Cheltenham Saracens Reserves1 v 2 Ardley United Reserves - 7th November
FTL Futbol Hellenic League Reserve Division One

Ardley travelled to Cheltenham on Saturday and had Ryan Watts to thank for coming away with all three points in a hard fought 2-1 victory.

Cheltenham settled into the heavy conditions quicker than Ardley as they played a direct form of football, attempting to catch the Ardley back four out. Ardley, on the other hand, tried to play their usual slick game but struggled on a difficult playing surface.

With the Ardley defence playing high up the pitch, they were soon exposed to the long ball and Cheltenham missed a number of chances and had a goal disallowed.

Despite some frailties at the back, Ardley were still a force to contend with going forward and carved out a number of good chances but could not convert any of them.

As the half time whistle sounded both teams went in at 0-0, eager to improve on their first half performances.
Cheltenham would soon rue their profligacy in front of goal as Ardley came out strongly after the break. With a raise in their tempo and a settling of the defence, Ardley pressed forward and began to create a number of chances through the excellent work of Alex and Mark McGrogan.

Soon enough Ardley took the lead through a quick break that saw Alex break free from a static Cheltenham back four and slide the ball past the onrushing keeper.

Much to Ardley’s jubilation they soon extended their lead when great work by Jason Prpa and Mark McGrogan allowed Aaron Monk to break free and cheekily nutmeg the keeper from a very tight angle. Cheltenham didn’t give up the fight though and pushed Ardley all the way to the final whistle. Despite looking much more assured at the back a corner saw Ryan Watts get involved in a fracas with a Cheltenham player and concede a penalty. Watts soon made amends though with a solid save that denied Cheltenham a goal. Watts’ heroics were short-lived though when a fine twenty yard strike finally found the back of the Ardley net and set up a nervy last ten minutes.

Cheltenham continued to press and were soon awarded another penalty after Watts was adjudged to have illegally brought down a Cheltenham striker. The penalty strike seemed destined for the right hand top corner but somehow Watts got a strong, diving hand onto the ball and clawed it away to the rapturous delight of the Ardley side.
This final blown chance for Cheltenham to salvage a result took the wind right out of their sails and allowed Ardley to claim all three points away from home.

Carterton Town Reserves0 v 5 Ardley United Reserves - 31st October
Chairmans Reserve Challenge Cup

Ardley travelled to Carteton Town on Saturday for the opening round of the Chairman’s Reserve Challenge Cup and romped home in a 5-0 victory.

Ardley started in a positive fashion, trying to get the ball down on the lovely Carteton pitch and playing their slick passing game.  Ardley broke the deadlock after Liam Godin baited a penalty from the Carteton keeper after breaking away from the back four. Godin stepped up himself and needed two bites at the cherry to finally put the ball into the back of the net.
Carteton tried gamely to claw themselves back into the match but were met by a resilient back four and the unflappable Ryan Watts.

Whilst Carteton huffed and puffed to get themselves back into contention they left themselves terribly exposed at the back. Another threaded pass saw Godin scamper away and double Ardley’s advantage by slotting a low drive past the despairing reaches of the Carteton keeper.

Ardley continued to probe the Carteton defence and soon enough added a third and allowed Godin to complete his hat-trick. A clever through ball from Dan Monk caught the Carteton back four square and allowed Godin to smash the ball into the net.
After the half time whistle Ardley continued to look the more threatening side going forward as they soaked up the Carteton pressure quite comfortably. One such move involving Aaron and Dan Monk saw the ball squared to Mark Wickens for the simplest of tap-ins to extend the Ardley lead to four goals.

Ardley weren’t finished their though as Godin capped off a scintillating performance by scoring the pick of his goals. After picking the ball up from a breakaway he went on a mazy dribble ghosting past defenders and thumping the ball past the keeper, sealing a fantastic cup victory for Ardley.

Henley Town Reserves1 v 1 Ardley United Reserves - 27th October
FTL Futbol Hellenic League Reserve Division One

Ardley made the long trip to high flying Henley on Tuesday night and came away with a share of the spoils in a 1-1 draw.
Henley started brightly, playing confidently and putting the Ardley team under pressure. However, for all of Henley’s fine touches and pace up front they could not break down a stubborn Ardley back four.

As the half progressed Ardley began to exert some of their own pressure, winning a succession of corners but only creating half chances through the likes of Joe Ewers and Mark Wickens.

Despite getting themselves back into the match Henley took the lead on the half hour mark with a long range effort that flew into the bottom corner of the net.

As the half time whistle sounded, Henley’s early lead was justified after creating the clearer chances but Ardley could be pleased with their work rate and resilience.

The second half saw Ardley come flying out of the traps and really pressurise the Henley side; not allowing them any time on the ball. The superb work of Mark McGrogan was giving Henley real difficulties at the back and it was his run that created the equaliser. After breaking from the clutches of the Henley back four he was dragged down by the keeper and won a deserved penalty. McGrogan coolly claimed responsibility and thumped the penalty down the middle of the goal to Ardley’s delight.
Henley were rattled by this turn of events and Ardley tried to push for the winning goal, going close through McGrogan once again.

Henley were by no means out of the contest though and began to show glimpses of their evident quality. After slipping through the Ardley back four on one particular occasion, a fine tackle by Nick Smith seemed to snuff out the danger. To the astonishment of the Ardley defence a penalty was awarded to Henley. After the fierce Ardley protestations the Henley striker stepped up to take the penalty but was denied by a superb save from Ryan Watts.

As the game progressed Henley continued to push to try and take all three points but Ardley put in a gargantuan effort and snuffed out every Henley attack.

