Gillingham 1 Mansfield Town 1

Match 35/23/2158 - Saturday, 30th September 2023 - League Two

Gillingam (1) 1 Bonne 2
Mansfield Town (1) 1 Keillor-Dunn 36
Attendance: 6,486
Admission: £19 Senior
Mileage: 38/1,860
Weather: 20degC.,

Whilst every match at Gillingham becomes a more pleasurable experience and, of course, I hope for nothing less than a win, these days I’m am able to view a game in a dispassionate manner.

So, leaving the ground after a highly entertaining draw, there was nothing but grumbles that a referee’s decision had cost the Gills the game and a result that they deserved.

Four or five years ago, I too would have been among those grumbling, but these days when a Gillingham result does not define my weekend, I can accept that, despite the controversial nature of Mansfield’s goal, they left Priestfield Stadium fully deserving of their point.

A virtually sold out Rainham End, a Gordon Road stand that has become equally vocal makes for a vibrant atmosphere that was given the encouragement of a goal within the first two minutes as Macauley Bonne converted a Connor Mahoney cross with a close range volley.

Gillingham might have been two, perhaps three, goals clear with Mansfield goalkeeper, Christy Pym saving well from Bonne and Connor Masterson shooting over before Mansfield equalised in controversial fashion.

A long forward pass from Lewis Brunt saw the visiting captain, Ollie Clarke, run at the Gillingham defence before being brought down by Ethan Coleman. There can be no complaints, it was a foul and, as is said professionally, it was a good yellow card for Coleman. But, as the referee, Jacob Miles took the card from his pocket, Clarke quickly played the free kick into the path of Davis Keillor-Dunn who slid the ball past the advancing Jake Turner.

The laws of the game are clear. Once the referee has begun the process of disciplinary action then the game should be brought to a halt. As he waved the game on, he was clearly carrying the yellow card, surely this constitutes the beginning of the caution. That he completed the disciplinary process after the awarding the goal is proof in point.

The early part of the second period saw Mansfield take the game to their hosts with Turner excelling with three good saves and one exceptional claw away from the feet of Keillor-Dunn.

The introduction of substitutes Jayden Clarke, George Lapslie and Ashley Nadesan (in particular) saw Gillingham add a variation to their long ball game and with it provide a grandstand finish but without reward.

It was a good game, but a shame that the referee became the centre of attention.

East Grinstead Town U18 1 Tonbridge Angels U18 5

Match 34/23/2157 - Thursday, 28th September 2023 - Isthmian Youth League Cup

East Grinstead Town U18 (1) 1 Tidy 45
Tonbridge Angels U18 (2) 5 Cooney 10,65 Honarvar 38,59 Firman 71
Attendance: 49
Admission: £2 Senior
Mileage: 60/1,828
Weather: 18degC., showers

The Angels Under-18’s produced an outstanding performance at East Grinstead Town to progress in the Isthmian Youth League Cup.

Manager Dominic Welsh said after the game: “Some performance that!”

Tonbridge started on the front foot with Cameron Honarvar and Sam Firman giving the hosts an introduction to the way their evening was to unfold. The East Grinstead defence had little answer to the pace of Honarvar and the guile of Firman. In the opening minute, Honarvar’s goalbound shot was deflected for a corner, from which skipper Will Puffette headed over.

East Grinstead’s goalkeeper, Ben Taylor, made good saves to deny Noah Millis and Teddy Cooney before the Angels went in front on 10 minutes when the two front men combined superbly to set up Cooney for a driven shot from around eight yards.

Felix Waring needed to leave the field for a brief spell following a head injury before returning to the fray with his head swathed, Terry Butcher style (thankfully without the blood) to rule the roost in midfield.

In the time of Waring’s absence, Toby Edwards had to make a decent low save from Daniel Spurle.

The game entered a phase when East Grinstead gained a toe hold with Edwards again tested by Alex Tidy and from the resultant corner, Tito Mendy headed onto the top of the crossbar.

But the Angels were still the dominant force and doubled their advantage on 38 minutes when a long ball forward from Rory Kavanagh was initially smothered by Taylor but the ball squirmed from his grasp allowing Honarvar to place it into the unguarded net from the edge of the penalty area.

East Grinstead pulled a goal back in first half time added when a linesman’s flag was overruled by the referee’s interpretation of the new offside rule. However, it was a very decent strike into the bottom corner from Tidy.

