Horsham (0) 0
Tonbridge Angels (0) 1 Sutcliffe 90
Attendance: 1,468
Admission: £11
Mileage: 134/3,974
WHISPER IT QUIETLY – MISSION ACCOMPLISHED!
Whisper it very quietly as the magic 50 point mark remains three points away, but Dunney has dun[ne] it, mission accomplished.
A first visit to the Fusion Aviation Community Stadium, the Hop Oast trips off the tongue a lot easier, brought a 1-0 win with a 90th minute goal from Ethan Sutcliffe in a game that had mid-table, end of season written all over it, except for Tonbridge Angels at least, there was just a little rubber stamping remaining.
Firstly, for the groundhopping fraternity, Horsham’s newish stadium was opened in 2019 and is a presentable, 3,000 capacity ground, tree-lined that adds to its charm. On entry to the Hop Oast, the first point that should be made, is the friendliness of the place, if everywhere could follow the template of Horsham Football Club, football would be in a much nicer place.
The main stand holds around 300 people, the only seating in the stadium so only just fulfilling the National League criteria. Opposite the main stand are two covered enclosures, either side of the dug-outs and behind the far goal is another area of covered terracing. At the entrance to the ground are the well-appointed bar facilities raised above flat standing behind the goal. The 3G pitch, which we were told would be replaced in the summer, certainly looked to have seen better days.
As the season enters its frantic last six weeks, with Saturday/Tuesday the norm from now on, Alan Dunne chose to rotate quite heavily with five changes following the midweek defeat at Dover.
The first half can be filed under the 45 minutes that the 1,468 present are not going to get back category, shaded by the home side, was awful. Best chance of the half was blazed over the bar by Horsham’s Shiloh Remy, whilst efforts from Alfie Pavey and Ricky Korboa for the Angels disappeared into the bright blue Sussex sky.
Thankfully for the paying public, the game did improve somewhat in the second period with Tonbridge taking control of the game, despite the opening chance falling to former Angel, Shamir Fenelon, who broke clear but took too long to get his shot away allowing Sutcliffe to make a saving tackle.
After 64 minutes, there was a heavy collision between another former Angel, Jack Brivio and Pavey that saw the former laying motionless for somewhile and, during the 12 minute stoppage, the Horsham manager, Dom Di Paolo saw a red card for saying something out of turn directed at referee Dan England.
As the game entered its extensive stoppage time, Matt Warren saw his shot from distance agonisingly deflected past the post but, from the resulting corner from Bailey Akehurst into a crowded penalty area, Sutcliffe stabbed the ball home and with perhaps the help of a deflection, leaving Lewis Carey wrong-footed and the Angels were in front.
In the fourth minute of the twelve added, Matt Rowley was called on to make his big save of the afternoon from a header following a corner, leaving the visiting supporters to celebrate with the We Are Staying Up chant as Tonbridge saw out time with relative comfort.
Looking at the National League table, the grotty trip to Braintree beckons alongside the visit to the end of the earth that is Truro, can’t wait. Thanks Dunney!
Action pictures: Dave Couldridge
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