FLYING YOUNG GUNS SHOT DOWN

Ashford Men’s 6s 3 BOEHC Dynamos 0

The omens were not good from the outset as keeper Tom Conway was forced to miss the fixture on the morning of the match through no fault of his own. The Dynamos were therefore much indebted to Mikael Kiviniemi who took over the goalkeeping duties once again at short notice and showed what a great stopper he is with yet another man-of-the-match display. Despite the disappointing result on the day, there were still more positives to be gleaned from the apparent wreckage of a 0-3 reverse which was harsh on the plucky visitors from SE London. Whilst the Men’s 1s were flying the BOEHC flag high by securing a championship and promotion victory against Crawley before the end of February, the stars of the future were battling out a more modest (but equally chilly) game down in deepest Kent. It is a great credit to captain David Leverton, who always leads from the front, as well as to a number of anonymous heroes in the background at the Club, that the Dynamos have thrived this season, and took a squad of 14 to an away match with a 4.00 pm push-back. That the team felt such disappointment to not build on last week’s victory over long-time Division 4 pacesetters Folkestone says it all, when the 2014-2015 incarnation of the Dynamos never made it till December.

There were no fewer than four father-son combinations in the team with Matt Southgate lining up alongside Harry, Mark Farrant with son Tom, David Leverton with Will, and debutants Graham and Lorcan Green completing the quartet. The four elder statesmen formed the backbone of the team, with Mark Farrant in particular continuing his fine form with another composed performance in the centre of defence before having to take a break from the action with a slight calf muscle strain late in the first half.

By this time the hosts had taken the lead through the suspicious-looking best player on view, who appeared to be playing about 4-5 teams below his normal operating level. The warning signs were there as he warmed up in the changing rooms in glorious isolation, wearing a Royal Artillery tracksuit top, rather than one from Ashford HC, but he did everything he could to underline his authenticity by referring to one of his team-mates as “dad” throughout. After a fairly even opening with some enterprising play from both teams the aforementioned member of the Ashford team took matters into his own hands by calmly beating four visiting players from the half-way line, and, after considering whether to go back and do it all over again, thought better of it and crashed the ball into the goal on the reverse stick instead. The main trouble was that he appeared to be playing well within himself, but he was undoubtedly the difference between the two teams, dictating play and often tying up two defenders and creating space as a result.

The BOEHC midfield was a bit overpowered as a result, both in terms of vertical inches and match experience, but that did not stop them from knocking on the door and stringing some good combinations together, even if the home keeper was in truth rarely troubled. Josh Clark in particular caught the eye with a strong all round performance, whilst Dan Ridge came closest to scoring late on and is clearly capable of playing further up in the Club’s team hierarchy. James Elliott was as inventive as ever, but it was simply not the visitors’ day in a topsy-turvy Division 4 where the form-book seems to fly out of the window every Saturday, and home teams have a bit of a habit of prevailing, which is no coincidence.

Next week’s home fixture against Cobdown – who have a remarkably similar playing record to that of the Dynamos this season – will provide an interesting challenge, after which the team can find itself in either 3rd, 4th, 5th or 6th position in a very tight league where a highly creditable mid-table finish (or higher) is now all but guaranteed.

Team:
Mikael Kiviniemi (GK), Louie Brown, Mark Farrant, Tom Farrant, Tim Walters, Matt Southgate, David Leverton (C), Harry Southgate, Will Godsiff, James Elliott, Graham Green, Josh Clark, Lorcan Green and Dan Ridge.

Man-of-the-match:
Mikael Kiviniemi.

Umpires:
Both from Ashford, and both very good, albeit a little whistle-happy at times.