IT TOOK yet another half-time dressing down from manager Geoff Butler to inspire Bashley's 2-1 preliminary round win over Ryman 1 rivals Ashford Town.

This time, the source of Butler's first-half frustration was his team's inability to turn territorial advantage into serious pressure.

He said: "Ashford made fleeting forays into our half, but we must have had 70 per cent of the play.

"Yet when we got into the final third of the field, we were nothing short of abysmal. Full marks to Danny Gibbons and Andy Culliford for getting into one-on-one positions, but their finishing was so poor that they didn't even extend the keeper.

"We didn't have a clue about how to get round the back of the Ashford defence and I told them at half-time that it wasn't good enough."

It took Bashley only 11 second-half minutes for the penny to drop when Gibbons flicked on defender Paul Gazzard's right-wing cross for Graeme Gee to tuck past the keeper. Ten minutes later Gibbons had a header cleared off the line from Dave Wakefield's corner and top scorer Richard Gillespie reacted first to bury the loose ball.

But, having got themselves into Butler's good books, the Foresters eased off in the closing stages and Barry Gardner punished them three minutes from time with a cool finish from the edge of the area.

"As soon as we think we're a good team, we become a bad one," sighed Butler, whose men head for Conference South outfit Hayes in the next round. But, with his financial hat on, he added: "I'm delighted we're through. We've got ourselves £1,000 and the share of another gate at least."