Croxley Green Super Veterans v Ascot United Supervets

One thing is looking increasingly clear; the winners of the Supervets’ league title will reside in either Rickmansworth or Ascot.  Given that, the two league games between Croxley Green and Ascot are going to be pivotal in deciding which of them ultimately gets to lift the trophy.

The first of those two games took place on Saturday 28 Feb. The sides had met earlier in the year in the cup (Croxley won 3-1), but this was their first encounter with league points up for grabs. Croxley traded in their usual sandy, bumpy, grass (apparently) pitch for a carpet-like 3G at the wonderfully named Joan of Arc school. No one at Ascot was complaining.

The Yellas travelled with a strong squad. And, co-gaffers Flurry and Porter will have been very happy with the way their side started. The ball fizzed around nicely and it wasn’t long before Phil White waltzed around the on-rushing keeper to put the visitors one up.

Messrs Reed, Norris and Purdue were doing sterling work in the middle, allowing White, Mike Tomlinson and Chris Ferdinand to roam forward with intent. The chances duly kept coming. Ferdinand fired a good one wide, but it wasn’t long before the visitors were presented with an even better opportunity. Phil White was bundled over in the box, Mike Tomlinson calmly slotted the penalty home. 2-0 and the Yellas were cruising.

Croxley, to their credit, then woke up and came back into it. Dean Fitzgerald started to ping the ball around nicely, and Croxley’s tricky left winger got ever more into things.

Their first goal, however, came from an Ascot mistake. A shanked defensive clearance was returned into the box and headed nicely home. A defensive lapse in the half’s dying embers then saw Croxley draw level. Ascot had dominated, but somehow they’d go in with things all-square.

Flurry and Porter decided that a re-org was needed. Chris Ferdinand turned from centre forward to centre half, Dave Thompson came on up top, Paul Hamblin made way. Spinning the wheel looked to have worked when Ascot started nicely and won another (stone wall) penalty. Tomlinson didn’t stand on ceremony, he fired it (well and truly) top bins (as the youngers apparently say).

Entirely as expected, Croxley came back at Ascot again. A 15 minute pause to deal with an injury to a Croxley player – the poor lad went flying into the fence at the side of the astro and cut his head open – did little to help Ascot’s flow, as Croxley poured forward. Sure enough, the equaliser came. But, the winner didn’t. And that really is something.

Why? As the scenario may well be that the return fixture at Ascot (Saturday 18 April, 18h30 kick off) will be a title shoot out. Get that date in the diary, folks, could be a right knickergripper.

Good work all involved.

Squad. Rob Stockford, Dan Hough, John Gregory, Paul Hamblin, Dave Freer, Jon Norris, Mike Tomlinson, Phil White, Chris Purdue, Mark Reed, Chris Ferdinand, Martin Kay, Dave Thompson, Jad Sidhu and Martin Bitmead

Goals. Mike Tomlinson (two pens), Phil White.