Tonbridge Angels 2 Dulwich Hamlet 2

Match 71/21/1935 - Saturday, 11th December 2021 - League One

Tonbridge Angels (1) 2 Turner 28 (pen) Smith-Joseph 79
Dulwich Hamlet (1) 2 Green 70 Higgs 84
Attendance: 798

Admission: Season Ticket
Programme: £3
Mileage: 38/4,010

This was day when football was the winner. A terrific game of football when both sets of supporters in a crowd of nearly 800 would agree that the result was the right one. A day when fourth from bottom Tonbridge Angels went toe to toe with third placed Dulwich Hamlet and a day when the match day mini beer festival was drank dry!

Anyone that has visited Champion Hill would have witnessed that Dulwich supporters like a drop of real ale, so it’s no secret that the first festival was scheduled with that knowledge! From around an hour before kick off through to 70 minutes into the game, the queue was continuous and the kegs of Tonbridge Brewery and Constellation were going down a treat.

On the field, Tonbridge Angels announced a new signing, Adam Coombs, a striker from Cray Wanderers, who took his place on the bench. Tommy Parkinson, Ricky Modeste, Doug Loft and Craig Braham-Barrett were all unavailable through injury.

Jonny Henly was the first to be tested, turning a free kick from Giovanni McGregor over the bar and Dulwich largely dominated the opening 20 minutes.

But it was the home side that took the lead after 28 minutes when they were awarded a penalty after Aaron Smith-Joseph’s wing play and cross into Joe Turner, whose initial shot was parried by Charlie Grainger at the near post but as the ball rebounded to the Angels’ leading scorer he was clumsily brought down. Turner converted from the spot.

Tonbridge might have gone two-up just five minutes later when Jake Embery was through on goal following a sublime pass from Turner, but after rounding the Dulwich goalkeeper, the ball ran away from him.

Tonbridge went into the break probably just about deserving their lead, meanwhile the half-time queue at the beer stall was getting longer!

Dulwich were obviously going to go for it after the break and whilst Turner went close on 54 minutes, good chances were spurned at the other end and, on 67 minutes, Henly made what is becoming his weekly miraculous save from Jack Holland.

But the reprieve was short lived as Danny Mills opened up the Tonbridge defence before Jordan Green slotted past Henly.

Dulwich now had the momentum and Darren McQueen should have done better that shoot straight at Henly, but the visitors were rocked back on their heels after 79 minutes when a cross from Smith-Joseph was inexplicably fumbled into his own net by Grainger.

But thoughts of an unexpected three points were quickly dashed when a 25 yarder into the top corner from Jordan Higgs brought the scores level once more.

Tonbridge sought a winner, Holland making a last ditch challenge to deny Ibrahim Olutade but ultimately the clock ticked through its added time just as Tonbridge broke out from defending a corner.

Great game, well worth a celebratory beer, but the sold out signs were up!

Hugh Christie 8 Brompton Academy 0

Match 70/21/1934 - Wednesday, 8th December 2021 - Academies Championship

Hugh Christie (4) 8 Nunes 22 Mpyadora 23,34 Elliott 43 Devlin 72 Lazell 73,80 Brown 83
Brompton Academy (0) 0
Headcount: 15

Admission: Free
Programme: None
Mileage: 32/3,972

It’s been a tough last four or five weeks for the Academy with eight potential elite squad players being ruled out with injuries which has meant results haven’t gone so well for squads two and three as players have been promoted into higher squads (which is positive news) often leaving Squad Three at bare bones, but performances have been improving and it was good for Squad Three that, for once, the boot was on the other foot with no games for the two more senior squads enabling Joe Ford to choose from a full squad and even supplement his team.

It took the Angels 20 minutes or so to make the breakthrough against Brompton Academy (SEFA) but once Sammy Nunes scored with a shot into the bottom corner from the edge of the box, the floodgates were opened.

A second goal was added a minute later after Charlie Hatcher had sent Joseph Mpyadora through to finish coolly past an goalkeeper clearly frustrated by his absent defence.

This second goal signalled a siege on the visitors goal and it was somewhat surprising that it took another 11 minutes before the scoreline was added to with the Brompton goalkeeper admirably keeping out efforts from Harry Flemming and Mpyadora.

But he was beaten again after 34 minutes when a fine move involving Harrison Parks and Reece Elliott ended with Mpyadora adding his second goal.

Parks was involved again in setting up an opportunity for Hatcher, who was twice denied but Hatcher added a second assist with a pass into Elliott who rounded a defender, slotting home an assured finish.

