Tonbridge Angels 1-4 Harborough Town - It's a missed opportunity and it will hurt, it will hurt me and my management team for a long, long time. I haven't felt this down and gutted in a long time, says apologetic Tonbridge Angels boss Jay Saunders

Tonbridge Angels 1 – 4 Harborough Town
Location	Longmead Stadium, Darenth Avenue, Tonbridge, Kent TN10 3JF
Kickoff	02/11/2024 15:00

TONBRIDGE ANGELS  1-4  HARBOROUGH TOWN
The Emirates FA Cup First Round
Saturday 2 November 2024
Stephen McCartney reports from Longmead Stadium

TONBRIDGE ANGELS manager Jay Saunders issued an apology after his players’ were humiliated and bullied by lower league opposition during their embarrassing FA Cup First Round exit.
 

A record crowd of 3,132 were inside Longmead Stadium and hopes were high that the Vanarama National League South hosts would reach the Second Round for the first time, playing against a side one level lower than them and who were making their maiden appearance at this stage of the competition.

TONBRIDGE/TONBRIDGE ANGELS IN THE FA CUP FIRST ROUND:
1950 Away Chelmsford City D2-2
1950 Home Chelmsford City L0-1 (Replay)

1951 Home Aldershot D0-0
1951 away  Aldershot L2-3 (Replay)

1952 Home Norwich City D2-2
1952 away  Norwich City L0-1

1967 Away Dagenham L0-1

1972 Home Charlton Athletic L0-5

2020 Home Bradford City L0-7

2024 Home Harborough Town L1-4

Tonbridge Angels went into the tie sitting in 12^th place in the sixth-tier, having picked up 20 points from 13 games and unbeaten at home, although they went down to a 2-1 defeat at Truro City last weekend.

The Angels had beaten three lower league sides to reach this stage, having beaten Merstham (2-1), Walton & Hersham (2-1) and Cray Wanderers (1-0), who attracted their record crowd to their new Flamingo Park stadium in the Fourth Qualifying Round.

Mitchell Austin’s side defeated Darlaston Town (3-2 after a 0-0 draw at home), Stourbridge (4-2), Leamington (1-0) and Bury (1-0) and pulled off an FA Cup exit in front of a shell-shocked home faithful.

Harborough Town arrived here in sixteenth-place in the seventh-tier Southern League Premier Central Division, having picked up 16 points from their 13 league outings.

Paul Malone, 34, who plays in the middle of a five-man defence, headed home from a corner to give Harborough Town the lead four minutes before the break.

With Harborough Town striker Riley O’Sullivan, 23, putting in an outstanding performance especially on the counter-attack, the Leicestershire outfit were clinical in front of goal with a brace from striker Ben Stephens, who took his goalscoring tally for the season to 10 goals, before Dan Forbes came off the bench to give the away side a four-goal lead.

Tonbridge Angels’ winger Sean Shields notched his sixth goal of the season with a deflected stoppage time consolation goal.

Saunders cut a disconsolate figure during the post-match press conference inside his office.

“I don’t think I can repeat what I said to them in there to be honest with you. I’m gutted, absolutely gutted,” said the 45-year-old.

“I congratulate Harborough first of all. I thought they had a game-plan and they executed it really well and at the other end, as we know, they’re a threat at set-pieces.

“Strange game, strange game. I’m just gutted. It’s a tough one to take and it will take me a little while to get over that.

“I said to the boys, when I went to watch them, I said they’re better without the ball and I don’t mean that disrespectful in any way but they’re dangerous from set-pieces  but they’re better without the ball and when you commit bodies forward, they break really well.

“If you’re looking at the goals, the first one, Jason Adigun hit the post. We try to limit the chances with them putting balls into our box. Jamie Fielding tries to clip the ball out nice from a goal-kick and it gives them an opportunity to put the ball in our box.

“They had two long throws and it ends up for a corner and they score from the corner and you go in at half-time and you go ‘oh, ok,’.

“I think we had enough of the ball without really hurting them. Sean Shields had a good shot first half and then second half every time we put a cross into the box, they break.

