Redhill 2 Tonbridge 1

Match 27/14/1136 - Saturday, 27th September 2014 - FA Cup 2QR

Redhill (2) 2 Butler 20, Bingham 44
Tonbridge (0) 1 Medlock 70
Att. 321

Entrance: £4 Senior
Programme: £2.00
Mileage: 86/2,020
New Ground: 265

Match Report

As a follower of non-league football, I often pour scorn on the amount of money that sloshes around in the Premier League these days. Money is the root of all evil, it is the reason the Premiership is full of foreign players which contributes greatly to the crap England team with which we all despair and so goes the argument. When a miniscule amount of that money trickles down to clubs like Tonbridge through FA Cup prize money every supporter knows the value of every penny to their club.

£4,500 was on offer to winners of Second Qualifying Round ties, by my rough calculations about 25 minutes worth of Wayne Rooney’s working week, with the prospect of third and fourth round ties that could earn a further £20,000. These are untold riches to clubs, some of which would play in front of less than 100 on a regular basis.

When the draw was made, pitting Tonbridge against Ryman South Redhill, it was widely seen as a golden opportunity to progress into those later, lucrative qualifying rounds. But, there is something about the FA Cup and Tonbridge Angels that doesn’t sit easily alongside each other and hasn’t done since they last made the First Round Proper in 1972.

Tonbridge supporters did their bit, they turned out in big numbers and made up around two-thirds of the overall attendance, but they were left bitterly disappointed as their team produced an absolutely awful first half performance that left them 2-0 down and despite a second half onslaught on the Redhill goal, it was a scoreline from which they were unable to recover.

Steve McKimm, in his post-match interview, described that first half as an embarrassment, so I feel enabled to be equally forthright. Tonbridge supporters, widely criticised at the end of last season, have been patient and understanding of the rebuilding task that is required at Longmead. Results and performances have been inconsistent, but good or bad, they have remained positive, they have seen that improvement is being made and have appreciated the wholehearted effort, even if the quality has been somewhat lacking.

On this occasion, with the stakes high, McKimm’s side not only lacked the necessary quality but they also lacked desire and that is not easily forgiven. Against a team that only stands proud of the bottom three in Ryman South by virtue of goal difference, they were out-thought and out-fought for 45 horrific minutes.

The visitors started brightly and early pressure suggested it would only be a matter of time before the breakthrough was made. But early optimism quickly disappeared as log punts in the direction of the diminutive Billy Medlock were comfortably dealt with by a trio of six-foot central defenders. As Tonbridge went long, the menace that could have been Dee Okojie was lost in the wasteland of midfield.

Redhill grew in confidence and following a needless foul by Jerome Sobers, Sam Butler curled the resultant free kick around the wall and past Kyle Merson for the opening goal. It should have been the wake-up call for the Angels but Redhill seized command of the game and were rewarded with a second goal before half-time when Joe Bingham converted a cross.

Tonbridge’s inability, throughout the season so far, to put the requisite number of substitutes on the bench once again limited their options and when Sobers was forced off through injury after five minutes of the second half they were further restricted.

McKimm’s half-time use of the hair dryer at least produced the desired effect of an increase in both effort and tempo. On the hour, Michael Hunter in the Redhill goal produced a fine parrying save from a Tom Parkinson shot but could do nothing to keep out Medlock’s tap-in from the rebound.

Tonbridge poured forward in search of an equaliser and thought they had it on 70 minutes when Alex Teniola headed in after challenging the goalkeeper. The goal was disallowed, but not for the challenge as initially thought, but for offside.

Nathan Campbell hit a post with a header before, in stoppage time, Harrison Tweddell rounded the keeper and shot towards the empty net only to see his moment of glory and Tonbridge’s salvation snatched away by the goal-line clearance of Rob Hill.

I remember writing after last season’s FA Cup defeat at St Albans that this was as disappointed as I would feel during the season, but this defeat hurts even more as St Albans went on to prove they were a decent side, I’m not sure Redhill will prove likewise.

Who knows what that £4,500 might have brought to Tonbridge’s table? Another player that might enable them to field a full bench; money towards the general upkeep of Longmead, whatever. This was a day when the supporters of the club were badly let down by their players, but with Tonbridge and the FA Cup that appears almost as inevitable as Wayne Rooney getting a pay rise.