ASHFORD TOWN MIDDLESEX F.C.
vs Westfield Monday 26th August 2019 | KO 3:00pm
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#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
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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.
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Seasonopener
Ashford 0 - 4 Chalfont St Peter
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Midweek atTooting
Tooting & Mitcham 3 - 1 Ashford
#ASHWES 9 @ashfordtownmx Today’s League Fixtures
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#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. John Cassidy moved to Frimley Green, and thereafter back to Farnham Town, and Graham Pope moved to Godalming & Guildford to manage their reserve team in the Suburban league. Westfield recruited Paul Donaghy from Guildford-based Merrow as first-team manager, and Dave Robson – long-time Westfield player – took over the reserves. At the end of 2005/06 Westfield were relegated to the 1st Division, due to new ground-grading regulations after a very acrimonious conflict with the league. Numerous commitments from league officials were reneged upon, and after months of appeals and meetings, Westfield had to accept their unwelcome fate. After a mid-table Division 1 season and partly because of the league-enforced relegation, Manager Paul Donaghy decided to resign as First Team manager to join Godalming and Reserve Team manager Dave Robson also quit. The team of ex-player Martin Powell, ex-Spurs stalwart David Howells and coach John Comer took over the running of the senior teams for the start of the 2007/08 season.
2007-2010 In the close season of 2007/08, following a highly credible 4th place finish, Martin resigned as manager due to personal circumstances; his departure signalled the exits of both David Howells and John Comer. In July 2008 the position of 1st Team Manager was filled by Steve Plunkett, the ex-Godalming Town Reserves boss, though hw was replaced within 4 months by the returning Dave Robson, as the club attempted to rebuild following a mass exodus of players. Dave Robson did a fine job stabilizing the club, but after an indifferent 2009/10 was replaced by joint managers, Craig Moore and John Comer. Off the pitch there was good news, as building of the new facilities commenced in 2010/11 and it promised to be a good season as the management duo assembled the best squad since the 2008 season. However, despite some wonderful results, the team struggled to find consistency, and finished a disappointing 13th in the table. There was better news for the reserves who finished 4th in the reserve league, and reached the final of the league cup, where they went down to double-winning side Mole Valley SCR. 2011-2015 During the summer of 2011, Craig Moore decided to step down to concentrate on playing, leaving John Comer as sole manager. He promoted Kevin Bailey from the reserves to be his assistant, and following Dave Kelly’s resignation as reserve team manager appointed David Robertson. In May 2011 the old pitch was dug up and raised a metre, before being re- seeded and in June the old clubhouse was demolished. The club moved into the new facilities in August 2011 with a thrilling opening match in the FA Cup against Peacehaven & Telscombe, in which the Sussex side eventually ran out 6-3 winners, in front of a crowd of 190. The following month a new record attendance for a league fixture at Woking Park was set when 325 witnessed the fixture against Guernsey. The season saw another improvement on the pitch, where a position of 8th was achieved and the team reached a cup final for the first time in nearly 20 years. However they went down 4-2 to Warlingham on the day. The following season the Club gained promotion in third place, and played Walton Casuals Reserves in the final of the Surrey Premier Cup, going down 2 goals to 1 in a close game.
#ASHWES 13 @ashfordtownmx Westfieldcontinued
In season 2013/14, with John Comer continuing as manager, the Club had their best league finish since 1981, ending in fourth place. With John Comer’s departure, Martin Beard was appointed for the 2014-15 season. After a run of indifferent results, Martin was replaced by Dan Snare, who improved the side to finish mid-table.
2016 to date As the 2018-19 season began, we said farewell to the Combined Counties League after 40 years of continuous competition, and started an exciting journey into Step 4 of non-league football. Having lost some key players from the previous campaign, it took several months for Tony Reid to find a settled side, but then after Christmas a wonderful run of 13 wins, 4 draws and 4 defeats saw Westfield finish in fifth place, to gain a play-off place and our highest-ever league finish. A close semi-final play-off defeat to Bracknell Town did little to detract from a remarkable achievement, and the return of most of the 2018-19 squad bodes well for another great season.
