Tonbridge Angels 1-1 Bromley - I'm sure we'll crawl our way out of trouble, says Mark Goldberg

TONBRIDGE ANGELS  1-1  BROMLEY
Blue Square Bet South
Sunday 1^st January 2012
Stephen McCartney reports from Longmead Stadium

BROMLEY manager Mark Goldberg hailed his side’s character after they claimed a deserved point at Tonbridge Angels to leave them languishing just one place and one point clear of the drop zone.

Twelfth-placed Tonbridge Angels looked certain to claim the points, courtesy of a thunderous strike from winger Chris Henry with only fourteen minutes before full-time, but substitute Aaron Rhule poked home an equaliser just four minutes later as Bromley stretched their unbeaten run over their Kent rivals to nine games.

Goldberg said: “I mean the conditions were extremely difficult and although we were trying to play our passing game, especially when we got the ball out wide, we wanted our wingers’ to get at them and try to win at least a corner or to cause a little bit of havoc out there.

“It was difficult and the final ball wasn’t quite working for us because, although we had some good possession and we got in some good areas, we didn’t test their keeper until, I think, the last minute of the first half.

“I thought we went in at half-time deservedly of at least make more of the possession and then suddenly, you know what happens, I thought we did that well.  We created some good openings and just the final decisions’ on the ball around the box hasn’t quite been the right one.”

Tonbridge Angels boss Tommy Warrilow added: “It was horrendous.  I’m not going to give the lads’ too much grief because it was really difficult.  Anybody could see.

“I said to (my players), it was the time not to run with the ball and have too many touches.  We’ve got to take a touch and try and get it in the final third and just do the ugly things and I feel we didn’t do that enough.”

Both sets of players earned their pay packets for their character during this blood-and-thunder Kent derby, which was played in waterlogged conditions, which affected the run of the ball on numerous occasions, but full credit must go to both sides for their efforts.

Bromley looked useful down each flank, with Orlando Smith and former Angel, Rory Hill, both tormenting the Angels’ full-backs Danny Walder and Jon Heath.  Unfortunately, for The Ravens they lacked quality in the final third of the pitch until late on.

Bromley, who went into this game on a 12 match winless run, created the first chance inside the opening five minutes when Hill swung in a corner from the right and the towering Moses Swaibu powered his header off target.

Tonbridge Angels, themselves on a seven match winless run, squandered an excellent chance to take the lead soon after.

Frannie Collin clipped the ball to Henry, who cut inside Bromley left-back Marlon Patterson, and once inside the penalty area he centred behind Lee Browning, who swept a poor shot wide from 12-yards.

The busy Browning, who was playing in the middle of the park, latched onto Walder’s through ball, ran for 20-yards and chipped the ball over from just outside of the box.

Bromley goalkeeper Lloyd Anderson was finally called into action in the 13^th minute, diving to his left to save at the second attempt to thwart Collin, who had stroked a low right-footed drive from 22-yards, after the former Dover Athletic striker cut in from the right.

Despite those early attempts, Tonbridge Angels failed to find the breakthrough and the game then turned into a hard-fought battle - until the 41^st minute when substitute Jake Beecroft took two touches before cracking a right-footed shot over the Bromley crossbar from 25-yards after Browning’s corner was cleared away.

Bromley waited until first half injury time for their first shot on goal.

Smith was released down the left and whipped in a cross into Salifou Ibrahima’s feet and the central midfielder laid the ball off for the unmarked Hill, who drilled a right-footed shot towards goal.  Angels keeper Lee Worgan – the saviour during the 2-2 draw between these two clubs at Hayes Lane on Boxing Day – made a smart block low down to his left at his near post.

A fine piece of quality from Collin almost presented the Tonbridge striker his seventeenth goal of the season inside the opening three minutes of the second half.

Collin brought the ball under control with his back to goal, flicked the ball over his head and turned and cracked a right-footed volley agonisingly wide of the right-hand post from 30-yards, which brought a ripple of applause from around the ground.

Walder and Browning combined to set up a chance for Beecroft, who cut in from the right but his left-footed shot flashed wide of the Bromley goal.

Bromley’s next opportunity on goal came rather fortuitously when Ibrahima burst forward and lashed a wayward shot, which striker Gareth Williams stuck out a leg and directed over the crossbar from inside the penalty area.

Rain began to lash down immediately after Walden played a sublime diagonal pass across the Bromley defence to pick out Nathan Koranteng.  The 19-year-old winger, signed from Boreham Wood, unleashed a left-footed drive, which took a deflection before Anderson made a fine reaction save at his near post.

Speaking about his new signing, Warrilow, who revealed he is talking to two potential new signings this week, admitted the conditions didn’t suit the former Peterborough United and Woking winger.

He said: “He’s done as well he could today.   It was hard conditions for him to come in to make his debut and we’ll get a lot more out of him.”

Warrilow revealed: “I’m talking to a couple of players this week to bring in some fresh faces and unfortunately there will be some faces leaving.  I’ve got to speak to the chairman and make sure everything’s right, pounds, shillings and pence and act on it.

“We need to make the difference from being 12^th (place) to being higher up.  I’m pleased to bring Nathan on board, I’m speaking to a lad today, I’m speaking to someone hopefully tomorrow.

“Last year I done it and freshened things up and I think this year I have to do it again.  I’ve given it half a season, some things haven’t been right.  If think I can improve us.

“There’s going to be some horrible decisions to make but unfortunately that’s part of being a manager and I’ve got to do that now.

“I’ve been threatening to do it but I want to do it for the right reasons and at the moment with the players I’m hoping to possibly get in, it will be two good signings that will be a positive message and give the place a bit of a lift.”

