Staplehurst Monarchs U23 2 Ramsgate U23 2

Match 23/23/2146 - Wednesday, 30th August 2023 - SCEFL Development League

Staplehurst Monarchs U23 (1) 2 Linton 6 Winch 57
Ramsgate U23 (0) 2 Jobe 80 Hennessey 90+12
Attendance: 81

Admission: £2
Programme: None
Mileage: 1/1,181
Weather: 18degC., getting cooler

As the once in a decade Blue Moon rose high over the Jubilee and Staplehurst Monarch’s SCEFL Development League game entered its 102nd minute, one final cross lofted into the box was met with a firm header from close range and visitors Ramsgate had escaped with a point after finding themselves two goals down just before the hour.

This season the Development League has attracted the attention of National League South’s Maidstone United and Isthmian League sides. Consequently, from this first look, the league looks significantly stronger than last season.

In terms of possession, Ramsgate could certainly argue that they were well worth their point but Staplehurst defended resolutely and caught the visitors on the break on countless occasions.

One such break, saw the home side take the lead when the ball was fed to the right hand side of the box from where Ainsley Linton fired into the far bottom corner for a superb finish.

The first half proceeded in much the same vein but it was the home side that came closest to doubling their lead with a headed opportunity going narrowly over.

Staplehurst added to their lead on 57 minutes when Sam Winch headed home from a corner.

Now with a two goal deficit, Ramsgate had to go for broke and the pressure on the Staplehurst goal was relentless but last ditches tackles, a superb save from Cameron Sanghera and a goal line clearance kept the visitors at bay until the 80th minute when the ball dropped in the box for Zak Jobe to poke home.

The home side game managed (the visiting supporters calling something entirely different) the remaining time but Ramsgate were given the encouragement of eight minutes of added time.

An injury midway through this period added further minutes with 11 gone on the clock when one final Hail Mary into the box was met with a header from Wes Hennessey to earn Ramsgate what had seemed an unlikely point.

As arguments raged over the length of the extra time to the added time, two players appeared to be red carded by the referee which was a disappointing end to a highly entertaining evening.

Tonbridge Angels 0 Welling United 1

Match 22/23/2145 - Monday, 28th August 2023 - National League South

Tonbridge Angels (0) 0
Welling United (1) 1 Burchill 18
Attendance: 1,303

Admission: Season Ticket
Programme: £3
Mileage: 38/1,180
Weather: 21degC., pleasantly warm

These are the postings that you don’t want to be writing. Your team has suffered defeat and, perhaps more importantly, have served up a dire performance in front of a large Bank Holiday attendance.

It is so easy to use these few column inches to have a rant, but in general it serves little purpose. It’s times like this that I wish I could turn to the writing style of fellow Tonbridge Angels blogger, Trevor Brittain, whose great use of humour lightens the gloom.

The season is only six games in, the table is still embryonic, with two wins from the visitors, Welling United, over the weekend lifting them alongside Tonbridge after a disastrous start.

From an Angels point of view there is very little need for a forensic examination of the first six games, just three goals (one of which from the penalty spot) tells you pretty much all you need to know as reason for the stuttering start.

If you are not scoring goals then inevitably one moment can win a match and when, after 18 minutes, Welling defender Jack Burchill climbed highest to power home a header at the far post following a corner, it was sensed that it could be a long afternoon and sadly it was.

It is in the public domain that the movement of players, with Tommie Fagg and Joe Boachie heading out on loan, has begun, presumably freeing up some of the budget for, hopefully, someone that is going to test an opposing goalkeeper.

The rants can stay on hold for a while longer, but my search for comedic lines continues.

Yeovil Town 2 Tonbridge Angels 0

Match 21/23/2144 - Saturday, 26th August 2023 - National League South

Yeovil Town (1) 2 Young 13 Nouble 90+6
Tonbridge Angels (0) 0
Attendance: 2,896

Admission: £14 Senior
Programme: £3
Mileage: 355/1,142
Weather: 18degC., heavy showers

That’ll Be The Day that I’ll like to forget in a hurry.

That I didn’t exercise of little bit of commonsense to go alongside what a satnav was telling me was a source of frustration as an expected journey of a little over three hours became five and left us hurrying from the car park with ten minutes to spare and placing our backsides down as the referee blew his whistle to start the game.

Not enough attention was taken to bank holiday traffic and consequently the eternally slow haul round the M25 saw the best part of an hour of the time in hand disappear. Further stoppages on the M3 and the notorious drag past Stonehenge saw the rest of that time evaporate.

Although not a new ground, having twice previously been and seen defeat with Gillingham, this was a much anticipated match for Tonbridge Angels fans. A chance to visit a club that graced the Championship nine years ago entertaining the likes of Leeds United, Nottingham Forest, Leicester City and, in the FA Cup, Manchester United.