14 #ASHWES ashfordtownmiddlesexfc.com Westfieldcontinued Club Honours Surrey Senior League Surrey Saturday Junior Cup Champions : 1972–73, 1973–74 Winners : 1954-55 Runners-up : 1955-56, 1957–58
Parthenon League Surrey Junior Charity Cup Runners-up : 1962–63 Runners-up : 1954–55
Combined Counties Premier League Surrey Senior Cup best performance Runners-up : 2016-17 Winners: 2017-18 Fourth round : 2002 vs Sutton Utd
Surrey Senior League Cup FA Cup best performances Winners : 1971–72, 1972–73 First qualifying round : 1973 vs Lion Sports and 2013 vs Aylesbury Utd Combined Counties Premier League Cup Runners up : 1989–90 Winners : 2016-17 FA Vase best performances Fourth round : 2001 vs Arlesey Town Combined Counties Division One Challenge Cup Third round : 2017 vs Crowborough Athletic Runners-up : 2011–12 Best Attendances Surrey Saturday Premier Cup 325 vs Guernsey FC 20 Sep 2011 Runners-up : 2012-13 401 vs Frimley Green 7 May 2013
www.westfield-fc.com westfieldfcwoking westfield_fc westfieldwokingfc
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South Central Division 2019/2020
Ashford Town (Middlesex) FC Barking FC Robert Parker Stadium, Short Lane, Stanwell Mayesbrook Park, Lodge Avenue Middlesex TW19 7BH Dagenham RM8 2JR ashfordtownmiddlsexfc.com barking-fc.co.uk
Bedfont Sports FC Bracknell Town FC Bedfont Sports Recreation Ground Larges Lane Hatton Road, Bedfont TW14 9JR Bracknell RG12 9AN bedfontsportsclub.co.uk bracknelltownfc.com
Chalfont St Peter Chertsey Town FC Mill Meadow, Gravel Hill 28 Alwyns Lane Chalfont St Peter SL9 9QX Chertsey KT16 9DW chalfontstpeterafc.co.uk chertseytown-fc.co.uk
Chipstead FC FC Romania High Road Theobalds Lane Chipstead CR5 3SF Cheshunt EN8 8RU chipsteadfc.com fcromania.com
Hanwell Town FC Harlow Town FC The Powerday Stadium, Perivale Lane The McCullochs Arena, Elizabeth Way Greenford UB6 8TL Harlow CM19 5BE hanwelltownfc.co.uk harlowtownfootballclub.co.uk
Hertford Town FC Marlow FC West Street Alfred Davis Memorial Ground Hertford SG13 8EZ Oak Tree Road, Marlow SL7 3ED pitchero.com/clubs/hertfordtownfc marlowfc.co.uk
Northwood FC South Park FC Acretweed Stadium, Chestnut Avenue King Georges Field, Whitehall Lane Northwood HA6 1HR South Park, Reigate RH2 8LG northwoodfc.com Southparkfootballclub.co.uk
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Staines Town FC Tooting & Mitcham United FC Wheatsheaf Park, Wheatsheaf Lane Imperial Fields, Bishopsford Road Staines, Middlesex TW18 2PD Morden SM4 6BF stainestownfootballclub.co.uk tmunited.org
Uxbridge FC Waltham Abbey FC Honeycroft, Horton Road Capershotts, Sewardstone Road West Drayton UB7 8HX Waltham Abbey EN9 1NX uxbridgefc.com pitchero.com/clubs/walthamabbeysenior
Ware FC Westfield FC Wodson Park, Wadesmill Road Woking Park, Kingfield Road Ware SG12 0UQ Woking GU22 9BA warefc.co.uk westfield-fc.com
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#ASHWES 21 @ashfordtownmx The 2019/2020 Tangerines GOALKEEPERS
Sam Mason- Age: 19
DEFENDERS
Will Boye- Age: 30
Tom Hill - Age: 26
Rylan MyersAge: 21
Joe Noakes- Age: 21
Eno Nteyoho- Age: 20
Matt Surmon- Age: 18
MIDFIELDERS
Kenneth Acquah- Age: 21
Samir Bajji- Age: 20
Tommy Brunton- Age: 25
Josh Daley- Age: 18
Pierre-Alexandre Morin- Age: 19
Nathan Pooley- Age: 20
