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Ashford Victoria came out on top in a very entertaining ten-goal thriller down in Dymchurch on Sunday morning, winning 6-4 against a well organised and hard working Newchurch side. Both sides were the final two unbeaten clubs in the division before the match and both camps knew the fixture would probably be a close and tight affair throughout, but not many people would have predicted the drama and end-to-end football the game had to offer.

The game swung both ways during the game, Victoria taking an early lead, only for Newchurch to equalise and take the lead themselves before the Vics went back ahead just before the break. But some excellent- but sometimes desperate defending, and three further goals in the second-half saw Victoria home to earn another important three points, and move up to fourth in the Division Three table with two games in-hand on the leaders at this very early stage of the season.

Mark Wallis and Tony Mason returned to the Victoria starting line-up after missing out the previous two fixtures, while player-manager Ryan Mills reinstated himself in goal. Free-scoring defender Adam George and Mark Rutland were both unavailable so Mason joined Luke Hendry, Ryan Martin and skipper Andy Jones in an unfamiliar looking back four. Wallis partnered young Josh Hatcher in midfield with attacking trio Shane Jupp, Gary Foreman and Darryl George playing off striker Wayne Cleave up front in a very attack-minded 4-2-4 formation.

The game couldn’t have got off to a better start for the visitors as Wayne Cleave put the Vics into a fourth-minute 1-0 lead with a cool finish from the edge of the penalty area. In a good team move that included no less than six different players, Hendry, Martin and Wallis played the ball out of trouble to Shane Jupp, before Foreman picked up the ball in the middle of the park finding Cleave’s well timed run on the right, beating the offside trap then driving the ball beyond the reach of the Newchurch goalkeeper. But Victoria’s lead only lasted ten-minutes or so as the home side equalised in controversial circumstances. Lee Jackman beat off Hendry on the edge of the penalty area before cutting in running at Victoria’s near post on the left. Vics’ goalkeeper Ryan Mills thought he had narrowed the angle enough to deny the goal, but Jackman played the ball across the six-yard box to the on-coming run of Gary Hickman and the forward tapped in unchallenged on the goal line despite calls from the Victoria players that the goal scorer had strayed offside in the build up to the strike.

Both sides played some neat football for the next twenty minutes, trying to find the goal that would put their side in control of the fixture and both sides had good chances to increase the score line. Andy Jones fired wide for the Vics from distance before Josh Hatcher sprinted down the right-wing but over-hit his cross that fell too far away from goal for the in-form Darryl George to turn towards goal. For the home side, Jackman was a constant menace using his pace to test the Victoria defence, and won the free-kick that eventually led to the games third goal as Newchurch took the lead for the first time on the match, the resulting set piece excellently being riffled over the wall and into the top right-hand corner of the goal beyond the reach of Mills.

But Victoria recovered well to register two further strikes late on in the half to go in at the break 3-2 ahead thanks to a Darryl George goal and a second from Cleave. First George met Cleave’s inch-perfect delivery from the right with a downward header that beat the Newchurch stopper easily before the roles were reversed with George turning provider for Cleave, this time sliding the ball down the left after beating two players allowing Cleave to steady himself and fire home.

Midfielder Josh Hatcher was unable to continue due to a back injury and was replaced at the break by Darren Patterson. Andy Jones was pushed up in midfield to cover Hatcher while Patterson slotted in at left-back and impressed with his extensive range of passing setting-up many Victoria attacks. Patterson, who joined the Vics twelve months ago having previously played for Ashford Eagles and Highfield United, could maybe have thought himself a little unlucky not to have made the starting line-up for a third successive game having played so well in recent weeks, and his performance in the second-half proved again his importance to the team.

Newchurch came out for the second period much hungrier than their opponents and levelled the scores for a third time at 3-3 within 90-seconds of the restart. The Vics saw a well worked free-kick routine well broken down by the Newchurch defence and the home side quickly turned defence into attack and hit Victoria on the counter with a magnificent team goal of their own, playing four neat and destructive passes through the exposed Victoria defenders before finishing from close range on 47 minutes.

