Tonbridge Angels U18 2 AFC Croydon Athletic 0

Match 54/25/2396 - Monday, 9th February 2026 - Isthmian Youth League

Tonbridge Angels U18 (0) 2 Fincham 63 Penman 81
AFC Croydon Athletic U18 (0) 0
Headcount: 40
Admission: Season Ticket
Mileage: 38/3,264

Tonbridge Angels U18’s began their make or break month with a win at the Yeomans Community Stadium against bottom club AFC Croydon Athletic who conspired to ease the Angels path with an indisciplined performance that saw two players sent off.

Perversely the remaining players showed great discipline and resilience, alongside an outstanding display from their goalkeeper to leave the Angels waiting until just past the hour mark to finally break the deadlock.

A couple of slip-ups at the turn of the year has left the U18’s probably needing to win every remaining game to defend their title including home and away fixtures against their principal challengers AFC Whyteleafe.

In the midst of these games they also have a Kent Intermediate Cup semi-final at home to Cray Wanderers.

A sign of what was to come came as early as the ninth minute when the Croydon #3 picked up a booking for an unnecessary trip.

Tonbridge, as would be expected, made most of the early running with Robert Penman shooting over; River Ballach testing the goalkeeper and Callum Fincham steering a very presentable chance wide, but Croydon had also shown that they had something about them not reflected by their league position with their #8 to the fore.

The game had its pivotal moment on 24 minutes when following an Angels corner, a couple of players grappling fell to the ground which led to, we are led to believe, the Croydon #8 kicking out, leading to a melee in which most players of both sides became involved with management from both clubs rushing onto the pitch to act as peacemakers.

As always in these incidents, the referee was left with an almost impossible situation to unravel but came to the conclusion that the #8 as the perpetrator saw red.

With the man advantage, the direction of play became one way, but the Angels bemoaned wayward finishing and superb goalkeeping as the visitors almost got to the break without conceding but were to be reduced to nine men as the #3 picked up a second yellow for pulling back Penman who was about to race clear.

Croydon set up in the second half with two banks of four encamped across their 18 yard line and when the Angels broke those lines, the goalkeeper was equal to Harry Bingham and Callum Fincham.

The breakthrough finally came on 63 minutes when a cross from Ballach found Fincham arriving late into the box to drive home a shot that not even the Croydon keeper could lay a hand on.

Perhaps sensing that they needed something extraordinary, Croydon hit a shot goalwards directly from the restart that needed Jacob Hunt to back peddle and catch on his line.

The corner count in Tonbridge’s favour became endless with one, after 80 minutes rebounding from the bar, but a minute later, Nathaniel Waul played in Penman, who from a fairly acute angle, smashed his shot into the roof of the net.

In the last minute, Ashton Lucas saw his shot come back off the underside of the bar before the referee brought down the curtain on a slightly crazy night.