Huish Park, with a near 10,000 capacity, opened in 1990 and for my first visit in 2006, it was still a relatively new stadium of good standard in League One. Sadly, their drift downwards from the heady days of the Championship to National League South has also seen the ground become tired, a bit outdated and, to be frank, lacking some of the amenities that we enjoy at Longmead.

The home club decided not to open the uncovered away terrace and instead housed the 66 Tonbridge supporters in a block of seats for which they were thankful as the weather also failed to play ball with very heavy showers punctuating the first half.

The journey home was marginally better but another four hours equated to nine hours driving and although the Angels put in a spirited performance and stayed in the game until the final minute of time added, their lack of any sort of cutting edge in the final third failed to produce a shot on target, not what you want from a punishing day.

Yeovil got their noses in front on 13 minutes when Jordan Young finished between Jonny Henly and his near post from the right hand edge of the box. Henly kept the Angels in the game in the first period with several good saves.

Tonbridge offered encouragement to their hardy support in the early stages with shots from Joe Turner and Ibby Akanbi that were not too far wide but, after 64 minutes, the home side were awarded a disputed penalty when Rhys Murphy was brought down, but there had clearly been an offside in the build up. Justice was served as Henly added to his heroics with a save.

Frank Nouble, whose brother Joel was a Tonbridge signing for all of about 20 minutes under Steve McKimm, wrapped the game up in added time to end this forgettable trip to Somerset.

Cray Valley PM U18 5 Tonbridge Angels U18 0

Match 20/23/2143 - Thursday, 25th August 2023 - Isthmian Youth League

Cray Valley PM U18 (4) 5 Woods 3 Flockton 7 Eyin 18 Turner 23 Chukwujekwu 77
Tonbridge Angels (0) 0
Attendance: 55

Admission: £4
Programme: None
Mileage: 71/787
Weather: 20degC., humid

Tonbridge Angels Under-18’s endured a nightmare start to their season as naive defending saw them 4-0 down in the opening 23 minutes.

Cray Valley PM were last year’s champions for good reason, not needing any sort of a helping hand and on this showing have the potential to repeat their achievements this season.

But, to their credit, the Angels youngsters showed, especially in the second half, a great deal of spirit to limit the home side to just one further goal.

The afternoon’s storm had drifted north leaving a warm, muggy evening at kick off. Cray Valley kicked down the slope in the first half and were ahead after just three minutes when a shot from Emmanuel Eyin came back off the bar to Riley Woods who drilled the ball into the far corner from the left hand angle of the six yard box.

After seven minutes, Cray doubled their advantage when a free kick lofted into the box saw Liam Hutchings effort saved by Toby Underwood but the rebound was tucked home from close range by Stanley Flockton.

Things went from bad to worse for the Angels after 18 minutes when, playing out from the back, the ball was lost giving Eyin the simplest of chances to make it three.

The ball was, once more given away cheaply on the edge of the box and Malachy Turner was on hand to take advantage and slot home past Underwood to make it four after 23 minutes.

Those 23 minutes of chaos left the Tonbridge contingent fearing a rout but a lot of heart for the rest of the season can be taken from the resilience shown after such a torrid opening.

A surging run from defence into the Cray Valley half from skipper Will Puffette certainly raised the spirits despite the free kick that he had earned being struck over the bar by Reuben Etherington.

The Angels still had to defend for long periods in the early part of the second half but a shot from Teddy Cooney wasn’t too far wide and a free kick from Ben Martin-Coward forced the keeper into a good save.

A defence splitting pass saw Arinze Chukwujekwu finish past Underwood for Cray Valley’s fifth after 77 minutes as the Angels actually enjoyed their best spell in the game.

A consolation goal would have been a just reward but the goalkeeper denied Cameron Honavar and Etherington and in the final act of the game substitutes Ethan Mgbeze and Logan Wallace combined for the latter’s header to drift agonisingly wide.

Manager Dom Welsh commented after the game that it had been a “really poor start to the season, all accountable for the first half performance. We applied ourselves well in the second half but too many mistakes gave away a huge deficit early on, we learn and move on.”

Staplehurst Monarchs 1 Bridon Ropes 0

Match 19/23/2142 - Saturday, 19th August 2023 - SCEFL Division 1

Staplehurst Monarchs (1) 0 Oldfield 27
Bridon Ropes (0) 0
Attendance: 113

Admission: £4 Senior
Programme: £1
Mileage: 1/716
Weather: 22degC., hot

Win with style or win ugly, whichever way counts for three points.

Staplehurst didn’t win ugly as such but it needed a far more resilient performance than on Wednesday night against one the division’s more lauded clubs to dispose of an equally hardworking Bridon Ropes.

A hot afternoon that would have tested the early season fitness of both sides probably accounted for the rather flat opening that saw the best of the chances fall to Ropes’ Josh Teenick but it was the home side that took the lead on 27 minutes when a cross was headed down by Mackenzie Gardner for Stanley Oldfield to tuck the ball home from 10 yards.

