Tonbridge Angels 0 Margate 0

Match 37/17/1487 - Tuesday, 3rd October 2017 - Bostik Premier

Tonbridge Angels (0) 0
Margate (0) 0
Attendance: 367

Entrance: £6 Senior
Programme: £2.50
Mileage: 38/2,586

Match Report

I went to bed a little bit bemused by the game that I had watched this evening and the reaction that followed on the Tonbridge Forum. Awful game between two dismal teams … 180 minutes of pretty much yawn football … 2 poor sides and a poor ref made for one of the worst games I’ve seen in a long time … A dreadful game of football … were the opening lines on the first four posts following the game and they all came from forum users that post intelligently and respectfully.

I can only think that I saw this game through rose-tinted glasses because, whilst I accept that it wasn’t a thriller and might have been a bit turgid for the neutral, from a Tonbridge perspective I was more than happy with both the result and the performance.

The past week has been a rough one for everybody involved at the club. First came the news that Tom Parkinson needs a further operation to reset a bone in his leg; then there was the defeat at Kingstonian, but the announcement that Damian Scannell has been forced in retire due to injury cast a cloud over the club.

A look at the team sheet also showed the absence of Tom Beere, who had ended in his loan spell and had, in fact, signed for Leatherhead. Against a expensively put together Margate side, only a difficult evening could be envisioned.

In truth, chances were few and far between in the first half. Andre McCollin dragged a shot wide bearing down on Lenny Pidgeley’s goal; Joe Turner, whose left-sided partnership with Jack Parter proved a real headache for Margate’s Chris Sessegnon, brought a comfortable save out of Pidgeley with two more efforts from McCollin before Margate threatened with an effort from Orlando Smith that was cleared from the right hand post.

The second half started with Margate showing a little more intent with Jonny Henly called into action making a parrying save from Jordan Chiedozie and Frannie Collin blazing the rebound over.

Probably the evening’s best moment, if you were a Tonbridge supporter, came a minute later when Margate were awarded a free kick in a dangerous area to the left of the penalty box. In his days in an Angels’ shirt, this was Frannie-time. On this occasion, his kick sailed high into the night sky. Reports suggest that in the early hours of the morning, the ball fell back to earth in Hildenborough!

Perhaps those that were criticising later on the forum could justifiably make the point that if this was the highlight, then it says it all, but it was really amusing.

Alex Akrofi and Nathan Elder came on to breathe new life into the Tonbridge attack and both had chances to win the game for the hosts.

Joe Turner saw an effort cleared from the line by Tom Wynter and with a couple of minutes to go, Elder steered a close range header straight at Pidgeley.

So for the second time this season, these two teams have played out a goalless stalemate.

No, it wasn’t a classic, but in the context of a difficult period, positives that can be drawn are a 17-year-old full back in Liam Smith, who was named man-of-the-match and an 18-year-old central defender, Callum Adonis-Taylor, who barely put a foot wrong against a much-feted Margate attack.

Rose-tinted glasses, well perhaps blue-tinted.