Tonbridge 0 Havant & Waterlooville 0

Match 80/13/1106 - Saturday, 26th April 2014 - Conference South

Tonbridge (0) 0
Havant & Waterlooville (0) 0
Att. 515

Entrance: £6 Senior
Programme: £2.00
Mileage: 26/7,421

Match Report

A good five minutes after the completion of this game there was an anguished voice from a single supporter of Havant & Waterlooville from behind the goal that the visitors had been attacking without success in the second half. This was followed by a volley of expletives reminiscent to the opening scenes of Four Weddings and a Funeral. Sixty-odd miles around the M25, Dover had been awarded and scored from a penalty and with that one strike of leather on leather that supporter’s dreams of a play-off place and a possible elevation to the national conference ended. Last day drama may have passed Tonbridge by, but they still had a hand in proceedings and, in a final twist of irony, handed a play-off place to one of their fiercest local rivals.

Whether any Tonbridge supporters saw this as a final twist of the knife at the end of a dreadful week, who knows but I think the majority were past caring about other clubs fortunes. In the wake of the depressing, humiliating 7-1 defeat that confirmed relegation from Conference South came the resignation of manager Tommy Warrilow and a column piece from departing skipper Gary Elphick that was akin to dropping a hand grenade into the supporter’s bar.

The match itself saw a great improvement from Tonbridge although Havant would have left Longmead aggrieved at their own inability to manufacture the necessary result as well as some misfortune that would have been ringing in the ears of that Havant supporter that this was probably not to be their day.

The Hampshire club had a goal disallowed, a penalty missed and the crossbar rattled as they desperately sought a winning goal and when they were not guilty of profligacy in front of goal, Lewis Carey stood between them and the three points.

Warrilow got a warm, if not rapturous, reception as those offering applause were willing to put the last 12 months behind them and, at the very least, thank the manager for his efforts over the previous five years. His job is now advertised and we wait to see who his successor might be. Tellingly, one of Warrilow’s failings over his tenure is seen as a criteria for the position, that of “overseeing the development of young footballers to meet their full potential”.

Departing skipper Elphick's final Courier column would have been difficult to stomach for those that haven't used the outlets of social media to demand the removal of Warrilow. Elphick labelled Tonbridge as the toughest atmosphere in which he has played and the Tonbridge crowd "not the nicest". He finished by saying you need a thick skin to manage there, a testament to the length of Tommy's term. You could not, however, disagree with his statement that the club needs a facelift and more passion for the shirt.

It all led me to think, is this club any different to any other? Without doubt, Tonbridge have their share of "moaning Minnie's" but, in my experience, proportionally no more than at Gillingham, for instance.

Whether Warrilow, as an individual, or Tonbridge Angels, as a football club, dislike social media is neither here nor there; Twitter, Facebook or the Angels’ Forum are here to stay and people will vent their spleen when things are going wrong. It is a natural phenomenon of the genre that there will be far greater activity on these mediums of a negative nature than those positive.

In recent months Warrilow suffered badly from those posting their thoughts, some were less than helpful, some were close to poisonous. The man himself always professed that he didn’t read any of the comments, but strangely he always appeared to know what had been written.

His offer to resign six weeks earlier, “to lift the doom and gloom” around the place was rejected by the board. Elphick's column would suggest that this would not have made a lot of difference with this group of players some of whom had got wind of the manager's departure and had "lost sight of playing for the shirt".

Nearly seven years is a long time in management at one club. Players would have heard Warrilow's pre-match team talk a hundred times; supporters would have heard his post-defeat radio interview and thought that it was much the same as the last time. Warrilow was always honest in his interviews, but there is only so many ways of explaining a defeat. In essence, everything had become stale.

Attention now turns to his successor and we await the puff of white smoke from Longmead with eager anticipation. Until this vacancy occurred, I had no idea who Tony Russell was to be honest, but a call to a couple of mates who know the local non-league scene and an internet trawl of my own has formulated my opinion that he might be the man for the job. Presently manager of VCD Athletic, who on Saturday won Ryman North scoring 116 goals in the process, he has a reputation for putting teams on the pitch that want to play football and this has brought him previous success with Erith Town and now VCD. A young and dynamic manager, precisely the criteria in the job description, add in the prospect that he could bring with him a past Tonbridge favourite, Ray Powell, makes this duo a compelling proposition.

On another day in another week, I would have had sympathy for Havant and their supporters, but I had already cornered the market on disappointment.

Tonbridge 1 Bromley 1

Match 78/13/1104 - Saturday, 19th April 2014 - Conference South

Tonbridge (1) 1 Teniola 22
Bromley (1) 1 Goldberg 9
Att. 672

Entrance: £6 Senior
Programme: £2.00
Mileage: 26/7,349

Match Report

And now, the end is here
And so I face the final curtain

With apologies to Frank Sinatra in the 100th year of this birth, but paraphrasing certain lines in his song lends itself beautifully to the scenario in which Tonbridge Angels find themselves.

The end of their time in Conference South is very much near, if it is not here already as Frank would say. And as the curtain comes down on this frustrating season, to many it would seem that Tommy Warrilow is facing the final curtain.

Regrets, I’ve had a few
But then again, too few to mention

Warrilow never appears to be a man that harbours regrets and he would argue what does he have to regret? He is the man that steered the club into Conference South for the very first time, the highest level at which the club has played. After two seasons, one a comfortable mid-table finish and the other a successful fight against relegation, the third has been a struggle from start to finish, one that is going to be ultimately lost. His regrets may well be a run-in that has produced gutsy results like this one against Bromley, on another day a draw would have been seen as an excellent result, but single points are no longer of any great value.

He may also regret that this season’s signings, almost to a man just have not come off. His summer marquee signing, Nathaniel Pinney came with a pedigree and a waistline. He was obviously a long way short of match fitness and admitted it, but three months later the waistline showed no signs of receding and shipped out to Ryman League clubs to find fitness, but that didn’t work either.

Philip Appiah came to the club after a spell out of the game and for many has been one of the better players in midfield, but for long periods Warrilow could not find a place for him in the starting eleven. Luke Blewden returned to the club but when the goals failed to materialise, he was also loaned out. A succession of shorter-term signings have appeared, and disappeared, without really making a mark, Shamir Goodwin being the obvious exception to the rule.

A defensive mix-up after nine minutes served to highlight the futility of a manager’s lot on the side-lines. Lewis Carey had been asked to make a save in the early minutes from Brendan Kiernan but when Rob Swaine headed forward a cross from Joe Anderson, Carey inexplicably spilt the ball and Bradley Goldberg had the easiest of tap-ins for his 22nd goal of the season.