“I thought the lad up top (O’Sullivan) was excellent for them. I thought he caused our back three so many problems and they didn’t get to grips with him all day and fair play to the lad.

“Like I said, take nothing away from Harborough, they’ve come here and they’ve done a job but we’ve got to be better in both boxes.

“We’ve had a few that have had off days and to be fair it’s hard because they’ve been very good of late and this season defensively but they’ve had off days on the day that we didn’t want them to have it. It’s a blow.”

Harborough Town – a physically strong, direct and well-drilled outfit – set up with five at the back, two in midfield, with Ben Starkie playing in behind the front two of O’Sullivan and Stephens.

Both sides cancelled each other out in a cagey opening 20 minutes, before Tonbridge Angels created their first opening at the half-way mark.

Shields was impressive during the first half, the driving force down the left and he played the ball along the deck into often isolated striker Noel Leighton, who flicked the ball back into Shields before Leighton’s weak right-footed shot from 22-yards rolled into the gloves of Elliott Taylor for a comfortable pick-up.

Harborough Town went close (23:05) when left-back Josh Walsh got down the channel and put in a low cross towards Stephens, who took several touches inside the box before his right-footed drive deflected across the diving keeper and flashed just past the foot of the far post.

Harborough Town’s 26-year-old goalkeeper Taylor pulled off an outstanding diving save to deny Tonbridge Angels taking the lead with 31:14 on the clock.

Winger Jason Adigun rolled the ball out to Shields on the left, who cut inside and cracked a sublime right-footed angled drive towards the top far corner from 30-yards, only for Taylor to dive high to his left, using a strong outstretched right hand to flick the ball over for the third of 11 corners for the home side.

“The keeper made some good saves for them today,” said Saunders.

“I don’t think we worked him enough but Shieldsey’s Shieldsey.  You always want, as a manager, to know what you’re going to get from players’ and I think Shieldsey’s one of those.  I know nine times out of 10 what I’m going to get from him.

“We probably had too many today where it shows the inconsistency whereas with him the one thing I know pretty much is what I’m going to get every week.”

Leighton was living off scraps, with six-foot-five Alex Morris, being one of many giant players in a resilient yellow brick wall.

Tonbridge Angels missed a glorious chance to potentially change the outcome of the game in the 38^th minute.

Sheilds played a sublime low through ball in behind Ben Williams to put Leighton through on goal on the angle and his cross-come-shot flashed across the face of goal and Adigun slid in at the back post and poked his right-footed shot agonisingly past the foot of the near post from very close range.

“They’re opportunities you have to take,” admitted Saunders.

“If you break the deadlock against them, all off a sudden it puts pressure on them and they have to come out a bit but we go the opposite and it went from that, we’ve got a goal-kick and it goes straight out and we play out and it’s a sloppy goal to give away.”

Saunders admitted: “We’ve had a lot of the ball. You can have all of the ball in the word, but if you’re not clinical with it - and we haven’t been that of late - when you’re on top and we had a lot of the ball first half, you have to take your chances.  You have to go in front.

“When it invites those teams out and more holes come but at the moment we’re not, for me, firing at the top end of the pitch and defensively today, we have had an off day.  Like I say, you take nothing away from them, credit to them.”

Harborough Town’s right-back Dan Cooper launched seven long throws into the Tonbridge Angels box and with physically strong players in their yellow kit, it was back to a bygone era in terms of their style of play.

Tonbridge Angels’ much-younger players were often bullied and failed to use their heads when they should have kept the ball on the deck instead of launching long balls onto the heads of the away side’s back five, which was simply meat and drink for them, especially in the second half.

It was inevitable that Harborough Town would score from a set-piece and they took the lead following their third of six corners, with 40 minutes and 49 seconds on the clock.

Harborough Town sent all of their big lumps at the back up into the Angels’ penalty area and Walsh floated the ball in from the left towards the back post for Malone to tower his header into the top right-hand corner from inside the six-yard box, despite the hapless Reading loanee goalkeeper Matthew Rowley getting his outstretched hands to the ball, he couldn’t prevent the ball hitting the roof of the net.

