THIS SATURDAY’S MATCH PREVIEW – TONBRIDGE ANGELS (AWAY) KO 3.00 PM

A contest to get tastebuds tingling awaits this weekend as Dulwich Hamlet travel to Tonbridge Angels, a clash sure to blow those New Year cobwebs

Dulwich Hamlet arrive at the Longmead Stadium top of the table after battering Kingstonian on Boxing Day, the 5-1 final score Gavin Rose’s men’s most comprehensive victory of the campaign so far. However, the Angels are not far off their toes, coming into the contest lying in fourth spot three points behind the Hamlet but with two games in hand. Like Dulwich the Angels also indulged in some Boxing Day stuffing, their victims second bottom VCD Athletic as Nathan Elder bagged a quick-fire double in the first half before striker partner Luke Blewden kept pace of his teammate in the scoring charts with goal number three in the second half. Between them the prolific pair have found the net more than 30 times in all competitions during the current season.

For the Angels 2015/2016 must seem a far cry from the previous campaign when its seemed as if they might drop straight through the Ryman Premier Division after being relegated from Conference South. For long periods they struggled in the boondocks of the division and it was not until the latter days of the season that they finally ensured safety from relegation to Ryman Division One South. It took a madcap game on the penultimate game of the season away to Billericay Town to exorcize these demotion demons, 3-0 lead that would have confirmed the win and safety disappearing in the blink of an eye as ‘Ricay scored thrice in five minutes to level. In stoppage time the Angels were awarded a spot kick but Mitchell Pinnock’s effort was kept out meaning that mathematically Peacehaven & Telscombe could have sent them down on the last day of the season had the Sussex side managed to eradicate a 20 goal difference inferiority.

For the Angels opponents on that last Saturday of the season their need for vital points was certainly greater, Dulwich Hamlet needing at least a draw to confirm their place in postseason playoffs. It was definitely an encounter with no hint of end of season lethargy about it. A balmy day, Longmead Stadium bouncing to the feet of 758 supporters of every hue and a full throttle game with no quarter given. Marvin Williams’ delightful lob, finishing off Mitchell Pinnock’s crafted cross field delivery put the Angels 1 up after 21 minutes. However, Dulwich soon levelled as Harry Ottaway nodded home Jordan Hibbert’s cross at the back stick before taking the lead with 18 minutes left through a typical Xavier Vidal low drive into the bottom corner of the net. A late scare as Mitchell Pinnock showed his class with a stunning free kick five minutes from the end but the draw suited both sides at the end of the day.

If the Angels fans had spent last season looking nervously over their shoulders at the trapdoor in oblivion looming behind them, that all seems to have changed this time around. Though it was a bumpy start to the current campaign, the first three games bringing one win, one draw, one loss and progress in the Alan Turvey Trophy at the expense of Herne Bay, the last days of August announced to rest of the division the awakening of the Angels. Luke Blewden smacked home a hat trick as Bognor Regis were rocked to their very foundations at Nyewood Lane, hammered 5-0. Blewden struck again three days later, bagging a brace in a 4-0 demolition of Brentwood Town. A rare blip as the Angels failed to build on Tom Phipp’s early at Harrow Borough, Lewis Driver’s second half equaliser ensuring points shared. But then the Angels gave their opponents a hellish time at the Longmead slaughtering VCD Athletic 7-0 on August Bank Holiday Monday.

After all that goal frenzy September was something of a damp squib, three league wins all by the only of the game away to Wingate & Finchley, Brentwood Town and Lewes, defeat again by the only goal at home to highflying Leiston, saw Steve McKimm’s men leap up as high as second. However, the FA Cup dream ended swiftly. Having inched through a tough tie with Ryman South promotion hopefuls Folkestone Invicta thanks to Elder’s double in a replay away, the Angels were ousted from the competition 1-3 at Leiston, just a week after the league defeat.

October saw the Angels unbeaten in the league continuing to stay the pace in an increasingly congested title chasing pack. The Alan Turvey Trophy went by the by as Hastings United won a penalty shoot-out in which all three of the Angels efforts were saved. there would be a major upset in the Kent Senior Cup as an experimental Angels XI shocked a strong Margate side 2-1 at Hartsdown Park. the boot was almost on the other foot in the FA Trophy as Phoenix Sports of Ryman North got within a whisker of sending the Angels out in a drawn first match. However, despite gaps in the ranks, Tonbridge rallied for the replay with Blewden grabbing another pair as Angels eased through 2-0.

Another of the victims of resurgent Needham Market, Tonbridge slipped of the pace a bit at the start of November but as others stumbled around them too, the damage was not irreparable. More tough Ryman Division One South opponents were seen off in the Kent Senior Cup as Tom Parkinson’s goal proved the difference against Faversham Town but the bigger prize of the FA Trophy was washed away at a rainy Longmead as Cirencester Town edged a tight contest 2-1. Yet the exit proved the springboard for the Angels to finally ascend the summit. Elder’s 88th proved the straw that broke the Rooks’ backs as Lewes succumbed to the only goal at Longmead, former Hamlet striker Tommy Whitnell making an instant impact from the bench as Hendon surrendered 3-1 and the Angels making it 3 on the spin as they returned from Met Police with a full swag bag of pints following a 3-0 victory.

The winning streak ended away to Billericay, the 1-1 draw in difficult conditions against industrial opposition no bad return given the Essex men’s recent run of form. The game seemed to knock the Angels out of their stride. Despite Elder’s double having wiped out Sam Gargan’s early opener for Burgess Hill, the defence dozed off to allow the Hillians to turn the game on its head with two goals in three minutes for the win. With the Angels dismissed from the Kent Senior Cup losing a penalty shoot out to Greenwich Borough It all seemed to going up the spout. next time out in the league as Merstham built an early 2-0 through Charlie Penny’s first half double at the Moatside. There followed a dream debut for Simon Thomas scoring with his first touch to bring Tonbridge back into the game before Elder levelled minutes later. Though serval later chances went begging the draw was enough to send the Angels to the summit as results elsewhere went in their favour. A week later the Angels reinforced their newfound reputation as the Comeback Kings, recovering from a 3-1 deficit at home to Harrow Borough as Luke Smith’s goal ten minutes from time squared the match. The result saw them slip to fourth spot a positon they retained with the Boxing Day win over VCD, who must have been sick of the site of Steve McKimm’s men having conceded ten goals to them in their home and away encounters!

This weekend’s game kicks off at 3pm at Longmead Stadium, Darenth Avenue, Tonbridge, Kent, TN10 3JF. Click here to view directions on the official Tonbridge Angels website.

Match Day Admission Prices

• Adult (18+) £10.00
• Senior (65+) £ 6.00
• Youth (13 to 17) £ 4.00
• Junior (Under 13) Free when accompanied by an adult or £2.00 unaccompanied