Tonbridge showed great resilience and after 22 minutes found themselves level. Appiah sent a ball over the top and Alex Teniola fastened onto it and steered the ball into the far corner, a goal that was simplicity in itself.
Warrilow’s men continued to spend long periods on the back foot with Carey starring against his old club making saves from Goldberg in particular who might have ended with a net-full.

The second half followed much the same pattern and Jon Heath was forced to clear from the line but one or two half chances began to fall the way of the home side. Mark Lovell saw a header comfortably saved by Joe Welch and Chris Piper drove a 25 yard free kick just over the crossbar.

With the home crowd begging Warrilow to make substitutions, especially up-front, they were finally made in the final 10 minutes when Evan James and Pinney entered the fray and, all of a sudden, it was Tonbridge that were on the front foot. Into injury time a long ball forward from Ryan Watts was sent in the direction of Pinney who was in an offside position, the ball never reached Pinney but was received by Piper who came from an onside position to place a chip into the net but the linesman flag was raised. It is so typical of the luck that always haunts those in the basement of divisions.

Did Warrilow leave it too late to make the substitutions, a criticism that is regularly levelled at him, who knows if it would have made a difference on this occasion? As it stands, even wins at Chelmsford and the season’s finale against Havant may not now be enough and should that be the end of the reign of Tommy Warrilow well . . .

And more, much more than this, he did it his way.

Sadly, at the end of this season, his way will conclude in the wrong way.

But for how much longer?

Tonbridge 2 Concord Rangers 2

Match 72/13/1098 - Tuesday, 1st April 2014 - Conference South

Tonbridge (0) 2 James 46, Lovell 83
Concord Rangers (1) 2 Collins 17 King 90+2
Att. 274

Entrance: £6 Senior
Programme: £1.50
Mileage: 26/6,769

Match Report

Over the seven years that this blog has been running I've taken great satisfaction when people have told me that my reporting of games has been balanced and fair. If the following posting takes on a tone of sour grapes then I apologise, but sometimes favouritism cannot be hidden.

From afar, having never seen them play before, I had great respect for Concord Rangers, a club that has risen from the Essex Senior League to the security of mid-table in Conference South in the matter of 12 years and continue to be in with a shout of reaching the end-of-season play-offs. I, along with more knowledgeable non-league people, had the side from Canvey Island down as cannon fodder for the big spenders of this division and while they maintained a steady position in the league, most expected them to fall away anytime soon, but they haven't and that is obviously a great credit to the management team at the club.

Tonbridge desperately needed the three points from this game and with just a minute of time added remaining, they conceded the goal that earned their visitors a share of spoils. What I witnessed next from the touchline was an absolute disgrace and, if it had been done in the glare of TV cameras, then Danny Cowley and his staff would be serving lengthy touchline bans in the not-too-distant future.

I've no doubt that from behind the dug-outs the Concord bench had taken a fair amount of abuse, but as professionals they should rise above that and not become involved in a running dialogue with their protagonists. When Concord snatched their last ditch equaliser the entire bench ran towards their verbal assailants and with a hail of bad language and V-signed finger gestures they postured just feet away. Their actions could easily have escalated into a full-blown fist fight, and it came as no surprise to find out that they had been involved in a similar incident on Saturday at Farnborough.

Concord Rangers are a big, physical side and their togetherness as a team was exemplified by Cowley, who constantly motivated, chastised and was good value to watch until they went over-the-top in those final seconds. His team had gone into the break fully deserving of their goal lead, a well-worked move on 17 minutes finished with a Sam Collins strike.

Tonbridge huffed and puffed their way through the half, Evan James making a flying start to the match sweeping down the right hand side but, when clear, shot hopelessly over the bar. This set the tone for the half in which goalkeeper Jamie Butler wasn’t troubled.

James, the new man from Canada, was to make an instant impact on the second period though when he found the smallest of gaps between Butler and his near post from 25 yards.

Tonbridge held the balance of play through the half but were guilty of over-playing and failing to shoot on goal as the opportunities arose.

With seven minutes remaining their dominance was finally rewarded when Nathan Green crossed from the left and Mark Lovell, contesting with the goalkeeper, headed home.

The game should have been put safely to bed in the dying minutes when in the space of seconds, Henry Muggeridge failed to make a connection with the ball with the goal at his mercy, Green saw his shot blocked and from the rebound Michael Bakare blazed over the bar.

As so often happens, Tonbridge were made to pay for that moment. Gary Elphick appeared to be fouled before committing an offence himself to concede a free kick on the right angle of the 18 yard box. The initial free kick was saved by Lewis Carey but Steve King was the quickest to react to the rebound and tucked home the equaliser provoking the touchline celebrations and its aftermath.

Elphick was shown the red card in the intervening time between the goal and the final whistle, 30 or so seconds later, but my attention had been diverted to the fracas on the bench.

This might ultimately be the loss of the two points that sends Tonbridge down; I hope we can take relegation with a lot more grace than Concord took their point back to Essex.

In the spirit of fairness and balance, I should add that following a tweet I received a vehement response from one of the Concord coaches, Miki Hood, and a couple of their supporters who claimed that they had been the subject of vile abuse for the 90 minutes and why should't they respond in the manner they did given that abuse. I'm not condoning any abuse that was metered out by Tonbridge supporters, far from it, I abhor it, but I still believe that coaches put themselves in that position on the touchline every Saturday and they should rise above it.

Tonbridge 0 Gosport Borough 2

Match 70/13/1096 - Tuesday, 25th March 2014 - Conference South

Tonbridge (0) 0
Gosport Borough (0) 2 Forbes 49, Brown 90+2
Att. 276

Entrance: £6 Senior
Programme: £2.00
Mileage: 26/6,691

Match Report

I’ve always enjoyed a good whodunit on the television and Silent Witness is among my favourites. Over the years the stories have become more and more convoluted and my biggest problem with the programme these days is more often than not, I just don’t get whodunit. It seems that as the years pass I’m a little slower on the uptake.

My analogy between my Silent Witness difficulty and football is the length of time it has taken me to come to the conclusion that Tommy Warrilow’s time is up at Longmead. In fact, whilst many people have been vocal about his removal as manager of Tonbridge Football Club, I’ve just been a silent witness on the issue.

I had no need to have been a forensic pathologist to be able to dissect the past few Tonbridge performances as woefully short of what was needed, and should have been expected, to avoid the drop from Conference South. In a hectic period of 25 days, nine fixtures have been played and Tonbridge have won just the once, but more tellingly they have played four games against fellow relegation strugglers and those matches have yielded just one point.

