Whippet Wanderers Supervets v Ascot United Supervets

Report

14 March 2026
Whippet Wanderers SVs 0-1 Ascot United SVs

The Ascot United Supervets put in a sterling, backs-to-the-wall performance to come away from Willesden with three points from their encounter with Whippet Wanderers. A strong Whippets side dominated the ball but just couldn’t find their way through a resolute Ascot United defence. Given that Mike Tomlinson had pounced early to slot home one of the game’s very few clear cut chances, that was enough for Ascot to pocket the three points and continue their title charge.

There are times when playing football is very, very easy. A sanguine evening on the 3G at Ascot United is one of those times (if you can’t play there, you can’t play anywhere). A mud-heap of a field with more bobbles than a hat factory in Yorkshire (the home, for the uninitiated, of the UK bobble hat-making industry) with the wind blowing merrily across is most definitely NOT one of those occasions. Knuckle down, take the strain, do the necessary. And, to a man, Ascot did exactly that.

Fun and games on the clogged up roads of west London meant that the SVs perhaps weren’t ideally prepared for what lay ahead, but that didn’t stop them from digging in and making themselves difficult to beat right from the start.

The outlet ball was to the ever game TnT duo of Tomlinson and Thompson up front. And, sure enough, it was a well-pinged through ball that caused the home centre half problems. The ball wasn’t cleared, it fell to Tomlinson and he cooly and calmly placed it to the ‘keeper’s right. Ascot had something to hang on to.

Chris Ferdinand marshalled the visiting defence admirably, Ed Bois, Dave Freer and Martin Kay responded impressively to the challenge. There were times when Jon Norris, Mark Reed, Dave Porter and Matt Newall in the middle of the park were chasing their tails a little, but they kept their shape and the longer the game went the harder it became for the Whippets to break through.

As the second half wore on, confidence grew in the visiting ranks. Indeed, an excellent move down the right saw Dave Thompson go within a hair’s breadth of putting Ascot two up. That really would have been game over.

Although that second goal wouldn’t come, in the end it didn’t matter. Ascot won 1-0.

Football was once claimed to be the beautiful game. Not even Pele would have been saying that if he played at Willesden Sports Centre every other week. This was a day for discipline, effort, shape and resilience. Ascot had it in bucket-loads. Great stuff.

Squad. Rob Stockford, Martin Kay, Dave Freer, Chris Ferdinand, Ed Dubois, Jad Sidhu, Matt Newall, Dan Hough, Jon Norris, Mark Reed, Dave Porter, Stu Flurry, Mike Tomlinson, Dave Thompson.
Goal. Mike Tomlinson