Yellamen reach promised land with 3-0 win
Ascot United wrapped up the Cherry Red Records Combined Counties League title with four games to spare after winning 3-0 at Edgware and Kingsbury on Thursday evening. In another devastating first-half display, top-scorer Brendan Matthew broke the club’s goalscoring record as Ascot sealed promotion to Step four for the first time in their history.
Egham Town’s win at Virginia Water two days earlier had kept the title race mathematically alive – Egham the only team who can catch Ascot but needing to win all of their remaining games and hope Ascot lost all of theirs – but the odds of that were astronomically long.
This game was one of the tougher ones on paper with the hosts sixth in the league, but in a sparkling-first-half display Ascot were virtually out of sight before half-time.
Top scorer Brendan Matthew capped a fine 10th minute move to put the visitors 1-0 ahead; Jay Welch pinging the ball down the left channel for Keaton August, who served the ball on a plate for Matthew to tap in.
That goal equalled The Yellamen’s goalscoring record held by Jon Bennett’s tally of forty inside one season in 2010-11, and it was quickly broken when he brilliantly held off a glut of defenders and slotted into the bottom right after August had turned provider once again.
A foul on Welch then led to Ascot’s third with just 23 minutes played as Sean McCormack fired the resultant free-kick into the bottom right, and it might have been 4-0 merely a minute later only for Matthew’s effort to be chalked off for offside after he had converted from another August delivery.
At the other end, Anthony Uzoegbu fired wide when well placed and Emerson Aju did the same shortly before the break as the home side improved, but The Yellamen ended the half with a commanding 3-0 advantage.
Manager Jamie Tompkins made five substitutions in the second half as all his troops were given a run-out, but it was ‘keeper Rhys Forster who produced the heroics to deny lively Edgware a goal on three or four separate occasions.
The Yellamen rarely threatened again, but expertly controlled the game before celebrating in front of their fifty or so travelling fans; Tompkins himself emotional as he addressed his players in the post-match debrief.
Ascot will now begin a four-match victory parade in the league before subsequent league cup action presents the chance of more silverware; a perfect prelude for their big date under The Arch in late May.
Ascot United: Forster, Lock, Gerrard, Ajanlekojo (Balogun 53’), Bouwers, Tucker, McCormack (Mealing 62’), H. Grant (Bailey 62’), Matthew (Laflin 75’), Welch, August (Walters 46’).
