Metropolitan Police (2) 2 Mummery 27 Wright 30
Tonbridge Angels (0) 0
Attendance: 126
Entrance: £5
Programme: £2
Mileage: 112/5,893
A better blog than mine
Tonbridge produced their worst half of the season at Metropolitan Police’s Imber Court going into the break 2-0 down when a fair reflection on the game would have been nearer 6-0. Steve McKimm rightly lambasted his lacklustre troops after the game reflecting that it was the type of performance that gets managers the sack. Steve can possibly take comfort from the fact that Tonbridge have not sacked a manager since Terry Naylor left his post in September 1988. I should clarify this statistic with the conjecture that Tony Dolby was sacked in October 2007 after a FA Cup Fourth Qualifying Round defeat at Ware, but this was recorded as “amicably parting company,”.
Sam Bantick flashed a shot wide of the right hand post after just two minutes but to all intents and purposes that was as close as the Angels were to get, failing to stretch Tom Williams into a single save all evening.
The Plod are enjoying a decent season, they are on the edge of the play-off places, and for the most part, they looked a good side. How much the woeful Tonbridge performance contributed to that appearance is open to question.
The warning signs were there before the Met took a 27th minute lead. A cross from the impressive Tom Bird found the head of Jay Gasson and it took a combination of Jonny Henly and his right hand post to keep the ball out.
Lessons were not learnt and the home side gained the lead when a cross from Jonny Wright was delivered to an unmarked Bayley Mummery to head home from inside the six yard box.
Three minutes later, I guess it was the precise time of that watershed moment, it was 2-0. This time a soft free kick awarded against Liam Smith, was floated to beyond the far post from where Wright planted a header that somehow got between Henly and the post.
Tonbridge simply had no idea how to defend the cross into the box and the half could have taken on embarrassing proportions as headed efforts from Mummery brought a save from Henly and another that hit the top of the bar.
A half-time rant from a well-known Tonbridge supporter, actually defending the first half performance, took up the entire break and provided the only memorable entertainment of the evening.
The Tonbridge bar was struck again by Gasson as the aerial battle continued to be won by the hosts. McKimm made a series of substitutions, including the return of Ryan Worrall for a second spell from Eastbourne Borough, to inject some life into his side.
But, in boxing parlance, the Angels failed dismally to lay a glove on their hosts despite enjoying (if that is the right word) more of the ball in the second period.
Here we are, not quite out of January, and there are many of us that are wishing this season away for a fresh start in August.
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