Tonbridge Angels Academy 1 Bromley Academy 1

Match 131/21/1995 - Wednesday, 27th April 2022 - National League Under-19 Alliance

Tonbridge Angels Academy (0) 1 Twist 84
Bromley Academy (0) 1 Street 51
Headcount: 40
Admission: Free
Programme: None
Mileage: 38/7,484

If anybody thought that Tonbridge Angels Academy’s title confirmation last week would render the fixture against runner-up Bromley meaningless, then think again!

Without any question these two sides are the best in the division with literally a fag paper between them. Back in November at Hayes Lane, Tonbridge fought a magnificent rearguard display to return home with a single goal victory and today, at Longmead Stadium, a hard fought game with no quarter given and certainly none asked ended in a 1-1 draw which was the least that both sides deserved as Bromley enjoyed the best of the first half whilst Tonbridge fought back to earn their point with a late goal.

In terms of clear opportunities, neither side were able to create much in a first half that Bromley dominated. The Angels had an early chance on eight minutes when Bromley goalkeeper, Cemal Osman, saved from Cameron Wootton, but it was another half-hour before anything further was created, at which time Bromley had a goal from Tyler Lochner disallowed for offside.

Although chances had been thin on the ground, it was a fascinating encounter.

The beginning of the second half saw Tonbridge making their second substitution with Sam Grant replacing Billy Kent whilst a first half injury to Shea Brennan had seen the introduction of Mason Nicholls.

Bromley opened the scoring on 51 minutes when a cross into the box from the right saw a misplaced clearance under pressure fall to Will Street who scored from close range.

The Angels went in search of an equaliser from the restart with Luca Woodhouse becoming increasingly dominant in midfield and he saw a good effort deflected away for a corner on 56 minutes.

A corner on 76 minutes saw a melee in front of the Bromley goal that ended with Kian Austin stabbing the ball narrowly wide and, two minutes later, Osman saved well from Woodhouse at his near post.

Bromley had a chance to stretch their lead with seven minutes remaining with Nat Gibb saving well from Noah Joyce and that save proved vital within 60 seconds when a cross into the area from Tom Green saw Woodhouse head the ball back across the face for Ben Twist to fire home from 10 yards.

Tonbridge threw everything forward in search of a winner with Woodhouse being denied again and there were claims for a penalty when substitute Will Saunders was felled in the box but the referee waved away the appeals.

For the penultimate game on the hallowed turf of Longmead this was a memorable encounter and Tommy Parkinson was full of praise following the game: “A fair result against a good Bromley side who were the better side for long spells. It has been a fantastic season from our squad and now on to the champions of champions game next week.”

Chatham Town Under-18 3 Tonbridge Angels Under-18 4

Match 130/21/1994 - Tuesday, 26th April 2022 - Friendly

Chatham Town Under-18 (3) 3
Tonbridge Angels Under-18 (2) 4 Knight (pen) 15 Burke 45 Button 50 Firimans 53
Headcount: 45
Admission: Free
Programme: None
Mileage: 32/7,446

One week after Tonbridge Angels Isthmian Youth League side ended their season, manager Dom Welsh took a mixture of existing players and a new intake following trials to Chatham Town for a friendly, end of season or pre-season take your choice.

After going a goal down within a minute and 3-1 down after 34 minutes, a cracking free kick from Rocky Burke on the stroke of half-time inspired the young Angels to a comeback 4-3 win.

A moment’s hesitancy in defence saw Chatham take the lead with a superb effort from the edge of the box into the top corner that gave Matt Larkin no chance.

It took Tonbridge a while to settle from that setback and Larkin had to make a block at a forward’s feet before they were further disappointed with an offside decision after good work down the left from Hayden Velvick set up Burke for a tap-in, only to be denied by the linesman’s flag.

But, after 15 minutes, some smart control in the box saw Velvick brought down for a penalty that Ethan Knight duly converted.

Parity lasted barely a minute as an Angels attack broke down and, on the counter, a shot into the bottom corner restored the Chats lead.

Larkin needed to be at his best to keep the deficit at one on a couple of occasions but, after 27 minutes, it took a great tackle to deny Velvick after he had rounded the goalkeeper.

Tonbridge had a good spell at this point with the Chats keeper saving from Joe Newman and Burke but it was the home side that extended their lead when a midfielder surged into the box to score with a good finish.

The majority of the first half team had been existing players with more of the new intake being introduced for the second half after Burke’s last kick of the half goal had brought the score to 3-2.

