Bearsted 3 Tunbridge Wells 2

Match 38/18/1631 - Tuesday, 2nd October 2018 - SCEFL

Bearsted (1) 3 Collins 11 Garner 70 Baranowski 90
Tunbridge Wells (1) 2 Beecroft 27 Diau 52
Attendance: 86

Admission: £4 Senior
Programme: With Entrance
Mileage: 15/2,583

Tunbridge Wells fielded their rash of new signings and produced a better performance but, ultimately departed Bearsted without any points. There has been an influx of four new players, some well known to supporters, Lewis Mingle, Rhys Bartlett and new faces Tom Pearson and Brandon Diau. Whilst Diau opened his account with a goal, Bartlett and Pearson suffered injuries and didn’t last the evening.

Diau is an archetypical big target man that does encourage a one-dimensional long ball game that has its obvious positives but, for me, it negates the influence of the best player in a Tunbridge Wells shirt, Jake Beecroft.

Despite a bright opening from the visitors it was Bearsted that opened the scoring after 11 minutes. Lucien Scarlat was sent clear but was brilliantly denied twice by Cameron Hall only for the ball to fall to Reece Collins to score.

Tunbridge Wells responded to the setback and equalised on 26 minutes when a free kick conceded centrally was superbly converted by Beecroft whose curled effort could only be helped into the net by goalkeeper, Scott Andrews.

Bartlett, who had looked inhibited by an injury from the opening minutes, finally called an end to his evening following the goal.

Hall was once more called into action making a great save at the feet of Constantin Scarlat with the rebound being cleared from the line by Alexx Kendall.

A minor bout of handbags brought a couple of bookings with the referee quickly turning it into a rash issuing another three before the break.

The Wells were quickly on the ascendancy in the second period. After six minutes, a flowing move involving Beecroft and substitute Tresperderne whose cross from the left exacted all the rewards of the big man up front as Diau was able to nod the cross home from close range without barely jumping.

Bearsted were stung into a response and efforts from Jonathan Rogers, Collins and Cameron Croucher were dealt with by Hall.

Pearson, who had an electrifying start to the game with his pace exposing the right hand side departed the scene having taken a heavy knock before Diau might have put the game to bed heading wide from Tresperderne’s cross.

This was to prove costly as, after 67 minutes, a cross into a goalkeeper’s corridor of uncertainty, travelled to Matt Garner at the far point who applied the finish.

The last 20 minutes became backs to the wall stuff for the Wells with Bearsted substitute, David Borowski missing a sitter before five minutes from the end he got onto a right sided cross to score.

It was one of those games whereby if you are at the right end of the table, you scratch out a result of some sort but at the bottom you don’t. Whether the Wells deserved anything, is open to debate.