But Shane Jupp soon restored Victoria’s lead in the 57^th minute chasing onto Gary Foreman’s cross field pass to finish what is fast becoming his regular trademark goal, sprinting with the ball on the right before cutting inside his marker and firing low and hard into the bottom corner of the net. And Jupp added his second and the Vics fifth 17 minutes later racing onto Mark Wallis’ through-ball, beating the home sides goalkeeper to the ball and bravely slotting home before colliding with a Newchurch defender. Unfortunately the talented right-sided forward was unable to continue due to an injury picked up in scoring the goal and was replaced by the exciting and explosive Nasser Sulaiman, but Jupp did almost create a magic moment just before his goal and premature withdrawal from the game. Jupp played a forty-yard ball up the pitch straight to the feet of the on-running Darryl George, and the young forward controlled the ball beautifully before turning and cheekily back-heeling the ball beyond the stranded ‘keeper only to see a Newchurch defender get back and clear off of the line to deny what would have been a real contender for goal of the season.

Newchurch did set up a nervous finish by pulling a goal back to 5-4, taking advantage of an exposed Victoria defence before Wayne Cleave grabbed his hat-trick in style late on finishing off Darren Patterson’s excellently weighted left-foot cross to the delight of his team mates to round off a well deserved 6-4 victory.

Match Ratings…

Ryan Mills (6) Came off his line very quickly to smother Newchurch’s long-ball game, but couldn’t do much to prevent any of the first three well-worked goals.

Luke Hendry (7) Again continued his rich vein of form at right-back with some brave challenges and headers, and looks so much confident on the ball.

Ryan Martin (7) Did well against the tricky Lee Jackman, but will be glad to see the back of the pacy forward. Cleared his lines very well and made several crucial interceptions.

Tony Mason (8) Very good return to the side and brought some extra confidence to the backline. Showed his close control skills running the ball out to safety on a couple of occasions.

Andy Jones (8) Did a good job both at left-back and in the centre of midfield, working the more unthankful but important covering role he plays so well.

Mark Wallis (8) Hard working and disciplined performance in the middle of the park and linked up very well with Jones in the second-half.

Josh Hatcher (7) Showed some very encouraging signs of his potential early on including a terrific run with the ball at his feet, but went off injured at the break.

Shane Jupp (8) May have started the game off slowly, but ended it with a bang with two very good goals. Showed his full range of passing too before going off late on injured.

Gary Foreman (8) Always manages to find space and pick out the killer pass, and claimed two brilliant assists again today. Also managed to pull off his trademark Cruyff-turn a couple of times.

Darryl George (8) Grabbed one goal for himself and played in Cleave for another in a gut-busting performance out wide on the left, real team performance.

Wayne Cleave (9) Man of the match. Took his goals very well and finished each of his three real good opportunities. Dropped off well too playing others into the action, real match winner.

Substitutes…

Darren Patterson (8) Really settled in quickly in the more unfamiliar position of left-back and always seemed to find time to play the right pass, setting up Cleave’s hat-trick strike with a killer delivery.

Benn Phillips (7) Did very well coming on at right full-back for the final 21 minutes, doing the simple things that make a good defender with some decent clearances and interceptions.

Nasser Sulaiman (7) Really caused Newchurch problems on his late introduction with his pace, and could have scored after rounding the keeper late on.

A superb team performance from a much rotated and changed Ashford Victoria side saw the them through to the second round of the Ashford Charity Cup as the Vics easily brushed aside higher division opposition in the form of The Albion at Hythe Road on Sunday. The red hot and in form Darryl George led the way hitting a stunning hat-trick, his first treble for the club, while elder brother Adam George and forward Wayne Cleave also got on the score sheet as Victoria caused a cup upset beating their Division Two opponents 5-1.