After just five minutes of the second period, the visitors were level when George Button curled which might have been a cross into the top corner over the despairing goalkeeper.

And just three minutes later, the Angels were in front when a shot from Sam Firimans found the bottom corner.

Tonbridge dealt relatively comfortably with anything Chatham threw at them in the second half with Larkin not seriously troubled and with Zach Garcia and Mason O’Connor prompting from midfield further opportunities were created for Cameron Honiver and Button.

Dom Welsh commented after the game that whilst the result was of no importance it was good to get a win on the board with his reshaped squad with some classy football against a strong Chatham side.

Tonbridge Angels 0 Ebbsfleet United 1

Match 129/21/1993 - Saturday, 23rd April 2022 - National League South

Tonbridge Angels (0) 0
Ebbsfleet United (1) 1 Coulthirst 6
Attendance: 1,129
Admission: Season Ticket
Programme: £3
Mileage: 38/7,414

Tonbridge Angels continued presence in National League South is all but assured as Billericay’s defeat at home to Bath leaves them nine points behind with three games remaining an with an inferior goal difference of 16. So it is going to take a catastrophic run of results for the Angels to be relegated but this game was a clear indication of the chasm that exists between those at top of the table and those (not just Tonbridge) at the foot.

It is to Tonbridge’s credit that they remained in the game till the end and, unluckily, a tight offside decision went against them in time added, but in truth, Ebbsfleet should have put the game to bed a long time before the Angels’ late rally as they wasted a series of gilt edged chances in the second half.

Such is the lot of a club volunteer that my stint on the turnstiles saw Ebbsfleet score what turned out to be the only goal of the game whilst I continued to take admission money from late arrivals. So my description is a straight lift from Ebbsfleet’s Twitter: “Paxman weaves his way through the Tonbridge defence and offloads the ball to Coulthirst and he fires low and hard into the corner.”

From the time that I took my place on the rails, Tonbridge actually had more than a decent share of the game against their lofty, full-time opposition and had a great opportunity to level the game after 22 minutes when clever work from Ricky Modeste saw him volley a shot that was blocked with the follow-up parried by the goalkeeper, Louie Moulden for what became a series of corners that ultimately brought no reward.

The second half opened with the first chance falling to Ebbsfleet’s Dominic Poleon who saw his effort well saved by Jonny Henly at his near post.

Tonbridge were nearly gifted an equaliser on 51 minutes when Moulden sliced a clearance which Joe Turner collected and set up Aaron Smith-Joseph for a shot but the goalkeeper redeemed himself with a save.

Ebbsfleet were starting to open up the Angels back line a bit too regularly and Henly was needed to save from both Rakish Bingham and Coulthirst and further chances for Chapman, Paxman and Romain who failed to find the target.

After making all their substitutions, Tonbridge went down to 10 men when substitute Teddy Perkins couldn’t continue following an injury. But with the man disadvantage, Tonbridge had to throw caution to the wind and in the last minute of the 90, momentarily we thought an unlikely point and absolute safety had been won. A corner from the right was punched away by Moulden but the ball was returned into the box and Ibrahim Olutade made a run to meet the ball at the near post but his celebration was cut short by the linesman’s raised flag. It was tight, very tight.

In time added, Sonny Miles stayed up front and for the final two corners of the game Henly came forward but the visitors held firm for three vital points towards their goal on direct entry to the semi-finals of the play-offs with home advantage.

For Tonbridge, next Saturday at Bath, hopefully we can celebrate as well. Maybe we will need a helping hand with both Billericay and Welling needing to win their respective games at Eastbourne and Hungerford.

Photos: Kathryn Bell

Tonbridge Angels Academy 8 Whitstable Town Academy 0

Match 128/21/1992 - Wednesday, 20th April 2022 - National League Under-19 Alliance

Tonbridge Angels Academy (2) 8 Woodhouse (pen) 23 Twist 28 Wootton 49,55 Nicholls 64,76 Hermitage 81 Saunders 84
Whitstable Town (0) 0
Headcount: 12
Admission: Free
Programme: None
Mileage: 32/7,376

Despite being reduced to 10 men for the entire second half following Fin Hartley’s sending-off for a second yellow card offence, the Academy cruised to a comfortable victory that leaves them a single win away from the League title.

Manager Tommy Parkinson will be hoping to clinch the title at K Sports next Monday, thus avoiding the final game against Bromley becoming a decider.

