Tonbridge Angels 2-0 Waltham Abbey - Sixteen goal midfielder Lee Minshull can turn pro - Warrilow

Saturday 27th March 2010

TONBRIDGE ANGELS 2-0 WALTHAM ABBEY
Ryman Premier League
Saturday 27th March 2010
Mike Green reports form Longmead Stadium

TONBRIDGE ANGELS’ march up the Ryman Premier League table continued under showery skies, with arguably the most comprehensive 2-0 victory seen at Longmead for a very long time.

Goals from Lee Minshull and Paul Booth secured Tommy Warrilow’s sides ninth win in their last ten League games as the Angels remain in fifth place in the table, and in truth but for Waltham Abbey’s keeper Harry Ricketts the scoreline would have been far wider, as the visitors stopper was in outstanding form throughout.

The visitors cause wasn’t helped by the first half sending off of Dave Ayres, who stupidly kicked the ball at Scott Kinch after Jon Heath had been cruelly hacked down by Ricci Crace (Crace himself was extremely fortunate not to get the early bath himself), but in the end they were a well beaten side.

After the game, you would have expected Warrilow to be a happy man when he spoke to www.kentishfootball.co.uk.

But he said: “We always would have liked a second goal, but if you’d have offered me that before the game I would have taken in as I was expecting a very tough game given that their last two results have been good.

“But if I have one complaint with my side today it was that we were perhaps too complacent after we scored the first goal, but I cant be too critical as we took the three points.

“It was perhaps one of those days where we may have scored “too early”,” Warrilow conceded. “We gave the ball away too easily. We’d win it back and then lose it again.

“We were shocking in the first 20 minutes, but that said but for their keeper in the second half we could have scored four or five in the second half.

“But most important is that we kept the winning run going – but we’ve addressed a few things in the dressing room after the game as we’re not going to get away with some things on another day.”

The Angels came flying out of the blocks and were ahead inside four minutes. Stand in skipper Minshull powered home a header (from Sam Long’s corner) to net his 16th goal of the season after only four minutes.

The former Ramsgate midfielder was then denied a second on eight minutes when Ricketts stuck out a left hand to deny the Angels skipper after Paul Booth played a super through ball.

Just before the half hour, the visitors were reduced to ten men after Ayres’ stupidity.

Warrilow said: “The incident took the pressure off the guy who made the tackle on Jon Heath. In my opinion it should have been two reds. The boy who went was just plain silly – fair play to my boys for keeping their heads – but I do genuinely believe that the other guy should have gone as well.

“It was almost as though the guy who booted the ball at Kinchy was trying to take the attention away from the guy who had creamed Jon (Heath).

“That put us in a no win situation as they could put men behind the ball, and when the keeper started to pull off the saves he did in the second half I started to think “I hope they’re not going to break and get one in the last minute”, but that’s why the second goal settled us down, and from then we should really have gone on and got a couple more at least!”

Minshull again was denied just before half time as he headed Kirk Watts’ cross wide, but the Angels almost received a wake up call on the stroke of half time, when they were indebted to keeper Lee Worgan for making a smart save to beat out Marc Sontag’s shot.

After the break Ricketts raced from his line to deny Long with his legs before the keeper performed heroics to keep out Kinch’s deflected looping drive – somehow, Ricketts managed to claw the ball over the bar as it dipped viciously.

The keeper then pulled off a great save to deny Adam Burchell, and was relieved to see substitute Jamie Cade’s follow up flash wide.

The second gaol finally came on the hour. Minshull released Burchell who sprinted past full back Joe Clemo, before rolling the ball across the box for Booth to walk his 20th goal of the season into the net.

Long then produced a stunning 30-yard volley which swerved all over the place and deserved a goal only for Ricketts to yet again produce a stunning save to palm the ball over the bar.

A save that was equally moments later by Worgan at the other end as James Elmes’ free kick for the visitors seemed destined for the top corner before the Tonbridge stopper made a stunning save.

In the closing ten minutes the Angels yet again brought the best out of Ricketts – first Phil Starkey was denied by a smart save (Liam Harwood headed the resulting corner inches wide) before the keeper again excelled with a great block to deny Burchell – this time the loose ball rebounded to Cade who hooked over when he should really have made it three!

Minshull was rightly named the home sides man of the match – an award that drew his managers praises.

Warrilow said: “Lee’s been a different class for me all season. The booking today was so harsh it was ridiculous – it was his 16th of the season. He’s all round a tremendous asset to this football club and his goals have been a bonus – 16 from midfield is a tremendous return.

“We can make him into an even better player so long as he keeps his feet on the ground. There’s no reason that he can’t follow in the footsteps of Leon Legge into the Football League.”

Now the Angels face another home game in midweek - when Harrow Borough visit Longmead Stadium.

Warrilow said: “It’ll be our third home game in eight days on Tuesday and that’s why we got the players in early today so that we could get them focused. There’s no point now being six points behind that team and five points ahead of them, it’s the games now that are beginning to run out. We’re trying to get the boys into that train of thought.

“And although today was another win, we’ll have to improve on this performance on Tuesday as we’ve got another tough game. But we are now in the Play off places as a couple of results have gone our way today, so we now have to stay there.”

Tonbridge Angels: Lee Worgan, Phil Starkey, Jon Heath (Jamie Cade 46), Lee Minshull (Anthony Storey 81), Liam Harwood, Sonny Miles, Sam Long, Scott Kinch, Adam Burchell, Paul Booth, Kirk Watts (Jerahl Hughes 67).

Sub: Tom Bryant

Goals: Lee Minshull 4, Paul Booth 61

Booked: Lee Minshull 79, Scott Kinch 90

Waltham Abbey: Harry Ricketts, George Chanda, Joe Clemo, Lee White, Andy Keepence, Dave Ayres, Marc Sontag (Xanial Doku 71), James Elmes, Billy Holland (Joe Eupoel 57), Adam Parker (Aaron Gayle 37), Ricci Crace.

Sub: Jordan Bostock

Booked: Ricci Crace 28, George Chanda 90

Sent Off: Dave Ayles 28

Attendance: 436

Referee: Mr Barry Holderness (Hornchurch)

Assistants: Mr Kirk English (Romford) and Mr Jamie Macleod (Welling)