Nuts and Bolts Can't Hold It Together at Croydon Athletic

 

Must be one of the better programmes at this level

Hopperational Details
Date & Venue	Saturday 19 September 2026 at The Mayfield Stadium
Result	AFC Croydon Athletic 3 Ashford United 1
Competition	Isthmian League Division One South-East (Step 4)
Hopstats	Ground #821 on the lifetime list and I’m here for non-random pragmatic reasons today. This is my closest unvisited ground in Steps 2-4 and I let the train (and tram) take the strain.
Context
8th entertains 12th though the three-point difference comes from one game more, so the two sides have a similar league record so far. In nicknames, this is The Rams v The Nuts and Bolts.
Match Report
It was a tetchy start. An Ashford player stayed down for a full minute after a tackle but the referee allowed play to continue. His decision was vindicated when the player needed no treatment and was soon running around again, but a confrontational tone had been set. The atmosphere soured even more for the away team when a straight red card was shown to Sam Hasler for a mistimed lunge with only five minutes gone. However, United took the lead from the penalty spot after 15 minutes. Louis Collins was body-checked in a one-on-one situation by the onrushing home keeper Amadou Tangara, who escaped with a yellow card, moving the ref another few places down the Ashford Christmas card list. Collins did the honours himself from the kick.   Tangara goes left, Collins goes down the middle. 0-1. Croydon continued with their patient buildup play and were level five minutes later. Greg Cundle was able to take a touch and send a low shot into the bottom right-hand corner. Good finish. In the remainder of the first half, Croydon struggled to make the extra player count. They kept possession well but players just seemed more comfortable with the easy recycling option. Ashford had a good chance of their own on the break, Collins shooting just wide. Then, just before the break, Croydon’s Cian McCarthy led with his elbow in an aerial challenge. It was a yellow card, and he’d already picked one up a few minutes earlier so out came the red to follow. It would be 10 v 10 in the second half. I don’t have too many notes from the next 30 minutes. For my money, Ashford were slightly more likely to score. They hit the post once and had several other half-chances, including a backheel attempt that didn’t fool Tangara. The result was sealed with two home goals in quick succession that took the wind out of any Ashford sails. Josh Williams showed perseverance on the left flank and put a good cross on to the head of David Boateng who couldn’t miss. It was Croydon’s first real chance of the second half, on 76 minutes. Then almost immediately Williams used his strength to win the ball from a defender and he kept his composure to score and secure the points. So, an odd game, not as comfortable as a 3-1 scoreline might suggest, and a fair afternoon’s entertainment for this passing neutral.
So What?
Croydon Athletic are up to 5th, Ashford United down to 14th but it’s still that part of the season when some clubs have played fewer matches than others due to the impact of the FA Cup and FA Trophy precedence.
Pre-match Entertainment
Getting lost in Croydon Cemetery! Any future hoppers are advised to research the route carefully, especially for an evening kickoff. I made the mistake of trusting Google Maps (normally reliable to be fair). Whatever you do, don’t take the tram from East Croydon to Therapia Avenue and walk through Croydon Cemetery like I did. There is no proper entry to the ground by that route, just a teasing view of the turnstiles through a 2m metal fence. I ended up with a 40-minute detour. A walk of about 20-25 minutes is better done by taking the 60 or 109 bus from Streatham station, and that’s how I got home after the game. There may well be other reasonable routes, but plan yours in advance. It’s a longish walk down a single-track gravel road for the last part of the route. The photo below is where I'd pitched up before doubling back - and from the state of the fence maybe I'm not the first, but the image does not really show how steep that bank is!   Entrance to the ground as per Google Maps!
Pix
Ashford United in unambiguous (see below) Green.
Goalkeeper Top Colour Stats Update
The background to this, and the latest keeper top colour league table, is here on this dedicated page. Today, I had to think very hard about classifying the home keeper (Amadou Tangara). In the end I decided that Sage has to go with Green but this is a definite outlier in the keeper top colour world. The away keeper (Jordan Gilmon) lined up in pale Blue. I've put this (Sage?) in the Green group. No appeals allowed. Pre-match Prediction based on Keeper Top Colour: Prediction: Home Win Was the prediction correct? Yes % of correct predictions so far 48% (109 from 228)
What Next?
@ModusHRandom on Twitter will reveal my next game as I do not yet have a definite plan. I might try to sneak another game in today before I take in two Women’s Champions League group stage games (Arsenal and Chelsea) in midweek.

