Putney Vale Rangers Veterans v Ascot United 2nd X1 Veterans

Report

30 March 2024

Putney Vale Rangers 1-4 Ascot United 2nds

 

A 4-1 triumph on the road on 30 March saw Ascot United’s second string secure their second promotion in two years. Thegame was hardly a classic, but goals from Jon Bennett (2), Adam Fennell and a quite frankly ludicrous own goal from the hosts was more than enough to see the visitors home.

 

The Yellas had already played PVR twice in 2023-24 and neither encounter had gone particularly well. They’d been outplayed in a Vase meeting before Christmas and scrambled their way to a 2-2 draw on 1 March. Would it be third time lucky for the boys from Berkshire? It would indeed.

 

Ascot travelled with a strong squad. And, once they’d negotiated the Boat Race traffic, they got into the swing of things pretty quickly. Jon Bennett, Adam Fennell and Dwaine Bryan all looked decent up top, whilst Paul Woodford was motoring across the ground in the middle of the park.

 

All, however, wasn’t completely sweetness and light. The luckless Leon Palmer-Wilson had to leave proceedings 15 minutes in. Ascot’s version of the Duracell Bunny, Adam Abusweder, replaced him. Losing Palmer-Wilson’s calm demeanour was a blow, but Abusweder, a man who has shown this season that he’ll chase anything and everything down, entering the fray did mean that the PVR midfield had even less time on the ball than they’d had before.

 

Ascot had the better of the first period, but they couldn’t quite get the ball in the onion bag. Stuart Birkett periodically threatened on the right, Jon Bennett was a permanent thorn in the hosts’ side and poor old Dwaine Bryan couldn’t quite seem to get on the end of crosses fizzed into the box. 0-0 it was at half-time.

 

The start of the second half saw Phil White come on in the Sheringham role and Dan Hough enter the fray at right back. The pattern of play remained much as it was before with Ascot continuing to turn the screw. Indeed, it wasn’t long before the deadlock was broken, Jon Bennett surging through the inside left channel and firing the ball home.

 

Ascot visibly seemed to relax. The massed hoards (well, the subs plus Ben Standing and Andy Lunn) watching on the sidelines sensed that the game was moving decisively Ascot’s way. To their credit, PVR certainly kept coming, but when Adam Fennell danced round the rather idiosyncratic keeper to double the Ascot lead those on the terraces felt that promotion was almost secure. With 20 minutes left it was Fennell again who broke through only to be upended on the edge of the box; Bennett stepped up and pinged the free kick into the bottom corner.

 

Ascot all home and hosed? Not quite. PVR chucked ever more men forward, and it wasn’t long before they were putting ‘keeper Eryk Nawala’s goal under pressure. Indeed, with ten minutes left Nawala could do nothing as a shot from ten yards out went past him. Dan Hough, two yards from his own goal line, could also do little bar instinctively stick a left mitt out and palm the ball round the post. Penalty? Yes, definitely. Red card for the Shropshire Lad? No, just a yellow, apparently……

 

PVR gaffer Chris Purl scored the penalty, and, for a few minutes, PVR fancied their chances of fighting their way back into things. That hopefulness didn’t, however, last too long. A PVR defender opted to ping the ball back to his own ‘keeper. Dwaine Bryan chased the lost cause down…..and the ‘keeper panicked. Rather than take a touch he opted to hack it away first time. Outcome? The mother of all fresh air shots and the ball rolling calmly into the net. 4-1 and the die was cast.

 

Ascot’s win means that they have now secured back-to-back promotions. No mean feat. Martin Kay was the man who built the foundations of that, and he deserves plenty of credit for helping the twos get to where they currently are.

 

However, back in September club stalwart Darren Lewis said that the season would be defined by the quality of the side Ascot could field away from home. He was right. The Yellassecured 18 out of a possible 21 on the road, and it’s performances like this one at PVR that have seen the Yellascome through.

 

The season does, however, have one more chapter to be written. If Old Meadonians can beat or draw with Latimer Road in Latimer’s final game of the season then Ascot will end up as champions. That game’s pencilled in for 20 April. One to keep an eye on….

 

Good work one and all.

 

Team. Eryk Nawala, Jamie Burgess, Steve Dando, Nigel Gatehouse, Ed Du Bois, Paul Woodford (c), Leon Palmer-Wilson, Stuart Birkett, Adam Fennell, Jon Bennett, Dwaine Bryan

Subs. Dan Hough, Darren Lewis, Phil White, Adam Abusweder, Carl Collins

Goalscorers. Jon Bennett (2), Adam Fennell, own goal.