Tonbridge 4 AFC Hornchurch 0

Match 81/14/1190 - Saturday 4th April 2015 - Ryman Premier

Tonbridge (2) 4 Sobers 13, Parkinson 45, Medlock 67, Greenidge 90
AFC Hornchurch (0) 0 Evans 18
Att. 464

Entrance: £6 Senior
Programme: £2
Mileage: 36/5,916

Match Report

At this point in the season, call it the business end or twitchy-bum time, performances matter far less than the result. With the clubs presently 21st and 22nd beginning to snap at the heels of Tonbridge, any manner of victory would have sufficed but to achieve it with a quality performance lends itself to confidence that they will emerge from this mess with their Ryman Premier League status intact.

The pieces might have fallen into place at just the right time for Steve McKimm. The disappointment of the return to their parent clubs of Mitchell Pinnock and Tom Hadler has diminished as McKimm has managed to convince Bromley to allow Pinnock to return to Longmead for the rest of the season and the signing of Billy Bishop from AFC Wimbledon brought an assured performance from the goalkeeper. Nathan Elder showed all the experience that a seasoned striker can bring and Billy Medlock did what Medlock does ... score goals.

Tonbridge's three remaining home games were key to their survival, two of which were against teams below them in the table. Hornchurch's situation was altogether worse than the home team and they arrived in Kent knowing that a draw wasn't going to help matters too greatly and with their attacking intentions a very good game was to ensue.

Leading the line for the Essex club was George Purcell, ex-Tonbridge favourite, and when he shot across the face of goal early in the game that virtually ended up at the corner flag, it was the beginning of a frustrating afternoon that saw him booked and miss a variety of chances.

Marvin Williams and Pinnock were terrorising the Hornchurch back line with their pace and after Sam Mott had made turned away a Williams effort, the resultant corner, poorly cleared, fell at the feet of Jerome Sobers, who drove home like a seasoned striker.

Chances came and went for both sides, Tommy Whitnell, having his best game in ages, crashed a shot against the crossbar and Elder was thwarted by a fine stop from Mott. Hornchurch were giving as good as they got with Purcell wasteful and Bishop making a save and also thankful to see a header drift wide of the post.

Just before the break, Tom Parkinson drove into the bottom corner to double the advantage leaving McKimm's half-time talk along the lines of more of the same and, in general, that is what ensued.

Hornchurch produced some very uncomfortable moments before a Medlock shot took a savage deflection to put the game out of the visitor's reach with 20 minutes to go.

Elder, whose hold-up play in particular was top drawer and deserved a goal for his efforts, unselfishly set up substitute Royce Greenidge for a fourth goal that added the gloss to a fine team performance as the game entered added time.

More of the same can also be said of next week's home game with Witham Town, achieve that and I'm confident that Ryman Premier football will be gracing again Longmead next season.