Tonbridge Angels (4) 4 Jack Wood 15,22 Turner 33 Greenidge 45
Hungerford Town (1) 3 Gyebi 9 Great Evans 77,78
Attendance: 1,169
Admission: Season Ticket
Programme: £3
Mileage: 38/6,505
It should never have been like that. A 4-1 half-time lead against a team in the relegation zone with an abysmal away record had engendered hopes that a confidence boosting, high scoring win was within the Angels’ grasp. But, of course, Tonbridge don’t do easy.
Non-League Day brought an extra couple of hundred through the turnstiles and, hopefully, some of the Football League season ticket holders who entered for a tenner went home having seen an exciting game and encouraged to return. The regulars would have preferred easy street.
The pursuit of a National South play-off spot was given a further boost earlier in the week with the return of Jeremy Santos, on loan from Charlton to the end of the season. Santos took his place on the bench with Bailey Akehurst, on loan from Gillingham, replacing Craig Braham-Barrett, who is on international duty, captaining Montserrat.
Hungerford took a surprise lead after 10 minutes with a goal of disappointing simplicity. A corner was partially cleared but the recycled cross from Evans allowed Jeremiah Gyebi a free header.
The curse of Tonbridge’s form against the lower placed sides was quickly lifted with an equaliser within five minutes from Jack Wood. A long ball forward from Joe Turner found Lewis Gard who played in Wood to come in from the right, travel across the face of goal past two defenders, before shooting into bottom right hand corner.
The Angels were in front on 22 minutes with a fine team goal. From the heart of defence the ball was played out to the left where Turner interchanged with Scott Wagstaff who played the ball down the line for Akehurst to deliver a delicious cross that was misjudged by the Hungerford goalkeeper, Jed Ward, and once the ball sailed over his head, Wood was at the far post to touch the ball home for his eighth goal of the season.
Devonte Aransibia forced Ward into a save at his feet before the Angels took a 3-1 lead after 33 minutes through Joe Turner, who received a pass from Jordan Greenidge, who had outmuscled his marker, to shoot under the body of the advancing Ward.
Henly dealt comfortably with a shot from Ryan Jones and a shot from Jake Evans cleared the bar by some distance, before on the stroke of half time, Greenidge capitalised on some calamitous defending, to intercept a woeful back pass from Matt Berry-Hargreaves and shoot past the helpless Ward.
Jack Wood was replaced five minutes into the second period with an injury and when Greenidge steered a header wide soon after it seemed that the big victory was still on the cards.
But the game went strangely flat and little of note happened until 13 minutes from time when the visitors pulled a goal back through Great Evans for little more than a consolation until a minute later when a cross from the left wasn’t dealt with and the ball fell at the feet of Evans to score again and now the home faithful’s nerves were very much on edge.
And live on their nerves they did as Hungerford piled forward until the not-so great Evans header relieved their agony.
In terms of Non-League Day it was a great success; it should have been a day when supporters left Longmead buoyant at a win, heavy in size, but people left grumbling that it was almost thrown away. I’m grateful that the Slough feeling was just about avoided.
Pictures: Kathryn Bell
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