Kentish Football 
Sittingbourne 1-1 Ashford Town - Abbott condems Trebelsi over alleged spitting incident
Saturday 29th December 2007
SITTINGBOURNE 1-1 ASHFORD TOWN Ryman League Division One South
Saturday 29th December 2007
Stephen McCartney reports from Bourne Park
Hicham Akhazzan's last-gasp strike ensured ten-man Sittingbourne prevented their previous manager Steve Lovell coming away with a victory in his first game back at Bourne Park as Ashford Town boss.
Akhazzan, the hardworking former Gillingham and Chatham Town striker, netted his third goal of the season with just 35 seconds of injury time remaining, at the end of a Kent derby where chances were at a premium.
Ashford Town striker Mark Lovell, meanwhile, took his own personal goalscoring tally for the season to eight (he scored five goals for Dover Athletic before his switch to The Homelands), giving his Dad a perfect start inside the opening seven minutes.
But Sittingbourne were reduced to ten-men after 61 minutes when disappointing striker Sabeur Trabelsi saw red.
The Tunisian showed his petulance when he was booked for a challenge on Ashford full-back Daniel Brathwaite – then kicking the ball away into touch before collecting the ball from the touchline on the stand side of the ground.
Then just eight minutes later, assistant referee Mr Ben Wright flagged and after consulting referee Mr Grant Smith, a straight red card was shown to Trebelsi – who then told Mr Wright to f*** off as he made the short walk of shame down the players tunnel.
The reason why Trabelsi was sent off – he was NOT shown two yellows – was unclear. The nearest player to him was Ashford skipper Sean Ray.
But Sittingbourne boss Gary Abbott alleged that Trabelsi was sent off for spitting.
“I didn’t really see it. Somebody said he head butted him and I looked at the report and apparently it was arm up, spitting, swearing as well,” Abbott told www.kentishfootball.co.uk after the match.
“You don’t have spitting. That’s bang out of order that is! Spitting, there’s nothing worse than that. I’d rather have a punch on the nose than to be spat at.”
Abbott revealed that he will speak to Trabelsi to find out what actually happened, adding: “He’ll get his fines and he’ll get his ban as well. It will be dealt with.
“I need to have a chat with him, just to see what happened but I’ve heard two different stories at the minute so I’ll find out.
“Once the report comes in we’ll know exactly what it is and we’ll go from there.”
Abbott revealed that he received a phone call from goalkeeper Chris Lewington at 9:30 this morning saying that he had been recalled by Fisher Athletic for their game at Bromley today.
Therefore former Ashford Town reserve team goalkeeper Danny Eason made his third appearance for the Brickies.
They were also without Bradley Spice, suffering with an ankle injury.
Ashford Town, who fielded four former Sittingbourne players in Mark Lovell, Lee Hockey, Mitchell Sherwood and Jamie Riley, were without midfielder Lee Spiller, who could return from his knee injury next week.
Defender Aaron Freeman will need to recover from his groin operation before making a return.
Midfielder Nick Barnes, meanwhile, was substituted at half-time because of a calf injury.
But Ashford Town drew first blood – scoring against the run of play – with six minutes and 22 seconds on the clock.
Sherwood rode two challenges from his former team-mate, Sittingbourne skipper and left-back, Joe Dowley.
Cutting inside, Sherwood played the ball to Paul Jones, who slipped the ball to Lovell, who, from sixteen-yards, stabbed the ball past the advancing Eason and was able to celebrate as the ball rolled into the bottom right-hand corner.
Highly-rated defender, and Ashford skipper, Sean Ray, planted a towering header over Eason’s crossbar following their first corner of the game, taken by Jimmy Bottle, after fourteen minutes.
Both sides had a goal ruled out today. Ashford goalkeeper Riley dropped Kieran Marsh’s hanging cross from the right but the ball dropped into the bottom right-hand corner, but Jack Baines had committed a foul on the flapping keeper.
After Sittingbourne’s Toby Ashmore and Dowley failed to take advantage of opening’s, Ashford midfielder Ryan Briggs blazed over at the other end with a left-footed shot from 22-yards after Bottle cut back a corner.
Akhazzan glanced a header into Riley’s grateful arms inside the opening 12 minutes of the second half, after Jack Baines delivered a cross from the left.
But that was to become the only goal-mouth action until late on.
Akhazzan’s right-footed shot drifted his right-footed shot across goal – but wide of the far-post as the game entered the last nine minutes.
Ashford had made a double substitution with fifteen minutes remaining, swapping their two strikers around.
Rob Denness and Walid Matata had replaced Lovell and Jones.
Denness, whose shot rolled into the bottom corner, was adjudged to be offside, but Matata squandered an excellent chance to wrap up the points.
