ASHFORD TOWN MIDDLESEX F.C. vs Westfield Monday 26th August 2019 | KO 3:00pm #ASHWES @ashfordtownmx 2 #ASHWES ashfordtownmiddlesexfc.com CLUB PARTNERS If you would like to become a club partner please contact our commercial team: [email protected] #ASHWES 3 @ashfordtownmx CONTENTS Page 6: Welcome to the RPS Page 8: Recent Action Page 10: Today’s League Fixtures Page 12: Today’s Opponents Page 18: League Teams Directory Page 22: 2019/2020 Squad Page 24: Fixtures & Results Page 26: League Table Page 28: Under 18’sFixtures & Results Page 29: Under 18’s League Table Page 30: Ashford Town Women Page 32: The Non-League Paper Page 36: Today’s Squads Page 8 Page 12 Page 22 Page 24 Page 28 Page 30 Page 32 Page 36 4 #ASHWES ashfordtownmiddlesexfc.com Ashford Town (Middlesex) Football Club Limited The Robert Parker Stadium, Short Lane, Stanwell, Middlesex TW19 7BH Telephone: 01784 245908 Email: [email protected] Website: ashfordtownmiddlesexfc.com Member of the BetVictor Isthmian League, affiliated to Middlesex and Surrey FA’s, and an FA Charter Standard Community Club Company Registration Number: 07904731 Company Limited By Guarantee Directors: First Team Manager: Russell Canderton Nick Bailey (Chairman), First Team Assistant Manager: Scott Weight Graham Felce (Vice-Chairman) Goalkeeper Coach: Steve Honey Alan Constable (General Secretary) Physio: Martin O’Connell Paul Blair (Football Secretary) Steve Clark (Finance Director) Chris Canderton (Membership Secretary) Women’s Team Manager:Will Boye Steve Honey Robert Parker Under 18’s Manager:Finn Kemp Under 18’s Assistants: David Gully, Sam Eason Patrons: Russell Grant - The Lord of Ashford in Middlesex Groundsmen: Liam Balmer, Steve Honey Ray Dorset President: Programme Edited by: Paul Gully for Elevated Online Robert Parker Website and Social Media:Elevated Online Vice Presidents: Lynne Morgan Follow us across social media Bob Lewis Pat Munns Stewart Lloyd Life Vice-Presidents: Paul Burgess Alan Constable @ashfordtownmx Gareth Coates #ASHWES 5 @ashfordtownmx Welcome to the RPSAlan Constable Good afternoon everyone and welcome to this afternoon’s Bank Holiday game against Westfield. These notes have been written prior to our FA Cup match on Saturday so we cannot comment upon that at the moment. As everyone knows we are a club in transition at present with so many players choosing to leave at the end of last season, even though some of them have not walked straight into the 1st Team at their new clubs, with at least three spending their 90 minutes on the bench last week. They’ve gone now though and we must concentrate upon our new squad. It will take time without doubt and there are probably more defeats to come but nobody could accuse the lads of a lack of enthusiasm or indeed skill and we could easily have got a result at Tooting in midweek, had we taken one or two of the guilt edged opportunities that we created. Well done to Max Webb who notched our opening goal of the season. Much the same can be said of the opening day defeat at the hands of our ongoing bogey side Chalfont St. Peter. A 0-4 drubbing sounds like a disaster but at only one down and pressing hard for an equaliser for much of the second half, such a final scoreline looked unlikely. Unfortunately, we have been error prone at the back so far and suddenly the match was gone as Chalfont scored twice, literally within a minute to put the match beyond us and then rubbed it in with a fourth. The referee did us no favours with two crucial decisions that went against us which didn’t help. Our opponents today are well known to us and after a very long time in the CCL not only stepped up to Step 4 with a flourish last season, they look to have strengthened having re-signed the prolific Max Blackmore, who returned after only one season with Met Police. Indeed, they have won their opening two league matches and not yet conceded a goal. For those who enjoy statistics, this will be our 34th consecutive match against Westfield since the very first game back on 13 April 1991 (we played them twice in April that season) when we managed to win 3-1 our goals coming from Andy Smith (2) and Colin Hammond, who won’t be remembered by many at the club these days but without doubt, one of the best players ever to have played for Ashford. After today we face another tough sounding game at Bracknell next Saturday, kick-off 3.00 p.m. although they surprisingly lost at Chipstead on the first day of the season. Also, lest there be any doubt that, were we to have drawn the FA Cup match at Sutton Athletic on Saturday, the replay will be on Tuesday 27 August here at Short Lane. The FA agreed that replays from the Preliminary Round could be held over until next week so as not to disrupt the Bank Holiday matches. We have maintained our policy of only charging £5 for entry through August and September and it is too early to judge whether or not it is a success. If you are an Ashford supporter and want this to continue beyond the end of September, please shout it from the rooftops and help our drive to get more people into the ground on home days. It is very difficult in this division with perhaps only Bracknell having any sizeable support but we can only keep trying. 