Max Webb- Age: 26 (Captain)
Scott Weight - Age: 32
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FORWARDS
Kelvin Adjei - Age: 20
Ivan Machado- Age: 26
Chris Martin-Thomas- Age: 22
Aaron Petch- Age: 18
Teddy Williams - Age: 16
Kevin Zola - Age: 23
Full profiles and photos coming soon
#ASHWES 23 @ashfordtownmx Fixtures & Results
Date H/A Opponent Comp Result Scorers 06 Jul 2019 N CB Hounslow PSF 1-3 Trialist 16 Jul 2019 A Spelthorne Sports PSF 0-2 20 Jul 2019 A Abbey Rangers PSF 0-2 23 Jul 2019 A Colliers Wood PSF 3-3 Adjei (2), Trialist 27 Jul 2019 A Camberley Town PSF 3-4 Weight, Surmon, Williams 30 Jul 2019 A Molesey PSF 1-2 Adjei 03 Aug 2019 H Southall FC Bowl 1-2 Adjei 06 Aug 2019 H Staines Lammas PSF 1-3 Williams 10 Aug 2019 H Basingstoke Town PSF 3-4 Webb, Adjei (2) 17 Aug 2019 H Chalfont St Peter BVISC 0-4 20 Aug 2019 A Tooting & Mitcham United BVISC 1-3 Webb 24 Aug 2019 A Sutton Athletic FAC 0-6 26 Aug 2019 H Westfield BVISC 31 Aug 2019 A Bracknell Town BVISC 03 Sep 2019 H Bedfont Sports VT 14 Sep 2019 H Barking BVISC 17 Sep 2019 H Chertsey Town BVISC 21 Sep 2019 A South Park BVISC 05 Oct 2019 H Harlow Town BVISC Welwyn Garden / Canvey 12 Oct 2019 H FAT Island 26 Oct 2019 A Hertford Town BVISC 02 Nov 2019 H Bedfont Sports BVISC 09 Nov 2019 A Marlow BVISC 16 Nov 2019 H Northwood BVISC 23 Nov 2019 A Hanwell Town BVISC 30 Nov 2019 H Waltham Abbey BVISC 07 Dec 2019 A Ware BVISC 14 Dec 2019 H Chipstead BVISC 21 Dec 2019 H Staines Town BVISC 28 Dec 2019 A Westfield BVISC
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Date H/A Opponent Comp Result Scorers 04 Jan 2020 H Bracknell Town BVISC 11 Jan 2020 A FC Romania BVISC 18 Jan 2020 H Uxbridge BVISC 25 Jan 2020 A Harlow Town BVISC 01 Feb 2020 H South Park BVISC 04 Feb 2020 A Chertsey Town BVISC 08 Feb 2020 H Ware BVISC 15 Feb 2020 A Chipstead BVISC 22 Feb 2020 A Bedfont Sports BVISC 29 Feb 2020 H Hertford Town BVISC 07 Mar 2020 A Northwood BVISC 14 Mar 2020 H Marlow BVISC 21 Mar 2020 A Barking BVISC 28 Mar 2020 H FC Romania BVISC 04 Apr 2020 A Chalfont St Peter BVISC 11 Apr 2020 H Tooting & Mitcham United BVISC 13 Apr 2020 A Staines Town BVISC 18 Apr 2020 H Hanwell Town BVISC 25 Apr 2020 A Waltham Abbey BVISC
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SOUTH CENTRAL DIVISION LeagueTable P W D L F A +/- Pts
1 ChalfontStPeter 2 2 0 0 6 1 +56
2HanwellTown 220050+56
3 Westfield 2 2 0 0 5 0 +5 6
4 Tooting&MitchamUnited 2 2 0 0 4 1 +36
5 WalthamAbbey 2 1 1 0 7 4 +34
6ChertseyTown 211052+34
7Ware 211075+24
8Marlow 211053+24
9FCRomania 210176+13
10HarlowTown 21014403
11BracknellTown 21012203
12Chipstead 21012203
13StainesTown 20205502
14Uxbridge 201124-21
15SouthPark 201125-31
16Barking 200237-40
17HertfordTown 2 0 0 2 2 6 -40
18Northwood 200227-50
19BedfontSports 2 0 0 2 1 6 -50
20AshfordTown(Middx) 2 0 0 2 1 7 -6 0
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P W D L F A +/- Pts
1 ChalfontStPeter 2 2 0 0 6 1 +56
2HanwellTown 220050+56
3 Westfield 2 2 0 0 5 0 +5 6
4 Tooting&MitchamUnited 2 2 0 0 4 1 +36
5 WalthamAbbey 2 1 1 0 7 4 +34
6ChertseyTown 211052+34
7Ware 211075+24
8Marlow 211053+24
9FCRomania 210176+13
10HarlowTown 21014403
11BracknellTown 21012203
12Chipstead 21012203
13StainesTown 20205502
14Uxbridge 201124-21
15SouthPark 201125-31