Conditions were now getting worse and half-way through the half referee Mr Ryan Atkin tested the playing surface by dropping the ball but he was happy to continue, despite some silly sliding challenges going in.

Warrilow said: “I ain’t saying nothing about the ref.  I was disappointed with the tackle on Tim Olorunda in the first half.  I know the conditions were bad but you have to calm the game down, otherwise someone was going to get badly hurt.   It was a bad tackle on Tim.”

Henry’s fifth-goal of the season seemed to have handed Tonbridge Angels a 76^th minute winner with a quality finish.

Browning swung in a corner from the left, which whistled through a crowded penalty area and Koranteng picked up the loose ball and cut the ball back to Henry, who swivelled and cracked an angled left-footed 25-yard screamer across everybody and into the far corner.

Warrilow said: “We kept swapping Nathan and Chris to try and cause some problems and he’s cashed in with an excellent finish.  That’s what the boy’s capable off but we need that on a consistent basis.

“I just felt we didn’t use our width enough.  Bromley were trying to turn us with Rory (Hill) and Orlando (Smith).  I said to my boys’ ‘why aren’t we doing that?’  We were still trying to play through the middle and there’s times when we’ve got to put it into the corners.”

Goldberg added: “They get the ball on the edge of the box and they took advantage with a great shot.  You can’t knock it, it was a great strike! 

“We didn’t engage early enough to be honest.  We gave him more space than we should’ve and I’ll have a look at that on the video to see who’s at fault for that – but it was a great strike!

“Then suddenly we’re 1-0 down and I didn’t think we deserved that!  I just thought that was just typical of the run we’re on.  Nothing seems to be going for us but you can’t feel sorry for yourselves and we have to keep going and they dug in.

“At one-all we had another couple of opportunities.  Our decision making doesn’t seem to be going for us at the moment so we have to make better decisions but at least we dug in and I thought we deserved at least a point and we showed a lot of character out there today.”

Despite that set-back and knowing defeat would put them inside the relegation zone for the first time this season, Bromley battled back.

Former Angel, Liam Harwood floated a free-kick from the half-way line, which was headed on by substitute Danny Waldren and the ball dropped at substitute Ibra Sekajja’s feet, but his flicked shot was blocked by Worgan’s legs.

Bromley’s two influential substitutes then combined for their 80^th minute equaliser.

Sekajja utilised his pace to run into the Tonbridge penalty area before almost reaching the by-line.  The striker cut the ball back for Rhule, who was lurking at the near post, and the youngster poked a right-footed shot towards goal from four-yards, the ball trickling into the bottom near corner past a struggling Worgan.

Goldberg said: “We brought on a bit of pace.  We brought Ibra on and Aaron Rhule and the two combined to score us the goal I thought we deserved.”

Warrilow bemoaned: “He’s just done a finish where he’s done the right thing, he’s put it back to where the keepers’ coming from and Worgs can’t change his direction. 

“We had the ball about a minute earlier in their box and we got muscled off the ball so we’ve lost possession there and gave it away and we’ve got punished for it.”

Bromley sensed they could snatch victory to banish their miserable winless statistic and the earlier introductions of Waldren, Rhule and Sekajja caused havoc to the Angels defence.

Waldren cracked a right-footed shot on the run, which was spilt by Worgan, but Tonbridge Angels almost claimed victory at the death - Browning blasted a right-footed low drive past the left-hand post when well placed.

Goldberg said: “I felt that possession wise, we might not have created goalscoring opportunities as such but we had good possession in good areas and it will be interesting to see how many shots we really had on goal, probably not enough with the possession that we had.”

Reflecting on the day’s events, Warrilow said: “It’s probably a result both teams didn’t want but as I said on Boxing Day the most important thing is not to lose.

“When you go 1-0 up at the end we should’ve won it.  Browno had to hit the target there instead of trying to put his laces through it and all the people you want it to fall to it would be him, but I thought a little side-foot or a bit of composure he would’ve buried it in the corner.

“We just have to get ourselves going again.  The Christmas period is out of the way. We haven’t lost over Christmas.”

With Hampton & Richmond Borough claiming a vital 4-1 win at fellow strugglers Staines Town today, Bromley are now hovering precariously above the drop zone and have 19 games left to avoid relegation back to the Ryman Premier League.

“I think there’s a lot of belief, there’s good feeling, a good squad, a good bunch and yet were sitting where we are in the league.

“We’ve just got to keep looking and pick up as many points as we can and I’m sure we’ll crawl our way out of it.”

Tonbridge Angels:  Lee Worgan, Danny Walder, Jon Heath, Robbie Kember, Tim Olorunda (Jake Beecroft 33), Sonny Miles, Nathan Koranteng, Lee Browning, Mikel Suarez (Ade Olorunda 60), Frannie Collin, Chris Henry (Anthony Storey 85).
Subs: George Crimmin, Joe Hagan

Goal: Chris Henry 76

Booked: Danny Walder 73

Bromley: Lloyd Anderson, Taylor Parmenter, Marlon Patterson, Freddie Warren, Moses Swaibu, Liam Harwood, Rory Hill, Salifou Ibrahima (Danny Waldren 61), Hakeem Araba (Ibra Sekajja 77), Gareth Williams, Orlando Smith (Aaron Rhule 68).
Subs: Tutu Henriques, Bradley Goldberg

Goal: Aaron Rhule 80

Booked: Rory Hill 50, Freddie Warren 75

Attendance: 905
Referee:  Mr Ryan Atkin (Sydenham, London SE26)
Assistants: Mr Saul Kay (Sittingbourne) & Mr Benjamin James (Carterton, Oxfordshire)