Ashford Town 6-1 Mile Oak - Coleman has given me a strike force dilemma, admits Lovell

Sunday 30th August 2009

ASHFORD TOWN 6-1 MILE OAK
FA Cup (Sponsored by E.ON) Preliminary Round
Sunday 30th August 2009
Stephen McCartney reports from Homelands Stadium

ASHFORD TOWN boss Steve Lovell says the return of Luke Coleman has given him a dilemma - as the striker came off the substitutes bench to score a 26 minute second half hat-trick as the Kent side avoided slipping up on a potential banana skin.

Watched by a disappointing crowd of 147, Lovell’s men booked a trip to their Ryman League Division One South rivals Leatherhead in the next round of the FA Cup on Saturday week, after storming to a comfortable 6-1 win over Sussex County League whipping boys Mile Oak.

Both sides went into the preliminary round tie not having won any of their league games, but the Ryman League One South hosts put in a very professional approach to see of the minnows.

Joe Fuller, Nick Smith and Mitchell Sherwood all got on the score sheet for the first time this season, although the Plucky Portslade outfit actually levelled after 20 minutes through Nick Lansdale.

But the small vocal Mile Oak following were soon silenced as Ashford chalked up three second half goals through Coleman, who has returned to Homelands following a short spell with Blue Square Premier strugglers Ebbsfleet United.

“Luke trained with us at the beginning of the season, pre-season, but he went away because he wanted to try and get into the Ebbsfleet side,” Lovell told www.kentishfootball.co.uk after his side’s Sunday stroll.

“It didn’t quite work out, and I told him when he went if he wanted to come back, I’ll have him back. I want good players at this club.

“I think he was a bit disappointed to be on the bench today but I’ve got to be fair to the boys that have been playing - and they’ve been playing well - but haven’t stuck the ball into the net.

“He’s come on and scored a hat-trick in 20 odd minutes and it gives me a dilemma next week (away to Metropolitan Police) on Saturday.”

Last Tuesday, Premier League giants Blackburn Rovers were using the excellent playing surface here at Homelands ahead of their 3-1 Carling Cup win over Gillingham at Priestfield Stadium - and this was the third match played at Homelands in three days.

Today it was the turn of the amateurs from Mile Oak, who wearing bright tangerine shirts, almost stunned their higher league opponents by taking a 12th minute lead.

Matt Stephens played the ball over the Ashford defence for Paul Eaton to unleash a fierce drive which was beaten away by goalkeeper Scott Chalmers-Stevens, before the former Margate and Dover Athletic keeper punched away the loose looping ball.

Ashford, however, broke the deadlock just six minutes later, through former Tunbridge Wells midfielder Joe Fuller, who is now partnering Paul Jones in attack.

Ashford had plenty of bodies inside the Mile Oak penalty area and Jones teed up supporting midfielder Ross Morley, whose effort was flicked on by Ryan Briggs and Fuller nodded the ball into the bottom left-hand corner.

But Lovell said afterwards that he was disappointed when Chalmers-Stevens shipped in his SIXTEENTH goal in only his sixth game of the season when right-sided midfielder Lansdale slammed a shot past him following a free-kick as brave Mile Oak soon levelled.

But when Ashford regained the lead on the half-hour mark, Lovell’s men took a stranglehold on the game and the small band of travelling supporters gathered beside their dug-out were soon silenced.

Morley whipped in a cross from the left and Jones flicked the ball to Smith inside the box and his stabbed shot spun of the goalkeeper’s body and the ball bounced over the line, despite the efforts of Aaron Stenning to grasp the ball before it bounced over the line.

Ashford wasted a glorious chance to put the game beyond Mile Oak’s reach when Smith’s driven cross from the left was stabbed agonisingly past the foot of the near post by Fuller, who was lurking on the six-yard line.

Ashford’s dire support finally found their voice and they were celebrating their third killer goal in the 39th minute.

