Tonbridge Angels U15 (2) 4 Pali 3,54 Palmer 12 Green 80+4
Ebbsfleet United (0) 3 Harman 72,78,80+5
Estimated Attendance: 300
Admission: £3
Mileage: 50/5,146
U15's THRILL IN CUP TRIUMPH
Tonbridge Angels Under-15’s completed a Kent Youth League and Cup double with a thrilling 4-3 win over Ebbsfleet United at Faversham Town’s Salters Lane stadium.
In an exceptionally successful first season return to the KYL wearing the badge of the parent club, to which will be referred later, a Cup Final win put the icing on the cake.
A fantastic turnout, estimated around the 300-mark, from both clubs saw the car park full long before kick-off, meaning a quick retreat seeking a spot in a nearby residential road.
Tonbridge have secured their Kent Youth League South title, finishing in all probability with one game remaining nine points clear of Faversham Town, whilst Ebbsfleet, with two league games remaining, presently sit fourth in the central division.
Ebbsfleet, having struck the woodwork three times, and producing a stirring comeback from 3-0 down might just feel a little hard done by, but over the course of a thoroughly entertaining encounter, the Angels were fully deserving of their win.
Tonbridge got off to a great start, but with this week’s events at U18 level, that in itself brought misgivings. Ebbsfleet switched off from a third minute throw-in from Will Smart in an innocuous position to Jurgen Pali, who settled himself with a couple of strides across the edge of the box before despatching a shot between the goalkeeper and his near post.
Captain Stan Boxall fired over, before on 12 minutes, his shot was only parried into the path of Dylan Palmer by Elijah Bateau, who finished clinically in limited space.
Ebbsfleet served notice that they were still very much in the contest when Ryan Dioullo’s shot narrowly went wide of the right hand post and, on 28 minutes, a shot from all of 25 yards from Oscar Streatfield came back from the bar to eventually nestle in the grateful hands of Michael Germanos.
Both sides had chances in the opening ten minutes of the second half, but it was the Angels that extended their lead after 54 minutes when Alfie Murray released Pali to score with a surgeon’s precision into the far corner to give his side what appeared to be an insurmountable lead.
Pali was denied his hat-trick with a fine save from Bateau, but Ebbsfleet refused to lie down and, after 72 minutes, reduced the deficit when a shot from Brodie Baker rebounded off the post to the alert Fin Harman who calmly finished.
Nerves among the Tonbridge contingent were well and truly rattled when a high, looping effort from Streatfield struck the far post and after 78 minutes (of an 80 minute game), Harman fired through a crowded penalty area, to reduce the deficit to a single goal.
As several players from both sides dropped to the floor with the effects of cramp, eight extra minutes brought two more goals in a manic finish to the game.
After Jeremiah Nzuzi had fed the ball to Ethan Green to finish nicely at the near post to return the Angels advantage to two goals after four minutes there was still time for Harman to keep the final alive with his hat-trick goal.
But, the Angels saw out time for captain Boxall to receive the trophy and cap a memorable season.
The return of the Angels to the KYL has seen, in chronological order, the Under-13’s recover from a torrid opening couple of months when their luck seemed to be completely out, to go unbeaten since early December to now sit in fourth place in their division with the possibility of finishing third. The U14’s are neck-and-neck with Maidstone United for the central league title with three games remaining and the U16’s have already been crowned central league champions, ending the season four points clear of Erith and Belvedere.
Next season the Academy (U19) will be brought in-house and this all seems a far cry from the time when, as a board member, I banged my head against a wall attempting to bring the youth team programme back to the club. In fairness, we had a bog of a pitch that was unplayable for three months or more, but with the installation of the 3G pitch and the great support of chair, Sophie Purves, youth team football is now a big part of Tonbridge Angels.
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