Tonbridge Angels 1-1 Boreham Wood - We're aiming as high as we can, says positive Tommy Warrilow

TONBRIDGE ANGELS  1-1  BOREHAM WOOD
Blue Square Bet South
Monday 27^th February 2012
Stephen McCartney reports from Longmead Stadium

TONBRIDGE ANGELS boss Tommy Warrilow says he will push his side to grab a play-off place at the end of their inaugural campaign in the Blue Square Bet (Conference) South until it’s mathematically impossible to catch fifth-placed side Sutton United.

The Angels, who suffered their first defeat in seven when they went down to a 3-2 defeat away to Farnborough at the weekend, snatched a point at home to Boreham Wood tonight thanks to a last-gasp quality strike from substitute Frannie Collin, after goalkeeper Lee Worgan committed a rare blunder to gift David Bryant an early goal.

Tonbridge Angels climbed up one place into eleventh place in the table but with 39 points left to play for from their last thirteen games, Warrilow admitted afterwards that he still hasn’t given up hope on catching the side that clinched the Ryman Premier League title last season, Sutton United.

Despite a vast majority of supporters would settle for avoiding the drop at the end of April, they obviously don’t know Warrilow too well as the 47-year-old is a winner and will not settle for mid-table obscurity.

“I’ll always try and think positive and look up,” said Warrilow.

“We just want to try and finish as high as we can.   I’m the world’s worst loser in anything.  I want to go up and get promotions and get in play-offs.  Like I said before, perhaps we’ve been a little bit spoilt.  This is our fourth full season and two of the three we’ve got into the play-offs and the other one we sort of dipped out 72 hours’ before the season finished.

“I’m alright at the moment because the team that are fifth, our maximum points have now gone down two so I look at the number of points we can get and that’s why I maximise our targets.  So when we reach that, when the team in fifth go above what we can get that’s when you give up chasing the fifth-spot. We’ve got 39 points to play for so that’s how I look at it.

“If teams go above it then obviously we can’t do nothing about it.  We’ll remain positive and aim as high as we can.”

Warrilow was without the Olorunda brothers against a Boreham Wood side that would have leapfrogged over the Angels had they won tonight.

Ade will have an operation on his knee on 13 March, while Tim suffered a whack to his ankle at Farnborough at the weekend.

But Warrilow handed striker Jon Main his first start since coming back from a lengthy injury and he played for 63 minutes before being replaced by goalscorer Collin, who scored his 24^th goal of the season with his strike at the end of the game, timed at 47:00.

“He’s (Main) been out a long time,” explained Warrilow.  “Frannie’s been ill all week, he’s lost quite a bit of weight, so we just felt tonight with the big schedule coming up (with eight games in March) that we’d give Mainy a good sixty minutes to give himself a big blow and introduce Frannie for the last half hour.

“On those two accounts it’s a benefit for both players especially for Mainy really.  He got sixty minutes under his belt and I thought he chased well and done well.”

Tonbridge Angels created the game’s first chance came from a free-kick, which right-back Danny Walder blasted over the bar with his right-foot from the very edge of the penalty area.

But Boreham Wood were gifted the opening goal inside the opening ten minutes.

Central defender Ben Judge rolled a back pass back to his keeper Worgan, who attempted to punt a right-footed clearance up field but he miss-kicked the ball and Boreham Wood striker Bryant had the easiest task of slotting the ball into an empty goal with his right foot.

Warrilow refused to blame the 28-year-old former Hastings United stopper.

He said: “How can I blame him?  Judgey knocked the ball back, it had a little bit of pace on him, I don’t know if he could’ve taken a touch but he’s messed up.  But he’s kept us in more than enough games over the season so it’s just one of  those things.

“There was enough time to get back into the game.  Going forward I just wish we showed the desire to get back into it but we just had to be a little careful we didn’t get caught on the counter attack, which we obviously did on numerous occasions.”

Boreham Wood almost doubled their lead when talented winger Mario Noto delivered an excellent cross from the right towards the far post and Bryant’s headed the ball across Worgan from an acute angle and the ball skimmed the top of the post.

Halfway through the half, Lee Browning, busy as always in the middle of the park, unleashed a daisy-cutter with his right-foot from 25-yards, which flashed just wide of the left-hand post.

Worgan turned defence into a swift attack after he plucked a free-kick from the combative Luke Garrard out of the air and bowled the ball out to release Rory Hill down the right flank.  The former Bromley winger cut inside and swept the ball into the penalty area but target-man Mikel Suarez blasted a right-footed shot over from fifteen-yards.

Browning then whipped in a cross from the right which found former Boreham Wood winger Joe Benjamin, who cut in from the left and sent a right-footed shot sailing over the crossbar.

A kick from untroubled visiting keeper Elvijs Putnins was picked up by central midfielder Sam Cox, who cut in from the left but unleashed a fierce right-footed drive, which curled wide.

