Tunbridge Wells 1 Canterbury City 2

Match 31/15/1236 - Saturday, 10th October 2015 - SCEL

Tunbridge Wells (1) 1 Griffiths 33
Canterbury City (0) 2 R Lawrence 69, D Lawrence 84
Attendance: 312

Entrance: £4 Senior
Programme: £1.50
Mileage: 36/1,925

Match Report

Non-League Day didn't quite bring the entertainment or the result that the majority of a large crowd at Culverden had wished for.

Since their return to Kent League football in 2011, Canterbury have managed mid-table finishes each season but in that time they have become the whipping boys for Tunbridge Wells having conceded six goals twice at Culverden and once when they played their home games at Herne Bay.

Recovering from a goal down at the break, Canterbury dominated the second period to record their fifth win on the trot and move into fifth place in the SCEL.

The afternoon began with some head scratching regarding the omission from the team sheet of the influential Lee Radford. It was explained that the sending off of Chris Seenan in a recent match against Lordswood had been recorded by the referee as that of Radford and he is consequently serving the suspension for Seenan!

After the boredom of Wembley the previous evening, the entertainment I hoped for was a long time coming at Culverden with neither side threatening to break the deadlock in the opening half-hour.

Ben Hunt had the first clear cut opportunity for the home side after 26 minutes but he failed to test the City goalkeeper, Shannon Harris, with a shot that found the side netting. But it was Hunt that opened the visiting defence five minutes later with a run and pass that gave Seenan a shooting opportunity that was parried by Harris to the feet of Hakim Griffiths who tapped in from close range.

The Wells dominated the remaining minutes of the first period and went into the break fully deserving of their advantage.

The second half saw a complete transformation of the game. Canterbury, orchestrated by the excellent Dan Lawrence, started getting some real joy down their right hand side with Tom Bryant, already on a booking, struggling to contain a City substitute.

Just over 20 minutes remained when a cross from the bye-line was turned against the bar with the rebound being bundled over the line by a combination Rob Lawrence and a Tunbridge Wells defender.

The visitors hit the crossbar again five minutes later when a header from central defender Ben Gorham found the woodwork.

But Canterbury were not to be denied. Dan Lawrence evaded a weak challenge on the edge of the box, committed Nic Taylor in the Wells goal before rounding him to slot into an empty net.