16Barking 200237-40
17HertfordTown 2 0 0 2 2 6 -40
18Northwood 200227-50
19BedfontSports 2 0 0 2 1 6 -50
20AshfordTown(Middx) 2 0 0 2 1 7 -6 0
#ASHWES 27 @ashfordtownmx Fixtures U18&Results Date H/A Opponent Comp Result Scorers Williams (4), Woollard (2), 29 Jul 2019 A Leatherhead Youth PSF 9-2 Poole, Smith, Trindale 21 Aug 2019 H Hampton & Richmond PSF 3-2 Williams, Poole, Smith (pen)
28 Aug 2019 A Spelthorne Sports PSF
04 Sep 2019 A Hayes & Yeading FAYC
10 Sep 2019 A Cranleigh CCL
23 Sep 2019 H Manorcroft United CL
09 Oct 2019 A Godalming Town CCL
21 Oct 2019 A Leatherhead Youth CCL
28 Oct 2019 H Manorcroft United CCLC
11 Nov 2019 H Fleet Spurs CCL
25 Nov 2019 A Spelthorne Sports CCL
09 Dec 2019 H Knaphill CCL
13 Dec 2019 H Cranleigh CCL
27 Jan 2020 A Manorcroft United CCL
17 Feb 2020 H Godalming Town CCL
24 Feb 2020 H Leatherhead Youth CCL
10 Mar 2020 A Fleet Spurs CCL
16 Mar 2020 H Spelthorne Sports CCL
31 Mar 2020 A Knaphill CCL
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Under 18 Western Division
POS TEAM P W D L F A +/- PTS
1 Ashford Town (Middlesex) FC 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2 Cranleigh 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
3 Fleet Spurs 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
4 Godalming Town 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
5 Knaphill 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
6 Leatherhead Youth 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
7 Manorcroft United 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
8 Spelthorne Sports 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
#ASHWES 29 @ashfordtownmx AT FCWomen Fixtures &Results Date H/A Opponent Comp Result Scorers 14 Jul 2019 A Walton Casuals PSF 3-3 Neufville, Huse, Cheatley 21 Jul 2019 H Maidenhead United PSF 3-1 Benham, Head, Neufville 04 Aug 2019 H AFC Wimbledon PSF 2-8 Cheatley, Isaacs 07 Aug 2019 A Enfield Town PSF 3-4 Kriebel, Down, Neufville 11 Aug 2019 H Moneyfields PSF 2-2 Down, Novakovic 18 Aug 2019 H Denham United CUP 4-1 Benham, Neufville (2), Isaacs 25 Aug 2019 H Whyteleafe WFL 08 Sep 2019 A Dartford WFL 15 Sep 2019 H Aylesford WFL 29 Sep 2019 H Dulwich Hamlets CUP 13 Oct 2019 A Eastbourne Town WFL 03 Nov 2019 A Denham United CUP 24 Nov 2019 A Saltdean United WFL
ashfordtownmiddlxlfc.com
30 #ASHWES ashfordtownmiddlesexfc.com London & South East Regional Women's Football League Premier Division
POS TEAM P W D L F A +/- PTS
1 Ashford Town (Middlesex) FC 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2 Aylesford 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
3 Dartford 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
4 Denham United 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
5 Dulwich Hamlet 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
6 Eastbourne Town 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
7 Fulham 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
8 QPR Development 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
9 Saltdean United 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
10 Whyteleafe 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
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By Hugo Varley
Happy Birthday to the National League!
