Ascot United Men v Raynes Park Vale

Report

ASCOT STUN VALE WITH COMEBACK WIN

 

Super Sean scores winner against Raynes Park Vale

 

Sean Fraser scored the winner as Ascot United fought back to be high-flying Raynes Park Vale on Saturday. Having undeservedly trailed at the break, the home side stuck to their guns in the second half and after Luis Le Paih’s pinpoint header had restored parity, Fraser popped up with a neat flick to cap a dramatic comeback.

 

Can Yellamen repeat league cup trick?

Ascot had beaten ‘Vale in an earlier league cup tie, although the visitors were certainly on the up and were third in the table at kick-off, even if they suffered a surprise 1-0 defeat against Binfield one week earlier.

 

The Yellamen, meanwhile, needed to build on their victory over Moneyfields one week earlier, although they would need to do it without Babs Dehghani and Rudi Pache (both injured), whilst dual-registered Andrio Brandao and Fope Deru were on duty for Uxbridge.

 

Impressive Yellamen hit by sucker punch

Ascot played as good football as they have done this season – easy on the eye and switching from flank to flank in phase upon phase of attacks which they mounted – and they should have been a couple of goals up before half time.

 

Their first chance – a sixth minute header from Luis Le Paih – was a sitter – but he somehow mis-timed it when ghosting unmarked onto Tyrese Osbourne’s corner.

 

The same duo linked up in the 26^th minute for Le Paih to volley straight into a gleeful Ali Secka’s hands, whereas all the visitors could muster up to this point was a Danai Hassan effort that he dragged wide of the left-hand upright from long range.

 

The impressive Lucias Vine then fashioned space for a shot which deflected over Secka’s bar when it could have gone anywhere five minutes before the break, before Vale nicked the opener against the run of play. The goal itself came from a free-kick that should never have been given by the referee’s assistant – who didn’t cover himself in glory with a brace of other decisions including a missed corner and indecision over throw-ins – but it was all academic when David Omilabu prodded home from close range after Kie Plumley couldn’t get a low, bouncing shot through a crowd of players under control in the aftermath; 44 minutes played.

 

Vine scuffed a decent chance for what might have been an instant leveller when well placed – Secka grateful again – and Vale escaped the half with an unlikely lead.

 

Excellent display sees Ascot roar back

After the break, the hosts never let their intensity drop and after Khalid Simmo was fouled, Le Paih nodded Tyrese Osbourne’s fine free kick into just about the only place that Secka couldn’t reach – in at the near post with a kiss off the woodwork; personal redemption for the first-half miss.

 

With over thirty minutes still to play, the fired-up Yellamen went for the jugular and Simmo toe-poked wide after nipping onto Osbourne’s neat through ball just four minutes later.

 

But the underwhelming visitors would surely underline their own league position and threaten – which they did – only for Chadd Yassin-Sheriff to glance a header wide from a near-post position when he should arguably done better in the 69^th minute.

 

That was a momentary relapse for the home side who would then score what proved to be the winner, albeit from an unlikely source.

 

Vine had been fouled when verging-on-clean-through in the 77^th minute, teeing up Osbourne for another free-kick. Osbourne’s execution had been excellent, and this delivery also asked a question of Secka that he almost answered – diving full stetch to punch the ball towards the side-line – albeit Kamara volleyed it back into the danger area and Fraser got ahead of his marker to flick home with the outside of his boot; quite some solution to the proposition from the eventual man-of-the-match.

 

All five substitutes made their mark after Smith had watched and waited until the 82^nd minute to make the first of them; Joel Rollinson’s late-late effort to the top left was saved by Secka after the ever-industrious Le Paih had underlined his side’s positivity in the closing stages by dancing through a gaggle of tackles, driving forwards and teeing him up.

 

“It was as good as a performance I’ve seen this season”

The home fans were jubilant and one of them, Martin Fisher, commented that this was the best performance at The Racecourse this season.

 

Two league wins on the spin is nothing to write home about, but the Yellamen certainly did what was asked of them after defeating another top-four side last weekend and back it up.

 

The Yellamen climb to 12^th and were the only side in the bottom half to win on Saturday.

 

Next up it’s the Velocity League Cup and Egham Town at home on Tuesday night in the last of the cups that Ascot are involved in.

 

Ascot United: Plumley, Sankoh (Murray 82’), Lamb, Edwards, Fraser, Simmo (Harry 89’), Le-Paih, Allsopp (Rohart-Brown 82’) Vine (Rollinson 89’), Osbourne (Lock 87’), Kamara.

 

Venue: The Racecourse, Ascot

Attendance: 144

Weather: 14c, overcast

Reporter’s star man: Sean Fraser (Ascot United)

Entertainment: 5

Away fans estimate: 15

One-word summary: Stellar