The goal did nothing but harden the Angels’ resolve and they completely dominated the second period with the only criticism being that they didn’t convert more of the numerous chances created.

After several near misses and goalkeeper saves, Tonbridge restored their two goal advantage on 59 minutes when Firman robbed a defender to set up Honarvar for a good finish.

Six minutes later, the game was virtually over as a contest when Evan De Silva set up Cooney to score at the second attempt and, on 71 minutes, substitute Fin McLeod sent Firman through to collect what was a richly deserved reward for a splendid evening’s work.

East Grinstead were offered the opportunity of a consolation when they were awarded a penalty following a foul but Tidy blazed his spot kick high and wide.

Dom Welsh added after: “Excellent performance tonight, we played some outstanding football throughout and kept the intensity high for 90 minutes.”

Staplehurst Monarchs U18 0 Tonbridge Angels U18 9

Match 33/23/2156 - Sunday, 24th September 2023 - Kent U18 Merit Youth Cup 1R

Staplehurst Monarchs U18 (0) 0
Tonbridge Angels U18 (3) 9 Honarvar 13,59,61,64 Etherington (pen) 22 De Silva 35 Wallace 49 Martin-Coward 57 Cooney 65
Headcount: 32
Admission: Free
Mileage: 1/1,768
Weather: 20degC., pleasantly warm

Tonbridge Angels Under-18’s comfortably progressed to the Second Round of the Kent Merit U18 Youth Cup at Staplehurst Monarchs.

Ultimately, Dom Welsh’s side scored nine times but they had to come to terms initially with a Monarchs side that competed well on a smallish pitch. They also came up against a goalkeeper, James Nash, who produced a heroic performance with many, many saves.

The Angels opened the scoring when they caught out the home side with a short corner routine that saw Reuben Etherington touch the ball to Cameron Honarvar who cut in and buried a shot into the far corner.

Tonbridge knocked the door before, after 27 minutes, a run from deep by Honarvar ended with him being brought down in the box for Etherington to score from the spot off the underside of the crossbar.

Now comfortable in their surroundings, Tonbridge started to control the game and set up the one man resistance from Nash, who made great saves to deny Noah Millis and Honarvar before the short corner once again undid the hosts with Evan De Silva applying the finish.

Set pieces were proving the undoing of the home side and, four minutes into the second period, Logan Wallace, a 15-year-old who didn’t look out of place among his elders, hooked in a corner from close range and despite further heroics from Nash, heads dropped among the home ranks as the Angels added five goals in the space of eight minutes.

On 57 minutes a corner delivered by Felix Waring found Ben Martin-Coward at the far post to head home; a Wallace dinked cross saw Honarvar nod home; Honarvar added number seven as Wallace’s initial shot was saved by Nash; from a throw-in Honarvar headed home and, on 65 minutes, a fine run and finish from Teddy Cooney wrapped up a crazy eight minutes.

The final 25 minutes was a procession of Tonbridge attacks, but the home defence got their heads back together whilst the visitors were perhaps a little guilty of overplaying with the tie well and truly won.

There was more than enough time for the Staplehurst goalkeeper’s stock to rise even higher with saves aplenty whilst a post denied Sam Gerrard in the final act of the game.

Manager Dom Welsh commented after the match: “Really professional performance with some excellent goals scored and good to get a clean sheet on the road. Credit to Staplehurst who made the early exchanges tough for us and worked hard throughout.”

Dartford 1 Tonbridge Angels 0

Match 32/23/2155 - Saturday, 23rd September 2023 - National League South

Dartford (1) 1 Rooney 31
Tonbridge Angels (0) 0
Attendance: 1,122
Admission: £11 Senior
Mileage: 58/1,767
Weather: 19degC., pleasantly warm

Tonbridge Angels abject failure to extract a win on Dartford soil goes beyond being generational, it is the lifetime of the majority of senior citizens that support the club and the wait goes on.

Statistic number one is that no Angels supporter has ever witnessed an Angels victory at Princes Park since its opening in 2006, but as both sides came into the game on the back of disappointing FA Cup exits and with Dartford’s inauspicious start to the season, perhaps there was a sense that there might never be a better chance.

In years gone by, Angels supporters have left Princes, once more vanquished but almost always beaten by a decent side, that was not the case on this occasion, which makes it all the more frustrating.