30 supporters paying £10 per week (say) to help with wages would transform us rapidly and we cannot keep relying upon the same people. Finally, well done to the new Under-18 side who beat Hampton Borough U18 on Wednesday evening 3-2 in an excellent friendly. It augurs well for their new life in the CCL U18 Division. 6 #ASHWES ashfordtownmiddlesexfc.com #ASHWES 7 @ashfordtownmx Season opener Ashford 0 - 4 Chalfont St Peter 8 #ASHWES ashfordtownmiddlesexfc.com Midweek atTooting Tooting & Mitcham 3 - 1 Ashford #ASHWES 9 @ashfordtownmx Today’s League Fixtures 10 #ASHWES ashfordtownmiddlesexfc.com #ASHWES 11 @ashfordtownmx Today’s Opponents Westfield Club History Westfield Football Club was formed in 1953 as Westfield Boys Club, playing in the Woking and District League and also running a youth team. The 1950s From the start the Club had success in the competitions it entered. Among the trophies won in the early years were the Surrey Youth Invitation Cup in 1953/54, the Surrey Junior Charity Cup in 1954/55 and 1955/56, the Surrey Junior Cup (at the first attempt) in 1955/56 and the Surrey Youth Cup in 1956/57. Following several seasons in local league football, the Club made the break into Surrey Intermediate football using the present ground at Woking Park, Kingfield. Successes soon came and, after becoming League Champions and Cup winners on several occasions in the subsequent seasons, the Club decided to apply for senior status. The application was accepted in 1964 and after one season in the Parthenon League, Westfield met the necessary ground grading requirements and joined the Surrey Senior League. The 1960s Westfield’s future success in senior football sprang from their ability to attract the best local youngsters, and they were successful in winning the Surrey Youth Cup again in 1966/67 and 1969/70, and the Surrey Youth Shield in 1969/70 and 1970/71. This talent matured and there followed three tremendous seasons for the senior side, when they won the Surrey Senior League Cup in 1971/72, followed by the League and Cup double in 1972/73, and the League Championship again in 1973/74. The 1970s and 1980s The Surrey Senior League was disbanded and reformed as the Combined Counties Football League in 1978, and Westfield FC became founder members and have retained membership to date. Success, however, has been more difficult to achieve and in recent times the closest the senior team has come to honours was in 1989/90, when they lost the final of the Combined Counties League Cup to Hartley Wintney in extra time.season but the fixture congestion caused by the cup successes began to tell and they couldn’t quite make it across the line, eventually finishing a brave third. Losses in the finals of the Challenge Trophy and the Wycombe Senior Cup took a little bit of the shine off what was a brilliant season for the club. 2000-2003 In recent seasons with former Woking player, John Cassidy as manager, the senior side improved their league position, finishing sixth in season 2000/01. That season saw the Club enter the Carlsberg FA Vase for the first time, performing beyond expectations before losing in the Fourth Round to Ryman League Arlesey Town, on the way beating Wantage Town, Lewes and Bowers United. Season 2002/03 saw Westfield enter the FA Cup for the first time, losing at home to Dorking inthe Preliminary Round. Westfield continued to compete at youth level and they won the Combined Counties Youth League Cup 12 #ASHWES ashfordtownmiddlesexfc.com in 1991/92, as well as being runners-up in the League. Following the installation of floodlights in 1998, the U18 team joined the Southern Youth Floodlight League as members of the Western Division. The Club also run an U16 team playing in the West Surrey Boys League. This is currently the Club’s most successful side, last season competing at U15 level the team won the League Championship, the League Cup and the Surrey County Cup. 2003-2006 Following the end of the 2003/04 season, Westfield lost both First and Reserve Team managers.