The half-time team talk surrounded maintaining standards despite the obvious weakness of the opposition, but Brompton actually had their best period after half-time and their best player twice tested the Angels’ goalkeeper and a header from a corner rattled the crossbar.

But the momentum switched back to the home side and after a series of missed chances, Ryan Devlin produced a 25 yard lob over a stranded keeper.

Two minutes later, on 73, Jack Lazell thumped home a 20 yarder for 6-0 and after 80 minutes he doubled his tally with a shot that slipped from the goalkeeper’s grasp.

Hatcher helped himself to a hat-trick of assists with the final goal giving Ellis Brown a tap-in.

It was an easy victory for the Championship North team and one that should give them confidence in the coming months.

Tonbridge Angels U18 3 East Grinstead U18 1

Match 69/21/1933 - Monday, 6th December 2021 - Isthmian Youth

Tonbridge Angels U18 (2) 3 London (pen) 8 Garcia 24 Lambert 90
East Grinstead U18 (0) 1 68
Headcount: 30

Admission: £4
Programme: None
Mileage: 38/3,940

Tonbridge Angels Under-18 manager has always maintained that this first season back in Isthmian League football would be one of transition with his squad full of first years and supplemented by Under-16’s coming up against teams made up of players two, perhaps even three, years older and stronger. It is no secret that those two years can involve a lot of growing.

In the first half of this game, with seven first years and three Under-16’s in the starting 11, we were treated to a sneaky peak into what next season might bring and what we saw was very exciting.

The pace of Hayden Velvick and Isaac Barden was electric and the visiting East Grinstead side struggled to cope and when Velvick and George Rayner linked, a desperate challenge felled the latter for a eighth minute penalty that was duly converted by Harry London.

A mazy run from Velvick that ended with his shot being deflected wide and an effort from Rayner that was narrowly wide emphasised the problems that East Grinstead were having containing the threat from the left hand side.

That said, East Grinstead thought they had levelled the score after 15 minutes but the goal was disallowed for offside after the referee consulted his assistant and gave notice that they were here for a contest when they struck the bar with a header.

On 24 minutes Tonbridge went two goals up when a stunning volley from Zach Garcia found the top corner after being set up by Barden.

The goal appeared to knock the stuffing out of the visitors and the Angels took complete control of the rest of the half with Garcia striking the bar and Barden seeing his 20 yard effort hit the right hand post.

In the second half East Grinstead broke up play better and consequently Tonbridge’s fluid play of the first half wasn’t so much in evidence and there had been a couple of warnings before a pass put an East Grinstead forward through on goal to clinically slide the ball past Matt Larkin on 68 minutes.

The game had a real ebb and flow as the visitors searched for an equaliser with the Angels attempting to exploit the space as East Grinstead threw bodies forward in an exciting final 20 minutes.

Both goalkeepers needed to make saves and East Grinstead had two great chances, one of which was wastefully put over the bar from three yards.

Tonbridge made the game safe as the clock ticked into time added with a goal of beauty with virtually half the team involved. It started from the goalkeeper who rolled it out for Rory Kavanagh to pump it forward into the path of Garcia who made ground before pulling the ball back to London who fed Luca Bradley. His cross was received by Velvick, laid into the man over, Max Lambert who buried into the bottom corner. Phew, I think everyone got a mention!

East Grinstead fashioned another chance and they should also take some credit for their part in an exciting game with a very solid second half performance.

Dom Welsh commented after the match: “This was probably our best passing performance of the season in the first half, could have been three or four up and were denied two stonewall penalties. Second half was more about digging in, two games in two days (some played in Sunday’s Kent Cup match) took its toll a little, but we still had some good moments and missed some great chances.”

Tonbridge Angels Under-18 3 Phoenix Sports Under-18 4

Match 68/21/1932 - Sunday, 5th December 2021 - Kent U18 County Cup

Tonbridge Angels U18 (3) 3 Wolvey (pen) 5 Kent 33,40
Phoenix Sports U18 (1) 4
Headcount: 30

Admission: Free
Programme: None
Mileage: 20/3,902

Tonbridge Angels Under-18’s bowed out of the Kent County Cup as Phoenix Sports mounted a stirring comeback in the second half to turn a 3-1 half-time deficit into a 4-3 victory.

At a damp, cold Mascalls, on Sunday afternoon, Tonbridge took an early lead when a good move ended with Will Saunders being bundled over inside the penalty area for Fin Wolvey to convert from the spot.

If anyone doubted the competitiveness of this cup tie that was dispelled as Phoenix roared back from their setback and Matt Larkin needed to be at his best saving low to his left but parity was only to last another minute as the tall Phoenix right midfielder struck a well placed shot into the bottom corner from the edge of the box.

