Cheshunt (0) 3 Liburd 48 Adams 62 Beckles-Richards 90+5
Tonbridge Angels (2) 4 Collins 26,55 Soares 45 Santos 71
Attendance: 408
Admission: £10 Senior
Programme: Not purchased
Mileage: 133/2,024
It was quite a rare occurrence for myself, and I would imagine a few other Tonbridge Angels supporters, to walk away from an away win and feel a little disappointed. This, to me, was 5-0 game there for the taking and to be hanging on at 4-3 at the end was the source of the disappointment.
For everybody connected to the club, from the humble supporter through to the manager and chairman, a response was needed after the previous weekend’s FA Cup humiliation at Binfield, and thankfully, we largely got it.
Five changes to the starting line-up and a strong bench with Ruben Soares Junior, ineligible last week, and new loan signing from Southend United, Jayden Crowhurst making their debuts gave a strong sense of optimism against a Cheshunt side, newly promoted and on a run of six straight defeats.
It has been 17 years since my only previous visit to Theobalds Lane so it was like visiting a new ground. It is a tidy ground with very welcoming people and for that reason alone I hope they can survive this season. There are two small covered enclosures for standing behind the goals and bigger stand, of similar construction, for seating on one side. On the opposite side is an older stand that I presume was there in 2005 and is very oddly positioned, set back a long way with viewing that would be obscured by the dug outs. I wondered if at some stage there had been a running track such was its position.
From the outset, Tonbridge’s difference in intensity from last Saturday was visible and although the home side had an early sniff at goal, a chance fell to Tommie Fagg, who fired over and, on 14 minutes, Lewis Gard struck the right hand post.
At this mid-way through the first half point, Cheshunt’s early ambition had been seen off and the Angels were very much in the ascendancy. Louis Collins, was showing just how much he was missed last week, running a cumbersome back line ragged and on 25 minutes he was at the back post to bundle the ball home following a run and cross from Joe Turner.
Lewis Gard was doing what Lewis Gard does and the Cheshunt defence were struggling to contain him whenever he was one the ball and, on 42 minutes, he brought a smart save from Preston Edwards.
On the cusp of the break, Tonbridge got a second goal that their first half dominance had deserved and it was a golden hello from Soares to the travelling Tonbridge support. The Portuguese player was fed a pass by Gard; drifted in from the right of the box before unleashing a shot into the top corner that had Edwards grasping at air.
Edwards excelled in the opening moments of the second half to deny Soares and had that gone in, perhaps Tonbridge might have gone on to cruise to a comprehensive victory, but sloppy defending after three minutes gave Cheshunt a route back into the game when a cross into the box eventually dropped at the feet of Rowan Liburd who fired into the centre of the goal from around eight yards.
Tonbridge restored their two goal advantage five minutes later when superb work down the right from Crowhurst saw him cut the ball back from the bye-line to the near post from where Collins neatly converted.
The game entered a basketball phase and on the hour, Cheshunt were back in business when Jonny Henly, uncharacteristically fumbled a cross and Brandon Adams was on hand to poke the ball home.
They could have been level soon after when Ben Swift needed to clear from his line before Jeremy Santos, on as a substitute for Gard curled a screamer into the far corner for the Angels fourth.
Tonbridge had chances to put the game to bed but a combination of Edwards and wayward finishing kept the game alive and, in the fifth minute of six added, Cheshunt set the visiting hearts racing as they reduced the deficit once more. Once again, a set piece cross into the box wasn’t cleared and Reece Beckles-Richards scored to set up a finale which saw Henly make a great save to preserve the points.
Manager Jay Saunders pretty much echoed the thoughts of supporters when he commented that “To come here and score four goals, brilliant. On the flip side we shouldn’t have needed four goals to win the game.”
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