“They’re a big side. As soon as I went to watch them play, I said straight away they’re going to be a big side and they’re going to be hard to defend against,” said Saunders.

“They put it in an area and the lad’s back stick and it’s a good header, I suppose, from their point of view.

“It gives them something to hold onto doesn’t it, to defend.  Their long throw is a weapon and they’re a big side and we just allowed it to happen.

“We had plenty of the ball, we were in control. I don’t think they were really hurting us but you’ve got to create more than what we did and we need a bit more of a tempo to it.  I think they were good slowing it down and fair play to them.” 

Adigun gave the ball away from inside the Tonbridge half and Walsh picked the ball up and drove towards the edge of the penalty area (as space opened up in front of him) before stroking a left-footed drive which saw 20-year-old Rowley drop to his knees to make a comfortable save.

“I just said (at half-time), we needed a bit more energy, more tempo to the game like,” said Saunders.

“We had plenty of the ball, we wasn’t really under pressure. It was just that we needed to play with a bit more tempo and more pace and endeavour and that was the game plan and then we came out second half and we conceded and it becomes a bit more difficult.”

Saunders explained the reasons behind hooking right-wing-back Crossley Lema and right-winger Adigun at the interval.

“Jason picked up a needless booking and they were just trying to get him sent-off, which you do, he’s on a booking.

“I felt we need to go two up top and get Trevan (Piedade-Robinson) on and I felt we could because we were in control of midfield areas so I didn’t think we needed that extra midfielder in there so we wanted to get a forward on and I thought Trev came on and done quite well.

“I don’t think we actually got the ball down the sides to him quick enough.

“The second one, I just felt Crossley wasn’t offering us enough on the ball and Tariq Hinds offers us a lot more on the ball and Tariq offers us a bit more on the ball a bit higher up so that was the reason behind it.

“I take it on the chin. I think a few today I got wrong. I probably went with size because of their physicality rather than, looking back, I probably….

“It’s easy to say that now. You look back. I went with what I thought was good enough to win that game of football and at the end of the day I’m the manager and the buck stops with me. It’s happened and we move on.”

Tonbridge Angels came out with all guns blazing for a short period at the start of the second half.

Central midfielder Taylor Maloney curled a right-footed free-kick just past the foot of the near-post from 25-yards (3:43), before Shields and left-wing-back Liam Vincent linked up well down the left to put in a cross for Shields to hook his volley over the crossbar from 16-yards.

Reflecting on Maloney’s free-kick, Saunders replied: “it’s a chance isn’t it? It’s a chance. On another day it goes in and it changes the game but it hasn’t done that today.”

Starkie dropped further back to sit in front of Harborough Town’s back five as Austin switched formation to a more defensive 5-3-2 formation.

Saunders said: “Take nothing away from them, I don’t want to disrespect them and say they’re good without the ball because they got bodies behind the ball and make it really hard for you and on the break, they’re very good.”

Tonbridge Angels produced a well-worked set-piece routine from the left.

Shields rolled the ball along the deck to half-time sub Trevan Piedade-Robinson, who cut the ball onto his right-foot and the wide striker put in a hanging cross from the left-channel but Leighton found a pocket of space within a crowd of players to head down and straight at Taylor, who made a comfortably catch.

Shields then swung in the home side’s sixth corner which was met by Leighton’s towering header, the former Three Bridges target-man sending his effort sailing just over the crossbar.

Harborough Town produced a well-worked move to double their lead, with 14 minutes and 43 seconds on the clock.

Walsh played the ball into Starkie down the left, who cut inside before splitting open centre-halves Nazir Bakrin and Jamie Fielding (who scored the winner at Cray Wanderers in the last round) to put Stephens through on goal.

Stephens’ finish was clinical, slotting a right-footed shot underneath Rowley into the centre of the goal.

Saunders said: “I need to see it again really. The centre-forward does alright and then Stephens’ is allowed to run. I can’t remember who’s let him run.

“My gut feeling is we’ve tried to play for offside and I don’t think there was a need to do it because if you go with the runner, go with Stephens, he doesn’t have a free shot but to be fair to the lad, he’s gone through.

