Ashford United took the lead just before half time and appeared to be coasting when two defensive blunders in the 83rd and 85th minute allowed Sittingbourne their passage into the second round, where they will meet the winners of the match Hythe Town v Margate which will be played later this month.

Ashford could have, indeed should have, taken the lead in the first minute.
A mix up in the Sittingbourne defence allowed Alex Akrofi a clear run on goal his first attempt quite tamely bounced off the goalkeepers legs and back into his path where his second attempt went to the right of the goal post.

In the 13th minute Tom Carlse produced one of his overlapping runs from defence, right to the Sittingbourne area, where his shot from 18 yards just cleared the crossbar.

Sittingbourne’s first meaningful attack came in the 25th minute when Jacob Russell was called on to save well from a snap shot by the ‘Brickies’ Casey Nolan Samuel.

Ashford took the lead in the 44th minute.
Some good cross field work saw the ball centred from the right and found Danny Parish unmarked on the far post. His header gave goalkeeper Bobby Mason no chance.

Half Time: Sittingbourne 0 Ashford United 1

The second half was quite even, with Sittingbourne pressing for an equaliser, but the Ashford defence were quite solid and allowed then little chance for goal attempts.
One attempt in the 70th minute was well saved by Jacob Russell.

As mentioned earlier the game seemed to be being played out until the final whistle when the blunders occurred.

Poor defending allowed Chris Hughes to equalise in the 83rd minute and JB Fisher to score, what turned out to be the winner in the 85th minute.

Ashford pressed for an equaliser in the time remaining and Noah Carney went close in the, so called, stoppage time. But it wasn’t to be.
Star Man – Danny Parish
Entertainment value **

One shining light though, was Adem Ramadan making an appearance, just under a week after his horrific injury, against Hythe Town.

Latest update from Adem, is that he may now not require surgery, after initial x-rays show that the bones are aligned.
Further x-rays, one this Wednesday, will determine if Adam will need to have his operation.
Fingers crossed that won’t be the case and the healing process is getting underway.