Kentish Football 
Tonbridge Angels 1-0 Maidstone United - Stones boss Andy Ford plots Houdini escape act
Saturday 12th March 2011
TONBRIDGE ANGELS 1-0 MAIDSTONE UNITED
Ryman Premier League
Saturday 12th March 2011
Stephen McCartney reports from Longmead Stadium
MAIDSTONE UNITED boss Andy Ford says he is confident that his side can pull off The Great Escape - despite being nine points adrift of safety at the foot of the Ryman Premier League table with 10 games left to play.
The Stones deserved more as they dominated most of the first half, creating the most chances, before striker Carl Rook - on loan from Dartford until the end of the season - grabbed his 66th goal in 85 starts for Tonbridge Angels, seven minutes before half-time to send the hosts into third place in the table, eleven points behind leaders Sutton United, with nine games left to play.
“I didn’t think we deserved to lose,” said Ford afterwards. “Two weeks running now we’ve lost 1-0 to two of the top teams in the division (they lost to Lowestoft Town last weekend) and I thought the lads have been unlucky. Nothing seemed to drop right for us today.
“First half we had a few stabby chances, not clear-cut but definitely chances and I can’t complain today. I think the shape of the team was good, the two latest new signings have made a difference.”
Tonbridge Angels’ assistant manager, Alex O’Brien, admitted nothing but victory over the club’s bitter-rivals, counts.
“We were coming into it, we knew it was going to be a massive Kent derby,” said the Tonbridge resident.
“They’ve always got a bit of spice to it with Maidstone and today was no different. They pushed and I thought we had opportunities to score and get a few more on a pitch that is a little bit bobbly and a little bit dusty, with a bit of a wind.
“If someone said to me ‘Tonbridge 1 Maidstone 0’ yesterday, I would’ve taken it because I know as soon as I get out of my car in the car park what today was going to be all about.
“The atmosphere was good, the fans’ were good. I’m very happy that the boys have worked hard and got what they deserved.”
Rook, playing in his third game back since returning from Blue Square Bet South side Dartford, headed home his ninth goal of the season (eight were for the Darts) to grab Tonbridge Angels the points in what was a grounded out win.
Rook’s arrival meant Jay May switched to Maidstone United, and the 24-year-old missed a couple of early chances as Maidstone United started well.
Laurence Harvey’s ball out of defence was brought under control by the impressive Alex Flisher, who cut inside from the left and centred for May, who scuffed a low left-footed shot into Lee Worgan’s gloves.
Gary Wharton then released Flisher and his left-footed cross was met by a towering May header, which cleared the crossbar.
Tonbridge Angels forced two successive corners, taken by right-back Danny Walder, but Rook’s eleventh minute sighter, a header when left unmarked at the far post, bounced wide.
The red football, used as the Ryman League bids to raise £10,000 for Comic Relief only lasted just over seventeen minutes.
The dominant Stones carved out another good chance in the 20th minute. Nathan Paul’s ball was chested by May, who laid the ball to Michael Phillips, who played in Wharton, who flashed a left-footed shot wide of the foot of the near post.
Maidstone United were not looking like a side that were rooted to the foot of the table with only four wins to their name.
Royayne Marsh-Brown and Flisher combined down the left and Wharton turned and fired a left-footed shot towards goal, which deflected off Angels’ central defender Ben Judge and bounced into Worgan’s hands at his near post.
Out-played Tonbridge Angels, meanwhile, created their first chance in the 24th minute when 19-goal striker Frannie Collin, who had a quiet game, stepped up and slammed a 30-yard free-kick past the near post.
Maidstone United created three half-chances in and around the half-hour mark.
Flisher, 19, swung in a corner from the left, which skipper Jay Saunders met with a diving header, which flew wide, before Nathan Paul cut in from the right and cracked a curling left-footed drive from 30-yards, which arrowed just over.
Another Flisher corner was met at the far post by Saunders, who was denied by Worgan at the near post. The Stones’ first shot on target, arriving in the 32nd minute.
There was a sense of in-justice when Tonbridge Angels grabbed what turned out to be the winning goal six minutes later.
Central defender John Beales looped several throws into the penalty box from the right-hand side, but on this occasion it was Jake Beecroft’s turn and his quick short throw caught the Stones’ defence asleep.
The unmarked Sonny Miles had time and space to whip in a right-footed cross from about 35-yards from goal and his inch-perfect cross found Rook lurking at the far post and Harvey didn’t pick up his man and the prolific striker nodded the ball into the bottom near corner.
O’Brien added: “That’s why he’s here. You know what you get with Rookie. If you put a ball in the box nine times out of 10 he’s going to get on the end of it and he done that today. Sonny’s put in a decent ball and Rookie does what Rookie does.”
Ford, meanwhile, felt former Ashford defender Harvey could have done better.
“I thought, maybe, we could’ve defended it slightly better,” said the former Welling United boss, who has only won four of the 21 league games that he has been in charge of the Stones.
“They’re dangerous from set pieces, Rookie’s dangerous in the box, his height and his aerial ability and I think it came from a throw in from the right hand side. They’re dangerous from that. That is an area which we possibly could’ve defended but it is difficult to defend because Laurence Harvey was with him. Rookie got over the back of him. What can you do? Stop giving throws away? But that’s not always easy as it sounds.”