Victoria made several changes once again to keep the whole squad fresh, with young ‘keeper Benn Phillips returning in goal for the first time in three games at the expense of player-manager Ryan Mills who decided to leave himself out. Defender Mark Rutland returned to central defence after missing last weeks Kent Junior Trophy victory over Brabourne allowing skipper Andy Jones to return to midfield alongside the exciting Josh Hatcher. Darren Patterson kept his place in the team after a good performance last time out meaning Shane Jupp relegated to the substitutes bench for a rest.

It didn’t take long for Victoria to take control of the game and scored inside the opening sixty-seconds as a shell-shocked Albion side hardly touched the ball before going behind. Adam George’s quickly taken throw-in on the left found Josh Hatcher on the half-way line, and the highly rated teenager cleverly laid the ball back to Wayne Cleave before the big striker played a wonderful lobbed pass over the defence for Darryl George to run on to. George Junior then left the Albion defenders for dead before brilliantly chipping the oncoming goalkeeper from the edge of the penalty area to find the back of the net in the very first minute.

It was 2-0 after just ten minutes as Darryl George claimed his second goal of the morning thanks to a slight but fortunate deflection off of a visiting defender, after his cross from the left ended up in the net. Beforehand he had linked up well with brother Adam before turning his marker and whipping in a delivery intended for the back post run of Gary Foreman, but Foreman’s great dash into the box was unnecessary as the ball flew straight in anyway.

The Albion had a great chance to get back into the game in the 22^nd minute after striker Glen Edwards was pulled back by both Ryan Martin and Mark Rutland in quick succession giving referee Kevin Lee no choice but to award an indirect free kick to the pub side from 35-yards out. The resulting free-kick was brilliantly struck and flew into the top right-hand corner of the Vics goal beyond the reach of Benn Phillips, but as the ball had not touched anyone on its way in, the match official ruled out the goal and awarded the home side a goal kick instead.

Victoria took notice of that as a warning and continued to control the play and managed to add a third in the 26^th minute to virtually seal the victory thanks to a determined Adam George effort. The left-back, who has started his debut season with the Vics with a bang, notched his third goal in four starts after chasing down what seemed to be a dead pass from Darren Patterson, robbing the goalkeeper of the ball with an excellent 50/50 tackle on the edge of the penalty area and then tapped the ball in the empty net unchallenged to the delight of his new team-mates.

Wayne Cleave then got his usual goal, although this one will probably be one of the more spectacular he will score this season as the young forward lobbed the goalkeeper from some 45-yards out. The George brothers again linked up well on the left, Adam finding Darryl playing out of trouble before Darryl turned and cleared the ball to the feet of Cleave, and after a brilliant first touch taking him away from his marker, saw the ‘keeper way off of his line and unleashed an unstoppable shot that flew into the roof of the net to make it 4-0 just before the break.

The Albion came out for the start of the second-half in the mood to spoil the party and after a good two-minute spell where they threatened the Victoria goal on two occasions, they managed to reduce the deficit to three goals pulling the score back to 4-1 as Jason Owen beat the offside trap and fired low at Phillips, but the young goalkeeper struggled to get a good enough grip on the ball in the very wet conditions and spilled the ball into his won goal.

Darryl George restored Victoria’s four goal lead again minutes later and completed the mornings scoring on the hour mark to finish off the game and make it 5-1 after a clever through-ball from youngster Josh Hatcher. George collected the ball and rounded the ‘keeper before finishing in style to claim the match ball (which he previously fired over the hedge to be lost forever!) and become only the third ever Ashford Victoria player to register a competitive treble after Jack Bundock and Aaren Carlton managed the feat on several occasions in previous seasons.

Victoria could have seen off the game even more comfortably as Adam George went close with a powerful effort from distance before Josh Hatcher fired over from close range after good work from the Vics latest signing Nasser Sulaiman. But the Vics deserved their win in difficult conditions and will now turn their attentions to next weeks important and tricky away league fixture at Newchurch.

Benn Phillips (7) Made some decent catches and saves in bad conditions for a goalkeeper, but still gets a little too frustrated with his own performance at times. Very unfortunate not to claim his first clean sheet for the club with the goal he conceded.