Tackles were full bloodied, no quarter given, none asked as the two teams genuinely went toe to toe but it was the Angels who regained the lead on the half-hour when Billy Kent cut in from the left before firing in a shot that took a deflection and looped into the top corner.

Tonbridge were now the dominant side with Sam Grant going close before, five minutes before the break, a long punt downfield from Larkin caused the Phoenix central defenders some difficulty and Kent capitalised by winning the challenge, running through on goal before slotting the ball past the goalkeeper to score despite the best efforts of a defender on the line.

Phoenix Sports came out for the second half with renewed vigour but it was the Angels that went closest in the opening exchanges as the goalkeeper did brilliantly save from Max Lambert and then save the rebound from Grant and, from the resultant corner, Joe McCusker struck the bar.

But having survived going three behind, Phoenix took control of the game and the Angels were left to desperately defend for long periods without respite. Such pressure was inevitably going to lead to a goal and just past the hour mark, Phoenix were right back in the game when the Phoenix midfielder scored his second of the game with a towering header from a free kick.

The Angels were barely getting out of their half and were giving away free kicks in dangerous areas as the pressure mounted. Phoenix eventually got the equaliser they deserved with seven minutes remaining when from a corner the ball was bobbing around with no Tonbridge player able to make a clearance before it was poked home from close range.

Having got back to level terms, Phoenix showed no sign of settling for penalties and despite some dogged defending from the Angels they found a winner in the 90th minute to progress to the semi-finals.

A magnanimous Dom Welsh afterwards paid tribute to his opponents but also felt that tired legs with only having one substitute available had left his side unable to withstand the pressure.

Slough Town 2 Tonbridge Angels 1

Match 67/21/1931 - Saturday, 4th December 2021 - National League South

Slough Town (1) 2 Tenconi 45 Kuhl 77
Tonbridge Angels (1) 1 Embery 8
Attendance: 526

Admission: £9 Senior
Programme: £2.50
Mileage: 74/3,882

Luck is a difficult thing to evaluate in the context of a football match. As a for instance if a shot hits the post that’s unlucky, but if that shot comes in from two yards out, it’s not really is it? To evaluate a whole game into terms of whether you were unlucky is even harder. Jon Underwood, the joint manager, of Slough Town, considered his side lucky that at half-time they were not 3-0 down and Tonbridge certainly had the play and chances to be at least that score line in front. Underwood is right they were lucky but as those chances came and went to add to Jake Embery’s opening goal after eight minutes, to say Tonbridge were unlucky is a bit more debatable.

Where Tonbridge were unfortunate was with injury, firstly to Ricky Modeste, always a potential match winner, after 31 minutes, in what looked a bad one that could keep him sidelined for some while and in the second half, after 59 minutes, the highly influential Doug Loft limped out of the action.

Tonbridge started well, got there noses in front when Embery, making his first start, capitalised on poor defending to lob the Slough goalkeeper, Jonathan North and proceeded to completely dominate the half from that point on.

Embery, who was looking the answer to the Angels’ attacking prayers, had a shot well saved by North; Loft narrowly shot over and Tom Beere had a couple of efforts that were not too far away.

But, into the first minute of stoppage time, Slough found an equaliser that they far from deserved. A long throw into the box wasn’t dealt with by the Tonbridge defence, bouncing a couple of times before Alfonso Tenconi stabbed it home. It was an ugly goal, a lucky break for Slough, but from the visitors point of view, you make your own luck by simply clearing the ball.

After donkey’s years of watching this game, I’m still baffled by how a game can turn in the duration of the half-time break as Tonbridge produced a second half performance polar opposite to that of the first 45. Slough obviously improved, gaining confidence from the fortunate half-time scoreline, but were they that good? My eyes tell me otherwise.

Where I will lay claim to unlucky is that Tonbridge had a bench of forwards and the loss of two midfielders unbalanced the team completely and where there had been cohesion now there was a muddle.

The home side saw a shot saved by Henly and on 53 minutes, following a corner, they had the ball in the net but it was ruled out for a foul on the goalkeeper.

At the other end, following a free kick into the box, Sonny Miles saw his effort cleared from the line by Aaron Kuhl.

Henly produced a point blank save after 74 minutes when a cross into the box fell to Tenconi but his close range effort was blocked by the body of the Tonbridge goalkeeper.

With 13 minutes remaining, Slough took the lead when the ball switched from a Tonbridge free kick into their box to a punt forward that saw Kuhl clear to finish. It was a disappointing way to concede what ultimately proved the winner, but can the Angels bemoan their luck, it’s hard to make the case.

