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Ashford Town (Middlesex) 2-3 Chelmsford City, Tuesday 22nd August 2006, Short Lane Stadium, Kick-Off 7:45pm, Ryman League Premier Division.
Mario Noto netted a sublime first half double as City recorded their first win of the campaign in their debut visit to the Short Lane Stadium. In their first ever match against Ashford, Chelmsford raced into a three-goal half time lead but let things slip after the interval as Town netted twice to ensure a tense final few minutes for Jeff King's men. Noto put in a Man-of-the-Match-quality performance and was a major factor in the initial domination of the Tangerines. He came in to the starting eleven along with Steve Ward who moved into defence and Jason Hallett started up front. Making way for the newcomers were Liam Hopkins, who sustained a concussion in the Bromley opener, Gavin Heeroo in the centre of the park and forward Ricky Holmes. The home side, newly-promoted from the Southern League Division One West, got off to a flier in their new League with a surprise 3-2 victory at Walton & Hersham at the weekend and were expected to be no pushovers. But Chelmsford made a decent start of their own in this game with Noto playing himself in on 5 minutes to sprint through on goal and watch his prod with the outside of his boot land just wide. At the other end, Ward was thrown straight into the action as he blocked Paul Johnson's shot after some classy build-up play from the Ashford player. On 11 minutes Chelmsford's frantic opening was rewarded with a goal. Hallett battled well to keep the ball and spread it wide on the left to Stuart Ainsley who provided the delivery which Noto managed to head home from close range out of a group of players in the area. The former Canvey man was involved again two minutes later, putting-in another accurate cross for Hallett to knock goalwards but the chance was cleared. There was a scare for King and his colleagues as the half-hour mark approached with Scott Todd being grounded in the penalty area with a good chance presented to him but no spot-kick was awarded and a corner was the result. City had more luck with dead balls in the 32nd minute as Hallett knocked the ball past Jason Chewins who then took him out and gave away a penalty. Having scored from the spot on Saturday, Jeff Minton was well versed in the routine and comfortably netted into the bottom corner. Todd was causing City a few problems when going forward and he added to his reputation with a brilliant strike nine minutes before the break, controlling on the edge of the area and swerving his shot round 'keeper Richard McKinney onto the post and away. He needed no shooting lessons, but everyone present was given one on 38 minutes. With little danger on the cards, Mario Noto collected the ball thirty yards out and created a stroke of genius as he slammed into the net with power and precision to move his team into a seemingly unassailable three-goal lead at the break, despite Ashford having the ball in the net and seeing the Assistant's flag deny them a route back. Ainsley also tidily slipped-in Hallett for a chance which was blocked seconds before the whistle. Anyone expecting a rout to be staged in the second half was in for a surprise as a different Chelmsford side emerged after the interval. A clean sheet was soon rendered obsolete in the 56th minute when a bounce deceived the City defence and Todd was gifted an easy tap-in for Town's first. Jason Hallett did continue to plug away on his full competitive debut, however, and his dainty lob followed by a full-on smashed strike at goalkeeper Tony Wells showed Chelmsford were still able to attack. Ashford now had the confidence to build a path back into the game, with a short corner to Johnson resulting in an angled shot having to be turned away by McKinney on 64 minutes. A number of further scares were sustained at the back as time wore on and the final ten minutes were to ultimately shape the game with an incident at each end. Firstly, with eight minutes left, Claret Kezie Ibe appeared to have been fouled when clean through on goal but play was allowed to continue. To add to City's woes, Town skipper Russ Canderton then flicked a header into the net three minutes from time as Chelmsford all of a sudden found themselves having to protect a slender advantage. Thankfully that was the end of the scoring for the night and City's sparkling first-half display was enough to make it four points from the opening two games and put them amongst the leading pack from the beginning of the season. City: 1 Richard McKinney 12 Tony Battersby (On for Hallett, 66) Ashford Town (Middlesex): Tony Wells, Vince O'Sullivan, Jason Chewins, Russ Canderton, Scott Harris, John Hamsher, Paul Johnson, Jacob Mingle, Gavin Smith, Scott Todd, Darren Deegan. Subs: John Palmer, Lee Passmore, Steve Battams, Anthony Joseph, Ben Lauderdale-Dykes. Bookings: City: Noto (40, foul), Hallett (44, delaying the restart). Ashford: T.B.C. (73, foul). Referee: Mr T. Ingram. Assistant Referees: Mr C. Mallows and Mr F. Davis. Attendance: 322. City Man of the Match: Mario Noto. |
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By
Chris Evans (Picture by Matt Bradshaw)
