Tunbridge Wells U21 1 Lingfield Reserves 3

Match 133/17/1583 - Wednesday, 9th May 2018 - Suburban League South

Tunbridge Wells U21 (1) 1
Lingfield Reserves (1) 3
Headcount: 37

Admission: £1 Senior
Programme: None
Mileage: 36/8,583

Two essentially Reserve teams playing a middle of the table encounter taking place almost a fortnight after the season officially ended doesn’t shout commitment from the rooftops. But from an eighth minute worldie through to mid-second half handbags and finishing with a time-added sending off the commitment of Tunbridge Wells and Lingfield contesting this Suburban League encounter had to be admired.

Unfortunately, I have no Lingfield team sheet to give credit to the visiting number 10 who from the right side of the box and from an acute angle volleyed into the top corner to the amazement certainly of the few assembled behind the goal and, from the celebrations, his own team mates.

Said number 10, flush from his success, proceeded to embark on a shoot on sight policy that never quite reached his eighth minute height.

Tunbridge Wells equalised after 26 minutes when a corner was headed home, sadly for the visitors by their own left back.

Harry Osbourne brought a save from the Lingfield goalkeeper as did George Salter with the number 10 continuing to take pot shots in between.

The half ended on a flashpoint as the irrepressible number 10 was clearly brought down in the box but the referee had a micro-second previously blown his whistle to end the half.

A well delivered free kick, 10 minutes into the second period, was met with a close range header from the Lingfield number eight to regain the lead for the visitors.

Four minutes later some sorry defending allowed the Lingfield number eight to stab the ball home from close range to make the score 3-1.

A poor tackle developed into pushing and shoving before plenty more got involved for the handbags incident that brought just a single yellow for each side.

There were substitutions aplenty in the time remaining that highlighted that myself, and folk around me, had no idea of the substitution rules of the Suburban League.

As the evening became chilly, the game was brought to a close with Lingfield being reduced to ten men when a player picked up a second yellow for dissent.

Who said it was a match that would just go through the motions?