Angels favourites to take Cup away from their neighbours

There's less than six miles between them but, in football terms, the difference couldn't be greater right now, writes Ed Aarons.

While Tonbridge Angels are looking forward to the new season in the Ryman Premier League with relish, Tunbridge Wells go into their Kent Premier League campaign knowing that significant improvement is required on and off the pitch to return the club to its former glories.

The two will go head to head on Tuesday night in the annual pre-season fixture for the newly-named George Piper Courier Cup, in memory of former Wells and Angels physio George Piper, who passed away earlier this year.

The match, which will be held at the Angels Longmead Stadium, will be Tonbridge's fifth pre-season friendly as they look to gain revenge on their 4-2 defeat from last year when the Wells claimed their first ever victory in the fixture.

That result saw Angels embark on an excellent start to their league campaign following their promotion to the Ryman Premier League, with Tony Dolby's side briefly topping the table.

By contrast, things turned sour for Martin Farnie and his Wells team, as they lost their first eight matches and did not record a single league victory until November.

However, with former England international Gary Stevens having just taken over the reins following a bitter wrangling with the old board, hopes are high that this will be the season that the club begins its resurgence.

Where better to start than by beating their old rivals again on Tuesday, but with last year's match still fresh in the memory, Farnie is all too aware that the Angels will be no pushovers.

"I imagine that their pride was hurt so they will be very up for the game," he told the Kent & Sussex Courier Newspaper.

"Tonbridge are a quality team as their performance in the Ryman League showed last year but it depends what side they decide to put out.

“We've got a few injury problems at the moment so it's going to be tough but no one gave us a chance last year and look what happened."

Tonbridge's pre-season preparations suffered a setback last Tuesday night when they lost 2-1 at Faversham Town, with Ian Parkes finding the net before the visitors conceded two late goals.

That followed the successful trip to the north east that yielded a draw and a win from matches on consecutive days against Blyth Spartans and North Shields respectively, although Dolby revealed that the trip had taken its toll on his squad.

"The boys were very tired on Tuesday so while I am disappointed to have lost, it was a good performance," he said.

"We absolutely battered them in the first half but we changed a few things around and ended up losing. We haven't got a match until Tuesday now so hopefully we can be a bit more refreshed by then."

And with the majority of last year's team still at the Longmead, Dolby admitted that his players are keen to get revenge for defeat 12 months ago.

"We've got a few local boys in the side who remember what happened last year and don't want it to be repeated," he said.

"I'm sure Tunbridge Wells will really want to win again but I fully expect us to take the trophy. We're at home and have looked very good in pre-season so hopefully we can put things right this time around."

Article courtesy of Ed Arrons - Kent & Sussex Courier Newspaper - www.thisiscourier.co.uk

www.kentishfootball.co.uk shall be covering the match between our two nearest sides - we are based in Tunbridge Wells - on Tuesday night.

Tonbridge Angels v Tunbridge Wells
George Piper Courier Cup
Tuesday 31^st July 2007
Kick Off 7:45pm
At Betterview Longmead Stadium, Darenth Avenue, Tonbridge, Kent TN10 3JF