Kentish Football 
Tonbridge Angels 1-4 Sutton United - We've just got to stick together, says Tommy Warrilow
Tuesday 16th August 2011
TONBRIDGE ANGELS 1-4 SUTTON UNITED
Blue Square Bet South
Tuesday 16th August 2011
Stephen McCartney reports from Longmead Stadium
TONBRIDGE ANGELS boss Tommy Warrilow has refused to hit the panic button after his side were outclassed by fellow promoted side Sutton United in their first ever home game in Blue Square Bet (Conference) South.
A 4-0 opening day victory at Maidenhead United swelled optimism and the attendance to 683, but Sutton United continued their 100% record at Longmead Stadium with a 4-1 victory that has brought everyone back down to earth.
Sutton United capitalised on poor defending to race into a two-nil lead within 12 minutes, through Harry Beautyman and the impressive Fola Orilonishe and Tonbridge Angels failed to put the ball into the back of the net when chances came to them before the break.
The home side couldn't breach a solid Sutton back four during the second half and Orilonishe made it 3-0, before Tonbridge pulled a goal back through substitute Frannie Collin, who opened his goalscoring account for the new season, before Anthony Riviere sealed a comfortable win for Paul Doswell’s side, who bounced back from their 5-0 home defeat to Woking at the weekend.
“I can’t complain about the result to be honest,” said Warrilow, 44, after the footballing lesson from the side that clinched the Ryman Premier League title last season.
“I thought their work-rate was far superior than ours. They were stronger, they worked for each other better and I’m disappointed with some of the goals. I mean three of them were from our mistakes but it doesn’t flower over the performance. We tried to work hard but it just didn’t happen tonight.”
Warrilow couldn’t come to grips with the same eleven players that comprehensively defeated Maidenhead United – who are now bottom of the table after two defeats – were so awful tonight.
“After Saturday’s performance, that’s what’s more disappointing,” admitted Warrilow. “We took a big step forward Saturday and tonight we didn’t really get going, so no complaints really.
“The better team won and they deserved it.”
However, it could have been a different story had the Angels taken their two early chances – all within the opening 98 seconds of the game – as the home side started with a high tempo.
Anthony Storey whipped in a free-kick into the penalty area and Ben Andrews rose to loop a header over after just 37 seconds, before striker Jon Main should have buried a chance.
Picking the ball up from Sonny Miles’ throw, Jake Beecroft swept in a free-kick from the right flank, but Main headed straight at visiting keeper Kevin Scriven from six-yards.
Warrilow said: “That’s the difference. You’ve got to take those chances.”
“On Saturday (at Maidenhead), at 2-0, we had so many chances to make it 3-0. I thought that might come back and haunt us but it didn’t. We got the third goal.
“Tonight we never deserved anything out of the game, so I’m not going to sit here and moan about the result because Sutton deserved the victory tonight.”
It swiftly went downhill for Tonbridge Angels from them.
Sutton produced a slick move which resulted in Tommy Kavanagh bringing a low save from Angels keeper Lee Worgan, before a rare mistake from right-back Miles gifted Sutton an eighth minute lead.
Kavanagh pumped the ball upfield and Leroy Griffiths flicked the ball on, but Miles’ back-pass towards Worgan was short and despite the sliding keeper’s efforts to clear, Beautyman stole the ball off the sliding keeper’s feet and swept a left-footed shot into an empty net.
It took Sutton 239 seconds to double their lead, as the Angels’ defence went to sleep.
Griffiths, who excelled at working his socks off down the right-channel – his knowhow at this level giving Tonbridge left-back Jon Heath a nightmare – released Orilonishe through on goal and his initial right-footed chip from an acute angle was beaten out by Worgan, but the midfielder slammed the rebound in to the net.
Stunned Tonbridge forced a corner in the 20th minute and Beecroft swung the ball in from the left, but Miles and Ben Judge got in each other’s way at the far post and Miles’ header cleared the crossbar.
Orilonishe almost scored again when his header looped across Worgan and clipped the far post after Miles headed a cross up in the air.
Luck deserted Tonbridge Angels in the 24th minute - their best chance of the game.
Browning slipped a through ball along the ground which Main latched on to and the 30-year-old striker clipped a delicate right-footed chip from 15-yards, which agonisingly dropped wide of the far post.
It was going to be one of those nights!
Sutton found Angels keeper Worgan in excellent form as he made a heroic double save to deny Griffiths – after his defenders switched off following a ball over the top – and Beautyman was thwarted by a brave sliding clearance from Miles.
When asked what he said to his battered troops at the interval, Warrilow revealed, “We said, ‘Let’s show a bit of character, we’re not out of it.’
