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Tonbridge Angels 2 - 4  Canterbury City

John Ullmann Memorial Cup - Quarter Final

Colin Blewden and Chris Hollyoak’s under 18’s disappointingly bowed out of the prestigious John Ullmann Memorial Cup at the quarter-final stages, after losing 4-2 to Canterbury City at Longmead on Wednesday evening.

After an impeccably observed minute’s silence, the Angels looked strongest from the outset and should have opened the scoring when Josh Biddlecombe’s second minute shot was parried into the path of Matt Knight, who found himself wrong-footed, and scooped the ball wide from close range.

Moments later, Knight showed his ‘versatility’ by pushing the ball wide of the other side of the target after Luke Blewden’s probing long throw-in. During this opening fifteen-minute spell of dominance, Knight figured strongly in his unique bustling style, shouldering his way through the defence to send his next effort over the advancing keeper onto the roof of the South Stand.

Not even Olly Funnell’s swirling free-kick towards Will Jagger could find the net, but Blewden’s on target header from the resulting corner was awkwardly palmed away to set up Canterbury’s first counter-attack, penetrating the Angels’ half, bringing Ally Hamilton into action, forcing a welcome but unorthodox block with an outstretched limb.

After a brief delay while Biddlecombe received his eighth yellow card of the campaign, City continued the mini-onslaught, taking a slender lead as an uncleared header from the Angels’ backline, was fired acutely into Hamilton ’s net.

The one-goal cushion incensed Canterbury somewhat, and a probing free-kick brought about panic in the Angels’ ranks as it was fired across the goalmouth with ferocity, before being headed past the target. After surviving a nervous fifteen-minute spell, the Angels dragged their way back into the game, with a calmer but hungry Biddlecombe trying to re-ignite his recent performances, pushing Knight’s shallow cross narrowly wide of City’s goal.

With little knowledge of Biddlecombe’s recent prowess, City’s advancing keeper was left embarrassingly stranded on the edge of his own eighteen-yard box as Tonbridge’s prolific striker continues to write his own record book, strategically lobbing into the net from twenty-five yards to notch up his eighth strike in an impressive spell of six consecutive matches.

With the equilibrium restored, a fairly uneventful spell ensued with the Angels looking the more confident of the two sides, with Blewden providing a key contribution from the midfield, with a number of penetrating throw-ins, while still finding time to send the ball hurtling into the neighbouring Bowling Green as the interval approached.

After the break, the Angels looked to take the advantage with a ten-minute spell of unbroken dominant play, during which Knight frustratingly scuffed the ground when through on goal, and Biddlecombe was callously denied a penalty when unceremoniously grounded when taking possession of Blewden’s inch-perfect through-ball.

The resulting brief spell of disbelief was capitalised upon by the visitors, with the Angels falling a goal behind when a poorly defended corner was slotted home just eleven minutes into the half.

The now revitalised Canterbury side almost took it a stage further two minutes later, when a dangerously dipping shot dropped menacingly over Hamilton ’s crossbar. Now with the visitors in the driving seat, they increased the lead to 3-1, blasting the ball into the Angels’ net.

Rattled by the two-goal deficit, Tonbridge took the fightback to task, which saw Blewden’s powerful header tipped over the crossbar, before knight flicked Joe Adams’ low cross over the target. Two late substitutions saw Mike Holden and Chris Page replace Jake Miller and Nick Hollyoak respectively, but Angels were once again under-fire, with Hamilton forced to make a barrage of corner-giving blocks, the last of which was uncleared, and fired into Angels’ goal.

With the prospect of a late recovery looking slim, Knight grabbed what was to be a late consolation goal, with the goalkeeper unable to hold onto a fierce strike from close range from Adams ’ piercing low cross.

A spokesman for the Club commented: This was yet another game where a penalty or a decision surrounding a penalty claim has been detrimental to the team, and has either affected the performance or the result of a match.

Luke Blewden was nominated as ‘Man-of-the-Match’, with Josh Biddlecombe being in contention.

Goal Scorers:  Josh Biddlescombe and Matt Knight

Man of the Match:  Luke Blewden

Tonbridge Angels 1 - 2  Cray Wanderers

Colin Blewden and Chris Hollyoak’s under 18’s find themselves sitting reluctantly in a mid-table position after losing 2-1 in a shock defeat against Cray Wanderers on Sunday morning.

Once again the Angels looked dominant from the start, sending a flurry of balls through Cray’s eighteen-yard box in the opening minutes, then winning a string of three successive corners, before skipper Luke Blewden sent a speculative shot wide of the goal during this sustained spell of dominance.

Seemingly the disruption of the referee collapsing in the visitors’ eighteen-yard box while holding his ankle in pain, proved to be what was an unwelcome break in the Angels’ concentration, with a seven-minute delay being enforced.

Cray’s first noticeable effort came only seconds after play had restarted, with Stell being brought into action to palm away the visitors’ first corner.

