Tenterden Town 3 v 2 Ashford

Saturday 2nd December 2023, Kick-off 13.30

Kent County League Inter Regional Challenge Cup Round Three

Recreation Ground, Tenterden

Admission: Free

Programme: None

Attendance: 90

With industrial action yet again affecting train services again today, this time by ASLEF, making a long distance trip from my local station impossible, I decided to drive to a fairly local venue which is tricky to reach by public transport, and which would also work well in enabling me to pay a long overdue visit to family after the game.

The Tenterden Recreation Ground is located just to the north east of the very pleasant town centre of Tenterden, and consists of a playing field, playground, tennis courts and a bowling green, with the football pitch located in a dedicated naturally enclosed section. Facilities are minimal, with trees closely line one length and end, behind the other end a road passes by, while the other length is the only section roped off for spectators, with a brick pavilion (which has sadly been the victim of some ugly graffiti) straddling the half way line while portable fabric dugout are put in place on match days.

This league cup match would be between two clubs both competing in the Kent County League Premier Division. Tenterden were in seventh place in the table, following six wins and three draws from their eleven league games, while Ashford - who actually play their home fixtures at Hythe Town’s Reachfield Stadium - were in tenth place, following four wins and two draws from their twelve league games. Tenterden haven’t played since their win gain at Bromleians in the previous round of this competition, a 4-3 home win, and in a the first round, they won away at Whitstable Town U23 2-4. In their run in this competition, Ashford have beaten Lordswood 1-4 away before beating Ide Hill 2-1 at home.

Despite a forecast of bright and sunny conditions, in reality conditions were dank and overcast, although the forecasters were correct in temperatures being around the freezing mark. The visitors opened the scoring in the 20th minute, in rather fortunate circumstances, as an attempted clearance hit a team mate in the face, with the ball bouncing fortunately into the path of an Ashford player inside the area, and he struck the ball home. Tenterden equalised six minutes later with another unusual goal, the ball passed into a Tenterden forward in the area, who nonchantly diverted the ball goalwards without much conviction, the Ashford players and keeper stopped seemingly expecting offside to be called, but as the ball rolled inside the post and into the net, the goal was given. 

1-1 was how it remained at half time, but although Tenterden had the first clear chance of the second half, with a corner met with a powerful header which sent the ball just over the bar, it was Ashford who went back into the lead on 55 minutes when the ball was played across the area and then lashed into the roof of the net. It looked like the game was going away from Tenterden in the 73rd minute when they were reduced to ten men when one of their players received a straight red card for jumping into a high tackle. But as can often happen, it did not seem to impede Tenterden being a man short, and they found an equaliser in the 87th minute, when a corner was conceded by a sliced clearance, the ball was delivered into the near post and was just about bundled in in a crowd of players. And the turnaround was completed in the third minute of added on time, when a Tenterden player won the ball on the touchline before running down the wing and then crossing the ball low, to be tapped home from close range. With the very last action of the game, Ashford had a chance to force the draw when a long throw in was flicked on and just avoided a tap in at the far post, but in the end, it was Tenterden who would progress to the next round, a scenario which looked most unlikely throughout the afternoon.