This latest performance against Gosport Borough, who arrived in Kent second bottom and fresh from the disappointment of a Wembley defeat in the FA Trophy Final, could only be placed in the terrible category. In a game of very few opportunities for either side, when Tonbridge failed to take theirs to open the scoring, it became very difficult once they were chasing the game.

Injuries to Gary Elphick and Jon Heath forced Warrilow to play a strong-running winger, Nathan Green, at centre back with Chris Piper only fit enough to take a place on the bench.

Two nervous teams, aware of the importance of the game, served only to produce a scrappy first half in which the best chances fell to the home side but these in turn failed to ask too many questions of the Gosport goalkeeper, Nathan Ashmore, who endured a first half in which he made some poor decisions but wasn’t punished. Mark Lovell headed a good chance wide and after a lobbed pass from Nathan Pinney that was the highlight of the first half to set up a clear opportunity for Louis Cumbers, but he pulled his shot wide. Ashmore then ventured far from his goal but Michael Bakare was unable to get his shot away before being crowded out by the visiting defenders. It was so frustrating.

Tonbridge were quickly punished in the second half when after five minutes a cross into the box was met with a glancing header from Andy Forbes to delight the eight diehard Gosport supporters behind the goal.

The harder Tonbridge tried to repair the damage the worse it got as they were being picked off on the break with the visitors having the ball in the net a couple of times only to be ruled out for offside.

Ashmore was also redeeming himself from his first half indecision with good saves from Cumbers and substitute Alex Teniola.

It was almost inevitable that, in the time added, Gosport capitalised when Sonny Miles gave the ball away in midfield to Danny Wooden and his cross to Jamie Brown left a tap-in for the goalscorer.

It was a disheartening evening and social media was quickly alive with the blame-game with Warrilow taking the lion's share of the flak. The Tonbridge manager has vowed to see this season through to its bitter end and if he can pull off this Great Escape then he will have the perfect riposte for his detractors. Sadly, I cannot visualise that happening, but then again, I never see the end coming these days.

Tonbridge 1 Hayes & Yeading United 1

Match 68/13/1094 - Thursday, 20th March 2014 - Conference South

Tonbridge (0) 1 Lovell 72
Hayes & Yeading United (1) 1 Williams 23
Att. 273

Entrance: £6 Senior
Programme: £1.50
Mileage: 26/6,620

Match Report

For half-an-hour the lights literally went out on Tonbridge's battle to avoid relegation from Conference South. Thankfully, with power fully restored, a Mark Lovell penalty earned his side a well-deserved, vital point towards the season's ultimate goal.

Thirteen minutes of the second half had elapsed when a local power cut plunged Longmead into darkness with Hayes and Yeading holding on to their one goal lead earned in the first half. The lights to the bar were quickly restored but, evidently, once power has been cut to floodlights it is not just a case of flicking the switch to have them illuminating again.

Including this fixture, over the next three games, Tonbridge face opposition who are themselves embroiled in this relegation dog-fight and the Angels have a frighteningly poor record against those clubs this season, prior to this game having recorded only one win in eight games against teams from the bottom seven.

On a cold, wet evening a poor attendance of just 273 highlighted how costly the postponements during the monsoon season turn out to be when the game is eventually played. Thursday evening football, perhaps, doesn't even register in mindset of the floating supporter.

Tonbridge, on the back of a confidence-building four points and two clean sheets from their previous two outings, started brightly and Nathaniel Pinney pulled a shot narrowly wide in the opening minute, he could and probably should have scored. But, having made most of the running in the opening 20 minutes, it was the visitors that opened the scoring.

H&Y, who had previously showed little going forward, crafted a pleasing goal on the eye although fingers will be pointed at some woeful Tonbridge marking. A cross from the left to the far post was met with a cushioned header from Pat Cox into the path of Luke Williams who directed his header into the corner from close range.

The game from that point became one in which the goalkeepers will look back to their important contributions. Mikhael Jaimez-Ruiz, the ex-Dover keeper, made a splendid save from a Lee Browning free-kick to retain the visitors lead at the break.

Tonbridge emerged from the dressing room for the second period with renewed vigour and a golden chance was created by Michael Bakare after five minutes. A great run into the penalty area wasn’t ended with a shot as the ball got stuck under his feet and then he and Luis Cumbers left it for each other when another opportunity offered itself up. Directly from that move, H&Y broke away and Tonbridge hearts breathed a sigh of relief as Williams crashed a shot against the crossbar.

Just prior to the lights going out, Ruiz saved brilliantly from Cumbers and directly after the darkness, he saved well once more from a Pinney header.

Tonbridge deservedly got their equaliser with about 20 minutes remaining when, I think, Bakare was tripped in the box. There were a lot of bodies in a small space and at the time, I had no idea exactly why the spot kick had been given, but Lovell stepped up and safely despatched his kick into the corner.

Instead of going for the winner, Tonbridge surprisingly sat back and they were very nearly punished as their own 'keeper, Lewis Carey was forced into a brilliant treble save to thwart the visitors.

Rather wet and bedraggled, I, along with most other Tonbridge supporters ambled out of Longmead, half-an-hour later than expected, disappointed that the three points had not been obtained from a game that, in the main, they had dominated. The next couple of games will highlight whether this was a point gained or a couple lost.

Tonbridge 1 Weston-super-Mare 0

Match 67/13/1093 - Saturday, 15th March 2014 - Conference South

Tonbridge (0) 1 Teniola 89
Weston-super-Mare (0) 0
Att. 360

Entrance: £6 Senior
Programme: £2
Mileage: 26/6,594

Match Report

He was the man with no name. As he warmed-up before becoming an 85th minute substitute, quizzical looks were passed towards him generally accompanied by the comment “Who is he”. Within five minutes, our stadium announcer Lorraine Parks was excitedly informing the celebrating supporters that his name was Alex Teniola and he had just scored the 89th minute goal that set Tonbridge on their way to that most precious of commodities, three points.

Still little is known about Teniola, in his Radio Kent interview manager Tommy Warrilow said that he had been picked up playing local football in Essex whilst internet searches located him at Hertford Town or Kingstonian. A few hours later, Big Fat Phil on the Tonbridge forum identified his Essex club as Bowers and Pitsea from the Essex Senior League, good research Phil!

On a warm, bright day that allowed the heavy coats of winter to be discarded, Tonbridge found themselves shorn of several players for reason of injury or suspension and faced a Weston-super-Mare side that were positioned on the edge of the play-off zone with some quite imposing players in terms of height and physical bulk.