There was not really the indication of what was to come in the early period of the first half, although the traffic was pretty much one way. Hartley tested the Whitstable goalkeeper twice in the first five minutes and Cameron Wootton was off target before, after 23 minutes, he was clumsily brought down for a penalty which was duly converted by Luca Woodhouse.

Sam Grant fired over on 27 minutes before setting up Ben Twist with a straightforward finish a minute later.

The two goals deflated the visitors and it was only a matter of some decent goalkeeping and some wayward finishing that kept Whitstable in the game before the break.

Any thoughts that the man disadvantage might offer Whitstable a route back into the game were quickly dispelled when Wootton finished into the bottom corner from 10 yards following a Grant cross four minutes into the half.

Wootton struck a post after 52 minutes but was the beneficiary of some good fortune three minutes later when a wayward clearance from the goalkeeper struck him in the back, rebounding into the goal.

The East Kent coast side’s spirit was well and truly broken now and a fine goal worked between substitutes Will Saunders and Billy Kent set up Mason Nicholls for number five.

Another poor clearance allowed Nicholls to return to ball to an unguarded goal on 76 minutes as the Angels began to break through almost at will.

A cross into the box from Tom Green saw a shot from Kent come back from the post for Ben Hermitage to convert after 81 minutes and three minutes later, Hermitage turned provider as his shot was only parried by the keeper into the path of Saunders for an easy finish.

There was enough time on the clock for Angels’ goalkeeper, Nat Gibb, to show that long periods of inactivity had not dulled his concentration pulling off a fine save to preserve his clean sheet.

Dulwich Hamlet 1 Tonbridge Angels 1

Match 127/21/1991 - Monday, 18th April 2022 - National League South

Dulwich Hamlet (0) 1 Mills 90+2
Tonbridge Angels (1) 1 Olutade 36
Attendance: 2,563
Admission: £5.40
Programme: Not purchased
Mileage: 90/7,344

Inching their way to safety, Tonbridge Angels earned a good point at Dulwich Hamlet, but should have had all three which would have put Billericay and Welling United at a distance that would be almost impossible to breach.

A 92nd minute equaliser for 10 men Dulwich denied the Angels who had missed two glorious chances to put the game to bed.

As usual at Champion Hill, there was a mixture of the weird and wonderful. Over 2,500 in the ground should produce an atmosphere, but that of a football ground not a pub garden. It has been said many times before but it is still a mystery how so many people can pay £12 to gather in groups showing virtual disinterest in the entertainment put in front of them. I do feel sad for the genuine Hamlet supporters who try to support their club with this side show going on around them.

For a team still with play-off pretensions, Dulwich for the most part did very little to capture the attention of their “fans”.

On a warm afternoon, Steve McKimm shuffled his pack following Good Friday’s disappointment. Tommy Wood is injured and Ibrahim Olutade came in for him with Doug Loft, Aaron Smith-Joseph, Ricky Modeste and Jamie Fielding returning to the starting eleven.

Tonbridge started on the front foot and for the vast majority of the game that’s where they stayed which is the reason for such frustration but for both sides the first half hour was a tale of over hit or under hit crosses that barely tested either goalkeeper.

Tonbridge opened the scoring after 36 minutes when Smith-Joseph got in a cross to the near post from where Olutade got in front of defenders to steer the ball home.

Olutade was having some joy with his channel runs, breaking the offside trap, forcing Grainger into a save on 53 minutes before three minutes later he got clear once more only for Ronnie Vint to pull him back on the edge of the box, leaving the referee with no alternative but to show the Dulwich defender the red card.

The man advantage was no immediate help as Jonny Henly was needed to produce a brilliant save to turn over a close range header.

The first of two gilt edged chances to put the game to bed came on 70 minutes when a superb cross from Modeste found the head of Olutade but he headed over when it seemed easier to score and when Turner also missed a header from a similar spot, alarm bells rang clear that these chances would come back to haunt us.

Some credit should be afforded to Dulwich, who despite their disadvantage in terms of personnel threw everything forward in the last five minutes plus stoppage time in search of an equaliser and keeping their feint play-off chances alive.

Henly made another superb save with three minutes remaining but, into the second minute of five added, a corner to Dulwich was met with a firm header from Danny Mills, and even some of the pub garden party celebrated.

One last half-chance fell the way of Angels’ substitute James Taylor, but he dragged his shot wide. Results at Chelmsford and Welling confirmed that this was a point won, but too many, it seemed like two lost.

