U13 Cougars - Ashford Town (Middx) Juniors U13 Colts

Ashford Town Colts U13 3–1 Woking Cougars U13

Cougars arrived at Ashford in confident mood and looked focused and composed in the pre-match warm-up on an excellent 3G surface on a cold but bright winter’s morning.

Unfortunately, the squad was disrupted late on. Ollie Whitlock was ruled out on Saturday evening with injury, and Rez Aslam felt discomfort behind his knee during the warm-up, meaning Zach Bantel started at centre forward with Rez, Bobby Murrell and Rory White beginning on the bench.

Despite this, Cougars started the game superbly. Playing with confidence and control, we dominated the early phases and were rewarded with a deserved opener. Johann Dingwall fed Logan Pollock in the inside-left channel, and Logan showed real quality — dropping his shoulder to cut inside onto his right before striking a well-placed low finish from the edge of the box into the keeper’s right corner. A top-class goal and a deserved 1–0 lead.

The game then turned on a difficult spell of injuries. Around the 16–17 minute mark, Archie Regan, who had started sharply and worked tirelessly both with and without the ball, pulled up with a knee issue and was forced off. Bobby Murrell came on into the left attacking midfield role. Just two minutes later, Oscar Cefai had to leave the field with back pain, prompting Dylan Bareham to drop into centre-back alongside Louie White, with Rory White entering midfield. Despite these setbacks and operating with limited options from the bench, Cougars continued to control the game well. Toby Littlecott was largely untroubled in goal, and Ashford offered little threat from open play. We were unfortunate not to extend our lead, with a couple of goalmouth scrambles and half-chances not quite falling our way.

Half-time arrived with Cougars deservedly 1–0 ahead. The boys were calm, composed and confident, and the message was clear: stay patient, control emotions, and continue playing our football — believing Ashford would grow frustrated as the game wore on. The second half began with Cougars still in control until the 42nd minute. A misplaced pass in the middle third was intercepted, allowing Ashford to transition quickly. The ball was worked into the right-hand channel where the Ashford striker was given too much time and space to cut inside and finish clinically. 1–1, and a real turning point.

Ashford’s confidence grew, while Cougars began to look nervous. We dropped deeper without the ball and rushed decisions in possession. From a corner shortly afterwards, we failed to clear our lines and Ashford capitalised — a looping header dropping over Toby into the net to make it 2–1. A tough blow.

With fatigue setting in and only one effective substitute available, the game became stretched. Cougars continued to battle, but another failure to clear our box resulted in a third goal, officially recorded as an own goal — though the Ashford forward was ready to tap in regardless.

As fatigue set in Ashford created more chances. Toby made several excellent saves and the woodwork came to our rescue more than once. The final whistle brought a disappointing 3–1 defeat — one that doesn’t fully reflect the quality, effort and control shown for the first 35–40 minutes. Injuries and disruption played a significant part, and whilst our fitness levels were not at the required level, there were many positives in our bravery on the ball, composure, and overall performance against a strong side.

We’ll reflect, reset and return stronger.