Cray Wanderers (1) 1 Strachan 6
Tonbridge Angels (0) 0
Estimated Attendance: 150
Admission: £5
Mileage: 77/188
DEFEAT IN THE MIDDAY SUN
Seeing the tears of young children in the crowd in Atlanta was heartbreaking but for those kids there is time on their side. For what you ask, never ending disappointment or will it be that a future, from the ever-lengthening list of golden generations, be exactly that and carry England over the line?
It was the legendary Bill Shankly that coined the phrase “football isn’t life or death, it’s more important than that.” I’m not saying Shanks was wrong but the experience of older age has taught me that it is only true for a fleeting moment. Kids are resilient and many would have learnt a lesson on Wednesday, don’t believe the hype, there are two sides on a pitch and in a World Cup Semi-Final, one wins, one loses and losing is one of life’s best lessons.
So, in older age I no longer dwell on defeats. I listen to so-called expert pundits, I think about what I have seen, come to a conclusion and move on. Gone are the days, when I would sulk, seemingly for days and to that my wife would say, hallelujah!
And so it is back to grassroots, admission for a fiver, cup of tea for a couple of quid tops and no VAR with the expert analysis coming from proper experts on the sidelines with no psycho-babble.
Cray Wanderers were our hosts with a strange 12 noon kick-off time for a second visit to their new home of Flamingo Park that has seen some improvement since our 2024 FA Cup visit but with the construction machinery surrounding the stadium my guess is that by the time we make our return the site will be vastly different.
One alteration Cray Wanderers cannot make is the access onto the A20 and the distance involved to get back to Flamingo Park but on the other side of the road, 20 minutes spent in heavy traffic to get nowhere on the homeward journey.
The midday sun was only pleasantly warm that wouldn’t threaten either mad dogs or Englishmen and the hydration break thankfully was unused. Tonbridge Angels' injured players were unable to return although Lamar Reynolds was able to make a first appearance from the bench for half-an-hour.
An early chance for one of the two starting trialists went begging before the hosts went ahead on six minutes when a corner was met at the near post with a well placed header from Rob Strachan.
For a few minutes following the goal, Tonbridge’s defence was all at sea and only a wasteful finish from Alex Hernandez saved them from going further behind.
Once they had recovered a bit of composure, chances were created for Jephte Tanga and Ethan Sutcliffe and, on 18 minutes, Cray goalkeeper Henry Molyneux had a heart stopping moment when a shot from Harry Gardner slipped from his grasp but he was able to turn and claw the ball back from his line.
The hour mark brought a raft of substitutes for both sides with the best chance seeing Reynolds effort cleared from the line.
The appearance of Reynolds has to be considered the game’s positive for the Angels given that just a single goal, from a trialist, has been scored in the three games so far.
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