Tonbridge Angels (1) 2 Greenidge 45,56
Bracknell Town (2) 4 Sanders 3 Miles (o.g.) 23 Esprit 49 Grant 73
Attendance: 669
Admission: £12 Senior
Programme: £3 purchased
Mileage: 38/3,464
In years to come, Angels aficionados and historians will have a favourite quiz question regarding one management team that inflicted two first entry round exits with different clubs in the same season. The answer is Jamie McClurg and Carl Withers and this time there can be no excuses of hopes being kicked into the long grass.
Bracknell Town’s joint management team left Binfield almost immediately after their FA Cup success for their step three neighbours and came to Longmead after an admirable FA Cup First Round performance against Ipswich Town. They replicated their previous employers four goals with a display in which they were the better of their hosts in every department.
The seemingly never-ending procession of new players to Longmead continued with the arrival of a towering striker in the shape of Jordan Greenidge from Hemel Hempstead.
The inconsistency that has become the watchword of this Tonbridge squad is borne of their inability to play the same team in successive games, through unavailability, all season and the consequence is that either side of that magnificent performance at Ebbsfleet there have been shockers at Concord and this Trophy exit.
On the day this was a defensive nightmare but that’s not where the problems have been this season, mostly that’s been okay.
In midfield, how we craved to see Taylor, Gard, Santos and Wagstaff together. Never happened and now never will.
Up front is well chronicled and, despite his two goals, the jury is already out on Greenidge.
A case has to be made that five or six weeks of stability of selection with what we have would, at least, give some clarity and, personally, I’m confident we would continue to accumulate points as players return from long periods of injury.
Bracknell started the game in a positive manner; scored after just three minutes and pretty much stayed on the front foot for rest of the game.
For the opening goal, Jonny Henly saved low from a shot by Joe Grant but his parry only fell at the feet of Darryl Sanders who tucked it home from close range.
Dajon Golding put a diving header well wide before the visitors doubled their lead on 22 minutes when a free kick from the right was floated in to the far post where Sonny Miles turned the ball into his own net under pressure from Grant.
Tonbridge produced a couple of half-chances, headers from Louis Collins and Ben Swift that cleared the bar before they give themselves a lifeline just prior to the break with a goal from Greenidge who converted a Joe Turner cross with a good finish from around eight yards.
Using a well-worn football phrase of “small margins” the game probably had its defining moment just two minutes into the second half when Golding, put through, crashed his shot against the bar and Bracknell broke upfield and almost immediately restored their two goal advantage through Jordan Esprit, who cut in from the left to bury a low shot between Henly and his right hand post.
The Angels gave themselves plenty of time to retrieve the situation when, after 56 minutes, A free kick from Turner found the head of Greenidge and his looping header sailed into the far corner.
After 65 minutes, Henly breathed a sigh of relief as a shot came back off the post straight into his hands but that relief was short-lived as a cross found Grant peeling off the back of a defender to volley home Bracknell’s fourth.
Tonbridge had their half-chances to drag the game into penalties with Collins twice heading over and Greenidge pulling a shot wide, but, in truth, there could be no complaints as to the merit of their visitors success.
Last season’s run to the Quarter Finals of the FA Trophy heightened belief that one day, a Wembley visit might happen but season 2022/23 hopes end, as always, in frustration.
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