The game’s defining moments were set on 23 and 28 minutes when Naby Diallo clashed with Sonny Miles earning two bookings and his dismissal. For the first Diallo was adjudged to have led with an elbow in an aerial clash with Miles and the second, having taken a heavy touch on the ball, was late and high with his tackle on the Tonbridge central defender.

Unfortunately, it set the tone for the game. Weston sought to negate their man disadvantage with cynical time-wasting and stomach-churning screams as players hit the deck following challenges, fair or foul. In fairness, Weston were not alone in this act as, for the first Diallo booking especially, Miles’ loud wail of pain may well have influenced the referee’s decision.

As Weston’s time-wasting began from an early stage, the first half was probably the poorest I have witnessed this season. Whether it is the sudden change in the condition of the pitch from slogging their way through soggy mud baths to one that has quickly dried and become hard on top that was the root cause of player’s miscontrol, passes overhit or misplaced, the game was devoid of any quality.

Nathaniel Pinney is at least starting to look the player that Warrilow thought he had put under contract at the beginning of the season and sent through on goal by Lee Browning, his lob of the keeper was just short of the necessary weight to take it over the line before Dan Gregson managed to clear it away from his goal line.

The second half was more exciting but equally as frustrating. WSM had seemingly given up the ghost of pinching a winner and concentrated on running the clock down at every opportunity whilst Tonbridge didn’t appear to have the nous to break down their resolute defence.

The best chance once more fell to Pinney whose shot was acrobatically turned over the crossbar by the goalkeeper, Lloyd Irish.

With Louis Cumbers and Teniola added to the attack, Tonbridge threw all they had at their opposition and eventually the breakthrough came. Teniola sent Pinney away down the right side and, from his cross, the mystery man had made his way into the six yard box to head down and into the net from close range.

The goal and six minutes of added time gave WSN the impetus to finally throw off the shackles of gamesmanship and chase an equaliser, but justice was served that they were unable to find a way back into the game.

Twelve or so minutes are hardly enough to know whether Tonbridge have unearthed a gem in Alex Teniola, but it was 12 minutes in which his name was put onto the lips of their supporters. Still in dire need of a run of points, Tonbridge have to hope that his name is not forgotten just as quickly.

Tonbridge 2 Maidenhead United 4

Match 63/13/1090 - Tuesday, 4th March 2014 - Conference South

Tonbridge (1) 2 Pinney 3, Lovell 55
Maidenhead United (2) 4 Green 15,34,82,89 (pen)
Att. 332

Entrance: £6 Senior
Programme: £1.50
Mileage: 26/6,318

Match Report

The theme of the last posting, Gillingham's visit to Bristol City, was the period of squeaky-bum time and following Tonbridge Angel's humiliating 7-0 defeat at Boreham Wood, it was my assertion that they had already reached that point in their season. This made the visit of Maidenhead United, who sat just one point ahead of their hosts, having played two games more, a critical six pointer. Indeed, I considered this, apart from England's World Cup Qualifiers against Montenegro and Poland, the most important game I had attended so far this season.

As the car park emptied following a 4-2 defeat for the Angels, there would have been a lot of worried faces and no shortage of anger at the way they had surrendered a third minute lead and failed to build on a second half equaliser when the tide had certainly turned in favour of the home side.

Given that confidence following the Boreham Wood defeat would probably have been at pretty low ebb, Tonbridge got off to a dream start when Nathaniel Pinney received a ball on the right hand side, drove into the box and beat a defender before firing a shot into the far corner.

Far from serving as a set-back for Maidenhead, the goal acted as a spur and Lewis Carey was asked to make a couple of smart stops before Danny Green equalised after a quarter of an hour. A slick passing movement ended with Harry Pritchard pulling the ball back from the bye-line for Green to finish with ease.

Maidenhead continued to press forward and were rewarded with the lead after 34 minutes when the pairing of Pritchard and Green once more opened up the Tonbridge back line, leaving Green to score his second of the game.

Tonbridge opened the second half on the offensive and the Maidenhead goalkeeper, Elvijs Putnins had some very shaky moments that brought loud vocal reprimands from his manager, Johnson Hippolyte, on the touchline. Mark Lovell should have scored a couple of minutes after the break, but it seemed his confidence deserted him at the vital moment and Pinney and himself waited for each other to have a shot, ending with neither. This was quickly followed by a series of corners from which Tonbridge finally equalised with a Lovell header.

Tonbridge had the momentum at this point to go on and win the game and hit a post and had a goal disallowed in a period past the hour mark. But as seems to happen to teams that are struggling, the missed chances came back to haunt them. With eight minutes remaining, a shot from Adrian Clifton was deflected upwards and into the path of Green, who headed home.

Putnins earned the pleasure of his manager with a diving save from a Chris Piper driven shot before the visitors caught Tonbridge on the break once more and Gary Elphick conceded a penalty which Green converted for his fourth of a personally memorable evening.

Whether this proves to be a critical point in Tonbridge's season will be proved in the coming weeks; walking away from Longmead on Tuesday evening it certainly felt that relegation was a real possibility, but likely or even a certainty, definitely those thoughts can wait for another day.

Tonbridge 1 Dorchester Town 2

Match 60/13/1087 - Saturday, 22nd February 2014 - Conference South

Tonbridge (1) 1 Bakare 14
Sheffield United (1) 1 Crittenden 36, Jermyn 90+2
Att. 405

Entrance: £6 Senior
Programme: £2
Mileage: 26/5,909

Match Report

The sun shone on a pitch that at first look, although carrying a hundredweight or two of sand, didn’t look so bad considering the deluge that had fallen on it, and following Monday’s epic victory to complete a double over promotion contending, heavily-funded Eastleigh it was also shining on brighter times ahead for Tonbridge Angels, and then the football began . . .

The pitch quickly cut up and became difficult for either side to deliver a consistent level of performance; both sides had patches in the ascendancy but neither was able to take the game by the scruff of the neck and call it their own. Ultimately the sun set and a 92nd minute winner for Dorchester Town left Tonbridge feeling the cold wind of relegation on their backs once more.

Dorchester arrived at Longmead sitting next to bottom in Conference South, whilst the three points obtained against Eastleigh had lifted the Angels out of the bottom three, so although it might only be February, the game had the feel of a six-pointer about it.

Tonbridge started strongly and the Magpies’ keeper, Alan Walker-Harris pulled out a smart stop to thwart a 30 yard effort from Mark Lovell. However, the home side’s endeavours were rewarded after 14 minutes when Michael Bakare cut in from the left and lifted a shot over the on-rushing Walker-Harris into the far corner with Nathaniel Pinney following up to tap home if needed.