Luke Hendry (8) The tricky little right-back is really on his game at the moment with another awesome performance at the back, winning everything in the air once again and timing his challenges and interceptions to perfection.

Ryan Martin (9) Impressive display at the back and on another day would have done enough to claim the man of the match award. Unbeatable in the air and even managed to get forward with a couple of Kolo Toure-like surging runs from defence.

Mark Rutland (8) Another typical ‘Rutland performance’, no mistakes and a job well done. Marshalled the back four very well and always communicating to his team-mates, must give opposition defenders real nightmares.

Adam George (9) The summer signing has become an extremely important member of the team in a very short space of time and has settled in very well. Scored another very good goal and claimed an assist too, but also excelled with his primary responsibilities in defending too.

Andy Jones (8) Does a very unthankless job in the centre of the park and without him Victoria wouldn’t be the same team they are today. Got forward, filled in, covered, set up attacks and pulled the strings in midfield, all part of a mornings work for the skipper.

Josh Hatcher (8) The teenage midfielder was a bundle of energy for the entire 90 minutes and battled hard right up until the final whistle. His performance probably deserved a goal too, but he did claim an assist on the final goal and put in a real shift for the team.

Gary Foreman (8) Played out wide on the right, and was a real menace in the first-half with both his distribution and runs down the field. Didn’t see as much of the ball as he normally does when playing more centrally, and replaced in the second-half.

Darren Patterson (9) Really playing with confidence at present and unlike previous outings, really made the extra effort to improve his physical side of his game and got stuck in. Maintained a good first touch throughout the game and played the ball around all over the park.

Darryl George (9) Man of the match for the second week in succession, grabbing a sensational hat-trick and assisted Cleave’s goal too. Was full of running all game long and another player in top form at the moment. Excellent performance.

Wayne Cleave (8) Really had to battle hard against two of the toughest and most physical defensive partnerships he’ll face all season. Scored a great goal and held the ball up very well, and got a bloody nose for his troubles too. Needlessly booking in the first-half the only minus point for the strong forward.

Nasser Sulaiman (for Foreman, 56mins) Added some pace to the midfield and managed to get in behind the Albion left-back on a few occasions. Put in a few good crosses too and looked very sharp in only his second ever appearance in a Victoria shirt.

Shane Jupp (for Patterson, 69mins) Came on midway through the second-half and did well to find the pace of the game, starting off playing a more attacking role before switching to a defensive midfield position as the game drew to a close.

Ashford Victoria eased into the next round of the Kent Junior Trophy on Sunday with a comfortable 2-0 victory over Brabourne Anchor at Hythe Road. First-half goals from Gary Foreman and Darryl George saw off the Ashford League Division Four side, and only some good goalkeeping from the visitors stopper and some poor finishing by the home side denied Victoria winning the game by a much heavier margin.

Vics manager Ryan Mills made several changes to the side that beat Shadoxhurst the previous week including recalling Josh Hatcher, Ryan Martin and Darren Patterson to the starting XI after the trio only made the bench last week. Mark Wallis, Tony Mason and Mark Rutland made way while Mills continued to pick himself in goal ahead of Benn Phillips. New signing Nasser Sulaiman finally made his club debut after being an unused substitute last week when he came off the bench early in the second-half.

Gary Foreman opened the scoring after 11 minutes when the former Prince Albert legend picked up a loose ball outside the Brabourne penalty area after some good work from Wayne Cleave and blasted home confidently from 18-yards to notch his second goal of the season and in successive fixtures. And it was 2-0 after half-an-hour when the in-form Darryl George chased a lobbed pass from Luke Hendry down the pitch before smashing the ball past Brabourne’s goalkeeper into the back of the net after a strong run.

And that’s the way the scoring finished as the Vics failed to find a way to add to their goal tally, but managed to comfortably see out the game to progress in the competition and now meet Holtwood Rangers in the first round proper next month.

