Punjab United 1 Tunbridge Wells 0

Match 100/21/1964 - Tuesday, 1st March 2022 - SCEFL Premier

Punjab United (0) 1 Vines 74
Tunbridge Wells (0) 0
Attendance: 86
Admission: £5 Senior
Programme: £2
Mileage: 48/5,601

Football is often not fair and sometimes defies logic and on a cold, wet and thoroughly miserable evening at the Elite Venue, home to Punjab United, this was apparent to all Tunbridge Wells supporters in a small attendance of 86.

In making notes for this blog post, after five minutes I recorded a header from Warren Beattie that was saved by Frankie Leonard and the next record of attacking intention from Punjab came on 67 minutes when a Paul Vines effort cleared the bar by some distance. By that fifth minute effort, Tunbridge Wells had already had the ball in the net following a corner but that was chalked off, seemingly for a handball.

A cocktail of profligate finishing and brilliant, sometimes almost eccentric, goalkeeping from Max Ovenden saw 11 first half efforts go into the notebook without recording an actual goal.

The muscular strike force of Matt Gethin and Fjord Rogers, aided by the creative industry of Connor Pring, at times opened up the home defence at will but the chances came and went with regular abandon.

After 14 minutes Gethin brought a good save out of Ovenden, low to his right and, on 25 minutes, Fjord Rogers had the ball in the net for a second time but this was also disallowed for hand ball. It was the correct decision but Rogers was unfortunate as the ball reared up off the sodden surface and struck his hand.

And so it continued … Gethin saw a shot deflected safely into the hands of Ovenden and when, just past the half-hour mark, Ovenden was finally beaten by a header from Freeman Rogers there was a player stationed on the post to head clear.

Before the half-time break, Fjord saw half-chances dragged wide and good combination work ended with James Nurden firing over leaving the Wells supporters scratching their heads in bemusement.

The second half began in much the same vein but as the hour mark was reached there was a sense of desperation that was beginning to stretch the game and, in quick succession, Punjab broke away but only for their efforts to be as wasteful as those of their visitors.

Then, what seemed almost unthinkable given the one-sided nature of the game, Punjab produced a goal when a cross into the box failed to find a clearance and, in the scramble that followed, the veteran Vines stabbed the ball into the bottom corner.

If they had not laid siege on the Punjab goal previously now it was caution to the wind time, with even the diminutive, in terms of a goalkeeper, Leonard going forward for a corner but with the same outcome, chances going begging until the clock finally ran down.

How, and why, must have been the questions in every car heading back to Tunbridge Wells, doubtless nobody would have had a logical answer.