Bearsted 3 Tunbridge Wells 2

Match 126/21/1990 - Saturday, 16th April 2022 - SCEFL Premier

Bearsted (2) 3 Stace 5 Wakefield 45 Irvine 90+4
Tunbridge Wells (1) 2 Gething 23,47
Attendance: 130
Admission: £4
Programme: Included
Mileage: 15/7,254

Such was the lushness of the grass at Bearsted’s Honey Lane and the pleasant 20degC of warmth, it suggested this was the opening day of the season not a virtual dead rubber on Easter Saturday. But the game carried an intensity that was a credit to both sides right to the very end when, in the 94th minute, who else but a Tunbridge Wells Wembley 2013 legend, Andy Irvine, came from the bench to score a winner for the Bears.

I know of no better grass pitch in Non-League football, it truly is a thing of beauty that is far more suitable for a stately home, cream teas or a film set for Downton Abbey. As football clubs around Kent tear up their green, green grass of home for the artificial variety, I would imagine the committee at Bearsted will be the last to employ the diggers to their manicured lawn.

Two teams with very little to play for, bar pride, might just as well play with an entertaining freedom and this they did.

Both sides had early opportunities with Bearsted’s goalkeeper, Billy Johnson, saving with his feet from Fjord Rogers after four minutes and, a minute later, Aaron Lee Wharton also using his feet to deny Jonathan Rogers. But that reprieve was only to last seconds as Sam Stace was sent clear to tuck the ball home into the far corner.

The game also had a little edge to it that didn’t suggest end of season nothingness as Bearsted’s Joel Wakefield found his way into the referee’s notebook after a couple of challenges had gone unpunished.

Tunbridge Wells got themselves level after 23 minutes when a peach of a through ball from James Nurden found Matt Gething to run on and slip the ball past the advancing Johnson into the bottom corner for his 31st goal of the season.

Gething might have had his 32nd a couple of minutes later but the ball got stuck under his feet before it fell to Kyron Lightfoot who shot over.

The home side finished the first half in the ascendancy with a goal on the cusp of the break from Wakefield who capitalised, in much the same way as the opening two goals, a long ball forward and rolled home. It was a goal that had been coming as Jordan Ababio and Stace had previously tested Lee Wharton.

Only two minutes of the second period had elapsed when good work from Frankie Griffin was rewarded with Gething doubling his tally for the afternoon.

A draw would have been a fair result as the teams had equal chances to get their noses in front before Irvine’s intervention. For Bearsted, a 77th minute free kick saw Irvine narrowly miss and Tunbridge Wells had a great opportunity created by Regan Corke but substitute Jack Hope fired wide.

The winner came in the blink of an eye and one wonders if in a different time in the season game management would have avoided it. Tunbridge Wells were attacking, the move broke down and with one hefty clearance, Irvine was clear and, to be fair, he finished well and the celebrations also suggested much more than a mid-table win.

It had been a good afternoon’s entertainment but my abiding memory will be that beautiful green baize!

Tonbridge Angels 0 Slough Town 1

Match 125/21/1989 - Friday, 15th April 2022 - National League South

Tonbridge Angels (0) 0
Slough Town (0) 1 Tenconi 48
Attendance: 956
Admission: Season ticket
Programme: £3 Not purchased
Mileage: 38/7,239

Football is not a perfect science, random events within a game can produce an unlikely result and sometimes you don’t get what you deserve, but when you see 90 minutes that goes totally against the grain of what you expect from your club, it left be baffled.

Probably, safety is just one win away and possibly, 38 points is enough but this game in the context of the remaining fixture list was seen as the big opportunity to put all the ifs, buts and maybes to bed but a performance that nobody saw coming left Tonbridge with work still to do.

Slough Town arrived in that middle of the table position that allows a certain relaxation that can go either way in terms of performance but, in truth, they didn’t need to be very good.

For the first time this year the temperature climbed above 20degC, supporters basked in the sunshine with a beer in hand, and for the entire first half they would have been better served remaining at the outside tables with a further pint. Slough won a series of corners and Jonny Henly was forced into a decent save from Lee Togwell after 18 minutes and that was that.

Injuries to Craig Braham-Barrett and Tommy Wood saw the introduction of Doug Loft and Aaron Smith-Joseph for the start of the second period and things quickly got worse for the Angels as Slough opened the scoring within three minutes of the restart. Central defender Joe Dandy skipped the challenges, such as they was, of four Tonbridge defenders before pulling the ball back from the byeline for Alfonso Tenconi to fire in a crisp strike at the near post.

