Details
| Date | Time | League | Season |
|---|---|---|---|
| 18/12/2021 | 14:00 | West London Veterans Football League | 2021-2022 |
Report
AFC Hampton 0-1 Ascot United 2s
A Dave Porter penalty was the difference between the sides as AFC Hampton and Ascot United’s second string trudged their way through a gruelling WLVFL Division Three encounter. Ascot United had the better of the first half but the hosts will probably have felt that they did enough in the second to earn a point. That’s probably fair enough, and keeper Kev Pattersondeserves plenty of plaudits for pulling off a number of top draw saves.
Way back when Omicron was just a glint in Delta’s eye, Ascot United welcomed AFC Hampton to the Racecourse and handed them something of a hiding. The Ascot side that turned up in Sunbury on 18 December was a little different to the team that took the field back then, and it soon became clear that a 7-0 repeat was definitely not on the cards.
The Yellamen nonetheless started brightly, Andy Gleave and Mike Hynes pinging the ball about nicely whilst JamieBurgess marshalled the back three nicely. Jez Myhan and Paul Hamblin offered plenty of strength up front and it wasn’t a massive surprise when Ascot took the lead. Mind you, neither of the strike force had anything to do what that; skipper Martin Kay thundered a header goalwards from a corner that a Hampton defender deflected off the line old skool with his elbow. Penalty. Dave Porter stepped up, kept his cool and slotted the ball smartly to the keeper’s right.
AFC Hampton, to their credit, came back strongly. The game was hardly stacked high with scintillating moves, but Hampton managed to hit the bar and Kev Patterson pulled off a number of really smart saves. The best of them came about half-way through the second half when he sprung like asalmon to tip a decent Hampton effort over.
Martin Kay rung the changes, Chris Tredwell coming on the right of midfield, John Gavin up front, Stu Flurry in the middle and Steve Hill at right back. The back three became more of a back five and Ascot found themselves sitting back and soaking up the pressure. The hosts hit the bar (again), had a big penalty shout turned down and by the end the Yellamen were well and truly camped in their own half. Luck was ridden but Hampton just couldn’t get through. 1-0 it stayed and Ascot claimed their first away win of the campaign.
“I doubt this game will get much coverage on Match of the Day” mused the gaffer, Martin Kay, to the Sky Sports team after the game “but we’ll take the three points. Kev Patterson was fantastic, and the defensive unit did superbly. Shame that the same can’t be said for Leeds United’s home game against Arsenal later in the evening….”
