Ashford Town (Middx) 2 Leatherhead 2
Marco Haigh secured a late injury time equaliser for Leatherhead against Ashford
Town (Middx) in a dramatic 2-2 draw at the Reg Madgwick Stadium on Saturday.
Haigh’s leveller came just moments after the referee sent off an incensed Lukas
Franzen-Jones for remonstrating with the match officials after the Leatherhead
forward had sustained a head injury by the touch line.
Reduced to ten men for the final forty-five seconds of play, Tanners pumped a long
free kick deep into the hosts’ penalty area and Haigh outjumped his marker to
equalise with a looping header in the ninety-seventh minute.
With Ashford ground sharing at Cobham this season while a new all-weather playing
surface is installed at their Short Lane home, this game felt more like a home match
for the Tanners supporters.
But no-one appeared to have conveyed that message to Leatherhead’s players who
produced a tentative and ineffective first-half display against a young and
inexperienced Ashford side currently entrenched in the bottom four.
Leatherhead started well enough. In the opening ten minutes Franzen-Jones forced a
diving save from Ashford keeper Marcin Brzozowski and Tanners skipper Tom
Kavanagh curled a 25 yard free kick just wide of the post.
But the hosts gradually gained in confidence as they pressed forward into the visitors’
half. Leatherhead keeper Rileigh Hebditch did well to block a low shot from
Ashford’s Deven Reid-Solanki and the visitors had a lucky escape when Jack Arnold
fed a ball through to an advancing Jayden Porter Atkinson on his left, who fired wide
from a tight angle.
Ashford’s increasingly bold manoeuvres paid off with an opening goal on 31 minutes.
Tanners failed to properly deal with an Ashford corner, leaving an unmarked Liam
Moore to fire home from the edge of the box.
The hosts almost doubled their advantage on the stroke of half time when Porter
Atkinson deflected Arnold’s long range effort just wide of the post.
Ashford continued to press forward in the second half. Porter Atkinson forced a fine
save from Hebditch and Basim Mirtahmasebi fired wide after another confident break
in the visitors’ half.
Porter Atkinson had the ball in Leatherhead’s net on the hour mark, but the young
forward’s effort was flagged for offside.
Tanners missed a chance to level on 74 minutes. Seb Karczewski headed on a long
Kavanagh throw into the path of Franzen-Jones, who forced another good close range
save from Brzozowski.
Ashford doubled their lead with a stunning breakaway goal on 76 minutes. Porter
Atkinson broke clear of his marker from inside his own half, taking the ball forward
unchallenged before unleashing a powerful shot past Hebditch from the edge of the
box.
Ashford’s second goal stunned the visitors into action, with Leatherhead adopting a
more direct approach in the closing minutes.
Anuar Ceesay pulled a goal back for Tanners on 80 minutes, hitting a powerful left
foot strike after the hosts had failed to clear a corner.
The fourth official held up the board for six minutes of added time. And right at the
end there was the incredible drama of Franzen-Jones’ dismissal and Haigh’s looping
header for a Leatherhead equaliser.
But Tanners will see this as two points dropped rather than having snatched a late
draw from the jaws of defeat.
Leatherhead are back in action on Tuesday when they host Westfield in the third
round of the Velocity Trophy at Fetcham Grove. Kick-off is at 7.45pm.
Ashford Town (Middx): Marcin Brzozowski, Deven Reid-Solanki, Archie Larkham,
James King (Ben Holder 66), Tristan Francois Vernal, Elliott Poley, Basim
Mirtahmasebi (Noyen Tajbaksh 73), Liam Moore, Jack Arnold (George Vorster 47),
Sam Humphreys (Bradley Manning 90+4), Jayden Porter Atkinson
Leatherhead: Rileigh Hebditch, George Hedley, Alex Pearce, Kelvin Manuel
Massango, Tom Kavanagh, Alfie Huckle Kane Fitzgerald (Marco Haigh 60), Matt
Everitt (Seb Karczewski 29), Rhys Murrell-Williamson, Anuar Ceesay, Lukas
Franzen-Jones