“Listen, he’s a good player, he’s played higher levels, he’s played National League and he’s tucked it away well.”

Harborough Town had six men inside the Tonbridge box for their sixth and final corner, which Walsh put in to the box from the right but centre-half Williams’ free-glancing header went across Rowley and past the far post.

The home side had a high defensive line for Walsh’s right-footed free-kick and the ball came back out to Malone, who hooked a left-footed shot, which was comfortably gathered by the Reading loanee goalkeeper – who suffered a miserable home debut and you’d expect a vastly better performance from a goalkeeper who is at a League One outfit.

The fair-weather home fans started to climb off their seats and head for the exit, as soon as clinical Harborough Town notched their third goal, with 26 minutes and 18 seconds on the clock.

Tonbridge Angels were pressing to score before Harborough counter-attacked and a long ball from Stephens from inside the D, released the impressive O’Sullivan, who easily turned the woeful Fielding, skipped past fellow centre-half Ronney Nelson some 35-yards from goal. 

Stephens run from the edge of the Angels box (Tariq Hinds lost a foot-race with him in an attempt to get back) and Stephens latched onto O’Sullivan’s lay-off before stroking a right-footed drive, which Rowley dived to his left and got his hands to the shot but couldn’t prevent the ball trickling into the bottom far corner.

“The defending from that was poor,” admitted Saunders.

“It’s come from a cross, we’ve had a cross actually in their box. They’ve broke on us and I think the defending from that is poor.

“I can’t give no excuse, the lad was good for them up top and I felt he to a degree, bullied our centre-halves really.”

Shell-shocked Tonbridge Angels kept plugging away and substitute midfielder Scott Wagstaff fed substitute right-wing-back Hinds, who cut the ball to sub right-winger Mohammed Dabre, whose left-footed deflected drive from the edge of the box was comfortably caught by Taylor.

It seemed like every Harborough Town shot ended up in the back of the net, as the Angels capitulated as they leaked a fourth goal, with 41 minutes and 22 seconds on the clock.

Dangerous on the counter-attack, the excellent O’Sullivan turned provider again, driving forward, skipping past Shields and Ryan Hanson before playing the ball into substitute Dan Forbes, who placed his first-time left-footed shot across the diving Rowley to find the bottom far corner.

“I don’t know what the minute that was, we’re throwing bodies forward. We’ve made a change, we’ve gone 4-4-2. We’ve mixed it up just to try to get ourselves back in it, so the fourth goal, when you’re throwing bodies forward, you’re always susceptible to that.

“One thing I will give them, the chances they had. If you look at the rest of the game, I don’t think they’ve had too many chances, so when they got their chances, they did what away teams need to do and they tucked them away.”

Several of Harborough players ran over to congratulated their keeper Taylor, who pulled off the save of the First Round (46:48).

The ball came in from the right channel by Hinds, into a crowded penalty area and six-goal Vincent stroked a left-footed half-volley, which was superbly tipped over the crossbar (looping over the crossbar), by Taylor, diving to his right.

The away side made a trio of changes inside stoppage time and Tonbridge Angels pulled a goal back (49:54), when Dabre fed Shields, who cut in from the left into the D to stroke a right-footed deflected shot (past a pressing Forbes) into the bottom left-hand corner from 20-yards.

“I said to the boys at half-time and before the game, we need to get shots off. Listen, it’s a good finish but it was a little bit too late,” admitted Saunders.

“I guess from the supporters’ point of view, we got a goal and it shows we tried to keep going but on the day, we weren’t good enough.”

When asked if he had a message for the home fans, Saunders did issue an apology.

“Apology, I think for that. We know how much it meant. I had a chat with a supporter at the end there, there was disappointment and he sort of let his feelings known.

“I said to him no-one will hurt more than us as a management team and the players’. It was a big day for us, a big day for the club and we’ve come up short. Just stick by us, things like that happen in the Cup and unfortunately today, it’s happened to us.