With play back firmly in the Wanderers’ half, midfielder Olly Funnell sent a probing ball deep into the six-yard box towards Elliot ‘Rambo’ Harland, with only the intervention of the keeper stopping the brawny striker making a connection.

With thirty minutes gone, Josh Biddlecombe looked to increase his recent tally, sending a low volley firmly into the midriff of the competent goalkeeper, with Wanderers following up with their first goalbound strike, which was securely held by the diving Stell. Only two minutes later, Cray took first advantage with a single-goal lead, with a bewildered Stell beaten from an acute angle by an advancing striker as the defence looked on helplessly.

Immediately, the Angels sprang back into action, with Joe Adams sending a penetrating low cross into Cray’s goalmouth, which outstretched ‘Rambo’ Harland could only get the minimal of touches on as the ball flashed inches in front of him.

Further assaults ensued with Blewden being the next instigator, setting up Jake Miller, whose shot flashed past the target, before a combination from Funnell and Miller provided Harland, whose effort was deflected for a corner, which Funnell fired into a chaotic penalty area.

After a Cray direct free-kick was driven firmly into a wall of blue shirts, two further chances came the Angels’ way as the interval approached; the first, Harland being denied as the visiting keeper took two attempts to secure a mishandled ball. The final effort of the half, being Funnell’s curling free-kick being punched clear.

Despite a threatening start to the second half, with the Wanderers’ keeper being tested soon after the restart, Cray almost doubled their lead early on, but for Stell narrowing the angle, to force the shot wide.

After being pulled down twice in a far too familiar fashion, Biddlecombe eventually got a deserved free-kick (not to mention some free advice from the supposedly recovered match official).

Once taken, Funnell’s free-kick was superbly ‘handled’ by Miller, and crossed in towards Harland, who headed powerfully home from close range, to record his sixth goal of the campaign to bring the scores level.

Ironically Miller’s retribution, was only minutes away, in the form of a stray boot up the leg of the shorts, bringing the midfielder’s appearance to a premature and groggy end.

With Nick Hollyoak replacing ‘Jake the Ache’, the Angels continued to push forward, with Funnell floating the resulting free-kick towards the near post, and Biddlecombe following up with a strike high over the goal.

The hour-mark saw Matt Knight brought into the affray to replace Biddlecombe, who has now had to close the latest chapter as far as successive goal-scoring appearances are concerned.

A brief spell of end-to-end play was to follow, with Knight’s through-ball having just too much pace for Harland, before the visitors drove into the side-netting at the other end. Then it was Harland who could have got goal of the season if his ferocious turn and strike had found the back of the net, but the ball flashed inches wide of the upright. Ironically, it was to be the visitors that took the lead with a sublime strike in the top corner midway through the second half, followed by an over-exuberant mass celebration, much to the dismay of the home side.

With an element of frustration showing, it was Liam Herbert that was shown Angels’ first yellow card of the match, only moments before being replaced by Chris Page.

After three substitutions, Angels continued to strengthen, with Knight’s on target shot being tipped over for yet another blue corner by a busy keeper who then had to cut out Hollyoak’s probing cross as Harland closed in, take hold of Adams’ fearsome shot after Will Jagger’s cross-field free-kick, and then claw the ball away from Knight’s head after Hollyoak’s invading cross.

The final ten minutes continued with a sustained spell of pressure, where the visitors had to defend in numbers to hang onto their slender margin. Besides seeing a yellow card for Jagger’s untimely challenge, the closing minutes also saw a bustling Knight fire a threatening ball across the face of goal, Blewden head a Funnell corner over the crossbar, and Hollyoak fire a final offering well over the target.

Elliot ‘Rambo’ Harland was awarded ‘Man-of-the-Match’ for an impressive contribution, with Jake Miller in close contention.

The visitors took the lead midway through the half, after a defensive error left goalkeeper Olly Stell helpless against an advancing striker. The Angels clawed their way back into the game seven minutes into the second-half after a well worked free-kick was fed into the six-yard box by Jake Miller and headed home from close range by Elliot (Rambo) Harland.

The Angels went a goal behind with a sublime strike after sixty-five minutes, and despite a concerted effort, Matt Knight and Joe Adams both had shots saved by the visiting keeper, with Luke Blewden heading over from a late corner.

Goal Scorers:  Elliot Harlandt

Man of the Match:  Elliot Harland

Tonbridge Angels 6 - 1  Long Lane

Colin Blewden and Chris Hollyoak’s under 18’s returned to winning ways and fifth position in the league table, after hitting six-of-the-best in a convincing and emphatic 6-1 victory against Long Lane on Sunday morning.

After a ten-minute delay while two match officials went in search of linesman’s flags, and then rejected the first two match balls, the match eventually started on what must be one of the poorest playing surfaces in the League.

A threatening first-minute throw from Luke Blewden gave Josh Biddlecombe the opportunity to flash a warning shot behind the home side’s goal in an opening spell where any form of consistency was difficult to find due to the narrow dimensions and the contours of the pitch.