“They were two poor goals, ‘let’s try and get some belief and confidence back in us’, but the third goal disappointed me because it was a foul right up on the edge on the box, which should’ve been given and they’ve broken from that and scored. It should’ve been our free-kick. I don’t think the ref knows when you’re 2-0 up, like on Saturday, the third one’s really important.”
With the Sutton defenders comfortably shutting out a Tonbridge side that lacked ideas to unlock the padlock, Warrilow made a double substitution and Collin and Danny Walder replaced Chris Henry and Beecroft and changed his formation from 4-4-2 to 3-5-2.
But chances were at a premium. That was until the final fourteen minutes, as Sutton scored twice and Collin bagged his first goal of the season.
Griffiths teed up substitute Romone McCrae, and his shot was parried away by the diving Worgan, but the ball dropped kindly for Orilonishe, who steered the ball past Worgan, who was clearly devastated as he took a while to claw himself back up off the ground.
Tonbridge Angels’ scored an 85th minute consolation, but by that time some of their fans had already headed for the exits.
Browning rolled a free-kick into Collins’ path, and the striker drilled a low right-footed angled drive into the corner – but by then it was too little too late.
Warrilow added: “We nicked a goal at the end, Frannie’s finished that one well and what do we do? We go up the other end and give the ball away and conceded another sloppy goal!
“I thought up front, I’m not going to lie, we didn’t get a lot out of the front two. Ade worked his socks off and Mainy was running about but not to the same degree as they did.
“In the middle of the park, Stoz (Storey) and Browno (Browning) got the ball as well as they could, but as soon as we got the ball they were on us like packs and that was the difference.”
Sutton produced a piece of magic, as they scored their fourth goal just 119 seconds later. Riviere cut in from the right and cracked a left-footed curler around the diving Worgan to find the far corner from 25-yards.
Warrilow signalled out Griffiths as Sutton’s main spark.
“We never really coped with Leroy up front tonight,” he admitted.
“He was running the channels and chasing everything and him and the four (Orilonishe) caused us a few problems tonight.
“We didn’t deserve anything tonight, purely because it’s good old fashioned work ethic. I thought Sutton worked harder than us. I thought Leroy up front optimised that. He ran his socks off all night, even in the 90th minute he was causing our back three, in the end, havoc. He led from the front and optimised their performance tonight and we just lacked that little bit of work ethic and that’s what I’m disappointed with.
Warrilow continued: “They were physically stronger than us and they worked harder than us. We want to try and have a good season this year and enjoy it. It’s not nice to lose but it’s one game. I’m not going to start panicking. If we don’t learn from last year, I keep saying that, we’ve lost tonight, we’ve got to accept the loss as we didn’t deserve to win but one thing I won’t do is start hiding and blaming things.
“We lost tonight because we didn’t deserve to win. I’m not complaining about the result but I’ll get the boys buzzing again and hopefully we can rectify tonight, (at home to full-time Eastleigh) on Saturday and we need the fans with us for that as well.”
Performances like tonight’s will not entice the 600 or so Tonbridge fans into coming back for Saturday’s home game against full-time Eastleigh, but the club needs the support of their fans’ when the going gets tough.
“A good crowd tonight, our first home game, it’s just disappointing we couldn’t turn up with a performance like we did Saturday,” said Warrilow.
“We’ve just got to stick together.”
Tonbridge Angels: Lee Worgan, Sonny Miles, Jon Heath, Lee Browning, Ben Judge, Ben Andrews, Jake Beecroft (Danny Walder 57), Anthony Storey, Jon Main (Alwayne Jones 82), Ade Olorunda, Chris Henry (Frannie Collin 57).
Subs: Tim Olorunda, Joe Hagan.
Goal: Frannie Collin 85
Booked: Ade Olorunda 29, Lee Browning 30, Ben Judge 89
Sutton United: Kevin Scriven, Karl Murray, Alan Bray, Fola Orilonishe, Karim El-Salahi, Sam Page, Anthony Riviere, Tommy Kavanagh (Jay Conroy 63), Leroy Griffiths, Harry Beautyman (Romone McCrae 74), Tony Taggart (Craig Watkins 73).
Subs: Steve McKimm, Wayne Shaw.
Goals: Harry Beautyman 8, Fola Orilonishe 12, 76, Anthony Riviere 86
Booked: Fola Orilonishe 45, Harry Beautyman 63
Attendance: 683
Referee: Mr Anthony Coggins (Bicester, Oxfordshire)
Assistants: Mr Matthew Goldsmith (Hastings, East Sussex) & Mr David Spain (Westfield, East Sussex)
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