Tonbridge Angels (0) 0
Folkestone Invicta (0) 0
Attendance: 367
Admission: £8
Mileage: 38/384
Jonny Henly returned to Longmead with his new club, Folkestone Invicta, saved a penalty and kept a clean sheet as the Angels final preseason game ended in a goalless stalemate.
Henly was, of course, afforded a warm welcome from the Tonbridge faithful, on a muggy afternoon in which Jay Saunders selected a team that many of those fans would feel closely resembles the side that will start the new season next Saturday against Weymouth.
Saunders was able to welcome back Tariq Hinds into the squad and, the wing back saw early action as a cross needed to be clawed away by Henly.
The home side made the early running, Trevan Robinson fired over; Ronnie Nelson saw a header from a corner deflected to safety and, after 23 minutes, from a Sean Shields corner, Joe Tyrie headed agonisingly wide.
Folkestone were not without their chances, one-time Angel Ellis Brown driving into the side netting when well positioned inside the right side of the box and, just past the half-hour, Dan Smith was well wide following an audacious overhead kick.
There was, with what can only be described as a friendly match piece of refereeing, a humorous moment on 34 minutes when Henly found himself on the left hand touchline about 40 yards from his goal and was left with no option but to rugby tackle Mo Dabre as he attempted to wriggle clear and towards the unguarded goal.
Tonbridge were awarded a penalty on 38 minutes when Shields was felled just inside the box. Robinson stepped up for the kick, but his shot was too close to Henly and the ex-Angels stopper saved with relative comfort.
Five minutes before the break, Toby Steward was forced into his first real save, low to his left to deny Smith and the final action of the half saw a Ryan Hanson effort drift wide.
Steward was the first keeper tested in the second period turning over an effort from Ellis before Jay Saunders rang the changes on the hour introducing Taylor Maloney with new signing Naz Bakrin and Jeremy Santos following a few minutes later.
Chances were few and far between in the second period. Liam Vincent flashed a pass across the face of goal that was deflected away for a corner and, with 11 minutes remaining, Henly made a good save as Shields attempted to curl a shot beyond him.
Ultimately, the final minutes of preseason drifted away, with supporters of both sides now looking forward to entering into the serious business of league action with the Angels fans eagerly awaiting the visit of Weymouth to the Halcyon Wealth Longmead Stadium next Saturday.
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