Tonbridge’s malfunctioning front line, who have failed to find the net seven times in the opening ten games has long-standing supporters of at least 20 years (statistic number two coming up) longing for a Luke Piscina, Brendan Cass or Nick Barnes, architects of successive wins in the early 2000’s when the Darts were groundsharing at Stonebridge Road.

On a pleasantly warm afternoon, certainly not in need of the coat that I wore, Tonbridge were set back in the opening minute when Jeremy Santos went down injured and, after five minutes, he was substituted by Lewis Gard. That Santos returned to the bench after the half-time break on crutches was a disturbing sight.

Dartford had the better of the possession in the opening half-hour but frankly their attack looked as ineffectual as the visitors, the only real scare being a Jamie Fielding clearance following a corner on 18 minutes.

But that wait of 48 years for a win on Dartford soil (statistic number three) when Tonbridge won a semi-final en-route to their last Kent Senior Cup success, seemed destined to continue when Paul Rooney drove a shot through a forest of bodies into the bottom corner after an initial shot had been blocked.

The Angels ended the half with a positive response with efforts on goal from Joe Turner and Jordan Higgs but these were comfortably dealt with by Mitchell Beeney.

The early part of the second period saw the better of the chances fall the way of the Angels with Scott Wagstaff being felled on the edge of the box as he rounded the advancing Beeney.

Jonny Henly made his best stop of the game on the hour pushing away a low drive from Brandon Barzey and, five minutes later, turning over a free kick from Harvey Bradbury.

The last 20 minutes saw Tonbridge search manfully for an equaliser. Greenidge rounded the adventurous Beeney but was tackled as he was about to send a shot goalwards and a Turner volley failed to find the target.

But there was no way through, and so to the final statistic as Tonbridge fans made their way home, yet again fruitless as it has been since 1955 when two goals from Ronnie Bennett brought home the league points from Watling Street. It’s not beyond the realms of possibility that someone in the crowd of 1,122 was in attendance 68 years ago, to you sir or madam we tip our hat!

Northfleet TC 5 Hugh Christie 1

Match 31/23/2154 - Wednesday, 20th September 2023 - Kent Schools Academies Championship

Northfleet TC (0) 5
Hugh Christie (1) 1
Headcount: 12
Admission: Free
Played at Punjab FC
Mileage: 76/1,709
Weather: 20degC., 45mph wind, squally showers
Academies: Punjab United v Tonbridge Angels

Welling Town U18 0 Tonbridge Angels U18 1

Match 30/23/2153 - Monday, 18th September 2023 - FA Youth Cup First Qualifying Round

Welling Town U18 (0) 0
Tonbridge Angels U18 (1) 1 Thompson 9
Headcount: 100

Admission: Free
Played at K Sports
Mileage: 28/1,633
Weather: 16degC., first chilly evening

Tonbridge Angels emerged from a stern test against Welling Town at Cobdown to earn a place in the FA Youth Cup Second Qualifying Round draw.

The age limit for the FA Youth Cup is 18 years old on 31st August, so the Angels team is formed by a mix of Academy and Isthmian Under-18 players.

Welling Town arrived with the wrong kit so their purple strip barely avoided a colour clash with the visitors blue. I’m guessing the Angels white shorts saved the day.

Tonbridge started well and were ahead after nine minutes thanks to a well worked goal involving Reuben Etherington and Hayden Velvick, whose left wing cross found Ollie Thompson on the right side of the six yard box to thrash a shot into the roof of the net.

Credit must go to the hosts as they responded well to the opening goal with an effort from the tricky Menai Lennox-Janes and a free header in the box for Jack Davies.

After 27 minutes, Welling were handed a route back into the game when Ashton Thomas was adjudged to have brought his man down in the box for a penalty but the spot kick was well saved by Toby Edwards diving to his right to push the ball to safety.

In the closing stages of the half, the Angels regained the momentum with narrow misses for Sam Firman and Alex Shave.

The second half was completely Tonbridge dominated but a failure to take their chances always left that single goal lead on a knife edge. In fairness to the Angels, the Welling goalkeeper, Ryan Reeves, had a splendid second half, time after time, denying them the luxury of a two goal cushion.

His first save of the half came after 55 minutes when he turned over the bar a shot from Etherington, quickly followed by a low save from Velvick.

