Sat 21 Apr 18: Ashford 0 Hartley Wintney 1
A scrappy match at Short Lane on Saturday saw Hartley Wintney scoring the only goal of the match in the 76th minute, following a free kick from just outside the penalty area that reared up in front of keeper Tyler Tobin and Hartley’s Paul Hodges was the first to react as he poked home the loose ball.
The surface did no favours for either side and scoring opportunities were few and far between. With James Cottee taken ill beforehand, Ashford played with no recognised forwards and largely relied upon breakaways. We wish our visitors the best of luck if they achieve promotion.
Ashford now face a hectic finish to the season, starting on Tuesday away to Moneyfields. They are a Portsmouth based club who have made quite an impression in their first season after promotion. They slipped a little after an excellent start and cannot now make the play-offs but will presumably be pleased with their first season. Who knows what league they will be in next season.
The address of the ground is the Moneyfields Sports Centre, Moneyfields Avenue, Copnor, Portsmouth, PO3 6LA. Distance between the two grounds is 64 miles.
On Thursday we find ourselves obliged to visit Marlow. We have made our feelings clear about the decision but it is now time to get on with it.. Kick-off is 7.45
Finally, and who knows what team we might have out by then, we visit would be champions Rushden & Diamonds on Saturday. There will be more on this match later in the week.
After a very busy weekend, a big thank you goes to everyone who helped out, especially those who were up early both Saturday and Sunday morning to ensure everything was clean and tidy before others arrived. The lady singer on Saturday evening was excellent and went on for much longer than had been agreed which helped to make it a great night and we hope to invite her back again in the future. Thank you also to our match sponsors for the game against Hartley Wintney on Saturday and their great financial help.
The Middlesex Intermediate Cup Final at the ground on Sunday morning went smoothly and a decent match ensued with BAA Heathrow winning 4-2.
This week, British Airways play their final match at Short Lane on Tuesday and should clinch both the championship and promotion to Step 6. Kick-off is 7.45 p.m.
We are keeping everyone busy with the first of a number of Surrey County FA finals at Ashford coming up, starting on Thursday evening and then another on Friday evening. Finally, on Saturday, with their own ground lost to cricket for the summer, we will see Worcester Park playing at Short Lane against the very interesting AC London side. Kick-off is at 3.00 p.m. and after the match, Worcester Park will be formally presented with the Combined Counties Division One Championship Trophy, which they clinched on Saturday, although there has been little doubt for quite some time.