Terriers Turn Up The Heat On Ashford

A sun soaked Short Lane ground wasn't the the only thing to make Ashford 4s sweat in this final preseason friendly, as South Berkshire Terriers made light of the hot playing conditions to run up a 10 goal victory and complete an impressive preseason without conceding a goal. In fairness to Ashford they battled gamely despite being put to the sword, and the game was played in great spirit. Credit to Ashford who pulled together a team for the game despite player shortages, which meant they had to pay for the full game with 11 outfield players.

Keeper or not, the result was never in doubt in the game as the Terriers put together their most accomplished performance of the preseason even without a number of key players. The first 20 minutes saw pressure from the Terriers, but Ashford were also able to move the ball through midfield, where the Terriers were prone to leave too many gaps. However, chances where taken and having moved two goals into the lead, on the whistle of half time Tony Heaver converted with a cleanly struck penalty corner to give the Terriers a three goal lead and a level of confidence that the game was beyond Ashford.

After a solid first half playing into the sun, the Terriers let rip in the second half with the sun on their backs, and produced an outstanding display of simple, effective and fast attacking hockey. Seven goals were plundered - Austin Jennings added four goals in the game to his impressive preseason tally, whilst Paul Harvey was delighted to bag a brace of goals on his return to his old club. However, more than just the goals scored, it was the manner of hockey that had captain Neil Badley glowing with pride. Quick and incisive passing moved the ball rapidly down both channels, and left Ashford over-run despite their numerical outfield advantage. The whole team played with confidence, but particular credit to a few performances. Alexander O'Keeffe who marauded forward from right back, picking an excellent range of simple, quick passes to create a number of goals. Byron Neave, whose efforts deserved a goal as he worked tirelessly in midfield and on the right wing. And Robbie Campion, who buzzed relentlessly up front and was the target man on countless occasions as he pulled wide and created space in the corner.

All in all, a confident display for the Terriers, who now go into the MMBO season with a first game against local rivals Reading Rovers. Preseason has brought plenty of attacking flair and goals galore, for a Terriers team who have generally not been big scorers over the last few seasons. However, Rovers did "the double" over the Terrier last year, so next week is sure to be a test in defence as well as attack.