VLeatherhead 2
Leatherhead moved up two
places in the Ryman League table on Saturday with a comfortable 2-0 win against
bottom club
For the first time this
season Tanners boss Mick Sullivan was able to name an unchanged starting eleven
with several experienced players ready and waiting on the subs bench.
From the opening minutes it
was not too difficult to see why Ashford had failed to win in the League since
the end of October, as they sat back and allowed Leatherhead too much time and
space to move the ball around.
The Tanners began strongly
and took the lead after six minutes with a bizarre opening goal. Ashford keeper
Darren Ibrahim picked up the ball in his area with the intention of throwing it
into the path of an outfield player. Unfortunately for Ibrahim the ball struck
the back of one of his defenders before falling to the feet of Leatherhead
striker Leon Simpson. The quick thinking forward noticed the keeper off his
line and lobbed the ball into the back of the net.
Leatherhead doubled their
lead after 20 minutes when Kev Terry delivered a probing cross into the Ashford box from the right. The ball
was met by Simpson’s outstretched foot and the striker, on loan from
Farnborough, stroked his shot beyond the stranded Ibrahim.
With the visitors’ defence in
disarray Leatherhead’s siege of Ashford’s half should have resulted in at least
one more goal before half-time.
In a dominant ten minute spell
Tommy Hutchings squared the ball to an advancing Terry whose shot whistled past
the post. Hutchings was then put through on goal but was foiled by Ibrahim who
scrambled the ball away from danger.
Moments later Rico Morris
broke down the left before delivering another probing cross straight through
the middle of the penalty area. But the former Walton Casuals man was unable to
find a Tanners player to bury the ball in the Ashford net.
Leatherhead had a golden chance
to kill the game off after 39 minutes. Jon Coke broke down the right and found
Terry who delivered another sweeping cross into the Ashford six yard box. But
on this occasion Simpson was unable to get the decisive touch which would have
completed a remarkable first half hat-trick for him on his home debut.
It wasn’t all one-way traffic
but Ashford’s attacks were sporadic and only notable by their rarity. Defender
Carl Harrold’s hit and hope thirty yard effort was
well picked out by Tanners keeper Colin Harris. Their only other purposeful first
half attack broke down when Ryan Briggs fired wide from the edge of the box.
Leatherhead made the first of
three substitutions after 60 minutes when Josh Smith came on for Morris. Smith
repeatedly jinked his way down the right flank but his deliveries into the box failed
to find a green shirted player to put the ball in the Ashford net.
Simpson’s home debut lasted
71 minutes before Dominic O’Shea was brought on to partner Hutchings in attack.
As the game wore on it became a lot scrappier with neither side able to build a
decisive attack or keep possession for very long.
Hassan Nyang replaced Terry after 75 minutes and with ten minutes remaining Smith burst down
the wing once again. His pass found Nyang unmarked on
the edge of the box but he was unable to control the ball before hitting his
shot wide of the mark.
The result lifts the Tanners up
to twelfth place but following two good wins against sides down at the bottom
of the table, Leatherhead face a much sterner test next weekend when they visit
second-placed
Leatherhead: Colin Harris, Jon Coke, Rob Hill, Chris Boulter, Iain
Hendry, Dan Dean, Rico Morris (Josh Smith), Mark Simmons, Leon Simpson (Dominic
O’Shea), Tommy Hutchings, Kev Terry (Hassan Nyang).
Match Report by Rod Ellis