Ryan Mills 7, Luke Hendry 8, Andy Jones 8, Ryan Martin 8, Adam George 8, Josh Hatcher 8, Shane Jupp 7 (sub- Nasser Sulaiman 7), Gary Foreman 8, Darren Patterson 8, Darryl George 9, Wayne Cleave 7 (sub- Benn Phillips 5).

Darryl George

Ashford Victoria really turned on the style on Sunday morning at Hornash Lane as they thumped early season pace setters Shadoxhurst 5-1 to move up to fourth in the Division Three table. Five different Victoria players got on the score sheet including Shane Jupp, Darryl George, Gary Foreman, Wayne Cleave and substitute Josh Hatcher as the Vics recovered from going a goal behind in the first-half to record their first victory of the season after drawing with Burton Grove in last weeks curtain raiser.

Victoria handed a first competitive start to former Ashford Town youngster Mark Wallis, and the hard-working and influential 21-year-old was outstanding alongside skipper Andy Jones in the heart of the Victoria midfield, going on to win the man of the match award despite having to leave the pitch in the 83^rd minute with a bruised rib. Even though Wallis was acknowledged with man of the match, forward Wayne Cleave again stood out upfront on his own, working his socks off for his team, and also grabbed his third goal of the season in the process.

Elsewhere in the Vics line-up, player-manager Ryan Mills replaced Benn Phillips between the posts for his usual cameo appearance against Shadoxhurst, while Luke Hendry came in for Ryan Martin at right-back, although Martin did eventually manage to get onto the field as a second-half sub to record his 46^th competitive career appearance, a new club record. Tony Mason, Mark Rutland and Adam George completed the defence with Shane Jupp, Gary Foreman and Darryl George playing ahead of Jones and Wallis in midfield with Cleave upfront. New signing Nasser Sulaiman was named as one of four substitutes alongside Martin, Josh Hatcher and Darren Patterson.

The game got underway at the expected fast pace as both sides looked keen to score the games first goal, and Shadoxhurst’s midfield duo of Sean Gibbs and Billy Rice looked strong early on as the hosts played the ball around the middle of the park well looking for an opening. Shadoxhurst’s new goalkeeper Dan Noden, once of Ashford Town and Bromley Green, was the first ‘keeper to be tested as he easily rushed off his line to catch a Shane Jupp in-swinging free-kick before saving well from a Wayne Cleave effort that was shot straight at him. Then Shadoxhurst got their first attempt on goal soon after as Gary Gibbs cut inside and fired a decent shot at goal that was well tipped around the post by Victoria’s Ryan Mills despite a wicked deflection off of defender Mark Rutland.

After an even first twenty minutes with both sides enjoying spells of possession, it was the home side who opened the scoring as former Victoria trialist Kirk Howard pounced on a clever knock-down from former Vics forward Stuart Prior to tap the ball past Mills into the back of the net. It was another set-piece goal for the villagers against Victoria from Sean Gibbs chipped delivery, and Victoria were again punished for failing to deal with the second ball.

But Shadoxhurst’s lead didn’t last too long as the visitors levelled the scores in the 28^th minute thanks to a brilliant Shane Jupp effort. Adam George had previously been causing plenty of problems with his enormous long throws, and his efforts paid off as his latest missile launch flew over the heads of nearly everyone to fall at the feet of Jupp who brilliantly looped the ball over Noden and into the home sides goal to equalise in style. And in another rare route-one attack, Victoria took the lead for the first time ten minutes later as the hard-working Darryl George gambled on Ryan Mills’ enormous drop kick that bounced over the Shadoxhurst defence and the young forward made no mistake slotting the ball home after a neat touch to control the ball first.

Going into the second-half, Victoria knew that they needed another goal to open up a more comfortable lead to build their already growing confidence, and grabbed their third score of the morning within thirty-seconds of the restart to move into a 3-1 lead. Darryl George received the ball from Wallis after Mills’ quickly taken goal-kick, and the speedy forward left the Shadoxhurst right-back for dead bursting down the right before pulling the ball back into the fast approaching run of Gary Foreman, and the former Prince Albert legend made no mistake in side-footing the ball beyond Noden from 8-yards on 46 minutes.