Dorchester responded to the setback and Warren Byerley, who proved a handful for most of the game until his substitution five minutes from time, fired over the bar. The Dorset side found an equaliser after 36 minutes; awarded a free kick 25 yards from goal, Ashley Yeoman fired in a shot that found its way past the wall bringing a parrying save from Tonbridge’s keeper, Clark Masters, that unfortunately only rebounded into the path of Nick Crittenden, who had followed the ball in, whilst the Tonbridge defenders merely spectated.

Tonbridge entered the break having been marginally the more offensive of the two sides, but in the second half as the pitch deteriorated, the match became more of a foot-slog with both sides having periods in which they may have scored the next goal. Early in the second half Dorchester's Nathan Craig attempted an extravagant shot from the half-way line seeking to catch Masters off his line and after 65 minutes, Tonbridge had an attack that brought a good save from Walker-Harris and ended with Lovell rattling a post.

In the closing minutes of the game, it was Dorchester that were finishing the stronger and when the substitute, Steve Walker crashed a header against the bar, Tonbridge supporters were looking for the final whistle to accept the point in the hand.

These hopes were to be denied when, in the time added on, Masters spilled a corner from Charlie Losasso and Mark Jermyn was on hand to poke the ball home to the delight of the raucous few that had travelled from the west. Masters claimed a foul, but the referee waved away any such protest to deliver three precious points to the visitors.

The wettest season ever has hopefully passed through and there is now a glut of fixtures to be made up, of which Tonbridge have a bundle of home games to use to their advantage in their quest for safety. As the last week has proved they can beat the best and lose to the not-quite-so-good, so it could, and probably will, be a roller-coaster ride to the last week in April.

Tonbridge 1 Bath City 1

Match 53/13/1080 - Tuesday, 21st January 2014 - Conference South

Tonbridge (1) 1 Browning 10
Bath City (1) 1 Muggeridge (o.g.) 17
Att. 298

Entrance: £6 Senior
Programme: £2
Mileage: 26/5,496

Match Report

Tonbridge v Bath City is an evocative fixture that I haven't been able to cover in the time of this blog. On 19th December 1959, my Dad dragged his eldest son to the Angel Ground to watch this fixture and from there a life-long obsession with football was born. Tonbridge Football Club was engraved on the heart and despite a trial separation when they were evicted from the Angel; it has remained a lasting marriage.

In 1959 there was an over-riding reason why my Dad chose not only to turn up at the Angel (he wasn't a regular) but also to bring his eight-year-old with him. In the Championship-winning Bath City side was a striker called Charlie Fleming, who carried the nickname of Cannonball, as a testament to the verocity of his shot.

Born in Blairhall, Scotland, Fleming was, admittedly, on his way down from a sparkling career that reached its height with a spell at Sunderland, where in three-and-a-half seasons he scored 71 goals in 122 appearances. In his first season at Roker Park he ended as the First Division's (now, of course, the Premier League) second highest goalscorer with 28 goals. In each of his first two seasons he suffered the heartbreak of being a losing semi-finalist in the FA Cup.

He had been a cult hero at East Fife earlier in his career, scoring 169 goals in 241 appearances in eight seasons and was in two Scottish League Cup winning sides. In 1951/52 season Charlie won his one and only Scottish cap, scoring twice in a 3-1 win over Northern Ireland, but amazingly, he was never picked again. It was during his time at East Fife that supporters gave him the nickname of Cannonball.

It seems strange that on leaving Roker Park in 1958, Fleming decided to drop straight into non-league football with Bath City, especially as he had lost none of his predatory instincts. In seven seasons with the Twerton Park club he averaged 50 goals a season and in that 1959/60 season, Bath won their first-ever Southern League championship.

Sadly, the details of that game that I have are sketchy. The Tonbridge stats man, Dan Couldridge, has furnished me with the Tonbridge team that day: Bickerstaff, Thompson, Lovell, Boswell, Ruark, Hailstones, Shaw, Dunne, Heffer, Smith J, Ball. The game was won by Bath City 2-1 with the Tonbridge scorer being Dunne (no christian name, I'm afraid). I can only assume that Charlie Fleming was in the Bath City side that day; if there is a Bath City supporter out there somewhere who can add some more detail I would be delighted to hear from them through the comments box.

Back to the present day and, unfortunately this Conference South game will not live long in the memory. Both sides huffed and puffed their way through a mundane game in front of just under 300 people. In 1959 the game drew 2,534, what would any Conference South club give for attendance of that size these days?

The game started brightly enough for the home side and they very nearly took the lead in the opening minute when Gavin McCallum beat the on-rushing goalkeeper to a through ball but a defender managed to get in a saving tackle. Bath had started sluggishly and their legs appeared still on the bus when Tonbridge opened the scoring on 10 minutes, with Lee Browning curling a 25 yard free kick into the top corner beyond the clutches of Jason Mellor.

In their first attack of the game, Bath City found an equaliser. A corner from the right was flicked goalwards and Henry Muggeridge positioned at the far post could only head the ball into his own net off the bar. The goal wiped the journey out of the legs of the Bath team and the rest of the half was reduced to a stalemate, the only exception being, with five minutes remaining before half-time, when the goalkeeper was once again beyond his penalty area tackling McCallum, the ball rebounded to Muggeridge who shot towards the open goal but his effort didn't carry enough weight and a defender was able to clear from in front of the line.

The second half saw the visitors in the greater ascendancy as Tonbridge rather lost their way, but despite their dominance it was late in the game when Lewis Carey made his first real save, diving low to the left to push away a shot that he obviously saw late.

Tonbridge's great chance of the half fell to Mark Lovell, who tamely shot straight at the goalkeeper from close range having been set up by Tom Collins.

So, 2,329 games and 54 years later, it is unlikely any of the players on show will evoke the same memories as Charlie Fleming, but there have been many along the way that make this game such a rich tapestry.

Tonbridge 2 Eastbourne Borough 1

Match 46/13/1073 - Saturday, 28th December 2013 - Conference South

Tonbridge (1) 2 Lovell 33, 83 (pen)
Eastbourne Borough (0) 1 Lok 80
Att. 608

Entrance: £6 Senior
Programme: £2
Mileage: 26/4,955

Match Report

If anybody had asked me on Christmas Day (they didn’t) where I was going for football on Saturday, then, whilst it was my game of choice, Tonbridge was the last place I expected to be.