The returning John Ralph (playing instead of the on-loan John Guest as Dartford don’t want him cup-tied) played a superb long raking 60-yard pass out of the centre of defence to release the hard-working Smith down the inside left-channel.

After cutting inside, Smith’s angled drive was beaten out by Stenning but the ball fell straight to Sherwood’s feet, who clinically smashed a low drive into the bottom left-hand corner.

Fuller had a goal ruled out following a foul on the Mile Oak goalkeeper and Morley really should have found the target, instead of the car park, when he blazed over after the industrious Fuller chested down Jones’ floated cross.

The second half, however, belonged to Coleman, who replaced Jones in the 55th minute - and scored his first within two minutes of coming onto the lush playing surface.

Sherwood raced forward and right-back Carl Harrold, on the overlap, whipped in a cross from the right and Coleman poked the ball past Stenning at the near post, finding the bottom right-hand corner to make it 4-1.

Fuller is certainly impressing at the higher level and just past the hour mark, he met Lee Hockey’s cross from the left, brought the ball under control with his chest, making space for himself, before turning and cracking a right-footed drive over.

Fuller then drove a right-footed effort straight at Stenning, before Ashford flourished during the last ten minutes of a very one-sided stroll.

Another substitute, left-winger Ryan Norman, played a key role in Ashford’s fifth with nine minutes left, as his low cross resulted in a goal-mouth scramble and Coleman was lurking at the right place at the right time to stab his shot into the bottom right-hand corner.

Coleman completed his and Ashford’s coring in the 83rd minute when he was released by Briggs and his left-footed drive went in off the foot off the far post.

The outplayed visitors did muster a half-chance inside stoppage time when substitute Tony Burnett blazed a left-footed shot over the crossbar - and Coleman’s curler flew wide from 30-yards at the end of a morale-boosting performance, which pleased Lovell no end.

“Pleased with the performance and the most pleasing thing is we stuck the ball into the back of the net,” said the Welshman.

“I know we scored six and it’s no disrespect to them, it could’ve been 26! We played some really good football. You play against teams in this kind of cup competition and if you don’t approach it properly it becomes a banana skin.

“we went about our work properly and scored an early goal, disappointed with their’s to score straight away, but once we scored the second and third it was just about how many we were going to get.

“The team’s coming together and playing some lovely football and we’ve got a little strength-in-depth now as well.”

Hopefully the crowds that supported the side last season will come back in their droves with the success that only a FA Cup run can bring.

Fans have turned their back on the side so far this season - this was their first win of the season - and Lovell added, “It’s a Sunday, a Bank Holiday. We haven’t had the best of starts. I can’t make people come to the ground. All we can do is perform on the pitch.

“If we make people come in through our performances then all the better but all I’m concerned about is putting a team out there to perform and that’s what we’ve done today.”

Ashford Town: Scott Chalmers-Stevens, Carl Harrold, Lee Hockey, John Ralph, Bryan Pearce, Ryan Briggs, Mitchell Sherwood, Ross Morley (Danny Lye 67), Joe Fuller, Paul Jones (Luke Coleman 55), Nick Smith (Ryan Norman 74).
Subs: Ben Robbins, Ricky McDonnell, Toby Ashmore, Darren Ibrahim.

Goals: Joe Fuller 18, Nick Smith 30, Mitchell Sherwood 39, Luke Coleman 57, 81, 83

Mile Oak: Aaron Stenning, Darryl Liversey, Jamie Ash, Gary French, Matt Stevens, Steve Porter (Ryan Sargent 63), Nick Lansdale, Chris Pulling (Chris Pulling 58), Kieran Howard, Paul Eaton, Mo Awlan (Mark Rewell 58).
Subs: Liam Austin-Slade, Joe Whitting, Nick Kerly.

Goal: Nick Lansdale 20

Attendance: 147
Referee: Mr Tony Goddard (Dagenham, Essex)
Assistants: Mr Lloyd Wood (Dagenham, Essex) & Mr Steve O’Sullivan (Chingford, Essex)