Victoria made it 4-1 and virtually guaranteed the full three points as Wayne Cleave finished off a very good team move in the 57^th minute. Andy Jones played in Shane Jupp down the right-hand side and the talented former Bliby star cut inside before playing the perfect pass to Darryl George who was keen to continue torturing the home side. George again beat two defenders on a mazy run before crossing from the left to the unmarked Cleave, and the in-form big forward chested the ball to steady himself before unleashing an unstoppable volley that flew into the Shadoxhurst net. And Victoria made sure of the victory late on as Josh Hatcher evaded his marker to volley home from Foreman’s perfectly accurate free-kick to score the fifth goal and his first for the club in the 82^nd minute.

Victoria saw out the game with just ten men after Wallis’ rib injury having used all three of their substitutes, and fully deserved the victory after an excellent all round display.

Ryan Mills (8) Fully confident performance between the sticks, although he hardly had much to do. Did pull off a decent save in the first-half, and set-up Victoria’s second goal with a huge punt up field. Came off his line well to mop up several crosses and long balls over the top.

Luke Hendry (8) Back to his best after a shaky performance the previous week. Surprisingly won everything in the air against James Matthews and really got stuck in at the back with some brave challenges and headed clearances. Taken off as a precaution with a foot injury.

Adam George (9) An awesome display at left-back both defensively and offensively. Really caused problems for Shadoxhurst with his long throw-ins and assisted the Vics first goal setting up Jupp. Almost scored himself late on, but Noden pushed his decent effort out for a corner.

Andy Jones (8) Brave and hard-working performance from the skipper who battled brilliantly for the whole 90 minutes despite his injury problems. Sat deep to mop up the loose balls in midfield and cleared his lines well. Communication was very important too and led his side to a brilliant victory.

Tony Mason (9) Really stood out at the back and was a rock in the Victoria defence. Won everything in the air and put his foot into the tackle when needed and the left-footed defender will be sorely missed in the next two fixtures.

Mark Rutland (8) Recovered brilliantly from a full-on tackle from Billy Rice to see his side to victory and didn’t put a foot wrong all game at the back. Stepped up every time to perfection to intercept anything near to him.

Shane Jupp (8) Run himself into the ground with his non-stop running up and down the right of the midfield and got his reward chipping in the equaliser for his first competitive goal of the season. Real pest to the Shadoxhurst defence with his passing and crossing range.

Mark Wallis (9) Man of the match. Not a bad start to his Victoria career as along with Jones he conducted the victory in the middle of the field. Didn’t seem at all intimidated by the physical presence of Billy Rice in midfield and won virtually every header he went up for.

Gary Foreman (8) Shadoxhurst found it hard to cope with the skilful forward as he sat deep off of Cleave and he managed to get on the score sheet with the third goal at the start of the second-half. Was the victim of several frustrated fouls by the home side and crossed brilliantly to set-up Hatcher’s late goal.

Wayne Cleave (9) Faultless display by the big man who proved more than a handful for the home side. Took his goal beautifully and was kicked from pillar to post as he battled away on his own up front. Real menace at set-pieces, especially getting on the end of Adam George’s long throws.

Darryl George (9) Scored one and had a hand in two more goals as the speedy winger caused chaos out on the left getting involved in virtually everything going forward for Victoria. Really turned on the style in the second-half with some brilliant fast-paced runs and crosses.

Ryan Martin (7) Came on for the injured Luke Hendry at right-back and really did well to adjust to the pace of the game on his introduction. Continued where Hendry had left off by keeping the usually dangerous Matthews quiet.

Josh Hatcher (7) Late replacement for the exhausted Jupp on the right of the five-man midfield and showed his potential with some neat touches and strong runs. Scored the fifth and final goal with a brilliant volley and really looks like the find of the summer.

Darren Patterson (7) Replaced Foreman with just 15 minutes to go and didn’t disappoint as he showed his skill with some neat touches late on. Unlucky not to make the starting XI this week, but took the opportunity well to impress coming off the bench again.

