Maidenhead United 0 Tonbridge 0

Match 75/13/1101 - Saturday, 12th April 2014 - Conference South

Maidenhead United (0) 0
Tonbridge (0) 0
Att. 472

Entrance: £6 Senior
Programme: £2.00
Mileage: 166/7,252

Match Report

It should have come as no surprise to anybody that this game, critical to both clubs, would end up with a dour struggle in which neither side could throw off the expectation that the loser would virtually consign themselves to relegation in order to win the three vital points.

At the final whistle this goalless draw was of no use to either and would only be celebrated by the supporters of Whitehawk who had managed to win at Boreham Wood and Hayes and Yeading who had been offered a further lifeline following their defeat at Bath City.

The tension that strangled the game finally spilled over midway through the second half when a childish spat between Maidenhead’s Danny Green and Tonbridge’s Grant Watts ended with them both seeing a red card as referee Holderness over-reacted to the situation.

This was also the spark for a touchline fracas that continued into the player’s tunnel with the Maidenhead manager Johnson Hippolyte needing to be restrained as the tension between the benches boiled over.

The game itself was one of very few chances with neither goalkeeper being called upon to make a serious save for the entire 90 minutes. The home side carved open a couple of reasonable shooting opportunities that failed to hit the target whilst Tonbridge waited until the very final minutes before mounting their most serious assault on the host’s goal.

The sending-offs were both unnecessary on behalf of the players involved and the referee. The two players came together as the ball was shepherded away for a goal kick. Green picked up the ball and tossed it towards the face of Watts, who reacted by tossing back into the face of Green. The referee only saw the latter of the acts and promptly sent off the Tonbridge full back. When the linesman intervened to inform the referee of Green’s part in the silliness the referee had little choice but to show a second red card to the man that recently scored all four goals in the reverse fixture in early March. For me, had the referee consulted the linesman from the outset, a yellow card for both players would have sufficed.

The result leaves both clubs looking for positive results from their remaining fixtures and hoping that results go their way elsewhere to avoid the prospect of Ryman League football next season. On the evidence of this game they will be facing each other again next season hopefully in a fixture that is not strangled by tension.