Firman saw his shot saved, even after a deflection, and on 79 minutes, sent clear by Thompson, Felix Waring’s angled shot was agonisingly wide of the far post.

As the missed opportunities piled up, the Angels supporters in an attendance of around a hundred hoped that the game would finally be put to bed as they were awarded a penalty in time added when Velvick was brought down. But Reeves was equal to Etherington’s kick and the tension needed to be endured for a couple of minutes more before the final whistle.

Dom Welsh agreed that they had dominated the game but “had struggled to find the finishing touch.” The draw for the next round is expected to be made on Friday.

Haringey Borough 4 Tonbridge Angels 2

Match 29/23/2152 - Saturday, 16th September 2023 - FA Cup Second Qualifying Round

Haringey Borough (2) 4 Young 37 (pen),45,71 Figuiera 83
Tonbridge Angels (1) 2 Greenidge 41 Crichlow 75
Attendance: 402

Admission: £5 Senior
Programme: Online
Mileage: 112/1,605
Weather: 26degC., last of the summer heat

When I woke up to the dog barking her early morning call, little did I know that the highlight of the day was to be getting the flu jab.

To be fair, with Tottenham playing just down the Lane, the sensible decision was made to let the train take the strain along with the W3 bus and this worked as admirably as the NHS. Who said we live in broken Britain?

Something that is broken, one would guess irrevocably, is Tonbridge Angels' relationship with the FA Cup, once more being dumped by a lower league club, with barely a whimper.

But, I mean was I really surprised?

I see our entry into the FA Cup as a sort of Care in the Community Day. We pitch up at a club that hasn't moved a step forward since we last visited. We add about 100 or more to the usual gate and then donate a cheque for £3,375 with a guarantee of another £1,125 to come. Such is the appreciation of our kindness, I would suggest that we make it an annual event.

At least the W3 was waiting outside to beat a hasty retreat.

Following last Saturday’s debacle and the tirade that followed, spirits were lifted with the return of Jeremy Santos only to be trodden into the threadbare carpet of Coles Park.

Ten minutes of early promise were swept aside as Haringey Borough were allowed to grow in confidence probably on the back of their realisation that of a thousand Tonbridge passes, 990 were going to be completely pointless. Jonny Henly was brought into the game making decent saves from Michael O’Donoghue and Matt Young.

The late summer heat continued with another day of 26degC temperatures that brought about a water break. Haringey were invigorated by their intake of H2O and, on 34 minutes, struck a post before three minutes later they were awarded a penalty following a foul by Greenidge that was duly converted by Young.

A quick equaliser dispelled initial thoughts that this was to be another FA Cup nightmare. Santos crossed from the right; Joe Turner poked the ball goalwards for Jordan Greenidge to touch the ball home at the right hand post.

But the nightmare thoughts returned before the break when Young cut in from left to curl a shot beyond Henly into the far corner.

A half-time substitution saw Ruben Soares-Junior withdrawn for Gianni Crichlow and the winger had an immediate opportunity when the goalkeeper, Dillon Barnes, parried a shot into his path but his shot sailed into the gardens behind the goal.

The Angels threatened but their efforts only provided further footballs for the gardens.

On 70 minutes, Young completed his hat-trick with a decent strike from 20 yards that might have taken a deflection. Three minutes later the Angels were back in the game when the ball dropped for Crichlow to this time rifle a controlled shot into the bottom corner.

But the hopes of a comeback were quickly dispelled as Walter Figueira struck with another long range effort that flew beyond Henly into the top corner.

In the closing moments the home side hit the bar and Joe Boachie for the Angels steered a close range effort into the goalkeeper’s hands.

It was a day in which Tonbridge might have conceded six and equally might have scored six. It was an FA Cup day and those days only ever end in tears.

Tonbridge Angels Academy 4 Hollands & Blair Academy 1

Match 28/23/2151 - Wednesday, 13th September 2023 - National League U19 Alliance

Tonbridge Angels Academy (2) 4 Velvick 40,68 Shave 45 Thomas 47
Hollands & Blair Academy (1) 1 15
Headcount: 15

Admission: Free Senior
Programme: None
Mileage: 38/1,493
Weather: 22degC., cooler than of late

As with any academic year, the Academy new intake is integrated into returning second and third year students leaving the opening outing a learning curve for both the management and players alike. The new intake have, for a third consecutive season, to take their places in a side as reigning champions, the team whose title the rest of the division aspire too.

