Carshalton Athletic (1) 1
Tonbridge Angels (1) 2 Greenhalgh 21 Parter 86
Approximate Attendance: 200
Admission: Pass
Programme: None
Mileage: 100/434
We have people! After 24 long weeks, punters paid money to watch Tonbridge Angels, albeit that it was paid to hosts Carshalton Athletic. Personally, I feel I can actually blog a game in my normal manner having previously felt just a little uncomfortable that as an official I have had the privilege to attend games that Tonbridge Angels supporters have not.
It is not yet our time to be able to host paying spectators but hopefully that is just around the corner. Before then a multitude of Covid-19 protocols have to be in place and page after page of guidance read. The world of temperature checks, medical questionnaires, contact tracing, cashless payments and social distancing are no longer the new normal merely the normal.
There are worrying times ahead. How will the older generation that make a up a substantial proportion of non-league attendances embrace the technology of internet ticketing and will they even have the confidence the re-enter the stadium environment. And looming on the horizon is the second wave, or so we are told.
On this Saturday, it was time to meet old friends, not with a hug or shake of the hand but with an awkward fist bump; to swap the odd anecdote of lockdown but to also remember those that haven’t made it through, of which sadly there are more than a few. Football was of almost secondary importance.
But there was a game, Tonbridge barely deserved their win, and certainly would not have done had two gilt edged chances not sailed high over the crossbar. A Ben Greenhalgh drive that deceived the goalkeeper after 21 minutes gave the Angels the lead that was levelled on the stroke of half-time.
A winner came from the unlikely source of Jack Parter with a well struck shot into the bottom corner four minutes from time on a ground that holds some rather uncomfortable memories for Tonbridge supporters in recent years.
We quietly celebrated the goal and the win, after all it was just a pre-season friendly, but most of all we celebrated our return to the terraces with the hope that this time we can see it through to May.
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