League

Salford
Spectators: 5000 (Terracing: 4000, Seating: 1000, VIP seats: 0) Ashford Fc's Stu Hough started the match with a crisp pass. The crowd had been anticipating this game for weeks and the excitement in the stadium was easily visible. A collision led to Naija Draig getting a freekick after 3 minutes play. Ralf Sollit hit a great ball. Fred Westerby sent away a hard shot on goal in the 9th minute, but the ball went just over the crossbar and out. A very good chance. After a rather tough play, Ashford Fc's Bryan Warburton got a free kick in the 13th minute. Eddie Wiseman stood for a superb save when he managed to get hold of Alf Pope's shot from short distance in the 14th minute. In the 17th minute, Alf Pope ran past the defenders and hit a shot which went straight ahead into goal. Eddie Wiseman was frozen by the shot and now it was 0-1. In the 20th minute Mick Lomas shot on, it seemed, an open goal, but John Harris saw the ball coming and threw himself on it before it passed the goal line. Brendon Evans lost his temper 22 minutes into the game and shoved another player to the ground. He was immediately shown a red card. A collision led to Ashford Fc getting a freekick after 23 minutes play. Brendon Evans hit a great ball. John Harris was in the perfect position, and the defense had done a good job marking him, but Craig Knight showcased his skills and made a perfect shot to score 1-1 in the 29 minute of play. In the 33rd minute, Bryan Warburton hit a crossing free kick to the open man running down the field. After a rather tough play, Naija Draig's Thom Brady got a free kick in the 34th minute. When Carlton Copsey came up free with the goalie in the 37th minute, the Naija Draig fans jumped to their feet. But the shot missed the goal by a fraction of an inch, and the fans sat back down disappointed that Carlton Copsey couldn't finish the play. After the first half the score was level. The break gave the players a chance to catch their breath, whilst the managers went over the tactics with them again.

John Harris made a wonderful reflex save on a shot from Stephen Beerman in the 56th minute of play. When Ralf Sollit fell near the penalty area in the 60th minute he thought he would be awarded a free kick. The referee ignored Naija Draig's protests and gave Ralf Sollit a yellow card for diving instead. In the 60th match minute, Naija Draig was awarded a freekick, the ball was picked up by Ralf Sollit to maneuver through the defense. After 70 played minutes Naija Draig got a freekick which was hit by Max Sills. The supporters of Naija Draig booed when Ashford Fc was adjudged a doubtful freekick after 73 match minutes in a wonderful position. Mick Lomas didn't get a good kick on the ball. In the 75th minute, Craig Knight hit a crossing free kick to the open man running down the field. The supporters of Ashford Fc booed when Naija Draig was adjudged a doubtful freekick after 77 match minutes in a wonderful position. Alf Pope didn't get a good kick on the ball. John Harris made a wonderful reflex save on a shot from Stephen Beerman in the 81st minute of play. After a rather tough play, Naija Draig's Damion Lister got a free kick in the 82nd minute. After 92 played minutes Ashford Fc got a freekick which was hit by Stephen Beerman. After 95 minutes of play, Ashford Fc's Craig Knight made it 2-1 when he simply outclassed the defender marking him and hit a curling shot into the right side of the net. John Harris was left in no man's land by his defense there! For all the effort they put into the match, the Naija Draig players left disappointed. They had fought hard, but couldn't break down the home team's defense. The match ended in a win for Ashford Fc.