 

Quality Hopping in Kent

Hopperational details
Date & Venue	Monday 1 January 2018 at Shepherds Neame Stadium, Salters Lane
Result	Faversham Town 1 Ashford United 1
Competition	Isthmian Division One South (Step 4)
Hopstats	Ground 629 on the lifetime list, and I am here indirectly because of Jay Rodriguez of West Bromwich Albion.  He scored a controversial late penalty against Arsenal at the Hawthorns to send me to Sittingbourne.  All is explained in the previous blogpost, in which eleven possible destinations were linked alphabetically to the squad numbers of the Baggies’ goalscorers (or lack thereof).  It’s randomish.  However, the postponement of the Sittingbourne game just before my arrival on their car-park meant a fingers-crossed dash down the A2 to Salters Lane in Faversham.  The officials were testing the bounce, or should I say bloop, of the ball in the six-yard box as I walked in and secured a programme.  I was somewhat surprised, but very, very pleased, that the game was still on.
Context
Other than the fact that this was 18th v 23rd in the division, I knew nothing.
In one sentence
End-to-end entertainment for the passing neutral, and credit to both teams given the conditions underfoot.
So what?
The teams each go up one place in the table.
Match Report
Ashford did most of the early probing, but Faversham also looked ready to pounce on the break.  There was a noticeable physical difference – Ashford have some stereotypical “big lads” up front, whereas Faversham tended to be nimbler and pacier.  For the first 20 minutes or so, Ashford looked more likely to open the scoring but only forced Simon Overland into a few routine stops and saves. Then a turn and dipping shot just over by Faversham’s Ashley Miller reminded Ashford that they were in a game.  It was a cool finish by Liam King, who found himself with a lot of time and space in the box, that opened the scoring on 36 minutes.  It was somewhat against the run-of-play, and Faversham held on to the lead until the half-time interval. The second half maintained the entertainment level and the differences in style.  Visiting keeper Michael McEntegart made a superb save, flicking the ball up onto the woodwork to prevent a second goal.  On the hour mark, Overland was called into action again with a low save from a powerful break. The equaliser was probably deserved on balance and it was poked into the roof of the net from close range by Andrew Dalhouse.  At that point I wondered whether Faversham would fade away – but to be fair, exactly the opposite happened.  The last 20 minutes was gloriously end-to-end as both teams went for the winner.  Faversham will talk about two cynical fouls leading to direct free-kicks but no goals, and a couple of flying saves by McEntegart.  Ashford will point to a few attacking goalmouth scrambles of their own and the fact that they kept Overland working even in stoppage time. All this was much better than I could have expected when I first saw the state of the pitch, and I wish the unsung-hero club groundstaff all the best as they seek to get it ready and recovered for the next game of the year. Faversham Town 1 (King 36) Ashford United 1 (Dalhouse 73) Before After
Ground Pix
This is a ground in transition but still with plenty of old-school charm.  A new (part-completed?) changing-room and toilet block sits alongside the old one ready to be demolished.  A fair mix of terracing and seating with more than enough cover for a rainy day.
Match Pix
Faversham in white-and-black.
Goalkeeper Top Colour Stats
Today, Orange and Pink share the points, but no clean sheets, and no change in the rank order, which is now based on 129 games. Results so far: Based on conventional 3pts for a win, 1pt for a draw, but also -1pt for a goal conceded (GC) and +5pts for a clean sheet (CS).  Colours ranked on a points per game (PPG) basis. For new readers the odd .5 was caused by a shocking half-and-half shirt and the .1 was due to a substitute goalkeeper in a different colour.  The Fire Cracker colour was confirmed with the help of the social media team at Dulux UK, and it deserves to be last, trust me.  All of this arises from a comment attributed to Petr Cech that orange is the best colour for a goalkeeper because it changes the behaviour of other players around the box. P W D L GC CS Pts PPG Red 9.0 4.0 1.0 4.0 9.0 3.0 19.0 2.111 Maroon 4.0 2.0 1.0 1.0 6.0 1.0 6.0 1.500 Blue 30.1 12.0 6.0 12.1 47.0 10.0 45.0 1.495 Grey 42.5 20.0 9.0 13.5 70.5 11.0 53.5 1.259 Green 69.0 34.0 9.0 26.0 117.0 17.0 79.0 1.145 Orange 28.5 9.0 6.0 13.5 46.5 5.0 11.5 0.404 Purple 11.0 5.0 2.0 4.0 25.0 2.0 2.0 0.182 Radioactive Bile 13.0 6.0 0.0 7.0 26.0 2.0 2.0 0.154 Yellow 28.0 8.0 6.0 14.0 58.0 5.0 -3.0 -0.107 Pink 15.0 4.0 5.0 6.0 30.0 1.0 -8.0 -0.533 Black 5.0 1.0 3.0 1.0 14.0 0.0 -8.0 -1.600 White 1.9 0.0 0.0 1.9 4.0 0.0 -4.0 -2.105 Fire Cracker 1.0 0.0 0.0 1.0 4.0 0.0 -4.0 -4.000
What Next?
Follow @GrahamYapp on Twitter for details!  I now feel a moral obligation to go to Sittingbourne sooner rather than later, and my last four Step 3 destinations were listed at the end of the last blogpost.  Thanks, as ever, for your interest.