Old Tiffinians Veterans v Ascot United 2nd X1 Veterans

Report

27 January 2024

Old Tiffinians 0-4 Ascot United 2s

 

Ascot United’s second string ran out convincing winners on their visit to Molesey to play Old Tiffinians. Debutant Adam Fennell bagged a brace, Leon Palmer-Wilson slotted home a penalty that he himself won before Jez Myhan cruised through from half-way to slot the fourth home nicely. A decent day at the office.

 

When the two sides met earlier in the season at the Racecourse Ground they ended up sharing the spoils after drawing 2-2. Ascot had the lion’s share of the ball that night, but they really struggled to put away their chances. The talk before kick-off was subsequently of getting out of the blocks quickly and putting immediate pressure on the Tiffs’ goal.

 

The plans were, however, complicated just a little by the usual challenge of pre-game challenges. Paul Hamblin was coming in more or less direct from the Maldives, and the only disappointment when he arrived was that the white crocs appeared to have got lost somewhere en route. Three players were having fun and games with the traffic on the A308, whilst Jon Bennett was doing his best to finish his plumbing job so that he could get to the venue for kick off time. Ultimately, he failed, but having the option of bringing him on with 20/25 minutes gone was nonetheless a useful ace to have up the sleeve.

 

Travel and logistical challenges to one side, urgent calls were also going out to local therapists. Could one get down to the Grist’s Memorial Ground pronto please? Why? As news had filtered through that Maidstone had taken the lead at Portman Road and Nigel Gatehouse had not taken it at all well….

 

Thankfully, having the captain’s armband chucked at him channelled Gatehouse’s mind and he fitted in nicely in a strong back three. Indeed, Ryan Joseph, Gatehouse and Darren Lewis all put in excellent performances to make sure that the visitors remained on the straight and narrow.

 

It was, however, going forward that Ascot really hit the ground running. With little more than five minutes on the clock Leon Palmer-Wilston, part of a midfield troika involving Adam Abusweder and Carl Collins, surged into the box and was bundled over. Penalty. Let’s just say that had Harry Kane been playing, even he wouldn’t have been taking that penalty. Palmer-Wilson had the ball and Palmer-Wilson was keeping the ball. He made no mistake. 1-0 to the Yellas.

 

That soon became 2-0 when Adam Fennell brushed off two challenges before neatly slotting home. He then quickly notched his second of the afternoon following a clash between two defenders that knocked both off their feet; Fennell took advantage, and the Yellas were cruising.

 

To be fair to hosts, Tiffs came back into the game and the Yellas didn’t have everything their own way. But, with Jon Bennett now on and menacing nicely up front, the Yellasalways posed a threat. Paul Hamblin came closest to getting the fourth, gambling at the near post as Abbas Hussain crossed from the left, only to see the woodwork deny him.

 

That fourth goal wasn’t, however, too long in coming. Tiffs pressed but lost the ball in midfield. A nice through ball saw Jez Myhan race goalwards, blonde locks flowing, from the half-way line. He took his time, waited for the keeper to commit and then slotted the ball elegantly to the man in nets’ left. Calm as you like. It was almost as if he was smoking a big Cuban cigar whilst doing it.

 

That was the end of the scoring. On the face of it, 4-0 sounds like a bit of a walk in the park. Not really the case. A (really) small pitch, a bobbly surface and an opposition that were nothing if not resilient meant that Ascot never had it easy. That’s shown by the fact that ‘keeper Eryk Nawala was often in the game and indeed put in a strong performance. That included the calmest chest down and play out from a ‘keeper that you could ever wish to see.

 

Much like the ones, the twos aren’t in action on 2/3 February. Their next encounter comes a week on Friday when Old Lyonians are in town.

 

Team. Eryk Nawala, Dan Hough, Steve Dando, Ryan Joseph, Nigel Gatehouse (c), Darren Lewis, Leon Palmer-Wilson, Carl Collins, Adam Abusweder, Adam Fennell and Islam Hussein.

Subs. Jon Bennett, Jez Myhan, Abbas Hussain, Paul Hamblin

Goals. Adam Fennell (2), Leon Palmer-Wilson, Jez Myhan