The Monarchs were denied doubling their advantage before the break when Gardner’s header came back from the crossbar.

Both defences continued to rule the roost into the second period with chances very much at a premium. An early strike from Bridon’s Sean Nicholls cleared the bar whilst mid-way through the half, the ever willing Oldfield robbed a defender but his rolled shot drifted just wide of the far post.

Three minutes later, on 77, the visitors missed their best chance when a shot cleared the bar after a headed knock back from Louis Dockering.

Staplehurst will be well pleased with their opening two games at the Jubilee sitting alongside AFC Whyteleafe with a 100% record before starting their FA Vase journey at AFC Uckfield next Saturday.

Staplehurst Monarchs 3 Faversham Strike Force 0

Match 18/23/2141 - Wednesday, 17th August 2023 - SCEFL Division 1

Staplehurst Monarchs (2) 3 Gorse 31 OG 41 Hooper (pen) 57
Faversham Strike Force (0) 0
Attendance: 102

Admission: £4 Senior
Programme: None
Mileage: 1/715
Weather: 20degC., dry

Staplehurst Monarchs got their season underway with an emphatic home win against Faversham Strike Force.

The Monarchs have had to patiently wait for their opening game as other SCEFL clubs have had a FA Cup Preliminary Round tie and a opening league game.

But all good things come to those who wait and the home side produced an eye-catching and thoroughly encouraging performance of which they were almost always in complete control.

The management at the Jubilee have found a very effective blend of experienced heads through the spine of the team with some exciting youngsters that offer pace and enthusiasm that, on the night, Faversham were unable to compete with.

Staplehurst made all of the running in the opening period with Faversham’s goalkeeper Harry Earls saving from a Adam Hooper header and Ted Rosetti firing over before, after 31 minutes, fine work from Stanley Oldfield set up Harley Gorse to finish into the bottom corner.

Continuing to dominate the game, the home side doubled their advantage four minutes from the break when a corner from the right, somehow dribbled its way into the net, courtesy of a Faversham defender.

Gorse headed over following a James Delaney free kick as the hosts entered the break in total command.

Whatever was said in the Strike Force dressing room had little effect as Staplehurst continued to control the game with Brad Large heading over.

Frustration boiled over for Faversham’s captain Ali Wren who was sent to the sin bin after conceding a penalty from which Hooper converted. Wren returned after the statutory 10 minutes only to commit a foul within a minute of returning to be shown a red card.

On the night, Staplehurst might be disappointed that they were unable to add some gloss to the result against 10 men with Sam Swift being denied by Earls and Dan Ashton going close, but this was a result, and a performance, of which they can take massive encouragement.

Tonbridge Angels 1 Dover Athletic 0

Match 17/23/2140 - Tuesday, 16th August 2023 - National League South

Tonbridge Angels (1) 1 Gard 26
Dover Athletic (0) 0
Attendance: 1,046

Admission: Season Ticket
Programme: £3
Mileage: 38/714
Weather: 20degC., dry

It is a ridiculous notion that the third game of any season could have a “must win” consideration, but there was a feeling that, if nothing else, points on the board would reinvigorate the pre-season optimism that had quickly dissipated following two single goal results. That it came against Kent rivals Dover Athletic, with their spicy support, was an added bonus.

The lack of a goal in the opening two games obviously influenced the decision to bring Stefan Payne and Ibby Akanbi, genuine strikers, into the starting line-up. Payne, who was only ever going to have an hour in the tank, gave us glimpses of what we might be able to expect whilst Akanbi impressed as his partner.

Dover had the ball in the net after nine minutes but the whistle had long since gone for offside against Sutherland and at the other end, following a corner lofted beyond the far post, Payne was denied by a good save from Billy Terrell.

The Angel opened the scoring on 26 minutes after the ball had been won in the centre circle by Jordan Higgs, Ruben Soares-Junior sent Tariq Hinds away down the right. The wing back’s cut back found Lewis Gard, whose shot from the edge of the box found its way through a crowd of bodies to nestle in the corner.

The Angels dominated the rest of the half without adding to the scoreline but goalkeeper Terrell had to be alert to turn over an Akanbi free kick.

Tonbridge were still largely in control of the game in the second period, when on the hour mark, a Jamie Fielding foul in the. box accounted for the award of a penalty. Sutherland shot to Jonny Henly’s right but the keeper was equal to it and the header from the rebound landed tamely in the Angels’ keeper’s hands.

Payne made way for Joe Turner on 65 minutes and five minutes later, a Jernade Meade cross was deflected against his own post by a defender with the return being well struck by Turner only for Terrell to make a fine stop.

There were half chances for both sides for the remaining time and what ultimately became 10 minutes of added time were nervous moments but the Angels saw it through for a well deserved first three points on the board.

A little bit of stupidity between the sets of supporters added a touch more satisfaction that the visitors were sent home with nothing to show for their journey.