Ashford 7 Dartfordians 20
Missed opportunities cost Ashford the chance to cause an upset as they were narrowly beaten by Kent 1 leaders Dartfordians at the weekend.
Dai Fussell’s side went into the game full of confidence after an impressive display in their 26-23 win against Sheppey in their last outing. Despite Dartfordains boasting a record of just one defeat from 17 games, Ashford managed to worry their high-flying opponents on a number of occasions.
However, after dominating the early exchanges it was Dartfordians who opened the scoring with a try. It didn’t take long for Ashford to fight back and they levelled the scores with a well-worked try on 25 minutes. JJ Murray’s cross-field kick was gathered by brother Liam, who ran in unopposed. JJ Murray added the extras.
Despite opportunities from both sides to add to the score they entered the interval locked together at 7-7.
The second-half proved to be a frustrating one for Ashford as they had several opportunities to score, but failed to make the most of them.
Further disappointment followed when Dartfordians breached the Ashford defence twice, scoring two tries which proved enough to win the game.
Head coach Fussell was left frustrated after dominating the majority of the game, but was pleased with the endeavour shown from his young side. The result means Ashford drop to eighth in the Kent 1 league table.
He said: “We had about 80 per cent of the possession and the territory, but we just could score when we needed to. A couple of mistakes cost us in the second-half as Dartfordians showed why they are top of the league. They took their opportunities and kicked well. I cannot fault the effort and commitment from the boys they did very well and there are a lot of positives I can take from the game.”
Ashford have a break from Kent 1 action this Saturday, when they take on Folkestone in a friendly.
POSTED: 08/03/2010 16:35:58
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