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.