Warrilow said: “I thought we played some good football. I don’t think they really created much either.  If you look at the end product you have to look at both teams but going forward and areas that we got in, I thought we should’ve done better in the final third.

“Tonight we’ve had an unfortunate start after ten minutes and we’ve shown great character to really have a go at it.  I said at half-time keep playing, keep chipping away and just be a little bit more relaxed and have a little bit more quality on the football and we’ll get a goal and if we get one we can push on and get another.”

Boreham Wood hit the Kent side on the counter attack in the opening three minutes of the second half when Garrard played the ball inside to Mauro Vilhete, who cut the ball back to Bryant, whose shot from 25-yards looped over Worgan’s crossbar.

Worgan made a comfortable low save to his right to thwart Cox, who tried his luck with a right-footed drive from 30-yards in the 55^th minute.

And within three minutes Bryant was released down the left channel and after twisting and turning Walder he cut the ball back to Noto, whose right-footed drive from just outside of the box deflected over Worgan’s bar.

Worgan then comfortably collected Omer Riza’s weak shot from 20-yards, the three Tonbridge defenders swarming around the Boreham Wood striker did their jobs to snuff out the threat.

With the supportive home faithful still waiting for their first shot on target, Boreham Wood continued to press on the break and Riza slipped the ball through to Noto, who curled an angled right-footed shot wide of the far post from 15-yards.

Tonbridge left-back Jon Heath went asleep at the halfway point of the half as he failed to pick up Vilhete after Garrard played a quick free-kick but the Boreham Wood winger cracked a rising right-footed drive, which was caught by Worgan above his head.

Cox then clipped a ball to the edge of the Tonbridge penalty area, which Noto brought under control before turning and sending a left-footed drive over.

But Tonbridge Angels woke up from their slumber and finally called Putnins into serious action for the first time in the 81^st minute.

Walder picked the ball up and went on a penetrating run before unleashing a low left-footed drive from 30-yards, which forced the keeper into making a low save to his right.

Ninety-six seconds later, Walder delivered an excellent cross to pick out Sonny Miles, but the home-grown central defender headed straight at the grateful Putnins.

Boreham Wood were to rue an excellent chance to take the points back home to Hertfordshire when they missed a similar header in the final four minutes.

Substitute Sam Lechmere delivered a free-kick close to the corner flag down the right hand side and the Tonbridge defence failed to pick out Riza at the far post, but he headed over from the edge of the six-yard box, putting his head in his hands in anguish.

Warrilow added: “Sonny’s had a free header in the box as well, he’s headed straight at the keeper.  There’s a couple (of headers, one for each side) that should’ve been buried.”

That miss proved to be crucial as Tonbridge Angels snatched a last-gasp equaliser, thanks to Collin, who has extended his contract to the end of next season.

Miles pumped one excellent ball out of defence and over the top of the flat-footed Boreham Wood defence, which was otherwise well marshalled by Charlie O’Loughlin, to release Collin who took a touch and drilled a low, right-footed shot from 25-yards across Putnins and the end result of such a quality strike was the ball nestling into the bottom far corner.

Warrilow said: “It’s similar to the finish against Weston-super-Mare here and that’s why we’ve got him here for another year.  People come and see that!

“He’s been ill all weekend, he’s come on for 25 minutes or whatever but its’ a fantastic first touch and a quality finish.”

Reflecting on the game, Warrilow added: “Personally for me, when you score that late it’s obviously going to be a point gained but for me overall looking at the game I’d look at it the other way and say it’s two (points) dropped really.

“I look around and can’t see who’s not given me everything tonight.  I mean Saturday was a good performance as well.

“We lost Saturday, bang, we got a point tonight so it gives you a little lift again and it takes us into Dartford (who arrive at Longmead Stadium on Saturday, having beaten Basingstoke Town 4-1 at Princes Park tonight).  We finished the game strong.”

Tonbridge Angels: Lee Worgan, Danny Walder, Jon Heath, Lee Browning, Ben Judge, Sonny Miles, Rory Hill (Nathan Korenteng 75), Chris Piper, Jon Main (Frannie Collin 63), Mikel Suarez, Joe Benjamin.
Subs: Jake Beecroft, Robbie Kember, Joe Hagan

Goal:  Frannie Collin 90

Boreham Wood:  Elvijs Putnins, Osei Sankofa, Daniel Braithwaite, Sam Cox, Charlie O’Loughlin, Omar Beckles, Mario Noto, Luke Garrard, David Bryant, Omer Riza (Billy Bobjoit 89), Mauro Vilhete (Sam Lechmere 84).
Subs: David Hutton, Mark Jones, Michael Jordan

Goal: David Bryant 10

Attendance: 391
Referee: Mr Barry Holderness (Wickford, Essex)
Assistants: Mr Peter Georgiou (Wimbledon, London SW17) & Mr Ben Wright (Walworth, London SE17)