Nasser Sulaiman (-) Not Used.

Ashford Victoria kicked off their debut season in Division Three football with an entertaining 4-4 draw with Burton Grove, but will look back on the fixture as two-points dropped rather than one-point gained after throwing away a two-goal lead on no less than three occasions during the game. Two goals apiece from debutant Adam George and man of the match Wayne Cleave looked to have sealed the three points at the half-time break, but Burton Grove hit back in the second period with two further goals after falling 4-2 down to draw level and move up to third in the table.

Victoria gave competitive debuts to four new players including goalkeeper Benn Phillips, left-back Adam George, and midfielders Josh Hatcher and Gary Foreman but had to do without fellow new signing Mark Wallis who was unavailable for the game. Tony Mason again continued alongside Mark Rutland at centre-back for the Vics while Ryan Martin just got the nod over Luke Hendry at right-back.

The game amazingly started with a handful of goals inside the first eleven minutes as Victoria went into an early 3-2 lead in what can only be described as ‘basketball-style’ end-to-end football. Adam George brilliantly volleyed home the opener in just the third minute from Shane Jupp’s out-swinging corner before striker Wayne Cleave doubled Victoria’s lead two-minutes later after latching onto Josh Hatcher’s through-ball and coolly slotting the ball home in the bottom left-hand corner of the net.

Grove then immediately hit back to make it 2-1 through James Ross, despite Victoria’s protests that the forward had fouled Vics ‘keeper Benn Phillips in doing so. Vinny Day’s strong run down the left-hand side saw him get past Victoria’s Ryan Martin before whipping in a delightful cross that looked like being well held by Phillips, but Ross’ presence seemed to loose Phillips’ balance and Ross met the ball pushing the ball into the back of the net off of the ‘keepers hands. But Victoria regained their two-goal lead again on 9 minutes, again through defender Adam George, with a splendid half volley from 20-yards.

George picked up a loose ball on the halfway line and skipped past two players before sprinting to the ball and unleashing a well hit left-foot strike past Burton Grove goalkeeper James Rand who was easily beaten. And Wayne Cleave almost added his second and Victoria’s fourth soon after but his cleverly worked effort could only rebound back off of the upright after some good work from Gary Foreman.

Burton Grove pulled another goal back on 11 minutes thanks to a decent Lee Crumbie effort after some good build up play by the away side. Then Victoria did eventually get their fourth goal after several missed opportunities, through Cleave again, as the big forward got a touch on skipper Andy Jones’ long ball over the top. Cleave gambled as the ball bounced over the ‘keepers head and poked the ball home from close range under pressure from two chasing Grove defenders to put the Vics in control at 4-2 at the interval.

Despite dictating the control of the play of the opening stages of the second-half, Victoria couldn’t add to their goal tally and several players missed the target with good shooting opportunities. Shane Jupp fired two free-kicks wide of the goal before Jones, Cleave and Foreman all wildly fired over the bar in quick succession. And Victoria’s poor shooting cost them dearly as the visitors grabbed two further goals in a six minute period to level the scores and win a very important point.

First Dean Metcalfe scored the goal of the game as his 20-yard strike swerved into the back of the net on 55 minutes before substitute Nick Wilczek grabbed the equaliser in the 61^st minute lapping up on the rebound after Phillips’ decent save from Ross to tap home unchallenged.

Ashford Victoria: Benn Phillips, Ryan Martin (sub- Luke Hendry), Adam George, Andy Jones, Tony Mason, Mark Rutland, Shane Jupp, Gary Foreman (sub- Ryan Mills), Josh Hatcher, Wayne Cleave, Darryl George (sub- Darren Patterson).

Burton Grove: James Rand, Andy Perham, Rene Tyn (sub- Simon Edwards), Lee Crumbie, Alan Huxley, Mitchell Woods, John Honey, Sean Floyd, James Ross, Dean Metcalfe, Vinny Day (sub- Nick Wilczek).

Man of the Match: Wayne Cleave (Ashford Victoria)