Sutton United (2) 2 Jolly 35, Murray 45
Tonbridge (1) 2 England 43 Collin 85 (pen)
Att. 561
Entrance: £10
Programme: £2
Mileage: 94/4,397
New Ground: 239
Match Report
A wet evening and a trip round the M25 at the back end of rush hour was hardly appealing. But I had a gut feeling that Tonbridge’s visit to Sutton United was going to be worth the effort and sometimes effort is rewarded accordingly.
What I witnessed was a game that was later described as “a great advert for non-league football” by Sutton manager, Paul Doswell as Tonbridge twice came from behind to gain a well-deserved share of the spoils.
The first half hour was largely dominated by the hosts with Lee Worgan forced to make a couple of saves from the ever-dangerous Richard Jolly. After this initial period the Angels started to find their feet and brought the Sutton keeper, Kevin Scriven, into the action with a good save from Frannie Collin.
At the time of Sutton’s opening goal, the visitors had ridden the early storm and were beginning to get on top. In the 35th minute, a pass from Andy Forbes found Jolly in a shooting position and the ace marksman doesn’t miss very often when one on one with the keeper.
Two minutes from the break, Tonbridge capitalised on a poor defensive clearance. Claude Seanla fired in a pass across the face of the goal, Collin stepped over and Jamie England fired home to the delight of a sizeable visiting contingent behind the goal.
As the clock ticked down to the 45, Worgan was once again forced to make a good save from Jolly, before not dealing as well with a Orilonishe free kick that slipped from his grasp allowing Karl Murray to lift the rebound into the roof of the net for a half time lead that Sutton just about deserved.
If the first half produced a game in which neither side totally dominated, the second was largely one-way traffic as Tonbridge searched for an equaliser.
Scriven was proving the rock on which Tonbridge’s efforts were foundering as really good saves from Danny Walder and England denied the visitors, likewise a strong penalty appeal that fell on deaf ears from the referee.
As time ebbed away and with Scriven now seeming almost unbeatable, the referee offered the Angels a deserved life line awarding them a penalty for an offence that nobody from the touchline saw. Collin coolly sent the keeper the wrong way to level the game.
Lee Browning had two attempts to steal all three points at the death, a surging run was ended when he lost his footing and a blistering shot that was narrowly wide before the referee brought the curtain down on a very enjoyable evening’s entertainment.
This was my first visit to Gander Green Lane which has all the attributes of an erstwhile Conference club with covered stands on three sides. It may no longer be considered fit for purpose in the higher reaches of the football pyramid but remains a decent stadium at Ryman Premier level.
The rain had cleared as the evening wore on and, of course, the M25 is a different beast three hours later than the outward journey, allowing a gentle ride home with time to reflect that the effort had been more than worthwhile.
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