Latching onto a ball over the top, the quick striker, who played for Sittingbourne’s reserves earlier in his career, side-footed his shot towards the far post, but the ball curled agonisingly wide by a matter of inches.
That miss, however, proved crucial, as Sittingbourne levelled with virtually the last kick of the game.
The final whistle blew with 49:22 on the clock – but Akhazzan popped up to level proceedings just 35 seconds from the end.
A shot from substitute Steve Hafner found it’s way through a crowded penalty area to the striker, who drilled a right-footed shot past Riley to the delight of the vocal home faithful as their side stretched their unbeaten run to four games.
“We started off the better team, better side, and all off a sudden we were a bit slack from a throw-in again, same as the Worthing game, and next minute I turn round and the ball’s in the goal,” said Abbott, who didn’t see Lovell’s opener.
“I thought we got on with it well after that, got into it.
“I thought it was quite an even game first half, not a lot of goalmouth action.
“Second half, I thought we done alright again. I think Ashford started a bit better, it was probably 50-50 really but my lads kept on going.
“Sabeur got sent off, which I don’t know the reasons for it but I’ve heard it might be for an elbow or spitting as well, which I won’t have that at the club but in the end we kept going, like we did the Worthing game, and we managed to get the equaliser.
“That’s probably a fair result for them, I reckon, a draw. They should have never of beaten us. But I thought it was fair play to all the boys.
“We played half an hour with ten men and it does kill you, especially being a forward as well, it really did us in.
“All we had to do was have a battle with them and just keep going and we kept going and got our just rewards with Hicham scoring in the 94th minute, 95th minute, which is good to see.”
Abbott knew his side would have been dead and buried had Matata found the target late on.
“It takes a second to score a goal. But before we scored, they should have wrapped it up,” he admitted.
“Walid Matata’s gone through and he side-footed it, done everything right, but didn’t hit the net.
“I just thought we kept on going and I could see the goal coming. We didn’t realty have much luck in front of goal. It fell to Hicham’s feet and he put it away.
Ashford Town manager Steve Lovell, meanwhile, got his timings all wrong, but was disappointed with the way his side had to settle for a point.
“To be one-nil up with four or five minutes of added time elapsed to concede a goal with the last kick, literally the last kick of the game, is disappointing to take really when we never looked like losing the game,” he told www.kentishfootball.co.uk.
“It’s one of those games that you dig in and you make sure that everybody works hard and don’t give the opposition any chances, which we didn’t do, and to be fair to them, we didn’t have many.
“The one that we took was a good goal and we should have had a couple in the second half if I’m being honest.
“We had one that was disallowed and then Walid Matata at the end should have scored to make it 2-0 and end the game without a doubt.
“They had one last go at the end and it fell to them in the box and Hicham took it well, good goal, good finish, so we dropped two points really.
“Very frustrated obviously. But saying that you come off and win 1-0 you take that but missed chances. People don’t mean to miss chances and the lads at the back don’t mean to give people opportunities to score but there was a bit of luck about the way they got the goal but Hicham was there to finish it off and finished it well and got them a point.”
The Welshman rued conceding inside stoppage time.
“I find it strange where the referee got the time at the end,” he fumed. “It was eight minutes that were added on. He said four but there was definitely eight minutes that were added on and it’s amazing where he got them from really.”
Lovell attended Sittingbourne’s 2-1 win over Molesey at Bourne Park on 18th December, but today was the first time that he took his Ashford Town side to his former club.
He said: “I’ve had a lot of years at Sittingbourne and a lot of friends down here and a lot of good people and a lot of good times here.
“I’m working for Ashford now and trying to make them a force to be reckoned with so it’s nice to come back but it would have been nicer to go away with three points.”
Sittingbourne: Danny Eason, Toby Ashmore, Joe Dowley, Paul Ainsworth, Billy Manners, Kieran Marsh, Dave Milton (James Campbell 79), Anthony Hogg, Sabeur Trabelsi, Hicham Akhazzan, Jack Baines (Steve Hafner 77). Subs: Dan Beszant, Richard Brady.
Goal: Hicham Akhazzan 90
Booked: Sabeur Trabelsi 53, Joe Dowley 58
Sent Off: Sabeur Trabelsi 61
Ashford Town: Jamie Riley, Nicky Humphrey, Daniel Brathwaite, Lee Hockey, Sean Ray, Ryan Briggs, Mitchell Sherwood, Nick Barnes (Danny Lye 45), Mark Lovell (Walid Matata 75), Paul Jones (Rob Denness 75), Jimmy Bottle.
Goal: Mark Lovell 7
Booked: Sean Ray 31, Mark Lovell 66
Attendance: 292
Referee: Mr Grant Smith (Polegate, East Sussex)
Assistants: Mr Ron Albert (Catford, south east London) & Mr Ben Wright (Woolworth, south east London)
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