Yellamen left ruing missed chances
Ascot United squandered a one-nil lead and missed a glut of chances to put the game to bed after being pegged back at Bedfont Sports on Saturday. The Yellamen had seen an early lead cancelled out before the quarter-hour mark, but in a dominant spell just after half time where they missed three good chances to score, they were ultimately undone late-on in a 2-1 defeat.
Yellamen seek to break Bedfont Bogey
Ascot’s Isthmian curtain-raiser came against a side who had done the double over them last season – both games finishing 1-0 in favour of the West London side – but very few of Gavin Smith’s new-look squad had been part of that double-blank.
Smith had also moved to secure the loan signing of defender Quinn Schutter from Step-two Farnham Town and he would go straight into a starting line-up who took to the field in mercifully cooler conditions than during the prior few days, even if it was nudging towards a breathless 29c at kick-off.
Like Ascot, Bedfont were in FA Cup action one week earlier although they exited the competition 1-0 against Concord Rangers on a day when The Yellas advanced. Consequently, it was therefore also their league-opener, as it was for a total of fourteen of the twenty-two Isthmian South Central teams. The other eight in action had received an FA Cup Preliminary Round bye last weekend when the truncated league programme of four games saw Winchester City and Jersey Bulls both set the early-pace with wins.
Even first half ends all-square
The visitors would start well and their march was only punctuated by a brief Eagles’ purple-patch, although Ben Mendoza’s brace of corners for them came to nothing.
Ascot would, however, take a ninth minute lead just moments after already serving a warning when home ‘keeper Tyler Tobin missed his attempted clearance, Quaye Vine squared, although Tobin recovered sufficiently to block Isaac Brown’s first-time effort.
When they did score, it was a goal all of Brown’s making when he tricked his way through three home players before rifling low and hard into the bottom right.
The lead, however, last just three minutes when Ascot were caught napping on their own right flank and when the ball ended up at Jamie Fuller’s feet left-of-goal, he struck a rising, curling left-footed effort that sailed past Sam Swyer and into the roof of the net.
A neat move started by the Mendoza’s diagonal pass towards the corner flag teed up the hosts once again – David Romer laid the ball back for Khalid Simmo – and Simmo curled a right-footed effort across Swyer but onto the roof of the net.
Connor Richardson mis-hit his volley and Harley Platel sliced a difficult effort wide as Ascot threatened in-and-around the half-hour mark, and although they would start to gain more of a foothold in midfield, it was a case of lazy passing that saw their forays break down all too often.
Sean Basaye’s fine last-ditch tackle denied Vine one minute before the interval just as he had finally beaten a frustrating offside trap and opened up his body, but a half that had started well fizzed into a fairly uneventful ending as the sides changed ends.
Dominant Ascot fail to capitalise after the break
After the break, the visitors were on the front foot and should have scored two or three goals as they set about The Eagles from all angles.
Firstly, new-boy Schutter did well to snaffle possession on the left and ultimately played a diagonal pass that Brown let roll across his body into a decent position just-off-centre of goal, but with more composure he would have done better than rifle over when it looked easier to hit the target.
Vine then found himself through when racing onto Brown’s through ball, and although his shot had the accuracy it lacked power as Tobin got down to his own left to palm the ball away for a corner. However, there was controversy just before that when Brown was wiped out by defender Ben Portbury as he chased after the stray ball – no penalty – much to the dismay of the travelling contingent.
But when Schutter’s sublime ball to the far post picked out Vine, it looked for all the world like this was the moment he would give his side the lead, only to fire over a gaping net first-time.
When the home side did threaten, both Rudi Pache and Regan Clarke-Salter threw themselves in front of Fuller’s first-time shot from Romer’s cut-back.
Substitute David Kitoko then found the side-netting for ‘Sports when he should have at least tested Swyer, but it was still Ascot who looked the most likely to score and Tobin spread himself well to deny substitute Fope Deru from fellow replacement Cam Rohart-Brown’s through ball in the 75th minute, albeit again from a tight angle.
But when Deru conceded a free kick near the centre spot with six to play, the home side were given a chance to reset and, after it was swung to the far left of the penalty area and headed back across goal, Simmo scuffed his chance before Kitoko did the same, although the latter’s effort trickled in past a static Swyer in a fairly farcical slow-motion winning moment.
Romer then sliced wide as Sports sought a third, but Ascot substitute Kai Zini had a decent effort to level it in added time only to drag wide of the near post after showing great strength to turn burly, tiring defender Oliver Davison and fashion space for a shot.
There was further drama in the last minute of added time when Connor Richardson’s corner looked to have been bundled home – George Frise clearing from centre of goal – and although all of the visitors celebrated, the ball was deemed to have not fully crossed the line.
It was one of those days.
Ascot United: Swyer, Green (O’ Neill 70’), Schutter (Rohart-Brown 64’), Clarke-Salter, Pache, Allsopp, Richardson, Brown, Vine (Amiri 80’), Long (Zini 64’), Platel (Deru 46’).
Venue: Bedfont Sports Club
Attendance: 162
Weather: 29c, sunny
Ascot United MOM: Isaac Brown
Entertainment: 2
Away fans estimate: 30
One-word summary: Wasteful