The storm that had battered Kent at the beginning of this Christmas week, had left Tonbridge High Street under water for the first time in years and footage shown on the news programmes showed shoppers with their bags held high as they waded through waist high water. Sainsbury’s, on which the old Angel Ground was built, saw their car park turned into a massive lake with torrents of water rushing into the underground space.

Longmead Stadium was also affected and a quarter of the pitch was submerged plus structural damage to the fencing. Given the situation, there was very little hope of the encounter with Eastbourne Borough going ahead. But, the weather relented for a couple of days, the water receded and an army of volunteers set to work in an ultimately successful attempt to get the match on.

To these people we can but offer our thanks, because in the light of their efforts, a great game of football ensued and those people were also richly rewarded with three precious points for their favourites.

Beginning the day in the bottom three, with Eastbourne Borough riding high in the play-off positions, these three points were as unexpected as the match being played itself.

In a game that supplied wonderful entertainment, superbly refereed by Mr Lloyd Wood of Dagenham, Tonbridge had some outstanding performers through the spine of the team. They rode an element of luck; they got the rub of the green from a couple of decisions, but ultimately just about edged a thrilling encounter.

The opening five minutes might have seen the home side out of the game as three times Lewis Carey produced saves that should have seen the Angels fall behind and, on the stroke of half time, the save he made from Jamie Taylor deserved a national audience. From six yards, the goalkeeper was going the wrong way before he turned his body and managed to palm the ball away from the inside of his right hand post.

Once the early storm had been weathered (no pun intended!), the hosts fought their way back into the game and created chances of their own with Shamir Goodwin proving a constant threat to the visitors and on 33 minutes they opened the scoring. A well-rehearsed corner kick routine saw Chris Piper cross across the face of the goal, with Mark Lovell arriving at the far post to score from close range, despite the protestations of the Borough defence looking for an offside decision.

Piper, it has to be said, was fortunate to find Mr Wood full of the joys of Christmas. The Tonbridge full-back had picked up a yellow card and taken a couple of talking-to’s from the official. Manager Tommy Warrilow took the sensible decision to move Piper into midfield for a period of time, taking the heat out of the situation. Piper was culpable for a couple of less than advised challenges but there were Eastbourne players that were undoubtedly looking to get him sent off.

Eastbourne showed the pedigree that has taken them to lofty heights in Conference South as they opened the second half very much on the front foot looking for an equaliser. Sonny Miles, outstanding in the centre of the defence, was forced into a goal line clearance after 67 minutes to once again deny Taylor.

One last foul was enough for Warrilow to call time on Piper’s afternoon with 20 minutes remaining to preserve Tonbridge’s full complement on the pitch.

Tonbridge had a period in the ascendancy, Dominic Green struck the bar before, with 10 minutes remaining, and Eastbourne got a deserved equaliser. A cross into the box wasn’t cleared and the ball fell to substitute Darren Lok who scored from six yards.

If we, on the sidelines, were going to be satisfied with a point, those on the pitch were not and three minutes later, a series of shots and saves in the Eastbourne penalty area ended with the Borough defender, Sam Cole, committing a deliberate hand ball for which he saw red and offered the Tonbridge the chance to re-establish their lead from the penalty spot. Lovell maintained his composure whilst the process of the sending off was completed to send Craig Ross the wrong way, stroking the ball into the bottom left hand corner.

Three precious points were celebrated at the final whistle and manager Warrilow was quick to pay tribute to the Tonbridge people that had given their time to get the stadium and pitch fit for play, to them I also, can only offer my thanks.

Tonbridge 3 Whitehawk 1

Match 36/13/1063 - Saturday, 26th October 2013 - Conference South

Tonbridge (2) 3 Pinney 32, Goodwin 34, Green (pen) 79
Whitehawk (0) 1 Taylor 85
Att. 376

Entrance: £6 Senior
Programme: £2.00
Mileage: 26/2,843

Match Report

Turning right off the drive I ruefully reflected that had I been turning left I could, and almost certainly should, have been making my way towards Chatham Town for a FA Cup Fourth Qualifying Round tie. Radio Kent constantly reminded me of what I was missing on the journey over to Tonbridge, the final qualifying round is a big deal for the local non-league clubs and for Chatham this was to be their first appearance at this stage for 80 years. St Albans City would be arriving at Maidstone Road as clear favourites, as would Tonbridge had they emerged victorious from the previous round. But, it was not to be, so a Conference South fixture against Whitehawk was the consolation prize.

In search of new firepower, Tommy Warrilow drafted in, on a month’s loan, a young striker from the Development Squad at Brighton and Hove Albion, Shamir Goodwin. The youngster was paired with Nathaniel Pinney as Warrilow sought to end a run of five League games without a win.

On a day when a stiff wind was always going to make playing conditions difficult, Tonbridge opened well with some crisp, on the floor, passing. Goodwin immediately impressed with his direct running at defenders and Pinney brought an early save out of Chris Winterton.

Whitehawk, playing with the benefit of the wind behind them, had very little to offer in the first half in which they over hit passes and the odd shot from distance that didn’t trouble Clark Masters in the Tonbridge goal.

In the Whitehawk ranks, managed by ex-Gill Darren Freeman, was another ex-Priestfield favourite, Matty Lawrence, whose Shaggy-look has been replaced with a slightly shorter version, but despite his 39 years, looked comfortable at this level of the game.

Tonbridge opened the scoring after 32 minutes with a goal of pure simplicity. Nathan Green was released down the right wing from where he delivered a perfect cross to the near post for Pinney to plant a firm header into the roof of the net.

Within a couple of minutes the new strike pairing were both on the score sheet. Goodwin cut in from the right and thundered in a shot off the underside of the crossbar.

The second half became increasingly scrappy as the wind intensified. Whitehawk offered a little more, but their shooting was wayward and from distance. The game was ended as a contest on 79 minutes in a bitter-sweet moment for Jon Heath. Goodwin initially brought a good parrying save from Winterton, who made another good stop from the follow-up shot by Pinney. The whistle blew as Heath crashed in the second rebound only to find that the referee had awarded a penalty for a trip on Pinney as he made his attempt on goal, had it stood it would have been Heath’s first goal for the club. Green successfully buried the spot kick to seal the points.

Whitehawk managed a consolation goal five minutes from time through ex-Angel Lewis Taylor and added a little more pressure in the remaining time, but the home side eased through for a very welcome victory.

Meanwhile, down at Maidstone Road, St Albans City beat their hosts Chatham Town to enter tomorrow’s First Round Draw. What’s the odds they come out of the hat with Gillingham?