A response from the Angels was required, but none came and Slough controlled the game with ease, to the point when, after 67 minutes, the visiting management were so comfortable they felt able to withdraw the best player on the pitch Aaron Kuhl.

Two attempts from Joe Turner that were comfortably saved by Jonathan North was all that the half, or rather the afternoon, had to offer for the healthy attendance of 954 apart from the cheerful contingent from Slough.

Results elsewhere, apart from a stunning comeback from Welling to earn a draw at Eastbourne, meant that no serious damage was done, but as Sonny Miles later related: “If we play like that for the rest of the season, we won’t get another point.”

Photo: Kathryn Bell

Welling United 2 Tonbridge Angels 2

Match 124/21/1988 - Tuesday, 12th April 2022 - Kent Senior Cup QF

Welling United (1) 2 Saunders-Henry 39 Akinyemi 86 (pen)
Tonbridge Angels (1) 2 Embury 9 Olutade 70
Welling United win 4-3 on penalties
Attendance: 214
Admission: £5
Programme: Not purchased
Mileage: 74/7,201

Certainties in life (apart from death and taxes) are that Tonbridge lose at Welling and, unless you are of a certain vintage, the wait for a Kent Senior Cup success will go on. An almost certainty is that once a game goes to penalties we can start the walk to the exit despite that being broken this year against King’s Lynn in the Trophy.

Yes, the inevitable happened and, if at the end of the season, Tonbridge stay in National South and Welling are relegated, they can enjoy their day in the sun, whenever that might be. How the semi-finals and final are going to be fitted in before player’s contracts expire in early May, goodness only knows.

If that sounds like glad we are out, far from it. Our win against Maidstone and this penalties defeat have been hugely enjoyable watching Academy lads stepping into senior football and looking the part.

As a game it was probably justice that it went to spot kicks with Welling definitely edging the first half but the Angels enjoying the better of the second.

Academy starlets Joe Tyrie, Luca Woodhouse and Ben Hermitage were starters with Tom Green coming off the bench and Sutton Common Rover’s Under-18 goalkeeper, Toby McKimm, took his place between the sticks, and didn’t the boy do good!

After a quiet opening, Tonbridge took the lead, against the run of play, when a pinpoint cross from Aaron Smith-Joseph was volleyed home from close range by Jake Embery.

Welling had a goal chalked off four minutes later and went on to dominate the possession for most of the half with McKimm starting to excel. But the young keeper had no chance when a cross from Ben Allen to the far post found the waiting Mason Saunders-Henry who had little more than a tap-in to finish.

The second half started with the Angels more to the fore but, after 58 minutes, Welling were awarded a penalty after the referee took his time before adjudging that he had seen a handball in the box. Alfie Matthews’ spot kick was low, but McKimm guess the direction to bring off a good save.

Tonbridge regained the lead on 70 minutes when Embury was sent clear. Samuel Jackson, the Welling goalkeeper, plunged at his feet but Embury’s shot looped up, off his body, and Ibrahim Olutade was on hand to steer it home.

Joe Turner, on as a substitute, and Woodhouse had chances that might have put the game to bed but on 84 minutes Welling were awarded another penalty following a clumsy challenge and this time Dipo Akinyemi sent McKimm the wrong way to level the scores.

With two minutes remaining, McKimm produced a stunning save to turn over a close range header from Akinyemi over the bar and thus ensuring that the game went to the dreaded shoot out.

No need to name and shame, but the woodwork played a big part in the shoot-out with the frame being used to good and bad effect before Matthews struck home Welling’s sixth penalty to win 4-3.

If I carry on paying my taxes, perhaps one day we will win at Welling and that will probably be the year we win the Kent Senior Cup.

Tonbridge Angels U18 0 Glebe Under-18 0

Match 123/21/1987 - Monday, 11th April 2022 - Isthmian Youth League

Tonbridge Angels Under-18 (0) 0
Glebe Under-18 (0) 0
Attendance: 42
Admission: £4
Programme: None
Mileage: 38/7,127

On the sacred Longmead carpet for the last time and, potentially the last team to play under these floodlights, Tonbridge Angels Under-18’s produced their most resilient display of the season to secure a point from a goalless draw against a very good Glebe side who will finish fourth this season.

It was very much a backs-to-the-wall display but so well did they defend that captain for the day, Matt Larkin, in the absence of the injured Harry London, had only one serious save to make but thoroughly deserved his clean sheet for his very capable handling of anything thrown into the box.

Whilst Glebe didn’t stretch Larkin overly, they had several chances which were narrowly wide, the first of which coming in the 9th minute when a header from a corner passed just past the far post.