After the persistence of impressive Jake Miller in Lane’s eighteen yard box, the midfielder’s on-target, but blocked shot was stabbed home from close-range by the intruding figure of Nick Hollyoak to give the Angels an eleventh minute lead.

How the referee failed to spot a blatant back pass to Lane’s goalkeeper, as Blewden’s probing ball for Biddlecombe was diverted in such an obvious manner, remains as much a mystery as a few other decisions that were yet to be given.

Lane had embarrassingly little to offer, with only the odd half-hearted effort giving Olly Stell very little trouble in Angels’ goal. Unlike the divine effort from Joe Adams, whose brief solo run and scorching shot was palmed over for a corner, that interloping central-defender Nat Janks headed firmly into Lane’s busy keeper’s grasp.

The unrelenting pressure brought reward midway through the half, with Biddlecombe setting up fellow strike-partner Matt Knight, who checked the ball before firing it past a hesitant keeper to double the Angels’ lead, and record his twelfth strike of the season.

Minutes later, Knight was to grab his third ‘double’ of the campaign, managing to toe-poke the ball into the net in an untidy goalmouth, as goalkeeper and defenders fell over themselves to limit the damage. But to no avail, Knight is now the leading scorer for the Angels, with no less than thirteen goals under his belt.

It was thirty minutes into the match when Lane had their first clear attempt from open-play. But after the short-lived distraction, the Angels returned to trying to increase their healthy three-goal lead, as Knight’s header was deflected off the keeper onto the upright, and Biddlecombe’s cheeky lob landed just over the crossbar after beating a poorly executed offside trap.

The half ended in dispute, which continued throughout the interval, after a player was given an indirect free-kick two yards into the penalty area after losing a ‘tussle’ with Will Jagger. With the resulting free-kick being cleared by Adams, there was still no clear indication between the Referee and the Referee’s Assistant as to what the offence actually was, and how it should have been dealt with (despite lots of suggestions from the Long Lane management team). The officials took then the initiative (or some stern third-party advice) of changing roles after the half-time whistle.

Despite an enthralling first half, a revised compliment of match officials and a constructive half-time talk, the second half started comparatively low-key, with only one goal-scoring attempt from either side. The Angels came closest to scoring as an all hands-on-deck effort between Biddlecombe, Knight and Miller ended with the latter striking the post from point-blank range in a panic-stricken penalty area.

After the hour-mark, which saw Adams warned for ‘showing studs’, the inscrutable Sonny Miles was brought on to replace Janks as ‘sweeper’, in the first of three substitutions.

With memories of the goalmouth fiasco at the end of the first half, the replacement referee had no option but to save further embarrassment and point straight to the spot, in an incident that saw Liam Herbert given a stern verbal warning (from a man in black tights)!

After the converted penalty, and another chance to keep a clean sheet in tatters, the pace increased as the Angels looked to restore their three-goal advantage, with Biddlecombe ending his appearance shortly after being brought to ground (again), this time landing awkwardly on the unfortunate offender into the bargain.

Now on the pitch for Biddlecombe, Elliot (Rambo) Harland followed in the same vein as his predecessor, and was immediately pulled down in the eighteen yard box, and fully expected to take the penalty, striding to the spot, with the ball under his arm.

Wrong! With the ‘Crockenhill penalty’ still firmly logged in many a mind, Miles was given the opportunity to make amends, and duly obliged by hitting a screamer into the back of the net, to re-establish himself as the team’s revered penalty-taker. Long gone are the ‘pea-rolling’ days of Wested Lane .

Rattled by the restored three-goal margin, Lane took it to task to try and salvage something from the game, and kept Stell occupied for a short spell. Angels’ latest recruit was forced to save an on-target overhead kick (before the kicker was deemed to be offside), and was then forced to punch clear in spectacular fashion from a well flighted free-kick into a crowded six-yard box.

With only fifteen minutes left, secret weapon Olly Funnel replaced the struggling Knight, taking only a matter of minutes before increasing the Angels’ lead to 5-1. A sublimely struck free-kick rocketed into the net off the underside of the crossbar (despite an odd appeal from the linesman, who believed he may have spotted an ‘offside').

With the appeal being over-ruled, Funnell struck again minutes later; after collecting Blewden’s through-ball and calmly picking his spot in the net to complete the rout, and send Long Lane crashing to their second 6-1 defeat in a spell of only four days.

Olly Funnell (short but deadly appearance) was declared Man-of-the-Match, with Sonny ‘Disposition’ Miles (scoring a penalty) in close contention.

A spokesman for the team claimed: It was an encouraging team performance and scoreline; one that will be noticed by forthcoming opposition, in what looks to be a congested end to the season.

Goal Scorers:  Nick Hollyoak - 2, Matt Knight - 2, Sonny Miles -Penalty, Olly Funnell - 2

Man of the Match: Olly Funnell