Ashfield F & A C 10 Whitehills F C 0 , Saracen Park, Glasgow. Kick-Off 2pm.

Ashfield welcomed Aberdeenshire Team Whitehills F C to Saracen Park this afternoon and sported an amended strip of White tops and Black Shorts to avoid clashing with the Red and White Hoops of the Northerners. A cold crisp day greeted both teams and the `field made their intentions clear from `the off` bombarding the visitors with the Whitehills keeper producing a superb save in the 2nd Minute, palming Martin Gault`s blistering drive onto the crossbar after excellent wing play by Alistair Martin. Whitehills were struggling to hold onto the ball in Midfield and Ashfield were stretching them with Alistair Martin & Gordon Passmore on their respective wings. Darren O`Donnell was looking lively and it came as no surprise that the Ashfield Centre forward was instrumental in Ashfield going ahead in the 12th minute, delivering a delighful weighted cross from the right which was met by Alistair Martin who bulleted his header into the roof of the net to put the `field 1-0 up. Ashfield 1 Whitehills 0.

Whitehills were a big team and Ashfield were keen to keep the `ball on the carpet` and they were doing this well with the Midfield of Cairley and Gault delivering telling passes. It came as no surprise that the `field increased their lead in the 17th Minute after excellent play on the right resulted in the ball being headed across goal by Ali Martin for Craig Smith to divert the ball into the net. Ashfield 2 Whitehills 0.
Ashfield could sense that they could make the game `safe` and piled forward at every opportunity with Mark Thomson pinging the ball all over the park. It looked like No 3 after the Ashfield left back Sean Carberry charged forward with his final drive narrowly missing the post to the relief of the Whitehills keeper who was having an excellent match. However in the 25th Minute the `field got their all important third goal after a lovely move on the right involving O`Donnell and Passmore resulting in the cross being headed across the Whitehills keeper and into the corner of the net by Martin Gault. Ashfield 3 Whitehills 0.

Ian MacKay in the Ashfield goal had been a virtual spectator as his defence had been well marshalled by Thomson, Reilly & Murphy. Ashfield increased their lead shortly before half time and the build up to this goal was magnificent. Ali Martin weaved in and out on the left wing and his cut back from the bye line was driven into the net by Craig Smith to put the `field 4-0 up. Ashfield 4 Whitehills 0.

Two minutes later it looked like Darren O`Donnell had opened his account for the afternoon, however his delicate chip came off the post and was cleared to safety. The danger was only short-lived and again the ball was played across goal for Craig Smith to finish off and complete his hat-trick. Ashfield 5 Whitehills 0. Ashfield were disappointed to hear the Half-Time whistle as they had been in rampant form towards the end of the half.


HALF TIME:- ASHFIELD 5 WHITEHILLS F C 0

Referee McCarthy blew for the start of the Second Half and it was clear the the Aberdeenshire Team had re-organised and were making life difficult for the `field. MacKay in the Ashfield goal had to look alert on a couple of occasions, however as the half wore on Ashfield started to take control again with Gordon Passmore and Alistair Martin playing well. Ashfield increased their lead midway through the Second Half after the ball was delivered into the box by Passmore, the Whitehills No 2 appeared to handle the ball before Martin lashed the ball into the net. The Referee had blown his whistle before Ali Martin had finished so the right back was given his marching orders and the `field were awarded a penalty. Martin did his usual accurate job from the spot for his 15th goal of the Season. A remarkable achievement for the winger. Ashfield 6 Whitehills 0.

This had the effect of opening the floodgates and shortly afterwards the `field were `7 up`. Again a lovely floated ball was delivered from the left to the far post where on an onrushing Gordon Passmore cushioned the ball past the keeper for his first goal of the season. Ashfield 7 Whitehills 0.

Tony Chalmers replaced Hat-trick hero Craig Smith and as he did at Irvine Vics two weeks ago made an immediate impact picking the ball up at the edge of the box weaving past a couple of defenders and despatching a left foot drive into the top right hand corner of the net. A brilliant finish! Ashfield 8 Whitehills 0.
Darren O`Donnell who had been instrumental in many of the Ashfield goals was keen to get himself on the scoresheet however was constantly denied by the Whitehills keeper. In the 82nd Minute Ashfield increased their lead further when Ali Martin raced into the box laying the ball into the path of Tony Chalmers and the striker drove the ball low and hard into the net. Ashfield 9 Whitehills 0.

Could Ashfield emulate their record score in this competition (10-0 v Scone Thistle - 1990/91 season and 10-0 v Whitletts Vics - 1952/53 Season) and the short answer was `yes` and it was Darren O`Donnell`s turn to score after the ball was played to him across the face of the goal with his shot going in off the underside of the bar. Ashfield 10 Whitehills 0. The Referee brought proceedings to an end shortly after and it had been an awesome performance from the `field. It was hard going for Whitehills who tried hard against the Ashfield onslaught and we wish them well for the remainder of the Season.


FULL TIME:- ASHFIELD 10 WHITEHILLS F C 0


Man of the Match:- Many many contenders for this week`s award with Craig Smith scoring a Hat-Trick & Darren O`Donnell producing an excellent performance, however Alistair Martin just oozed class throughout the 90 Minutes and scored two goals into the bargain.

Attendance:- 35

Photographs by:- Inga, more pictures of this game can be seen on my Gallery page on the following link: Ashfield v Whitehills Gallery Pics