Hartley Wintney exited the FA Trophy after a 2-1 defeat at Ashford United, writes Tyler House.
The Row were without four key players, and another enforced change from Tuesday saw first team coach Adam New come into defence in place of the injured George Winser.
Hosts Ashford started well but were shut out by Hartley’s centre back pairing of New and captain Liam Gavin.
The Row’s first chance arrived on 18 minutes when Alex MacAllister’s lob beat goalkeeper Mitchell Beeney, but clipped the outside of the post.
That opportunity came against the run of play, but Hartley then gained control of the match and, in the 33rd minute, another chance for MacAllister saw the striker unable to steer his effort on target.
Two minutes later, the Row missed a golden chance to take the lead. A good move started in defence with New before George Britton and Ellis Orsborn combined. The ball was deflected into the path of Charlie Postance in front of goal, but the striker’s shot was straight at Beeney, who saved.
Five minutes before half time, United midfielder Mikey Berry created space on the edge of the box, but the youngster put his shot just wide.
A fractious end to the half saw the hosts’ Gary Lockyer involved in an incident off the ball, but no further action was taken by the referee.
Ashford then took the lead just two minutes into the second half following a contentious decision. A tackle by Alex Merrifield was brought back for a foul after a long delay and, from the resulting free kick, Lockyer arrived at the far post to finish past Row goalkeeper Henry Poole.
Lockyer then added a second goal for the hosts in the 66th minute when he went through one-on-one with Poole and found the bottom corner.
The Row introduced three players from the bench including top goalscorer Aderi Dede, with 17-year-old Ellis Snell also on for his first team debut.
On 80 minutes, Hartley halved the deficit when Reece Wylie played in Jack Penton, who squared the ball for Dede to finish into an empty net.
Just three minutes later, MacAllister could have equalised when he latched on to the perfect pass from Wylie, only to be denied by Beeney.
The Row went in search of an equaliser but when Snell linked up with Dede, a low ball across goal was somehow diverted wide of the post.
The hosts saw out five minutes of added time to progress and inflict just a third defeat of the season on the Row.
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