Needham Market 4 Tonbridge Angels 2

Match 88/17/1538 - Saturday, 3rd February 2018 - Bostik Premier

Needham Market (2) 4 Ingram 8, Sands 23, Mills 75,78
Tonbridge Angels (0) 2 Bantick 85, Turner 87
Attendance: 233

Entrance: £7 Senior
Programme: £2
Mileage: 220/6,377

If I was based in Suffolk, I would be a Needham Market supporter as I rate it as the friendliest place in the Isthmian Premier. From the man on the gate through to the bubbly tea ladies to supporters in the bar there is a warmth that is the ethos of non league football. Sadly the charitable side on the pitch came only from the visitors as individual mistakes consigned them to a fourth defeat in five games.

Needham Market opened the scoring after eight minutes when Luke Ingram met a corner from the right with an unchallenged header that crept past Jonny Henly at his near post. Tonbridge responded and in a five minute spell directly after the goal they created, but failed to convert, five chances. Craig Stone planted a header at Market goalkeeper, Danny Gay who then saved low to his left to deny Joe Turner within a minute. Gay then made a brilliant save to push a heavily deflected shot from Sam Bantick over the bar. From the resultant corner, Sonny Miles saw his header cleared from the line by Callum Sturgess and, seconds later, Bantick had another effort cleared from the line. It was quite unbelievable that in such a short space of time, Tonbridge had failed to equalise.

Gay saved from Alex Akrofi before a catastrophic error from Stone saw a misplaced pass find Adam Mills who sent John Sands through to convert past Henly.

Once again Tonbridge responded positively but without the ruthlessness required in front of goal. Tashi-Jay Kwayie heading over on a couple of occasions.

After five minutes of the second half, Turner had a shot from the edge of the box brilliantly pushed onto the right hand post by Gay and following a corner headed on Miles, Bantick lobbed a shot onto the top of the bar. Kwayie fired narrowly over with his final contribution before being replaced by Nathan Elder just past the hour mark.

The game was all but put beyond the Angels’ reach with 15 minutes remaining when a breakdown in communication between Henly and Stone allowed Mills to walk the ball into an empty goal.

Three minutes later it was four. An overhit free kick beyond the far post found Mills whose side-footed volley went back across the face to nestle in the far corner. Was it an intended cross? Only the goalscorer knows and he is not going to care.

Still Tonbridge made chances, Bantick managed to find the woodwork again and Gay denied him with his feet once more. Consolation came with five minutes remaining when substitute Dan Thompson headed on for Bantick to volley home and the scoreline gained some semblance of respectability when Turner’s shot from the edge of the box went through Gay, for the Market goalkeeper’s only mistake of the game.

For those not there, this is just another defeat and at 4-0 nobody was going to convince those supporters of anything different. But from my notes, 17 attempts on goal have been made; the woodwork struck three times and a goalkeeper has been found at the top of his game. Just sometimes, the scoreline doesn’t tell the whole story.

Glum and Glummer. Picture by Chris Coolbear