Tonight's contest saw the hosts begin with high animation and hustling buzzery from the off. Within the opening minutes Shelley were unsettled, the home No 10 (Dylan Glass) gathered, had one look at goal and swung the old ham shank. The ball flew, the keeper was too late, 1 - 0 it was - cripes. Within seconds of the restart the team in front won a free-kick, the globe was played quickly, pounced upon and slotted home - luckily for the visitors an infringement had been noted - no goal.
The opening throes remained vocal and active, Shelley offered a wild shot on goal in response to their opponents vim and vigor and then attacked with head-down focus with their No 6 (Carlton Pownall) showing great tootsies and earning a free-kick - it was a shame the gratis delivery went straight into the abdomen of the awaiting mitter. Ashton invested in some pay back, a ball went up, came down and was touched on with the striker No 7 (Jason Carey) collecting, using great strength and sweetly firing the ball home. An uncomplicated approach that produced an efficient end product - what a good goal it was.
From here, credit must be given to the guests who battled like rectal blowflies over a freshly exposed ring-piece (well, something like that) and kicked up the turf with great industry in their attempt to get back into this one. No 9 (Daniel Taylor) bust a gut and released a pass to the awaiting Pownall who was tumbled and awarded yet another bonus hoof. Once again the push was wasted, but the pressure was building and the effort noted by this touchline observer. Several shots came at the Ashton goal, one of which had the right amount of pace and accuracy but one that failed to beat the reaching keeper who neatly tipped over into the now frosted murk. The corner saw the hosts survive with desperation, another free-kick soon after was cracked straight at the keeper and several probing passes just lacked that pure-edged quality to create that all important golden chance. As the half came to a close Shelley remained on top whilst Ashton looked to break and keep the opposition honest - it had been a good first 45 minute session - more of the same please for half two.
We had a warm brew for the break and shared a few biscuits. The icy fingers of the night had now started to reach the internal gubbins, I am still at a loss as to why certain parts are still attached.
The second period started in the same fashion as the first with the hosts bursting from the traps like whippets with their doo-dahs dipped in pepper. Carey flew the flank, the cross posted was spot on the mark, No 15 (Bradley Smart) found himself with time to set the range finder and wallop, the third goal of the night had been had. A stunned Shelley side were now with their bums against the bricks, they won a corner from the struggle, it went high and was nutted on target but lacked any 'oomph' to cause the keeper any untold consternation. The travelling pack though did apply themselves well and still believed there was something to be had from this frisky contest. Again a solid ball was played forth, this time by the guest No 5 (Allan Greenwood). A cross followed and another crust met the sphere, once more true impact was lacking.
After a sin-binning for the hosts the tide against them still flowed until a ball from nowhere defied matters. No 9 (Chad Whyte) collected and struck with an evil ricochet seeing the ball roll past the keeper and into the awaiting net. How this scoreline was at 4 - 0 was beyond we two peepers - tis a cracked game to say the least.
A fractured session followed, in the midst of the disjointed action Shelley had a handball claim and a driving shot from No 8 (Daniel Keane) that was just wide of the vertical. In return Whyte for the home lads drove, cut in and fired an effort that wasn't that far off the mark and then the ball went flat, a visiting player screamed his disgust at the referee and was duly sin-binned for his over-zealous outburst. A middle of the park coming together saw all players indulge in the old game of 'push, shove and fuck-you' before the referee had a long conference and issued a yellow card (one can't help thinking some bugger got lucky there). From the re-start a ball was played to The Town's No 2 (John Edgerton) who, without pause for thought, got the noggin down, moved inwards and cracked in a top notch goal to round off a decent yet imbalanced night's work - I was utterly baffled.
The game ended with great endeavour, a final ball into the perilous zone saw the Shelley substitute have a close in header that went straight at the keeper and summed up his team's fortunes. As the whistle went the guest keeper looked bewildered, I thoroughly understood his mindset - this was in no way a 5 - 0 game but hey, the Footballing Gods are warped and wanky and play many capricious tricks with fairness being a mere fraudulence that fools the many partakers. Man of the Match tonight goes to Ashton Town's No 4 (Carl Lownsbrough) a rock in the rear, an organisational stalwart and a player who helped make sure that his team kept a precious clean sheet. These seemingly minor matters will go a long way to the end results come the final days of the season, goal difference could really be a telling factor.
FINAL THOUGHT - And there ya go - what a ruddy turn up for the books. Myself and my good lady fancied a home win but never in a month of twisted Tuesday's would we have opted for this outlandish scoreline. I say 'outlandish' due to the fact that what transpired wasn't reflected in the end result with Shelley working mighty hard and having most of the possession and seemingly on the cusp of grabbing a goal or two during many periods of the game. I think the overall difference however was organisation with Ashton a very disciplined pack of predators who absorbed well, battled like bulldogs and always looked to play a decisive ball to cut the potential molesters to utter pieces. They defend as a unit, tonight they did so at times in a rather unorthodox style but they got the job done - what more can one add! Shelley are better than this though and perhaps played a little too much like '11 individuals' rather than one fully oiled unit. They are not far away from being a completely efficient machine - it is all a question of where the minor tweaks are made and how they approach each situation put before them. Even at 3 - 0 tonight they were still oozing belief until of course the twist of fate disemboweled any dreams of a comeback. Shit happens, as does good fortune, I will be keeping a beady eye on both clubs for the rest of the campaign - I reckon Ashton Town will be in a very absorbing shake-up - hold onto your conkers, things could get a trifle exciting.
PS - This was my 300th match report tonight - not bad hey, here's to the next 300 and beyond - as per, up the doofers and the underdogs - onwards!
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