Ashton Prime 0-1 AFC Valour

After a mixed pre-season, the season curtain opener pitted The Numbers against long-term rivals and league favourites AFC Valour.

With new keeepr Gary Latter nursing a toe broken in the last friendly, The Numbers fittingly turned to Lewis Kerton who joined as an emergency signing minutes before kick-off.

Prime were still without several first-team regulars from last year, but were able to field a strong looking team, with the versatile Garside - impeccable during pre-season at Centre-Back - switching to left-back. Goldsmith climbed off his sick-bed to take his place in the heart of midfield alongside Rob Matthews who notched up his 47th Prime appearance.

Flamank and Walters provided the width, with Kneebone joining star-striker Excell up-front.

The game started very evenly with Prime battling away hard and biting into tackles. Valour themselves had been boosted by clinching the signing of 2 former Atcost players - but if they went into the game slightly complacent, then they were soon woken up by the battling Numbers.

Kneebone's pace and Excell's close control was proving to be a handful, while at the other end, Gilbert and Barker were coping expertly with the sporadic Valour forays forward, and Kerton's assured handling and calling spread confidence through the back four.

There were few chances of note in the first half. Prime's best moments came from Goldsmith's long throws which were picking out Excell and Kneebone with alarming regularity for the Valour defence.

At the other end, Prime's back four were largely untroubled with the midfield 4 working excellently with the industrious Walters running all day and Flamank seemingly growing in confidence as the half progressed. Matthews and Goldsmith were not at their most creative, but both were keeping Valour's dangerous midfielders quiet.

Kerton was forced into an excellent save on the half-hour mark as Valour's pacey new striker for once escaped Barker's shackles but he could not quite bend his effort beyond Kerton's outstretched hand.

Barker was then forced to hack clear under his own crossbar as Valour threatened.

Valour pushed forward in numbers before the break, forcing a flurry of corners, but all were repelled and Prime had held the league favourites for the first 45.

The Valour boss Chris Russell brought his boys into the dressing room for a half-time roasting as he acknowledged the fact that Prime were frustrating his East Peckham outfit.

They started the second half by spraying the ball around and playing with more intent, but a couple of clattering challenges from Goldsmith and Matthews seemed to shake them up and again they returned to their dis-jointed first-half form.

Flamank in particular was having a stormer and the Valour full back was having a really tough time keeping him under wraps.

Just before the hour mark, Prime began to threaten. First Matthews hit a drive from distance when the ball dropped in space in the midfield. Moments later Excell and Goldsmith linked up down the right and as he cut inside the full back, Goldsmith let fly with a speculative long range effort which drifted wide.

The exhausted skipper was replaced soon after by Smith-Foreman who adopted an unfamiliar central midfield role.

Valour sent on striker Rupert Brown as they became increasingly desperate to find a breakthrough.

Eventually Prime hearts were broken when a loose ball dropped to an unmarked striker who smashed home from point-blank range, leaving the excellent Kerton helpless.

Prime heads didn't drop though and Sankey and Barnham were sent on to inject fresh energy for the last 15 minutes, replacing the tiring Gilbert and the effervescent Flamank.

In the final minutes, Prime broke impressively and Barker found himself one on one with the last defender, whose cynical foul on the Prime defender amazingly did not even draw a booking from ref Bartholomew.

From the resultant free-kick Excell hit the wall and despite throwing everyone forward in stoppage time, Prime couldn't find the equaliser that their battling display arguably deserved.

Man of the Match: Flamank - A constant menace and full of running