Ashley In Seventh Heaven!

Written by Kevin Goodwin:

Ashley made it two wins in a row in Downs League Division One with a 7-0 drubbing of Saints Old Boys. First-half goals from Joe Williams and Michael Chappell gave the hosts a slender advantage before they powered on in the second period; Williams scoring twice to complete his hat trick, Chris Barrett grabbing two and Will Freeman heading in the seventh.

Ashley started strongly and Chappell should have done better after latching on to a long Paul Freeman boot but failed to hit the target when through on goal. At the other end, Freeman made an excellent save to push a volley from a tight angle over the bar. Further chances followed for Saints Old Boys but Freeman made a couple of smart stops. An excellent move down the right-wing allowed Williams to cut in from the by-line and his cut-back found W. Freeman, who smashed a shot against the cross-bar.

The opening goal of the game came from Williams; a cross from the left from Kevin Goodwin found Williams and his shot took a nick off the defender before beating the 'keeper. Soon after, Chappell doubled the advantage. Paul Mann used good vision to find Chappell, who controlled and touched the ball through the defender's legs before showing great composure to slide the ball inside the near post.

It was a good first-half performance, and playing down the slope in the second-half allowed Ashley to play on the break. Goals soon followed after half-time, with Williams firing in to the corner after Mann had cut the ball back in a crowded box. With Saints Old Boys pushing forward, Ashley had plenty of space when pushing forward and added several more goals.

Firstly, Barrett got in on the act, collecting a Goodwin pass and bursting in from the left before unleashing a left-foot shot from 25 yards which flew into top corner. Williams then completed his hat trick sliding the ball past the 'keeper.

Barrett then had a tap in to make it 6-0, following good build-up play - Will Freeman held the ball up in the box before laying it off to Goodwin, whose crisp strike was pushed away but fell to the feet of Barrett who netted from close-range. In the final minutes, Chappell broke down the left-wing and his left-foot cross was headed home by W. Freeman to put the icing on a very sweet cake.

It was the biggest league win of the season for Ashley, and a dominant performance throughout. There was a number of stand out performances; P. Freeman made some excellent saves in the first-half and was dominant throughout whilst Paul Turner had an industrious game in the middle of the park, breaking up the play well. Williams up top netted a hattrick and looked a threat throughout, offering some much needed strength to the front line. Next up is Torpedo a week today. Up the Ashley!