was denied by a fine save by Buss. Three minutes later, the Tangerines made it onto the scoresheet without hitting the net when Jon Palmer's looping header went over the bar but found it's way into the unsecured netting. Mr Robathan duly awarded a goal to general bemusement although Palmer's workrate over recent games merited a goal. There was still time for salt to be poured into Ashford wounds as in the second minute of stoppage time Sutton added a sixth goal when Yemi Oke ran at the Ashford defence and shot across Buss to complete the scoring with the last kick of the match. | 
Wednesday, 08 February 2012
