Lydd Town (1) 3
Tunbridge Wells (2) 3 Bryant 2 Beecroft
Att. 50-ish
Entrance: Free
Programme: None
Mileage: 58/332
New ground: 258
An hour's run through the Kent countryside to one of the county's footballing outposts proved good value as Lydd Town and Tunbridge Wells fought out a feisty pre-season friendly at The Lindsey Field. There is a certain engaging beauty to Romney Marsh, but with Dungeness Power Station viewed in the distance, it also brings a certain eeriness.
From the disappointment of Saturday's comparatively expensive friendly and a game lacking a competitive edge, this match with a free entrance had a vigour that sometimes went over the top as Lydd, in particular, had no concept of the word friendly.
The Kent Invicta League side are no mugs. They came second last season to Hollands and Blair, indeed taking four points off the eventual champions, and in pre-season this year have already visited SCEL side, Deal Town, and won 5-3.
The game was not helped by some rather curious officiating by a referee who did seem rather out of his depth in a game of rough and tumble.
Pre-season remains a guessing game as to who is who with new faces arriving all the time. On this occasion Tunbridge Wells fielded Mark Wallis, who was with Lydd last season and instrumental in this friendly being played. Another new face was winger Jack Goldsmith.
Tunbridge Wells opened brightly as were quickly in front as a cross to the far post was met on the volley by Tom Bryant to open the scoring.
The Lydd Town manager obviously believed in getting the most out of his squad as he continually rotated his players with the first one leaving the field after a little more than a quarter of an hour and was still making substitutions with 20 seconds to go!
Lydd Town were completely overrun in the opening stages and from a free kick on the edge of the box Jake Beecroft slammed home a second.
At this stage, with tempers getting frayed among the home players, one of the Lydd players was taking centre stage and providing much humour with a volley of expletives directed at the sidelines or his fellow team mates in equal measure. It was a disappointment when it became his turn to take a blow such was his value to the occasion. Not to fear, he was to return to add to our enjoyment.
A third goal from a free kick was ruled out, apparently virtue of the fact that the ball had gone directly into the net from an indirect free kick.
Slowly Lydd edged their way back into the game and were rewarded with a goal before half-time.
The second half began with a second goal from Tom Bryant in very similar fashion to his first. Stealing in at the far post, he met a cross with a venomous volley that gave the keeper no chance.
Lydd are built of stern stuff and once they found themselves only one goal adrift, courtesy of a cross from the right that eluded the Wells' two central defenders and rifled home, it was almost certain they would find an equaliser which eventually came in similar fashion to their previous goal. Both were goals that would annoy Martin Larkin, the Tunbridge Wells manager.
There was still time for our friend from the first half to return and renew acquaintances with the curious official and with a bit of expansive name-calling, the referee decided on a compulsory substitution to end his evening with a further volley of expletives as he left the field.
Lydd Town are going to be a handful for their opponents in the Kent Invicta League, but without floodlights, they have no means of promotion, a similar fate suffered by Hollands last season.
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