| The scoreline of this cup tie would suggest a comfortable victory for Ashford, yet the reality was quite different. Walton & Hersham had a similar amount of possession to the Tangerines and a number of goalscoring opportunities yet were nowhere near as clinical as the home side and were punished as a result. However, there was some doubt whether the match would take place. The previous week's match had been called off at very late notice due to a "frozen" pitch. The pitch was in an almost identical state and one of the match officials - Bryn Jones - was also in attendance for the second week running and muttering darkly about the surface. Strong entreaties from your correspondent, as well as the experience of Referee Sheldrake, ensured that this match went ahead as planned. Once the two sides got onto the park, the match was an even contest until Ashford scored three times in four minutes. The first came in the 19th minute when Mark Bitmead forced the ball into the net from strong attacking pressure. Seconds later, Bitmead made it 2-0 with a 25 yard strike into the roof of the net. In the 22nd minute, it was 3-0 when Stuart Luwawa was on hand to sweep a cross from the left flank into the net. The Swans, who were featuring former Ashford player Charlie Verdon in their line up, enjoyed a strong spell but their best effort - a header from George Harrowell - was saved by Dane Buss, ensuring that the first half ended with Ashford 3-0 ahead. Ashford added a fourth goal in the 49th minute when a corner was worked out to Samad Kazi. His shot was saved but he then moved the ball to Adam Fearn, whose finish was a tidy one. Both sides had chances to score before Ashford made it 5-0 on the hour when a George Jennings pass found Dwayne Lowe-Simms, who rounded the goalkeeper and tapped the ball into the empty net Bitmead almost completed his hat-trick with a 74th minute volley and was then immediately substituted. There was one final goal in the match and it came five minutes from time when a good passing move found Daryl Loates who shot across goal and into the net off the back post. All in all, a very good result for Ashford's young side against a decent Walton side. | 
Wednesday, 08 February 2012
