Bank of England 2nd XI Veterans v Ascot United 2nd X1 Veterans

Report

16 March 2024

Bank of England IIs 1-4 Ascot United IIs

 

Ascot United’s second string travelled to Roehampton on 16 March knowing that it really was a day where the result mattered more than the performance. Sure enough, the football was far from pretty, but the Yellas got the job done. First half goals from Stuart Birkett and Jon Bennett saw them move into the lead, while second half strikes from Carl Collins and Dwayne Brian finished the job off nicely.

 

With the M25 being shut and the traffic in south-west London being perennially bad, Ascot’s version of the ‘Magnificent Seven’ decided that the train was the best way to get to the Bank of England’s home ground. Yep, you read that right, South West Trains were actually seen as the *more* reliable option …. not often you hear that being said!

 

An hour’s worth of dad jokes (courtesy of Rob Stockford) and lower league football trivia (courtesy of the two Hough twins) set the tone nicely, whilst a 20 minute stomp from station to ground got everyone nicely up and moving. Bring on the game.

 

The Yellas did indeed start quickly and it wasn’t long before they took the lead, Stu Birkett bundling a loose ball home from six yards out. When Jon Bennett nicely pinged a shot into the bottom corner from the edge of the box it looked like cruise control was going to be the mode from thereon in.

 

It didn’t quite turn out that way. The really small pitch didn’t help, and there were times when players seemed to be spending more time collecting the ball for throw ins than they did actually playing the game. The playing surface was certainly good, but somehow the game just never settled into a pattern and with Ascot only two goals to the good all it would take is one breakaway from BoE and the match would be back in the balance.

 

Sure enough, Farouk Ampou El Ela came off the bench for the hosts and pinged a decent strike right into the bottom corner. 2-1 at half-time, and some clear words spoken by Paul Woodford, the Ascot captain.

 

The second half had much the same feel as the first. It was clear that the next goal was going to be important, and, thankfully for Ascot, it was the visitors who scored it. Carl Collins had come on to play out on the right and he popped up in the box to thunder a strike over and beyond the home ‘keeper. 3-1 and Ascot could breathe just a little easier.

 

The visitors had plenty of chances to extend their lead. But,the Bank were also creating opportunities of their own. Rob Stockford subsequently stepped up to pull off a couple of excellent saves to keep the lead at two goals. With ten minutes left that lead moved up to three goals as the home custodian fluffed a goal kick straight to Dwayne Brian. The big centre forward made no mistake, rolling the ball into an empty net.

 

This was definitely not a match that’s likely to feature on any ‘all-time great games’’ reels, but Ascot could still be very happy with the end product. In tight and tricky contests, a 4-1 win is always a decent effort.

 

The twos now have just the one league game left. That’s away at Putney Vale Rangers on 30 March (Easter Saturday). With Jamrock playing Latimer Road on 23 March, by the time that the Yellas take to the field in Barnes they are very likely to know exactly what’s required from them in that game to gain promotion.

 

Team. Rob Stockford, Stuart Birkett, Dan Hough, Jamie Burgess, Nigel Gatehouse, Ed Du Bois, Leon Palmer-Wilson, Paul Woodford (c), Dwayne Brian, Adam Fennell, Jon Bennett.

Subs. Darren Lewis, Carl Collins, Islam Hussein

Scorers. Carl Collins, Dwayne Brian, Jon Bennett, Stuart Birkett