The goal woke up the home side and they almost doubled their advantage when Collin lifted the ball into the penalty box from the left-hand side and his strike-partner Adrian Stone brought the ball down with his chest and smashed a right-footed volley agonisingly wide of the post from the edge of the Maidstone penalty area.
The second half, however, was a turgid affair, as both sides failed to entertain Tonbridge Angels’ largest crowd of the season.
O’Brien said: “There has been a few times where we think we should’ve done better in certain areas in and around the box.
“But today it might be a little bit gritty and that’s when you’ve got to hold on, keep the ball and do well with what you’re good at and that’s how we address every game.”
Ford added: “There wasn’t a great deal that happened to be honest. There was a lot of ball in the middle of the park.
“I thought Alex Flisher had a great game on the left hand side, he’s going to be a player. I always thought he was going to do something. He looked lively. I was pleased with his performance.
“We did tire. Gary Wharton’s come off exhausted and Jay May has come off , he’s done a good hour up there on his own, maybe a bit longer. There was some tired legs out there. Sometimes when there’s tired legs out there you don’t get the chances or the neat football that you really want.”
Phillips and the busy Dan Stubbs - making his second debut for the Stones after his spell in Iceland - combined and Saunders picked out Flisher with a delightful diagonal ball. The teenager cut the ball back to May, who was inside the box, and he cut the ball back to Ronayne Marsh-Brown, who blasted a left-footed drive high over the stand in the 51st minute.
That was as good as it got, before the game’s next chance finally arrived thirty minutes later.
Another Flisher corner found its way to Stubbs, who was lurking just inside the penalty area, and his left-footed volley ballooned over.
Fans of both clubs started streaming out of Longmead Stadium as they had enough of the dull football being played out during a very disappointing second half.
The board for three additional minutes went up at least a minute early, and this livened up Maidstone, who almost snatched a point inside injury time.
Substitute Tommy Mills was brought down by Angels substitute Scott Kinch in a central position some 27-yards from goal. Fifteen-goal, leading goalscorer, substitute Danny Hockton stepped up and stroked a right-footed free-kick above the wall and the ball was heading towards the top left-hand corner, but Worgan jumped up to catch the ball.
Collin almost doubled the home side’s lead when his right-footed shot curled agonisingly wide of the far post at the death, but it’s Tonbridge Angels that claimed the local bragging rights as both clubs go into the business end of the season with plenty to play for.
O’Brien said: “Today was huge to get a game of three points, which will kick us on again and hopefully that will be another run and go into the final end of the season on a high.”
Now third in the table, two points behind Bury Town, O’Brien added: “It’s good that we’re in this sort of position. It’s good that we’re still up there. We’ve still got points to win and really good games to come up and this is what it’s all about. We want to be contesting to win the league, otherwise what’s the point of entering.”
Ford, meanwhile, wants his side to claw some points to help maintain the club’s current league status and he is putting a positive slant on things.
Maidstone United have not won a single league home game at Homelands Stadium, Ashford.
“There’s 10 games left and my mathematics tell me that’s 30 points,” he said.
“Thirty points is an awful lot of points. Ok, you’re going to turn round and say we won’t win every one but that’s what we’ve got to try and do.
“I think the team is stronger, we just need a couple of back-to-back wins. I’ve said it since I’ve been here and we haven’t got it and that’s been a problem. That’s what we have got to try and do.
“I think if we can beat Croydon (Athletic) and I think it’s Billericay after that, two home games, we’ve got to start making our home record our home games a lot better than what they are at the moment. That’s where we’ve failed this season, our home games.”
On today’s performance, and with belief, Maidstone United CAN escape the drop.
“As I’ve said to the lads’ today, I think there’s 10 games left and that’s nearly a quarter of the season and when you put that logic into people’s heads all of a sudden it changes people’s thinking and that’s what I’m trying to do.
“There’s 30 points left to play and it will be a bit of a Houdini. We’re going to have a go. I don’t know (how many points we need to stay up). I’ll take 27 points now until the end of the season and that’s what we’ve got to aim at.
“We’re going to need a little bit of luck. At the moment we’re not getting it, that’s for sure!”
Tonbridge Angels: Lee Worgan, Danny Walder, Sonny Miles, Lewis Taylor, Ben Judge, John Beales, Jake Beecroft, Chris Piper, Carl Rook (Scott Kinch 83), Frannie Collin, Adrian Stone (Ade Olorunda 61).
Subs: Jon Heath, Fraser Logan, Sam Jones
Goal: Carl Rook 38
Booked: Scott Kinch 89, Lewis Taylor 90, Jake Beecroft 90
Maidstone United: Andy Walker, Nathan Paul, Ronayne Marsh-Brown (Tommy Mills 73), Jay Saunders, Laurence Harvey, Simon Glover, Michael Phillips, Dan Stubbs, Jay May (Danny Hockton 76), Gary Wharton (Jimmy Humphris 76), Alex Flisher.
Subs: Reis Boyle, Colin Richmond
Booked: Nathan Paul 67
Attendance: 802
Referee: Mr Peter Lavelle (Southampton, Hampshire)
Assistants: Mr Kirk English (Romford, Essex) & Mr Adam Bakalarz (Bromley)
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