Tonbridge 2 Hayes and Yeading 1

Match 28/13/1055 - Tuesday, 1st October 2013 - FA Cup 3Q Replay

Tonbridge (2) 2 Elphick 30, Suarez 42
Hayes and Yeading (0) 1
Att. 297

Entrance: £6.00 Senior
Programme: £2.00
Mileage: 26/2,170

Match Report

Look directly at the post below for the original game of this FA Cup tie and you will read of me bemoaning the luck of Tonbridge Angels when it comes to this particular competition. The good Lady looked down on the Angels last night, but she should not have needed to.

Hayes and Yeading were fast out of the traps and looked a completely different side to the one that laboured through 90 minutes on Sunday; perhaps their pre-match meal had been a full-blown Sunday roast!

The visitors created a couple of half chances that were comfortably dealt with by Clark Masters before their good start was thrown into turmoil by a moment of insanity from Kelvin Bossman. Twenty minutes had elapsed when, on the far side of the ground, out of nothing, the referee brandished the red card to the H&Y striker. It later transpired that he had taken it upon himself to call the referee a bit of a tool, or words to that effect. Bossman had let his team down badly and they were made to pay.

Ten minutes later, a ball into the penalty area was challenged by the lanky Mikel Suarez, the ball fell to Tonbridge's Gary Elphick who blasted it into the net from the edge of the box. H&Y's keeper, Mikhael Jamiez-Ruiz, stayed on the ground implying that the Suarez challenge had been unfair, but the referee was having none of it.

A couple of minutes before the break, Nathan Green swung in a peach of a cross for Suarez to bury the easiest of headers to double the Angel's advantage. Green had been guilty of failing to clear the first man on numerous occasions, but this one time his delivery was inch perfect.

Two goals and a man to the good, a third would have killed the game, but whether Tonbridge got nervous, after all they haven't won an FA Cup tie for four years, they found themselves in a "stick or twist" situation and not knowing which hand to play. Louis Soares curled a free kick against the upright as the ball was consistently being given away and when H&Y introduced fresh legs, Tonbridge found themselves under pressure.

Amongst the panic that was setting in, a couple of chances came and went which would have made the last 15 minutes a lot more bearable. Phillip Appiah and Luke Blewden both failing to convert close range headers. With 12 minutes remaining, a through ball sent H&Y's Frankie Merriman clear and he coolly shot past Masters to set up the nervous finish.

Tonbridge rode their luck, although Green had another golden chance to end the agony, but survived six minutes of added time and a couple of close shaves on their goal, to seal their place in the next round.

General opinion seems to be that Lady Luck has smiled on them once more with their away draw at St Albans in the Third Qualifying Round. The Hertfordshire club sit mid-table in the Southern League Premier Division, a step lower, but I'm not so sure. It has the look of a banana skin to me and Tonbridge are going to have to impose themselves in the manner they did in the original game of this tie to force their way into the fourth qualifying round for the first time since 2007.

Tonbridge 2 Chelmsford City 1

Match 19/13/1046 - Monday, 26th August 2013 - Conference South

Tonbridge (1) 2 Muggeridge 39, Browning 83
Chelmsford City (0) 1 Brayley (pen) 90+3
Att. 510

Entrance: £6 Senior
Programme: £2
Mileage: 26/1,395

Match Report

After viewing a couple of encouraging pre-season games, my first league visit to Tonbridge this season had been preceded by a three defeats, the third of which was a 5-1 hammering at early season pacemakers, Bromley. My companions at Longmead told me of woeful performances and overweight, unfit players leaving me fearing the worst from the visit of Chelmsford City, a club, who in my recent memory always seem to give the Angels a bit of a tonking.

In the Chelmsford side there was Tommy Forecast, last season's back-up goalkeeper to Stuart Nelson at Gillingham, Tom Derry, a youngster that was brought to Gillingham from Charlton in the summer and loaned out to the Essex side and Tom Davis, the midfielder that had an inauspicious season at Tonbridge last term.

Following the Bromley debacle, Nathaniel Pinney and Phillip Appiah were dropped to the bench with Luke Blewden pairing up with Mikel Suarez in attack. Chris Piper was asked to play right back allowing Henry Muggeridge to player further forward.

Blewden played with the enthusiasm that endears players to supporters even if they do lack a little quality. In the middle of the defence, Sonny Miles and Gary Borrowdale snuffed out the considerable threat of Derry and Jeff Goulding.

Both sides created a couple of chances in a first half that was evenly balanced, Tonbridge's best efforts came from two Jon Heath headers whilst Clark Masters did well to turn away a Goulding header. The breakthrough came on 39 minutes when Muggeridge cut inside from the right and struck from 20 yards into the bottom corner.

Chelmsford obviously took a flea in the ear during the half time break from Dean Holdsworth and put the Tonbridge back line under pressure from the outset, but the home side stood firm with Piper a revelation in his new role.

Seven minutes remained when Tonbridge extended their lead. Blewden hit a cross beyond the far post from where Nathan Green did exceptionally well to keep the move alive with a header back across goal to Lee Browning who shot low into the net.

It was deep into time added when the final piece of drama unfolded. Masters did well to save an initial effort from Mark Hughes but the follow-up shot was thwarted by the hands of Miles, who conceded the penalty and earned a red card for his trouble. The spot kick was successfully converted by Bertie Brayley, but it was too little, too late for the visitors.

So, pulling away from the Longmead car park, I was unexpectedly reflecting on very satisfactory Bank Holiday Monday entertainment and how fortunes can change with the fickle finger of fate. An injury to Garry Elphick forced Tommy Warrilow to play Miles in his best position in the centre of defence and Piper slotted into Miles' vacated position with great effect. Upfront, Blewden showed with whole-hearted endeavour that he is not at Longmead to understudy Pinney or anybody else whilst the reshuffle also pushed Green and Muggeridge further forward. Out of a difficult start, Warrilow might just have stumbled on the right formula.

Tonbridge 0 Maidstone United 1

Match 09/13/1036 - Thursday, 25th July 2013 - Pre-Season Friendly

Tonbridge (0) 0
Maidstone United (0) 1 Sobers 88
Att. 354

Entrance: £4 Senior
Programme: Sold Out
Mileage: 26/325

Match Report

There is no good time, be it pre-season or a cup final, to lose to your fiercest of rivals and to lose to a highly debateable goal a couple of minutes from time was a bitter pill to take. This was the most anticipated game of my pre-season with much interest in the reception that awaited Lee Worgan and Frannie Collin, as it happened, the Tonbridge fans gave them a respectful return.

Much has been said and written, that the two of them have departed and now is the time to look forward and this is largely the reaction that was evident on Thursday evening.

