Dartford (1) 2 Carruthers 30 Fonkeu 70
Tonbridge Angels (0) 0
Attendance: 1,278
Admission: Pass
Programme: Not Purchased
Mileage: 62/2,481
After a tumultuous week at Westminster in which the old cliche “the only certainties in life are death and taxes” was severely brought into question, Tonbridge Angels supporters endured their annual certainty: defeat at Dartford.
The best part of 200 Angels fans awoke on Saturday morning, donned their colours; journeyed the short distance and arrived at Princes Park, a nice ground, where they receive a friendly welcome from hosts that barely raise a shred of hostility but in their hearts they knew the outcome is never any different. No matter how well we play, there will be a freak goal; a shocking refereeing decision or an in-form Dartford side.
For the pedantic among us, Tonbridge have once enjoyed the taste of victory at Princes, a pre-season friendly against ground-sharing Thamesmead in 2017.
Jay Saunders was unable to welcome back any of his walking wounded but made one change, resting a not fully fit Tommie Fagg for 18-year-old central defender Joe Tyrie.
Joe Turner fired in an opening shot that was only just over the bar after just 10 seconds in a bright start which also saw Dartford’s Samir Carruthers become the first of eight players to receive cautions in an afternoon that referee Ross Martin would hopefully not look back on with any great pride.
After the initial quarter-hour, the home side started to exert themselves on the game, forcing a series of corners, each of which caused concern for the Tonbridge defence.
A 24th minute effort from ex-Angel Luke Allen that almost cleared the stadium roof brought some amusement to the visiting support but as the corner count mounted, Turner was needed to clear from the line and, just a minute later, Craig Braham-Barrett spectacularly did similarly.
But the reprieve was short-lived and, on the half-hour, Carruthers swung in a corner from the left that sailed over the heads of everyone to nestle into the far corner. One could hardly call it a freak goal, as his previous efforts had posted fair warning. Jonny Henly received a yellow card for his protest that the awarding of the corner had been an incorrect decision.
Every corner won by Dartford, and there were several, brought a collective holding of breath from the Tonbridge faithful who were grateful to hear the half-time whistle.
The introduction of Dylan Gavin and Tommie Fagg on the hour brought a change in the momentum of the game with the Darts needing to stand firm as successive efforts from Gavin and Gard brought desperate blocks and it was against the run of play when the home side doubled their advantage on 70 minutes through substitute Pierre Fonkeu who drove home from close range after Henly had parried a shot from Charlie Sheringham.
Tonbridge rallied impressively with Turner seeing a shot blocked and another that cleared the bar before a route back into the game was offered when Carruthers clumsily felled Jeremy Santos in the box. Sadly, Turner’s spot kick cleared the bar by some distance and despite making a spirited effort in the final minutes the game was lost, leaving us thankful that, barring an FA Trophy draw, our visit to Princes Park is done for another year.
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