Embery had worked himself into the ground and Tommy Wood came on to try to salvage something out of the game but the major opportunity came in the last minute when Ibrahim Olutade had the goal at his mercy with a stooping header but it went wide and the game was lost.

Cliche time, football is a game of small margins and misfortune plays its part but sometimes, good luck is only made by yourselves.

Bishop Justus 4 Hugh Christie 2

Match 66/21/1930 - Wednesday, 1st December 2021 - Academies Championship

Bishop Justus (1) 4
Hugh Christie (1) 2 Carter 17, Elliott 55
Headcount: 60

Admission: Free
Programme: None
Mileage: 74/3,726

A Development game with the Academy is usually a quiet affair with one man and a dog watching, or in most cases, this man without his dog. But this trip to Bromley and Bishop Justus proved somewhat different!

These games are mostly played on school pitches at a time when the vast majority of students are diligently immersed in their studies, but on this occasion about 50 lined the touch line to give their Bishop schoolmates some boisterous support and when Tonbridge’s Squad 2 team turned up following their earlier kick-off at Eltham then there was support for both teams.

It was a cold day and when the darkest of clouded dropped a heavy hailstorm it dampened the high spirits for a brief period.

The Hugh Christie (Tonbridge Angels Academy) struggled to get into the game from the outset and goalkeeper Will Young was forced into a double save just prior to Bishop Justus taking the lead after eight minutes with a header from a corner sparking World Cup winning celebrations from the sideline with the harassed referee struggling to keep them of the pitch and behind the line!

The Angels found their feet and on 17 minutes were level after a shot from Charlie Hatcher was well saved but, from the resultant corner, a well directed header from Cameron Carter that sparked similar, perhaps retaliatory celebrations.

Those Bishop classmates were given more to cheer in the remainder of the half with Young being kept busy but Sammy Nunes had a couple of efforts that were not too far wide.

The second period saw Bishops initially maintain their momentum and a cracking 25 yard effort needed a fine save from the Angels’ second half goalkeeper, Noah Blackmore.

But it was the visitors who took the lead on 55 minutes when good work from Harry Flemming saw Reece Elliott collect a pass to drive home a 25-yarder into the top corner. Now bolstered by the Squad 2 contingent the celebrations got even more exuberant!

Sadly that spirit was quickly extinguished as a loose ball dropped in the box for Bishop to level the score two minutes later.

Poor defending from corners cost the Angels again after 67 minutes when another header was unchallenged and when a shot was buried into the bottom corner with eight minutes to go, the spoils were going the way of the Bromley side. There is no place for solemnity with the Development squad and the bus ride home was bouncing with a singalong, perhaps it was a good choice not to bring the dog!

Tonbridge Angels 0 St Albans City 0

Match 65/21/1929 - Tuesday, 30th November 2021 - National League South

Tonbridge Angels (0) 0
St Albans City (0) 0
Attendance: 304

Admission: Season Ticket
Programme: £3
Mileage: 38/3,652

Given that Tonbridge Angels were losing 1-0 and had been largely second best in the original game that was abandoned because of a serious injury to St Albans’ Devante Stanley, a point virtue of this goalless draw should be considered one gained. Happily, Devante was in attendance and, whilst still a long while from a return, is hoping for a full recovery.

Tonbridge’s problems in front of goal continue and Jake Embery has been added to the squad, coming in from Horsham. The 21-year-old made his name at Herne Bay where he scored a bucket load of goals before moving to Maidstone, where he had an injury hit spell.

After Saturday’s visit to freezing Canvey, the temperature at Longmead seemed almost balmy.

Embery started from the bench in an unchanged team with Sonny Miles making his 450th appearance.

In all honesty, the first half was a bit of a slog. My half-time comment being that if I stood there long enough a football match might break out.

All the first half chances fell to Tommy Wood, but a header that went over and some good defending brought nil return. Ricky Modeste had a reasonable penalty claim turned away whilst Jonny Henly in the Angels’ goal was largely unemployed.

Thankfully, a game did break out in the second half and the entertainment level rose appreciably. Tonbridge maintained the majority of the forward momentum and put several dangerous crosses into the box, particularly from Modeste, but such is the striker’s lot at present, they were always an inch away from contact.

Wood was replaced by Ibrahim Olutade on 70 minutes and Embery for Aaron Smith-Joseph on 77. Both showed high energy and linked well but still the chances continued to fall into the narrow miss category. Joe Turner, who had a diving header and another effort go wide, ended the game as a passenger as a result of a knock, painfully limping away after the game and as the leading goalscorer it was a worrying sight.