Polytechnic Veterans v Ascot United 2nd X1 Veterans

Report

9 November 2024

Polytechnic Vets 4-5 Ascot United 2s

 

Ascot United’s second string came away with a hard-earned three points on 9 November, winning a nine-goal thriller at Polytechnic. Chris Watney’s second-half brace was key, although Phil White’s impact off the bench also gave the visitors a big lift. Poly certainly had their chances in what became a decidedly hectic second half, but the Yellasultimately – just about – held on.

 

“If that game’s not first on Match of the Day this evening then the Pope’s most definitely not Catholic” pontificated skipper Steve Dando when being interviewed on Five Live after the game. “The match had literally everything. Missed sitters, defensive mistakes, penalties skied over and even Ascot 1st XI players turning up to play as they’d got the wrong postcode for their game. You don’t see that very often in the Premier League, that’s for sure”. Dando wasn’t wrong.

 

It was Ascot that started like a house on fire. Chris Watney and Alex Markarian offered dynamism aplenty down the flanks, while Islam Hussain did a neat and tidy job of holding the ball up. The more or less incessant pressure didn’t, however, lead to a goal; Dan Hough hit the bar, but that was about as close as Ascot got.

 

The deadlock was nonetheless broken when Watney and Markarian swapped flanks. Eryk Nawala passed the ball out to Hough, he played it up the line to the ever-energetic Stuart Birkett. Birkett calmy slotted Markarian in and the pacey winger raced through. Would he have the composure to beat the onrushing ‘keeper? Never in doubt, Markarian calmly slipped the ball under the Polytechnic stopper. The watching Markarian clan on the touchline were impressed…..

 

If Ascot thought the goal was going to be the beginning of the end for Poly as a competitive force then they were wrong. Very wrong. Less than two minutes later the hosts broke down the right, the ball came into the box and ended up in the back of the net via an Ascot defender. 1-1 at half-time.

 

Ascot looked to re-group. That worked in that in the first ten minutes of the second half they again dominated the ball, but it was Poly who – twice – broke forward and finished smartly. Ascot were losing a game that they could quite plausibly have been out of sight in.

 

It was at that point that the Yellas shuffled again. Phil White came on at the top of the diamond, Chris Watney shifted into the number nine role. The change of shape did Ascot the world of good; Dan Hough knocked one in at the back post to make it 3-2 and five minutes later Chris Watney scored the first of his double with a really well taken chip.

 

The Ascot bandwagon was now hurtling along; Poly put three men on Markarian to try and calm the wing man down, Steve Dando and Stu Birkett looked to press even further. And, that pressing paid off when Phil White pinged in a beauty to put Ascot back in the lead. Ascot then rounded off an excellent 20 minute spell when Markarian, now back on the right, crossed beautifully for Watney (doing an excellent Andy Carroll – minus the hair – impression) to head the ball home.

 

That, however, was most definitely not that. Poly kept coming. They forced a free kick on the edge of the Ascot box that went straight into the wall, but they had an even better chance when they were given a penalty after a handball in the box. The result? Eryk Nawala stood and watched as the Poly player blasted the ball high over the bar.

 

The hosts did, however, get a fourth with two minutes left on the clock. Would they be able to use the five minutes of injury time to generate an equaliser? They certainly tried, but messrsGatehouse, Dubois and Lewis held strong and kept them out. 5-4 it ended.

 

Poly will probably feel that they did enough to merit a point, and they’d have a case. But for long periods it was Ascot in the ascendency. Nothing, however, is ever a given in football and the Yellas travelled back to Ascot happy simply to have pouched the three points. Good stuff.

 

The 2s now have three weeks off. The next game is Friday 29 November at home against Army Crusaders.

 

Team: Eryk Nawala, Dan Hough, John Wilkes, Adam Abusweder, Ed Dubois, Darren Lewis, Steve Dando (c), Stuart Birkett, Islam Hussein, Chris Watney and Alex Markarian. Subs. Phil White, Nigel Gatehouse, Micky Parker.

Goals. Chris Watney (2), Alex Markarian, Dan Hough and Phil White.