Tonbridge 1 Bromley 1

Match 38/11/925 - Sunday, 1 January 2012 - Confeerence South

Tonbridge (0) 1 Henry 77
Bromley (0) 1 Rhule 81
Att. 905

Entrance: £6 Senior
Programme: £2.00
Mileage: 26/3,024

Match Report

Midway through the second half with a break in the play due to an injury the referee took the opportunity to roll the ball along the sodden turf and toss it in the air to see whether it would bounce. It failed dismally to pass the bounce test but rolled far enough to convince the official that despite the fact it continued to throw it down the game could continue.

The referee, Mr Ryan Atkins, used a great deal of common sense during the game allowing for the conditions when a couple of mistimed challenge occurred and with the game poised at 0-0 it must have been tempting to bring it to a halt at that particular point.

Both struggled manfully with the conditions and produced an entertaining game with everything considered, splashing their way through pools of water reminiscent of the iconic Tom Finney picture of many moons ago. Another worthy mention was the attendance of 905 who could easily have chosen an afternoon watching an old black and white movie rather than face the elements.

The Tonbridge element in the crowd was mighty pleased with the referee’s decision when Chris Henry fired them into a 77th minute lead with a low shot into the bottom left corner from 20 yards. Unfortunately the lead lasted just four minutes when two Bromley substitutes combined for the equaliser. Ibra Sekajja cut the ball back from the bye-line for Aaron Rhule to tuck the ball home from close range.

Nathan Koranteng made his debut for Tonbridge following his signing from Borehamwood and made a decent impression, once again taking in account it wasn't the conditions for a ball carrying winger. It was a game for defenders to dig in, judge their tackles carefully and for this Sonny Miles was a good choice as man of the match.

As we enter the New Year, a rough estimate would be that four more wins should be enough to secure Tonbridge’s status in Blue Square South, but an eight game winless run needs arresting sooner rather than later.