“I’ve just said (to my players’), you do not get these opportunities very often like.  You think there’s always next year, we’ll get there (to the Second Round) next year. It doesn’t happen.

“I’ve just said to them, I’ve had runs in it as a player and as a manager and I haven’t had one for a good few years. 

“I did say it was a banana skin. They’re not doing so great in the league but in the Cup they’re very effective in what they do.

“I’ve just said to the lads, they need to hear the home truths. I give them the benefit of the doubt all the time, they’re young and they’re learning. A lot of those lads’ probably haven’t played in front of three thousand before and it’s a different pressure and the onus is on you to win the game and I thought some of them looked like rabbits in headlights but I can’t keep saying ‘we’re young, we’re learning, like.

“It’s a missed opportunity and it will hurt. It will hurt me and my management team for a long, long time.  I haven’t felt this down and gutted in a long, long time if I’m honest.

“I can’t keep defending how we’re young, we’re young. We can’t pick and choose (when to perform), You don’t always get the consistency with the young ones but they’ve been here long enough to know what we expect and today we wasn’t beat by a footballing side of things. We was just beat by stupid mistakes and actually the physicality side of it and it’s a tough one (to take).”

Tonbridge Angels (now in 13^th place after today’s round of League games) make the long trip to Torquay United next Saturday, a side that are in fifth-place in the table (25 points from 14 games) and were held to a 2-2 draw at home to Chelmsford City today.

Saunders revealed during the post-match press conference that he is looking to bring in new players and revealed exactly where he is looking, ahead of their trip to Plainmoor.

“I need to get some people in the building. I need to look at a few and we need to make some changes. I think we’ve gone with it long enough.

“There’s one or two now that we need to change things up. We need to be better in both boxes, so yes, I’ve got a busy little period ahead but we’ve got two training sessions, we’ve got a free week this week and I need to do some work away from the pitch and get some bodies in because I think we’re at that stage where we probably need that.”

Meanwhile, Tonbridge Angels have picked up a total of £33,375 in prize money from their FA Cup campaign this season, while Harborough Town have collected £65,625, with the Second Round winners picking up another £75,000, or £20,000 for the losing clubs.

Reflecting on the record crowd and record gate receipts, Saunders said: “It’s a fantastic day for the club but we’ve missed an opportunity. If we put in a really good performance and scored a few goals, you keep some of them.

“We’ve had a good little run but today we’ve come up short.  It’s a great day for the club, attendance record but that sort of it takes care of that side of it. My eyes are on the pitch and today we haven’t produced.

“They’ve come here and they’ve scored four goals and they’re through to the next round of the Cup and I really hope for them, they get a good draw.”

Tonbridge Angels: Matthew Rowley, Crossley Lema (Tariq Hinds 46), Liam Vincent, Jamie Fielding, Nazir Bakrin (Mohammad Dabre 73), Ronny Nelson, Sean Shields, Ryan Hanson, Noel Leighton, Taylor Maloney (Scott Wagstaff 66), Jason Adigun (Trevan Piedade-Robinson 46).
Subs: Mackenzie Richardson, Joe Tyrie, Andrew Norburn

Goal: Sean Shields 90

Booked: Jason Adigun 27, Jamie Fielding 44, Liam Vincent 77

Harborough Town: Elliott Taylor, Dan Cooper, Josh Walsh, Paul Malone, Ben Williams, Alex Morris, Freddie Robinson (Dan Forbes 74), Connor Kennedy (Gary Mulligan 90), Riley O’Sullivan (Kai Tonge 90), Ben Stephens (Tendai Daire 81), Ben Starkie (Amar Sandhu 90).
Subs: Jutorre Burgess, Liam Dolman, Luis Rose, Joel Carta

Goals: Paul Malone 41, Ben Stephens 60, 72, Dan Forbes 87

Booked: Connor Kennedy 3, Ben Starkie 30, Dan Cooper 77, Dan Forbes 88, Mitchell Austin 90 (manager)

Attendance: 3,132
Referee: Mr Alan Dale
Assistants: Mr Ciaran Fidler & Mr Joseph Stokes
Fourth Official:  Mr Christopher Myatt