It took a long time and some stout defending before the Angels were able to mount an attack of their own from which Ethan Knight fired over, although George Theis and Hayden Velvick, who had been the victim of a couple of tight offside calls, had worked tirelessly to relieve some of the pressure on the back line.

Larkin made his big save of the half to deny Glebe’s Finlay Boyule with four minutes left and a couple of minutes later the impressive Chris Newell flashed a pass across the face of goal that found nobody in front of goal.

Dom Welsh managed to get his side onto the front foot in the early part of the second period and following a free kick, Will Puffette’s header needed saving by Ollie Siberski.

Glebe regained the initiative and it was back to resolute defending as near misses from Alfie Moynes and Simon Mbuaibe ensued but on the break Velvick twice went close.

But, the Angels youngsters stood firm and manager Welsh derived a great deal of satisfaction from the performance commenting after: “Really pleased with our defensive performance which has come on leaps and bounds in recent fixtures, not a game with many chances but a well deserved point against a class side with some very good footballers.”

Picture: Peter Elves

Chelmsford City 1 Tonbridge Angels 1

Match 122/21/1986 - Saturday, 9th April 2022 - National League South

Chelmsford City (1) 1 Oluwo 37
Tonbridge Angels (0) 1 Coombes 49
Attendance: 603
Admission: £10
Programme: £3 (not purchased)
Mileage: 116/7,089

At a soulless stadium, on a difficult pitch, Tonbridge Angels ground out another point towards safety and when the phones were checked, the other results, with defeats for Welling, Bath City, Braintree and Billericay, the point had added value.

Of the places we visit in National South, this is the least appealing. The athletics track means that to sit in the main stand you might as well be in a different county and the maze of barriers that supposedly lead to the terraces behind the goals can take you into dead ends. The grass looked too long and uneven; how Chelmsford would cherish the carpet at Longmead that is about to be dug up.

The circumstances with the home side five points adrift of the Angels and two off the bottom meant that a decent game was never going to happen with the pitch an added hindrance .

Whilst satisfied to leave Melbourne Park with a point, it was frustrating as Tonbridge were marginally the better team but, in truth, neither goalkeeper was overly tested.

The first half was in danger of becoming a non-event until Chelmsford took the lead on 37 minutes. Before that, Joe Turner fired narrowly over the bar after 21 minutes and Tommy Wood just failed to get on the end of a superb cross from Jerry O’Sullivan.

The goal came following a corner from the left that travelled to the far post from where Adebola Oluwo buried a header.

The second half brought an instant dividend when the Angels were on terms within four minutes. A free kick was conceded on the left about 20 yards from the goal. Tom Beere, who had taken every other set piece, stepped aside and Adam Coombes curled a shot over the wall and into the top corner.

Corners for both sides came and went without too much alarm but, after 70 minutes, Coombes struck the right hand post with a shot from 15 yards.

And to be honest, that was that. Wood had a half-hearted penalty appeal turned away and, for the home side, Simeon Jackson chased down a pass from Charlie Sheringham but Henly got down to save with the former Gills man picking up a booking for leaving a foot in.

So, in the last week, the games haven’t got any better but five valuable points have been accrued so nobody is complaining.

Staplehurst Monarchs United 1 Faversham Strike Force 1

Match 121/21/1985 - Wednesday, 6th April 2022 - SCEFL Division 1

Staplehurst Monarchs United (1) 1 Couzzo 8
Faversham Strike Force (1) 1 Barton 2
Attendance: 88
Admission: £4
Programme: £1
Mileage: 2/6,973

As a Staplehurst resident, I hope the Monarchs avoid relegation. As a football fan, who appreciates the struggle they went through to get into the SCEFL, I hope they stay up and if they can display the spirit shown in this game for their remaining five games, I’m confident they will stay up.

On an evening when a very brisk wind played its part, Staplehurst recovered from a bad start, conceding within the first two minutes to thoroughly deserve their point that takes them out of the bottom three and they could justifiably claim they could have taken all three points.

A ball played out to the left found Faversham’s Tom Barton in acres of space to cut in and bury a shot into the bottom corner past an exposed Steve Lawrence. In the desperation to intercept, a Staplehurst defender was injured and required substituting. In a strange way, this turned the game in the Monarch’s favour as the substitute, the livewire Lorenzo Couzzo, proved a constant thorn in the side of the Strike Force defence.

On eight minutes a through ball saw Couzzo clear and he produced a composed finish past the advancing goalkeeper.

