2ndoct05

Sunday 02nd October 2005

Ashford go for more experience in bid to climb table

Ashford Town's three match unbeaten run came to an end on Saturday, when Tooting & Mitcham United came away from the Homelands with a 2-0 victory, writes Stephen McCartney.

The defeat leaves the Nuts & Bolts with only Corinthian-Casuals, Banstead Athletic and Burgess Hill Town beneath them in the Ryman League Division One table, and Corinthian-Casuals are the visitors on Tuesday night in a game the Kent side must win to pull themselves away from the scrap at the bottom.

Joint-manager, John Cumberbatch, however, was pleased that Ashford secured five points from three games leading up to the game against the Terrors after deciding it was best to have more experience in the side.

He told www.ashfordtownfc.co.uk : "I am delighted that at last we are beginning to get some results for the hard work invested earlier in the season and the effort and skill the team continue to put into matches.

"The team is maturing game after game. Some of this is due to us purposely bringing in a couple of players who are advanced in age and playing experience."

Denver Birmingham and Darren Penfold have played for teams in the Ryman Premier League or above, with Birmingham having played league football earlier in his career.

Cumberbatch added: "I have harped on for some time about the youthfulness in our team, the need for patience and the fact that it will take time for them to come to terms with what they need to do to win games this season.

"Because things went so much against us early on, we needed to speed up the process of getting some experience into the team.

"Had we obtained a little bit more luck we deserved in earlier games, and gained some points in those matches, we could have continued with mainly youth.

"Things turned out differently so it was necessary to bring a slightly older type of players into the fold to keep Ian Ross and Tommy Adlington company."

Ashford Town v Corinthian-Casuals
Ryman League Division One
Tuesday 4th October 2005
Kick Off 7:45pm
At The Homelands, Ashford Road, Kingsnorth