Hollands and Blair, new to the National League Under-19 Alliance this season, for 30 minutes looked every inch of one of those aspiring clubs as they dominated the early stages and were well worth their lead, taken on 15 minutes, when a defence splitting pass allowed a shot into the bottom corner.

Debutant goalkeeper, Jay Blake, had already had to show his mettle with two sharp saves before he was beaten and five minutes later, the visitors might have doubled their advantage when a free header cleared the bar.

As the Angels youngsters started to find their feet with a fine move involving Hayden Velvick and Ollie Thomson that ended with Josh McArthur shooting narrowly wide, they enjoyed a stroke of fortune as a shot struck the left hand post after 29 minutes.

As the pace of Velvick began to unsettle the Blair defence, the Academy imposed a threat in the final 15 minutes of the half culminating with an equaliser five minutes before the break when the striker was sent clear to shoot into the bottom corner from a fairly acute angle on the left side.

Not satisfied with ending the half on level terms, the Angels went ahead in added time when McArthur set up Alex Shave to finish from close range.

The home side doubled their advantage just two minutes after the restart when a free kick from Leo Vowles was headed on by Shave for Ashton Thomas to hook home.

The Angels were now confidently in control of the game and went further ahead on 69 minutes with a fine team goal involving Vowles and Thomas that allowed Velvick a finish at the far post.

Velvick was denied his hat-trick on 70 minutes when the saw his shot cleared from the line and, five minutes later, from a Steve Southern cross, the goalkeeper saved.

Blake was tested on a couple of occasions in the final 20 minutes but the Angels were largely in control of the game with substitute Max O’Neil having a shot saved.

Manager Tommy Parkinson commented after the game that “there had been lots learnt and much to improve on in the coming weeks.”

Tonbridge Angels U18 2 Glebe U18 1

Match 27/23/2150 - Monday, 11th September 2023 - Isthmian Youth League

Tonbridge Angels U18 (0) 2 Larkin 66,86
Glebe U18 (1) 1 Bachelor 31
Attendance: 42

Admission: £3 Senior
Programme: None
Mileage: 38/1,455
Weather: 22degC., pleasantly warm

Skipper Adam Larkin stole the show as his two second half goals saw the Angels U18’s fight back against a good Glebe side.

A thoroughly entertaining encounter saw the visitors have the better of the first half to go into the break a goal up.

The Angels youngsters made the early running and it took a wonderful challenge from Glebe’s Osagie Omoregie to stop Cameron Honavar in his tracks after 12 minutes but four minutes later Alex Fentham struck a post for the Chislehurst-based side and they largely dominated from that point.

Eric Nebiri brought a good save out of Toby Edwards before Glebe took the lead just after the half hour. A scuffed clearance allowed a break down the left and when the cross was only partially cleared, Luke Bachelor drove a shot from the right hand angle of the six yard box into the net, off the far post.

The second half was a far different story as the Angels gained a lot of control in the middle of the park through Larkin and Reuben Etherington, which allowed them to service Sam Firman, who was a constant threat with his pace and quick feet.

Despite their territorial advantage it took Tonbridge until the 66th minute to finally break down the Glebe defence, but when it came it was a stunner! The ball was worked from midfield into Larkin who, from fully 35 yards, let fly a shot that Glebe goalkeeper, Alex Stevens, could only watch helplessly as it rocketed past him.

Buoyed by the goal, the Angels swept forward in search of a winner. Substitute Fin McLeod saw his effort well saved by Stevens and Larkin’s header was similarly dealt with and when, with just four minutes remaining, Honavar’s effort came back off a post, it seemed it wasn’t going to happen.

But, following a corner and a scramble in the box, the ball fell at Larkin’s feet for him to drive his shot home from around six yards.

Dom Welsh said of his team: “The performance was excellent, two mistakes in the first half nearly knocked the stuffing out of us. But we played very well tonight and deserved to win. We would 100% have lost that type of game last season though, so it shows the progress we are making.”