Unfortunately, the first half was a tetchy encounter in which the referee, Freddie Young, struggled to maintain order. Every tackle, from either side, was met with a scream and vociferous appeals to the official, none more so than from the Faversham goalkeeper, Harry Earl, who had an opinion on everything that went on, wither it was five yards away or 50 and expressed it with a colourful turn of phrase.

Earl, however, was Strike Force’s saviour on the night with a string of fine saves, the first of which coming after 11 minutes when he saved a shot from Couzzo from 10 yards with his feet.

The home side forced a series of corners and from one, on 23 minutes, a free header from Callum Gallie, should have found the target.

With the appeals getting louder, yellow cards were to follow and, on the half-hour, the referee took exception to one such appeal from Staplehurst’s manager Steve Sands and sent him off from the dugout.

Just prior to the break, another scuffle broke out which saw two more yellows brandished to Faversham players and a minute later, a Staplehurst player followed.

Into the second half, with both sides having cleared their heads in the break, a thoroughly decent game of football broke out in which Staplehurst were by far the dominant side but found Earl just about equal to everything they threw at him.

On 56 minutes, Earl touched a fierce shot from Kieran Pallet onto a post and within five minutes he had also denied Couzzo and Dom Bristow.

Faversham’s forays forward with spasmodic but, on 71 minutes, a free kick from some distance caught the wind and Lawrence did well to turn the ball over the bar.

Earl saved again, this time from Frankie Pooley and in time added, with Staplehurst throwing caution to the wind in search of a winner, he produced two more saves, low at his post to deny Couzzo and finally, from a corner, Alex Kendall saw his header go agonisingly wide.

Despite the wind that turned bitingly cold, and the tetchy first half, this turned into a thoroughly entertaining evening. Let’s hope that the Jubilee Sports Ground can entertain again next season with a continuance of SCEFL football, under the lights on a Wednesday evening, always a bonus.

Hampton & Richmond Borough 0 Tonbridge Angels 0

Match 120/21/1984 - Tuesday, 5th April 2022 - National League South

Hampton & Richmond Borough (0) 0
Tonbridge Angels (0) 0
Attendance: 391
Admission: £10
Programme: £2
Mileage: 120/6,971

One more win, home to Slough and that should be enough; Welling are not going to get four results in their horrible run-in. Idle speculation is all it is, and as football fans, we all do it.

I have an acquaintance, a huge Gateshead fan, who went into a complete tailspin last weekend as his beloved Heed lost a vital game at Brackley Town. It was all over; automatic promotion had been lost and they would fail in the playoffs. There are seven games to go, I reminded him, anything can happen and then went back to the Tonbridge Angels fixture list to torture myself with ifs, buts and maybes.

Of which one thing can be assured, that is that relegation threatened teams rarely get involved in classic examples of the beautiful game; they are scraps, riddled with tension and generally low on quality.

And such was this trip to Hampton and Richmond Borough, a game rescheduled following a postponement in February. In truth, it was a terrible watch, one that the Angels’ support ironically celebrated wildly when they forced their first corner after 89 minutes. But, all those supporters, who amounted to a good following on a Tuesday evening, knew the value of that precious point.

It is barely worth wasting time with a blow by blow account of a game in which neither side really laid a glove on the other. There were a few, second half, worrying moments in front of the Angels’ goal and the visitors themselves were denied what looked a stonewall penalty as Tommy Parkinson was felled in the box, but referee Kirsty Dowle, who had a decent game waved the appeals away.

On Saturday, we go to Chelmsford, similarly relegation haunted, while Gateshead entertain Chester in what undoubtedly will be billed as must win games and come the 5th May they may have been well be worthy of that billing but, until then, nobody really knows. Now where’s that pen, if we beat Ebbsfleet; Dorking beat Welling and Billericay only get a point at Hampton …

Tonbridge Angels 1 Welling United 0

Match 119/21/1983 - Saturday, 2nd April 2022 - National League South

Tonbridge Angels (1) 1 Wood 14
Welling United (0) 0
Attendance: 1,027
Admission: Season Ticket
Programme: £3
Mileage: 38/6,851

This was no classic, even as a supporter of the winning team I wasn’t blind to the fact that it had been a terrible watch, but in a relegation scrap, what else could have been expected?

With a recent change of manager and a huge influx of new players, Welling had the look of a bunch of strangers and with a run-in that looks horrendous, they need to get to know each other and very quickly if they are to avoid the drop.