The NLP office was in absolute overdrive last week as we celebrated 40 years of the National League.
It was while producing our special eight-page pull-out that it truly dawned upon us just how many extraordinary tales and history this division has created; so much so that we ended up writing far too much and spent most of Friday evening frantically trying to cut down word counts and squeeze in as many stories as we possible could!
There were interviews with the likes of Martin O’Neil and Neil Warnock, who both learned their trade in Non-League’s highest tier, however for me, I particularly enjoyed speaking to Peter Hunter, who was secretary of the division when the one up, one down agreement was made with the Football League.
It was during this conversation that I realised just how important the agreement made in 1987 was for both advancing the quality of the division and streamlining the entire Non-League pyramid.
Before then clubs had to apply for a place in the Football League, with just one position up for grabs.
At the time it seems as though this application process was a largely futile event for Non-League clubs to be a part of, with the bottom placed Football League club more often than not coming out on top in the lottery.
In many respects there was essentially a permanent divide between the Football League and Non- League – with the fairy tale dream of a team rising through from obscurity to break into the upper echelons of the English system seeming virtually impossible.
It is amazing to see just what an impact the promotion and relegation agreement has had on Non- League football.
Teams can now dare to dream of making a run through the divisions, while the guarantee of Football League clubs making the plunge into Non-League each year has increased both the quality and the fan base within the National League.
Nowadays, especially with the introduction of two up, two down, the division is in extraordinary health and with attendance records being broken and the likes of Tranmere Rovers using promotion from the National League as a springboard for further success, the future of the league is looking bright!
New documentary proves fascinating watching
I would recommend all Non-League fans watch “The Gaffer” on BT Sport this Saturday (24th August) evening.
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The documentary follows coaches such as Harrogate’s Simon Weaver, Bromley boss Neil Smith, lower league legend John Still and his protégé Hakan Hayrettin at Maidstone, as well as Ben Strevens and Hartlepool boss Craig Hignett.
It contains some really fascinating moments that demonstrate just what an important role these clubs play within their local community and how the work for a manager most certainly never, ever stops! Follow the Non-League Paper Online thenonleaguefootballpaper.com @nonleaguepaper @nonleaguepaper
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#ASHWES 35 Ashford Town Westfield (Middlesex)
Tangerine & White Stripes Yellow shirts, Black shorts, Tangerine Socks Black shorts and socks
1 Sam Mason 1 Gary Ross
2 Joe Green 2 Jack Dean
3 Eno Nteyoho 3 Julius Mngadi
4 Samir Bajji 4 Harry Carter
5 Matt Surmon 5 Gregory Haydon
6 Scott Weight 6 Adam Baigent
7 Chris Martin-Thomas 7 Elijah Simpson
8 Max Webb (C) 8 Sonny Black
9 Kelvin Adjei 9 Max Blackmore
10 Tommy Brunton 10 Arsen Ujkaj
11 Aaron Petch 11 Aaron Watson
12 Ivan Machado 12 Matt Steer
13 Nathan Pooley 13 Anis Nuur
14 Kenneth Acquah 14 Louie Downey
15 Pierre Morin 15 Anthony Oaks
16 Russell Canderton 16 Rhys Rabess
Manager: Russell Canderton Manager: Tony Reid Assistant: Scott Weight Assistant: Martyn Lee
Match Officials Match Sponsor Matchball Sponsor Referee |Russell Jones Assistant |Neo Neophytou Assistant |Ceri Williams
Next up at home Bedfont Sports Tuesday 3rd September 2019 | KO 7:45pm Velocity Trophy | Group 8
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