Tonbridge Angels (1) 2 Turner 9 Olutade 86
Torquay United (1) 1 Wright 34
Attendance: 719
Admission: £12 Senior
Programme: £3
Mileage: 38/4,104
The process of description begins with finding a word that depicts what has unfolded before your eyes. Splendid sounds a bit posh, afternoon tea at a country house; wowzers is a bit too hip for a 70-year old; it wasn’t really wondrous because I always thought that given a set of circumstances, it was on the cards. Proud cuts it, but then I’m always proud of this club. So how about sublime, it’s a word often used in football, it’s dictionary definition, elevated, lofty in thought, doesn’t quite fit with this writer, but it feels right.
Whilst we are on the subject of words, Torquay’s manager Gary Johnson probably didn’t mean to be disrespectful in his pre-match interview, but his words were clumsy as he commented that he didn’t know where Tonbridge was and pontificated over dropping of standards. Johnson needed reminding that just three years ago, Torquay plied their trade in the exact league to which Tonbridge Angels are now situated.
And so to the match reporting bit. After the home side took an early lead, Torquay stamped their quality on the match and were well worth their equaliser when it arrived but, when I expected the visitors to kick on in the second half it just didn’t happen. Johnson spoke afterwards about lack of desire, etc. I’m more inclined to believe that one side in the second period were simply better and it wasn’t Torquay.
Torquay didn’t arrive at the ground until 40 minutes before kick off, but the opening stages didn’t look like they needed to get the journey, evidently they stayed locally overnight, out of their legs. Jonny Henly needed to save from Jack Sparkes and a header from Klaidi Lolas went narrowly wide.
But it was the Angels that opened the scoring on nine minutes when a free kick from Tom Beere saw Joe Turner allowed to drift into space and rise unchallenged to plant a well placed header past the Gulls’ goalkeeper, Mark Halstead. Who said something about standards?
Halstead was back in action on 20 minutes turning a shot from Turner that was destined for the top corner away for a corner.
Torquay enjoyed a period when they had some momentum leading up to their equalising goal on 34 minutes. Tom Lapslie saw a shot deflected that Henly did well to readjust and a Danny Wright header went just over when he probably should have hit the target. But the equaliser was a fine bit of play that perhaps smacked of Johnson’s standards. A deft pass from Armani Little found Wright who clipped the ball past the advancing Henly.
Tonbridge needed to survive to the break and did so in fairness with the minimum of concern, a free kick from a dangerous position that sailed harmlessly over about as much as the visitors had to offer.
The general viewpoint among my group of Angels supporters was that the extra quality, the extra fitness that full time training brings would probably be enough to see the visitors back to Devon with their name in the hat for Monday’s draw. But, if the desire isn’t there, then the standards drop, I think we’ve done that one now!
For 15 minutes or so, Torquay did exert some pressure with Lolas forcing Henly into a save but from the hour mark, where did they go?
The irrepressible, quite magnificent on the day, Turner shot over and on 63 minutes, following a corner which wasn’t dealt with and the scramble that ensued ended with the ball crossing the line. The linesman initially appeared to signal that the ball had crossed the line but, ultimately, he detected a foul from 25 yards away that the referee couldn’t see from five. [And having now seen the video, I'm still baffled by the decision.]
Tonbridge won a series of corners, none of which were cleared with any degree of confidence and, on 74 minutes, Tommy Wood put a header agonisingly wide.
A big moment of the game came on 78 minutes. Sparkes put Sinclair Armstrong through and Henly produced a massive save to block the giant striker’s effort.
It was to be the defining moment, a superb move ended with Adam Lovatt’s shot being saved but a minute later, the 86th, a cross into the box from Beere was spilt by Halstead and there was substitute Ibrahim Olutade, only on the pitch for four minutes, to stab the ball home.
The four minutes added time seemed like hours but it passed without any scares and Tonbridge Angels had a prized scalp.
As I left the ground over an hour after the game had finished, the Torquay coach was still in position, perhaps Gary Johnson was still using the satnav to locate exactly where he was!
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