Tonbridge Angels 0 Taunton Town 3

Match 26/23/2149 - Saturday, 10th September 2023 - National League South

Tonbridge Angels (0) 0
Taunton Town (2) 3 Morgan 7,26 McCoodie 67
Attendance: 852

Admission: Season Ticket
Programme: £3
Mileage: 38/1,417
Weather: 33degC., swletering, suffocating

Taunton Town returned home convincing winners after the Halcyon Wealth Longmead Stadium had sweltered in 33degC of September sunshine.

Jay Saunders had to shuffle a threadbare squad with captain Scott Wagstaff suspended, Lewis Gard failing a late fitness test and Jernade Meade continuing to be away on international duty. Ruben Soares-Junior returned to the starting XI with two Academy players, Hayden Velvick and Noah Millis taking places on the bench.

Despite the Angels striking a post through Soares-Junior within the first two minutes, it was the visitors, who took a seventh minute lead before going on to largely control the first half.

Ben Swift gave up possession inside his own half for Dylan Morgan to run on and fire across the face of goalkeeper Jonny Henly into the far, left hand corner to give the Somerset county town side the lead.

Taunton, who came into the game in a confident mood following a fine start to the season, took the game to their hosts and might have doubled their advantage when a header from Nick Grimes following a free kick lofted into the box was narrowly wide.

Referee Abigail Byrne sensibly utilised injury stoppages as water breaks as the heat was unrelenting.

Morgan flashed a shot across the face of goal before, after 26 minutes, a poor throw out from Henly landed at the feet of Zak Smith who quickly sent Morgan clear to double Taunton’s advantage.

The Angels fought to work their way back into the game before the break with Jordan Greenidge failing to get any purchase on a couple of headers and Ibby Akanbi bringing a save from Dan Lavercombe.

The home side showed their intent early in the second period when Akanbi shot wide and, on 48 minutes, a shot from Soares-Junior came back off the crossbar only for Akanbi to plant a weak header at Lavercombe.

After having the majority of the early second half play, Kodi Lyons-Foster misjudged a ball on the right touchline that allowed Taunton’s Nick McCootie to stride on to plant a shot past Henly within a minute of entering the game as a 66th minute substitute.

As both sides wilted in the extreme heat, Taunton did precisely what was needed to see the game to its conclusion whilst the Angels produced just a couple of glimpses, through Joe Turner and Akanbi, of a consolation goal.

A disappointed Jay Saunders said after the game: "We did a lot wrong in the final third. I take nothing away from Taunton but we have gifted them three goals ... We've probably had more chances in the last couple of home games than we had at Slough [where we scored five]. I don't want to make excuses, it's a tough one to take. I want to be putting on a performance for the home fans and we are not doing it. There's no point in sulking, we will take criticism no doubt but we will move and work hard before Saturday's FA Cup game at Haringey."

Tonbridge Angels 0 Braintree Town 0

Match 25/23/2148 - Tuesday, 5th September 2023 - National League South

Tonbridge Angels (0) 0
Braintree Town (0) 0
Attendance: 853

Admission: Season Ticket
Programme: £3
Mileage: 38/1,379
Weather: 23degC., hot

Tonbridge Angels and Braintree Town, two sides that scored nine goals between them on Saturday failed to find the net in this, nonetheless, absorbing encounter. Perhaps, we should not have been surprised as this fixture ended goalless for the third successive season.

A very hot day in Tonbridge had only subsided a few degrees by kick off time with the fine weather helping to attract a healthy Tuesday attendance of 853.

Jay Saunders was forced to make one change from Saturday’s starting XI with Jernade Meade away on international duty with Monserrat, Nathan Wood came into the side.

Braintree, fresh from an eye-catching 4-0 win over erstwhile league leaders Worthing, found themselves under early pressure from the hosts as three corners were forced in the opening five minutes that ultimately came to nothing before Jonny Henly made his first save of the game after 10 minutes when he pushed aside a shot-cum-cross from George Quantrell.

The first half had a good ebb and flow with neither side establishing control of the game with the best chance of the half falling to Braintree full back Matt Carson whose shot was narrowly wide.

Tonbridge’s best chance similarly fell to a full back with Tariq Hinds going close at the far post following a Joe Turner cross.

The visitors opened the second half on the front foot with an early effort from Will Davies going wide and, after 57 minutes, Aaron Blair broke clear but was denied by Henly as the forward attempted to round the goalkeeper.

Just past the hour mark, Ruben Soares-Junior replaced Wood and sparked a final half-hour in which the Angels largely dominated.

