Tonbridge (0) 3 Wheeler 58,67 Elder 82
Ashford Town (Middlesex) (2) 2 Fleming 15 Bitmead 27, 53 (pen)
Attendance: 381
Entrance: £6 Senior
Programme: £2.50
Mileage: 38/3,631
This FA Trophy First Qualifying Round match was both bizarre and thrilling in equal measure. It all started with a delayed kick-off of 25 minutes because the visitors were held up on the M25. Normally, you would expect, that getting straight out of their cars/coach with little time to stretch the legs would lead to a slow start, but this was nothing like that. Mind you, if you hand two chances on a silver salver then you get what you deserve.
After four minutes a Tom Phipp free kick found Nathan Elder's head but the striker steered it wide and this was the pretext to the big man's afternoon.
Ashford Town (Middlesex) sounded a warning when Anthony Di Bernardo needed to be alert to smother the ball at the feet of Mark Bitmead.
After 15 minutes the visitors went ahead following a dreadful mix-up between Di Bernardo and Jerrome Sobers. A hopeful punt through the middle was chased by Dan Fleming, as the goalkeeper and central defender left it for each other, a panicky kick from Di Bernardo struck Fleming who was able to tuck the rebound into an open goal.
Worse was to follow after 26 minutes when a back pass from Sobers to his goalkeeper, whose clearance only made 10 yards to the feet of Fleming, who crossed for Bitmead to head into a, once more, open goal.
Tonbridge continued to create chances with the ball seemingly a magnet to Elder's head and the goal having the polar effect. After 34 minutes a cross from Luke Blewden saw Elder's header hit the bar.
Tonbridge needed a goal early second half to revive their Trophy hopes but these seemed all but dashed when a rash challenge from Ugo Udoji offered Ashford their chance to seemingly put the game to bed. Bitmead duly converted and only those that believed in the miracle of Wingate and Finchley were left with any optimism.
Those optimists were quickly inspired as a long throw from Blewden evaded all before falling at the feet of Nicky Wheeler, who rifled the ball into the bottom corner.
Nine minutes later and it was game on. Another long throw from Blewden was headed on in the box to Sonny Miles whose shot was blocked but the rebound fell again to Wheeler who scored in a similar fashion to his first.
It was now one-way traffic, the ball continuing to find the head of Elder, who continued to be thwarted by all means possible until eight minutes from time when a Wheeler free kick found the striker's head and this time the ball nestled in the bottom corner.
There was still time for the Wingate miracle to be repeated but it wasn't to be and from 3-0 anything other than a replay at Shorts Lane would be plain greedy.
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