Ardley can be delighted to have taken a very hard fought point against the league leaders in a gripping encounter at Henley.

Carterton Reserves v Ardley United Reserves

Ardley walked away with all three points this Saturday in a 2-1 victory at Carterton, in a contest that was high in graft but low in real quality.

In the stifling conditions Ardley tentatively worked their way into the game, reacting to the unusual 4-3-3 formation.  The heat seemed to be having a soporific effect on Ardley’s normally high tempo game but in patches they did manage to play some nice, flowing football. With ten minutes gone on the clock, Ardley struck their first blow. A free-kick lobbed into the box by Lee Prpa was powered home by Mark Wickens’ head.

Despite the goal, Ardley continued to labour in the heat and Carterton began to probe the Ardley defence through the direct long ball for a good period of the first half. However, Ardley dealt them a sucker punch when they doubled their lead late in the first half.

In the best move of the match, lovely midfield build up by Ardley culminated in Jason Prpa playing a delightful floated pass to Lee Prpa, who cut inside his marker and slid the ball past the keeper. Buoyed by the goal, Ardley pressed for the killer third goal before the end of the first half but just couldn’t convert some excellent chances.

The second half was an equally scrappy affair, punctuated by moments of quality. A rampaging run forward by Mark Wickens saw him hit the bar and not quite bury the game beyond the hard working Carterton team. Carterton created some chances and eventually pulled one back to set up a nervy last ten minutes as their striker stabbed a low cross past Ryan Watts.

Ardley, to their credit, worked hard to close the space down around the pitch and snuffed out any further threat from Carterton to take all three points.

Ardley United Reserves v Swindon Supermarine Reserves

Ardley United Reserves ran out 4-1 winners on Saturday in an impressive display of passing football and dogged determinism against Swindon Supermarine Reserves.

Both sides competed combatively in the opening period of the game in an attempt to wrest control of possession. As the minutes ticked by, Ardley began to string their passing game together against Supermarines more direct form of the game. The detente was broken by debutant Ben Williams, who curled a brilliant free-kick into the bottom corner of the net.

Ardley buoyed by the goal quickly grabbed two more in a ten minute blitz that stunned Supermarine. Ardley’s second was truly a delight; a great passage of midfield play saw the ball zipped into the feet of Tom Foley who cleverly disguised a pass onto Jason Prpa who lofted the ball over the keeper and into the far corner of the net.

Ardley’s third came courtesy of Mark Wickens’ head. A whipped in free kick from Ben Williams saw Wickens climb higher than his marker and power the ball into the top corner from the edge of the box.

The only blot on Ardley’s first half was the sending off of Tom Foley for apparent violent conduct much to the surprise of his team mates.

Supermarine used the half time break to rally themselves and to exploit the one man advantage they now had.
Sure enough, Supermarine pushed hard to grab a goal and gain a foothold into the game. In the sixtieth minute their perseverance was rewarded when the solid back four was finally breached allowing the Supermarine left midfielder to slide the ball past Ryan Watts in goal.

Despite the goal, Supermarine failed to build upon the breakthrough as the dogged team display from Ardley, epitomised by the work rate of Liam Godin, saw them hamper Supermarine to long range efforts.

Such was the work rate from the effervescent Ardley midfield that Jason Prpa grabbed his second of the game when he slid the ball into the bottom corner of the net after latching onto the ball after a lovely series of passes.
Despite being reduced to ten men Ardley can be satisfied with a great team performance that saw them control the game and win in comfortable fashion.

Ardley United Reserves v Wantage Town Reserves

Ardley Reserves entertained a tough Wantage outfit on a scorching afternoon on Saturday. After suffering a poor start to their season, Ardley were chomping at the bit to make amends in their first home game of the season.
Wantage though were not willing to simply give Ardley the game and started brightly causing the home side some difficulties. However, as the game progressed Ardley began to take control and exerted their dominance through some lovely flowing football.

Ardley’s first goal though came courtesy of a defensive blunder. A long diagonal ball from Nick Smith tried to find the excellent run of Jason Prpa, whose pressure resulted in the centre back heading the ball past the onrushing keeper.
With the first goal under their belt, Ardley came alive. Their passing became slick and fluent; causing Wantage numerous problems. Shortly, Ardley’s second goal arrived courtesy of Jason Prpa. A quick Ardley break on the right flank saw Michael Hicks deliver an excellent ball into the Wantage box to find the run of Prpa who headed the ball past the clutches of the keeper.
Despite being pinned back, Wantage continued to battle hard. There perseverance paid off when a series of deflected attempts at tackling saw the ball bobble to the Wantage right midfielder who finished calmly.

Ardley responded in the best possible fashion by scything through the Wantage defence in a beautiful move that saw Liam Godin scamper free of the Wantage defence and power his strike into the back of the net.

Ardley finished the half 3-1 to the good but knew they would be facing a resurgent Wantage after the break.
Wantage were true to their word and threw everything at Ardley. Ryan Watts did superbly well against a number of strikes and Lee Prpa cleared a header from off the line. However, Ardley could not sustain the pressure indefinitely. A penalty was awarded after a breakaway and there was nothing Watts could do to stop the score-line being made 3-2.

The goal did nothing for Wantage though, as Ardley were spurred into action. Almost immediately a surging break down the Ardley right saw Jason Prpa cut the ball back to Joe Ewers on the edge of the box who smashed a scintillating strike into the top corner of the goal.

The goal seemed to take the wind out of the Wantage sails as Ardley pushed on to score two more goals.
The fifth saw a fortuitous flick from Tom Foley find Liam Godin who successfully completed his brace.