From a Tonbridge point of view, it wasn’t pretty but it was job well done and that is all that matters right now. The announcement this week that the laying of a 3G pitch is going ahead in the summer makes retention of their National League South status absolutely imperative.

Two nervous sides completed the opening 10 minutes with neither side wanting to make the first error. A ninth minute through ball from Tom Beere saw Welling goalkeeper Coniah Boyce-Clark advance beyond his area to clear, but four minutes later it was an error from the Wings keeper that gifted the Angels their opening goal. Tommy Wood moved the ball on from a long clearance into the path of Joe Turner whose low shot squirmed from the keeper’s grasp onto a post where Wood was on hand to touch home the rebound.

Welling forced a succession of corners through the half but Tonbridge defended them without too much alarm.

Just prior to the break, the ball fell kindly on the edge of the box to Tonbridge’s Beere but his shot was high and not too handsome.

The second period saw the Angels with a far greater share of possession and the better of the chances. Turner saw his 46th effort well saved by Boyce-Clark and a 58th minute corner saw Perkins' header safely into the goalkeeper’s hands.

Welling’s best chance of the game came on 66 minutes when Dipo Akinyemi’s cross begged a touch but eluded Harvey Bradbury.

Good combination work from Wood and Coombes saw the latter’s shot deflected away for a corner and when Wood broke clear with 10 minutes remaining, Boyce-Clark blocked the first effort and also the follow-up attempt from Coombes.

Tonbridge saw the game out with little alarm to accrue the three vital points that seems them now six points clear of their visitors, which gives breathing space, but that is all it is.

Chatham Town Academy 1 Tonbridge Angels Academy 4

Match 118/21/1982 - Friday, 1st April 2022 - National League U19 Alliance

Chatham Town Academy (0) 1 Biring 82
Tonbridge Angels Academy (3) 4 Hermitage 3 Woodhouse 44 Green 45 McArthur 56
Headcount: 20
Admission: Free
Programme: None
Mileage: 32/6,813

Tonbridge Angels Academy stretched their lead at the top of the National League Alliance with a fine 4-1 win over a very useful Chatham Town side at the Bauvill Stadium.

There are hurdles for both Tonbridge and Bromley, who mathematically are now the only challengers, but the table is shaping towards a monumental match on 27th April.

There was a bitterly cold wind and snow in the air as the two teams took to the pitch but it was the Angels that got off to a red hot start, taking the lead after just three minutes. A ball forward from Tom Green was collected by Fin Hartley who opened up the Chatham defence with a superb pass, allowing Ben Hermitage to round the goalkeeper before slotting home a composed finish.

Chatham might well, in fact should have, equalised within a minute. A free kick, awarded just outside the box, from Callum Kirwood-Slack struck the bar with the rebound headed over with the goal at their mercy.

A very even game ensued for the best part of the first half with, for Tonbridge, Hartley’s pace causing the Chats defence serious problems and Kirwood-Slack and Lewis Bain doing likewise for the Angels backline.

Hartley broke clear just past the half-hour but was denied by the advancing Chatham goalkeeper, Harvey Mills and, from the resulting corner, Joe Tyrie leapt the highest but his header cleared the bar. Three minutes later, Hartley broke clear again but his finish was over the bar.

It was the Angels that were creating the chances and just prior to the break they fashioned a superb goal, later described by Academy boss Tommy Parkinson as the best of the season. In a tight area with one touch passes, Josh McArthur, Hermitage and Hartley opened up a shooting opportunity for Luca Woodhouse who curled his shot into the top corner.

Within a minute, Tonbridge took a three goal advantage into the break as Tom Green powered a header home from a corner. The 3-0 half-time scoreline was perhaps a little harsh on Chatham but it certainly reflected a fine half from the visitors.

The second half, from an Angels point of view, didn’t quite reach the heights of the first but the game was put to bed after 56 minutes when Hermitage set up McArthur, who had been devilishly good, for a deserved goal.

Tonbridge lost a little of their momentum when the influential Woodhouse left the game and Chatham found a foothold and they were eventually rewarded eight minutes from time when Kieran Jordan did well before pulling the ball back for Joel Biring to fire home a consolation goal.

There was disappointment for the Angels when debutant Dylan Williams was harshly sent off; deemed to have been the last man after a foul, with the free kick going over the bar in what was the very last kick of the match.

Tommy Parkinson commented after the game: “It was a dominant performance from the Elite squad against a well organised Chatham team. Our levels dropped in the second half, but some excellent football was played in the game.”