Jersey Bulls – 0
Ashford United – 2
Dixon 43′, Lockyer 90+1′
Attendance: 824
Player of the Match: Jack Lumsden
Jersey Bulls failed to finish 2025 on a high, coming up short to Ashford United in their final match this year.
“The result was probably a fair reflection of the game, they edged it and were better value than us for the win,” Manager Elliot Powell commented after the match.
“I think the fatigue kicked in a bit for us, as we’re a team that has to be 100% at it. Some of these teams are stronger and better than us, but we have engine and heart. We kept going right until the end, but maybe we were lacking a bit of that tonight.
“Ultimately, there wasn’t too much in it but we weren’t good enough, which is a little frustrating as I feel like, on our day, they’re a team we could be beating.”
Although Ashford United were first to kick off, the reds didn’t hesitate to show their intent early on, gaining possession and moving into the final third within the first three minutes of play.
The Caesareans had their chances early on to pull ahead, with Jack Lumsden’s shot sailing just over the bar at the tenth minute after collecting a neat through ball from Joe Kilshaw.
Chances kept coming the Bulls’ way throughout the opening 30 minutes, but they just couldn’t convert.
Chief of these had to be Luke Campbell’s opportunity from Jay Giles’ corner, seeing his header blocked before his subsequent shot suffering the same fate.
This inability to convert their chances came back to bite the Bulls, as Ashford United’s Jack Dixon produced a moment of wizardry in the 43rd minute, taking a clean touch before smashing a volley into the top left corner from outside the box to give the visitors a 1-0 lead in style at half-time.
Following the restart, it seemed the boys in red just couldn’t regain their grasp on the fixture, as nothing seemed to come together.
Chances didn’t provide themselves in their droves, but it was all Ashford United in the second half, with any attacking opportunities coming from their end.
The Caesareans were just about hanging in there to give themselves some hope of getting a result, but disaster struck in the first minute of stoppage time.
With goalkeeper Pierce Roche at the edge of the box, a wayward back pass from Luke Watson was intercepted by striker Gary Lockyer, who easily tapped the ball past Roche to then find the back of the net and double their lead.
That truly lay waste to the hosts’ hopes and completely killed any momentum they had left, seeing Ashford United come out on top at 2-0.
Jersey Bulls weren’t without challenges coming into the game, as Powell continued: “It’s a disappointing one to take, because it feels like a game that we really need to be winning if we’re pushing for those play-off spots, but I think it’s just a game too far for us.
“This month has been a really hectic period, and we’ve had our worst run of availability as a group. If we’re serious about getting out of this league, we can’t afford to have eight or nine players away for two/three weeks at a time. Of course I’m not asking everyone to share their calendars, but we definitely need a bit more coordination going forward.
“All these lads are volunteering their time, they’re not paid or anything so we can’t dictate when they go away, but I think there’s something there for us to look at and be a bit more coordinated and strategic as a group.”
With it being the last fixture of 2025, Powell was quick to give the team credit for their season so far, adding: “This league so far has been a big learning curve for us, but the lads deserve a fair bit of credit for how quickly they’ve adapted to this league.
“Given that we didn’t really have a preseason, as well as having no experience at this level, we’ve been learning on our feet and I think we’re doing a fairly good job of it.
“We need to start stringing a bit of consistency together, but no one can question how competitive we’ve been in Step 4 so far, and we’re certainly on track with our project.”
Jersey Bulls: Pierce Roche, Jack Lumsden, James Queree (C), Luke Campbell, Jay Giles, Luke Watson, Joe Kilshaw, Adam Trotter, Francis Lekimamati, Miguel Carvalho, Toby Ritzema. Substitutes: Fraser Barlow (for Ritzema, 45′), Casey Nixon (for Lekimamati, 55′), Stan Dunne (for Kilshaw, 71′), Sam Devy, Jamie Watling.
Ashford United: Harry Brooks, Miquel Scarlett, Joe Luke Lewis (C), William Moses, Noah Carney, Jack Dixon, Gary Lockyer, Louis Collins, Oli Bate, Barry Fuller, Samuel Hasler. Substitutes: Matt Bodkin, Alfie Wincott, Archie Burnett (for Hasler, 90′), Craig Stone, Kaelem Sobhee-Turner.
