It wasn’t always pretty but, as they have so often this season, the Men’s First Team found a way to beat Milton United which, when coupled with Ardley United’s victory over Windsor & Eton, clinched the Championship and therefore promotion.
The Ash Trees knew that while they were playing their final match, Windsor & Eton still have two games to play so needed both a victory and some help from Ardley United, who knew that if they could beat the Royalists they would secure the last play-off place Understandably, the tension affected both the home team and the majority of the 341 spectators and it took time for Ashford to find their rhythm, with early chances missing the target.
The visitors were hard-working, well-organised and made the Tangerines earn every sight of goal they got, but there was little they could do in the 27th minute when some tidy passing created enough space for Zidan Akens to score the opening goal. Almost simultaneously, Levi Steele scored for Ardley United to give them the lead over Windsor & Eton.
Having gone in front, Ashford began to express themselves more and eight minutes before half-time, full-back Oliver Rowan lashed a high shot from distance beyond visiting goalkeeper Sammy Parker to make the score 2-0 and that was the half-time score.
The second half at Ardley kicked off before play resumed at the RPS, which would prove to be significant. Milton offered little in the way of attacking threat, but weren’t on the pitch to ‘make up the numbers’ and the game became attritional at times. However, substitutes Brad Marshall, Jack Beadle, Mo Ihid and Marcus Mealing each injected new energy into their team’s play with Ihid’s pace causing the visiting defence problems.
As the match entered its final quarter, Ashford began to assert themselves more. Jack Arnold was unfortunate not to score with two good chances and a post was struck. With the match entering stoppage time, cheering began to be heard on the terraces which suggested that Ardley had beaten Windsor and when this was confirmed over the Tannoy a roar went up from the crowd. There were still eight minutes of play to see out before the celebrations could began and, having burst through the Milton defence Marcus Mealing squared the ball for Jack Arnold who uncharacteristically fired wide. That was the last major scoring opportunity of a remarkable season which saw Ashford go from 18th in the table after losing at home to Ardley on 11 October to Champions on 18 April. There were tears shed on the terraces as the home crowd celebrated a memorable success but Saturday was also an emotional occasion for the visitors; it transpires that, due to ground problems, Milton United are folding and this was their final match. The loss of any football club should be mourned and if United do cease operations, they will be missed.
Strangely, all the League’s Board of Directors were otherwise engaged save for our own Alan Constable, who in addition to being a club stalwart and Life Vice-President is the Combined Counties League’s Director of Match Arrangements. It therefore fell to ‘AC’ to present the squad with their medals, assisted by our Member of Parliament, Lincoln Jopp, before handing the Championship Trophy to Luke Elliott. It is the sixth Combined Counties League title won by the Tangerines and the first since 2000. More significantly, it confirms promotion and – unless the FA spring a surprise when they allocate clubs to their divisions for next season – a fourth spell in the Isthmian League.
Ardley’s victory was doubly significant in that it also confirmed that they will join Windsor & Eton, Broadfields United and Burnham in the play-offs. Any of those four sides would be a worthy addition to Step 4 but with Broadfields and Burnham having completed their fixtures there are still issues to be decided. Both Windsor and Ardley have away matches on Tuesday night and if both win they would enjoy home advantage in the play-off semi-finals. A 7:30pm kick-off on a Tuesday night at Ardley is a challenge for any side, especially with a shot at promotion on the line!
Having secured automatic promotion, Luke Tuffs and his players have earned the right to celebrate, recharge their batteries and prepare for a return to Step 4. Theirs is a triumph that will live long in the memory.