An even contest, poorly refereed, was settled two minutes from time, when the ball sat on a spot seemingly waiting for a defender to clear it to safety before Jerome Sobers poked it home to delight the visiting fans positioned behind that goal. Later reviews of the video clearly show that Sobers has gone through the back of Sonny Miles as the defender, somewhat casually, considers whereabouts to launch his clearance. The ball broke to Collin whose shot was parried by Chalmers-Stevens but only into the path of Sobers. It was dreadful goal on all counts, a bad decision from the referee and poor defending from Tonbridge.

Gary Borrowdale has been drafted into the worryingly frail central defensive position and if he can regain full fitness he would form an experienced pairing with Gary Elphick.

Maidstone opened the stronger and two long throws from Alex Flisher caused real problems at the heart of the defence, one of which left Collin with a clear opportunity which he blazed over the bar and when the visitors were awarded a free kick from just outside of the box, it was feared that the result that has been cheered many times would this time be met with groans, but once again Collin's shot sailed over the bar.

Tonbridge took their time getting into their stride, but chances came and went for Mickel Suarez and Luke Blewden, who headed straight at Worgan from close range.

In the second half, Nathaniel Pinney was introduced and once more showed that he is going to be a worthy replacement for the aforementioned, albeit that his game is entirely different. He is a powerful target man that holds the ball up well and looks to be a real handful at this level.

So controversial goal or not, it is the Stones that take the local bragging rights, but it's only pre-season and the results don't matter, but I don't believe that for one minute when it comes to this particular contest.

Tonbridge 1 Welling United 1

Match 06/13/1033 - Tuesday, 16th July 2013 - Pre-Season Friendly

Tonbridge (0) 1 Blewden 60
Welling United (1) 1 Lafayette 30
Att. 171

Entrance: £4 Senior
Programme: Sold Out
Mileage: 26/228

Match Report

Drawing conclusions from pre-season friendlies can be a dangerous game, but Tommy Warrilow may well be feeling quite content that his summer's business in player recruitment has gone rather well. After next Thursday's fixture against Maidstone United, this blog and its readers can put behind them Messrs Worgan and Collin and look forward with Pinney, Appiah, Masters and Watts, because they are the present and, on the evidence of this game against the Conference South champions, Welling United, the future is a whole lot brighter.

Apart from the irritating habit, continuing on from last season, of giving away sloppy goals, it was both pleasing and surprising just how dominant Tonbridge were in this pre-season game that attracted a disappointing crowd of just 171.

Phillip Appiah, on Saturday, was deployed in front of the back four, which against lesser opposition in the shape of neighbours Tunbridge Wells; he tidied up the loose ends and passed the ball out of defence with an easy style. For this game, he was asked to pair up with David Ijaha in the centre of midfield and gave a performance that suggested that he might be wasted in the deeper lying areas. But whatever job he is asked to do in the coming months, he exudes a confidence that he is going to be able to fulfil it.

Leading the line, Nathaniel Pinney displays a good touch, but might just be a little rusty when it comes to the finishing department, whilst Luke Blewden added a third goal in two halves of football to press home the point that he is not at Longmead to make up the numbers.

Pinney's finishing had eluded him twice in the opening half hour before a single through pass saw Ross Lafayette rounding Masters to tap into an empty net for an undeserved half-time lead.

Blewden, Chris Piper and Nathan Green were among the five half time changes made by Warrilow and Sam Beales was also introduced when Ryan Watts went down injured. On the hour, a superb through pass from Piper saw Blewden scoring from an acute angle.

Tonbridge looked to have denied themselves a worthy draw at the very least when they conceded a penalty with ten minutes remaining but Joe Healey hit the bar with his spot kick.

Whether the warm glow in July turns cold in November, we can only wait and see, but just for the present, everybody at Longmead can look forward to the new season with renewed optimism.

Tonbridge 5 Tunbridge Wells 1

Match 05/13/1032 - Saturday, 13th July 2013 - Courier Cup

Tonbridge (2) 5 Akokhia 19, Muggeridge 32, Watts 55,
Blewden 60, 75
Tunbridge Wells (1) 1 Sinden 65
Att. 301

Entrance: £3 Senior
Programme: 50p
Mileage: 26/202

Match Report

This game marks a fresh start for Tonbridge Angels, their manager Tommy Warrilow and to a certain extent their supporters. Last season finished with much relief as relegation from Conference South was avoided but this led on to early summer disappointment as two of the fans’ favourites, Lee Worgan and Frannie Collin departed for their most bitter of rivals, Maidstone United. That disappointment has been tempered by the arrivals that the freeing up of two of the club’s more expensive salaries have allowed, Nathaniel Pinney (pictured) is the striker that has been asked to pick up the mantle of Collin’s goalscoring whilst Clark Masters is the new custodian of the Angels’ goal.

Other new arrivals have been Ryan Watts, a winger; the competitive midfielder Philip Appiah and returning striker, Luke Blewden.

Tunbridge Wells arrived at Longmead fresh from an encouraging performance in defeat at Maidstone and full of hope that they could live up to the “noisy neighbours” tag that appears to have arrived from nowhere. They were still missing Perry Spackman and Andy Irvine.

On a stifling hot day, which perhaps sent people to the coast rather than to a football ground, hence the rather disappointing attendance of 301, the greater squad depth of the hosts eventually proved too much for Martin Larkin’s troops.

Tonbridge's first half eleven included a triallist, Emmanuel Akokhia, released by AFC Wimbledon who caught the eye, linking well with Pinney and scoring the opening goal after 19 minutes with a good finish from a Jon Heath cross. Akokhia was also involved in the second goal when his cross was retrieved by Pinney, who set up Henry Muggeridge to fire home. Tonbridge could well have had the game out of sight by half time had it not been for the fine keeping of Chris Oladogba.

In the second half, with Tonbridge able to field a new eleven over the course of the half, the Wells visibly tired in the intense heat and the Angels were able to take full advantage. Ryan Watts crashed in a 20 yard shot before Blewden showed the quality finishing that caught the eye at Crawley Down with opportunist goals, the first a volley from a Muggeridge cross and the second, through on goal following a pass from youth teamer, James Pass. In between Richard Sinden scored a consolation goal for the Wells.

So the “noisy neighbours” were sent back over Quarry Hill to reflect on two reasonable performances against teams of higher standing, but ultimately two defeats and one of them rather heavy. From a Tonbridge perspective, all the new players impressed and certainly Akokhia earned further opportunities to impress in the upcoming games against Welling on Tuesday and next Saturday’s game in Belgium if he is able to travel.