Actonians 1 - 1 Ashford Town

Another home game this afternoon. The visitors today were early high-flyers Ashford Town and on the back of them ending AFC Wimbledon’s year long unbeaten run during the week. Also a very much welcomed return for last season’s head coach Danny and Sinead joining Luis and Kieron on the sidelines. Welcome returns too for our captain Naomi, Molly in midfield and Amy in goal.

An even start to the game. Ashford showed the attacking threat they could offer trying to get behind the Actonians defence but the back four quickly showed that they were up for the battle with Naomi tidying up in front of them. It was Actonians that had the first real goal attempt. Molly’s 17th minute free kick going wide of the target. Despite the calls for offside Ashford took a 23rd minute lead when their attacker was through on goal. Definitely looked off from where I was standing and frustrating from the Actonians defence point of view who looked to have held their line well. Molly had another effort on goal with 32 minutes gone which this time was saved. In the 35th minute Molly was tripped over by an Ashford midfielder and on pointing this out to the referee found herself sin-binned and Actonians down to 10 players temporarily. Amy made a great save herself 4 minutes later to prevent Ashford doubling their lead and deep into first half injury time Shakes also had a shot saved. Half time 0-1.

Actonians came out the far more attacking side after the break. Shakes attempted to play Maria through when the half was 2 minutes old but the keeper was out quickly to collect. Mara was up for a corner on 49 minutes but headed Meila’s cross wide then in the 51st minute the keeper caught a Shakes cross when Maria was ready to pounce. Maria was then through on goal 2 minutes later but was narrowly caught offside. Actonians continued to win corners and the next one in the 56th minute was partially cleared and met by Isi on the edge of the box but her shot went wide. The deserved equaliser came in the 62nd minute. Jas met the ball on the left hand side of the 6 yard box and headed it into the back of the net in the opposite side to where the keeper was diving. 1-1. Isi hit a cross in the 65th minute which nearly caught the keeper out and wasn’t far off target. Actonians went even closer to taking the lead in the 67th minute. Jas and Maria both had efforts blocked in a bit of a goalmouth scramble then Shakes nearly got on the end of the resulting corner. The first sub was then made with Camila replacing Shakes. Maria had a 73rd minute effort from out on the wing which wasn’t far from hitting the target then Molly had a shot saved. In the next attack Molly sent Maria through and her cross was close to being met by Jas at the far post. Mara had another header from a corner with a quarter of an hour left on the clock not being too far off target. There was a stoppage in the 78th minute when Molly sustained an injury and had to be replaced by Lara. Hopefully not anything serious and hopefully a quick recovery. Jess had a shot from long range saved on 88 minutes, Lara battled through and had her shot saved in the 2nd minute of added time and Maria had a shot go wide soon after. Then in the 97th minute what could and really should have been the match winner. Jas looked to have beaten the offside trap after Camila played her through and found the back of the net beautifully but the linesman’s flag was raised and the goal did not stand. Full time 1-1.

A game that on paper looked like was going to be a tough afternoon for Actonians really wasn’t. An even first half affair with the home side totally dominant in the second. Two was I believed and what appeared to be incorrect offside decisions could ultimately have been the difference between a 1-1 draw or a 2-0 victory. Promising to see the strongest performance so far this season though and every single player up for the battle. The newer players and the more experienced players all gelled well together. Today’s player of the match was Jas. A constant threat to the Ashford defence, the equaliser to get us back in the game and finding the net again in what should have been the winning goal. Overall the team spirit really stood out today and will be a positive factor to take into next week and an away trip to face Cambridge United.

Report by Neil Hayward