| There are those who claim that the county of Middlesex doesn't exist. To those people, I say this: for a county that doesn't exist, it takes up a hell of a lot of space! The Tangerines ran the gauntlet of the M25 in rush hour with varying degrees of success, the difficulties being underlined by centre-half Byron Watkins who arrived at the ground just ten minutes before kick-off. The Towners were welcoming hosts, having produced both a programme and team sheets for those hardy souls who turned out and the facilities at their shared home of Brimsdown Rovers' ground were of a good standard. Indeed, Ashford must have found the venue to their liking because they started strongly, although Enfield were disrupted by the early substitution of Louis Baldwin, who suffered an injury and was replaced by Archie Morris. Daryl Loates had an early sight of goal, but it was Enfield's Sean Shields who had the first meaningful shot on goal, striking across Dan Kennard's goal. However, in the 16th minute, the visitors opened the scoring when a Loates corner was headed in by Byron Watkins (pictured, right). The home side hit back immediately, and Billy Healey had a good chance to equalise immediately, while his colleague Alex Cattini also had an opportunity to score for his side. Luke Whiteman and Danny Byron had chances to extend the Tangerines advantage but the North Londoners should have levelled the match in the 26th minute. Dan Kennard failed to claim a deep cross and although Healey and Cattini tried to head the ball into his net, the Ashford defence recovered and cleared the ball. Conditions were worsening as the rain hammered down and Loates had a half-chance for Ashford in the 34th minute, although the ball did not come down for the lively winger, although just seconds later Loates forced a good save from home stopper Jason Holmes. Enfield took control of the match after this, but for all their possession did not test Kennard and so Mick Snowden led his side in for the interval a goal to the good. Watkins lack of a proper warm-up began to hamper him in the 52nd minute and although he tried to play on, the solid defender gave way to Tom Betts. By now the rain was extremely heavy and both sides were struggling to find a rhythm. Kigran Sauboorah hit a shot just over Kennard's bar for Enfield, but Ashford's Mark Bitmead went close himself before Stuart Luwawa replaced Luke Whiteman. Luwawa almost made an immediate impact, with a strike that was well saved by Holmes. There was a lengthy stoppage with about twenty minutes remaining after Holmes sustained an injury that required the replacement of his shirt. Ashford grew stronger and added a second goal in the 87th minute when a fine move down the right flank found Danny Byron, who tucked the ball into the net. With the home side running out of energy, a Loates free kick was headed home in the second minute of stoppage time by Tom Snowden to put the game beyond the home side's reach. The home side continued to play right to the end, with Healey hitting the angle of post and bar with a fierce shot. There were ten minutes of second half stoppage time, which was time enough for Josh Finch to replace Mark Bitmead, but not enough for Enfield to find a way back into the match. Enfield have a good young side, but it was Ashford who booked their place in the Final against Hayes & Yeading United or Hanwell Town with a disciplined and efficient performance. Now Mick Snowden's youngsters must focus on gaining ground in the League, starting with a home match with leaders Camberley Town. |
Wednesday, 08 February 2012
