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Whyteleafe shared the points with Ashford, coming from behind to take a point in a game that they could and should have won, taking into account the number of chances created and playing for half an hour against ten men.
'Leafe took the game to Ashford in the early exchanges, but it was the visitors who took an early lead. Ashford won a corner which the Leafe defence were unable to clear away and after a scramble in the box, Laurence Harvey was on hand to score from close range in the sixth minute.
The home side however were back on level terms within two minutes. Danny Oakins sent Sam Butler clear and his cross into the path of Leon McDowell saw him in a one-on-one situation with keeper Darren Ibrahim. McDowell took the ball round him but appeared to have pushed it too far, but he pulled the ball back from the bye line and fired home into the bottom corner of the net.
Oakins found Jason Goodchild in the box in the 14th minute but his header was off target. Six minutes later Oakins again found Goodchild who laid the ball off to McDowell, whose shot hit the post.
Ashford retook the lead in the 21st minute when a penalty was awarded for holding. Mitchell Sherwood struck the penalty well, sending Robert O'Hara the wrong way.
At the other end, 'Leafe were aggrieved in the 29th minute when their claims for a penalty were waved away after a similar offence on Ryan Royston to that which had resulted in Ashford's penalty.
A minute later Leafe thought they had been awarded a penalty but the foul was judged to be inches outside the box. Butler found Fred Fleming at the far post from the free kick and he really should have score but failed to get a shot in. Sherwood then went on a run at the Whyteleafe defence and after playing a one-two with Mark Lovell, his shot brought a good save from O'Hara.
Butler then had a 30 yard effort headed behind by the defence for a corner. He took the corner, which was partially cleared to Robbie Kember who saw his shot blocked.
Lovell was through at the other end in the 42nd minute, but O'Hara was quickly out to claim the ball. Goodchild managed to get on to the end of a long ball in the 43rd minute, and found McDowell in the box. His shot was blocked by an Ashford hand but in fairness he could not have got out of the way. The final chance of the half fell to Oakins a minute before the break. Ryan Royston headed on a free kick into his path and his shot was well saved by Ibrahim.
The second half got off to an explosive start with an off the ball incident over a disputed throw in. Lee Sidwell and Nick Smith fought for the ball as the linesman gave the throw to Ashford but the referee gave it to Leafe. Both players received yellows although Smith was lucky after his assault on Sidwell.
Smith however did not cash in on his good fortune as he minutes later lunged in with a very late two-footed challenge that gave the referee little option but to send him off. He then did himself no favours swearing at fans as he left the pitch and kicking out at the dressing room door.
All this meant that Ashford were condemned to a back to the wall job to try and hang on to something from the game, and for a while it looked as if they may even escape with all three points. Robbie Kember's 56th minute free kick was cleared as far as Rhys Coleman whose shot was just wide of the post with Ibrahim well beaten.
Oakins found Butler in the 61st minute. He cut inside and his shot was turned behind for a corner. Butler took it and found Oakins at the far post but his first time volley was well off target.
Manager Stuart Massey opted to make some attacking changes to try and take advantage of the extra man. Oakins, Darren Watson, the returning Chris O'Flaherty and McDowell all went close as Leafe piled on the pressure.
The inevitable equaliser came in the 78th minute when Watson headed home from a Kember pass.
Leafe had a couple of late chances to grab a winner, Fleming heading just over from a Butler corner and then in the final minutes, Leafe had a string of corners that they couldn't convert as Ashford defended resolutely to hang on to a hard earned point.
Whyteleafe: O'Hara, Fleming, Head (O'Flaherty 65), Sidwell (Platel 76), Coleman R, Royston, Goodchild, Kember, McDowell, Oakins (Watson 68), Butler.