Chelmsford City (0) 1 Trotter 90+5
Tonbridge Angels (0) 0
Attendance: 571
Admission: Pass
Programme: £3
Mileage: 128/5,230
Chelmsford’s Melbourne Stadium is a soulless, athletics-based stadium at which Tonbridge’s history is not good, albeit that there has been a win and a draw there in the last couple of years.
The pitch at Chelmsford is not on the particularly small side, but if this game had been played at the local racecourse both teams would still have had trouble keeping the ball on the pitch which presents its own problems as the ball disappears over the eight lane running track. When the ball was in play, somewhat a novelty, neither side could pass the ball to a team mate. The first half was dire; the second half was worse.
Abigail Byrne has earned plenty of plaudits and from the two previous games she officiated for Tonbridge Angels, those accolades have been well deserved. But, on this occasion, there wasn’t too many Tonbridge supporters going home singing her praises, but I would cut her some slack and don’t subscribe to putting the reasons for defeat solely at her door.
After a slow start, the Angels just about edged the first half, at least in terms of the best of the chances, the best of which falling to Tommie Fagg, who replaced Tariq Hinds in the starting XI due to a hamstring injury, on 30 minutes when his header from an acute angle only found the side netting. Further chances fell to Jordan Greenidge and Devonte Aransibia but the score remained, unsurprisingly, goalless at the break.
Sadly for the 50 or 60 Angels supporters that had made the journey through the tunnel their side disappeared in the second period and, to be honest, took the home side with them, such was lack of quality on display.
Chelmsford had the better of the possession in the second half without seriously threatening the Angels goal with about the only moment of excitement coming when Greenidge and Dave Winfield tussled for a ball with the City defender making every effort to broker an early exchange of shirts.
The defining moment of the game came in the final minute of time added. A challenge from Ben Swift brought a melee of players that eventually saw bookings for Swift and Jonny Henly plus a Chelmsford player. Was it a fair challenge, Swift got the ball but referee Byrne saw it differently and from the resultant free kick, after the ball was headed clear, it fell kindly for Liam Trotter who struck it cleanly past a perhaps unsighted Henly.
And so ended another forgettable evening in Essex and unbeaten eight game streak, one can only rejoice that the bridge need not be crossed again this season.
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