Tonbridge 2 Burgess Hill Town 3

Match 49/15/1254 - Saturday, 5th December 2015 - Ryman Premier

Tonbridge (1) 2 Elder 19,54
Burgess Hill Town (1) 3 Gargan 2, Fisk 75, Smith 78
Attendance: 457

Entrance: £10
Programme: £2.50
Mileage: 38/3,596

Match Report

Results at Stoke City and Chelsea on Saturday served to prove that, even with all the money in the world, everybody is liable for "one of those days". Roman Abramovich and the Shiekh Mansour probably drowned their sorrows in something other than PG Tips, but hopefully they felt the same way as I did, crawling back under the duvet having had "one of those days" when everybody around me would have benefited from yours truly staying there in the first place. Tonbridge also had "one of those days" and for their misfortune I almost feel I have to take some responsibility.

Kent was feeling the force, albeit in a very minor way to which Cumbria was later to suffer, from Storm Desmond leaving playing conditions difficult for both sides. Steve McKimm had drafted Sam Rents into the side on loan from Margate to cover for the injured Jack Parter.

The home side got of to the worst possible start, going behind after just two minutes. A throw in from Rents was quickly returned behind him leaving Chris Smith to move into the vacated space and deliver a cross for Sam Gargan to side foot home from very close range.

Tonbridge responded well and should have been on level terms after 11 minutes when a Nicky Wheeler to cross to the far post was redirected across the face of goal by Laurence Ball from where Jeromme Sobers, diving in, directed his header just wide.

After 19 minutes the Angels were level following brilliant work from Wheeler, who cut back from the bye-line to deliver an inch perfect cross for Nathan Elder to head in off the underside of the bar.

On the hour came a game changing moment when Ball took a boot to the face in the centre circle. A long delay ensued, and although the central defender could make his way from he field, he was too groggy to continue. The reshuffle saw the influential Tom Parkinson go back into central defence with Tommy Whitnell coming on as substitute.

This took the momentum away from Tonbridge and it was Burgess Hill that went closest before the break when a cross from Sam Fisk was deflected onto the bar and over by Parkinson.

Early into the second half, Tonbridge enjoyed a stroke of fortune as a thunderous free kick from Gargan cannoned back off a post before after 54 minutes the home side took the lead. A cross from the David Fitzpatrick on the right was met with another header from Elder, who troubled the Hillians central defence constantly.

Fifteen minutes remained when a two minute spell turned the game on its head. A Fisk cross from the left hand side, almost inexplicably, found its way past Anthony Di Barnardo. Such was the surprise at the ball nestling in the corner of the net, that it could only have been a deflection off Sobers that took it past the keeper.

A couple of minutes later, a session of head tennis failed to clear the danger and the final header forward found Chris Smith, who lobbed the advancing Di Barnardo to give Burgess Hill the lead. Smith, who evidently chose Burgess Hill in preference to Tonbridge in the summer, had not really impressed at the point, but this was a predatory finish.

Sobers limped away from the action five minutes from time leaving the home side without a recognised centre half on the field and with Sonny Miles still to return to action leaves a worrying situation.

In the past eight days Tonbridge have had three opportunities to reach the summit of the Ryman Premier and with Dulwich Hamlet surprisingly beaten at home by Needham Market this was a golden chance. But, no medals are handed out in December, and I for one, am happy to see them fly under the radar for a while later.

One of those days, a bad day at the office, all meaningless phrases that can be put in the past as long as they don't happen too often.