A Turner free kick sent to the far post saw a header from Kodi Lyons-Foster just over and, with 10 minutes remaining, following a corner, Ibby Akanbi’s effort was denied by a combination of goalkeeper and a post.

Three minutes later, the woodwork was struck again as a long range effort from Jordan Higgs found its way through a crowded box only to come back off the post.

The final few minutes saw further efforts from Soares-Junior and Higgs fail to find the target before the referee called time on another Angels-Braintree stalemate.

Slough Town 2 Tonbridge Angels 5

Match 24/23/2147 - Saturday, 2nd September 2023 - National League South

Slough Town (1) 2 Davies 25 Alexander 90+6
Tonbridge Angels (1) 5 Fielding 33 Akanbi 51 Lyons-Foster 60 Soares-Junior 70 Wood 89
Attendance: 637

Admission: £10
Programme: £3
Mileage: 160/1,341
Weather: 26degC., hot

The Fly Like An Angel podcast dropped post-Welling and shall we say it caused a few ripples. Some might say it was harsh, others might say it told a few home truths. At the very top of “Little ol’Tonbridge” it certainly registered. And then with perfect timing, the Big G was back in da building and the noises of discontent were replaced with excited anticipation.

It was certainly a week of lows and highs in the build-up to what would normally be viewed as a nondescript NLS fixture at Arbor Park, home to Slough Town. Monday’s indifferent performance against Welling had left its mark on supporters, and seemingly on Jay Saunders’ patience as Stefan Payne departed to make way for Jordan Greenidge, with Johl Powell, who had seen very little game time, also departing. This added to the departure of Tommie Fagg.

Arbor Park didn’t swelter in the 40degC heat of last year but was, nonetheless, hot as the mercury rose to 26 degrees. Greenidge, not unsurprisingly given his lack of game time, was initially named on the bench but when Lewis Gard pulled up in the warm-up he was pressed into action from the outset.

Slough entered the match as the basement club and in the opening stages looked like a team short on confidence as the Angels created early chances with crosses of quality coming in from Joe Turner, something that has been missing most of the season so far.

But, after 25 minutes, the home side took the lead in controversial circumstances. A challenge in the Tonbridge penalty area left Scott Wagstaff on the ground; the referee was waving his arm in the direction of the player as a whistle was heard. My eyesight might be failing me, my hearing is not. The whistle was heard in the main stand, heard behind the goal that was being attacked by the home side. As the Tonbridge goalkeeper, Jonny Henly, ventured forward to his prostrate captain, Scott Davies, the Slough player-manager, chipped, quite beautifully it has to be said, from around 30 yards into the unguarded net. Where did the whistle come from, we will never know.

If nothing else it served to fire up the visitors even more and they were level on 33 minutes when a Turner corner was headed home at the far post by Jamie Fielding despite a desperate attempt at a goal line clearance.

A sense of injustice prevailed at the break but thankfully it was to count for little as the Angels cut through the home defence almost at will in the second period. After six minutes, a cross from Turner was dragged back from the byeline towards Greenidge but the ball broke to Ibby Akanbi who drove it home from around the penalty spot.

On the hour, a third goal from the Angels broke the home side’s resistance and heads visibly dropped. Another Turner corner was spilt by the Slough keeper, Luthra, to the feet of Kodi Lyons-Foster who thumped it home from six yards.

On 68 minutes, Greenidge’s game was run and the fresh legs of Ruben Soares-Junior was about to run ragged an already forlorn defence. Within a minute Jordan Higgs sent him clear only for the winger to shoot into the side netting before the play was repeated for this time Soares-Junior to round the keeper and slot home. Just two minutes later, the same play but this time with Hinds as the provider saw Soares-Junior felled by the keeper for the award of a penalty. Soares-Junior took the spot kick himself but his shot was too close to Luthra who saved with a trailing leg.

Soares-Junior turned provider in the 89th minute when his low cross was converted by substitute Nathan Wood. A final kick consolation for Slough was an irritation that wasn’t going to blight a satisfying afternoon.

Big G returns, as did Ben Swift allowing Hinds and Jernade Meade to press further forward; the return to top form of Turner and the fruitful introduction of Soares-Junior, all real reasons for the production of a superb performance, but us blog writers would mostly enjoy the theory that the motivation came from a blooming podcast!