We're not firing on all cylinders and we can still play a lot better, says Tommy Warrilow

TONBRIDGE ANGELS boss Tommy Warrilow says their opening week to the new season has been disappointing.



The Angels enjoyed a good pre-season but they crashed back down to earth when they lost 2-0 at home to Boreham Wood on the opening day of the season, before going down to a 2-1 defeat away to Eastbourne Borough in midweek.

Warrilow’s men are third-from-bottom in The Skrill South table at this early stage but return to action when they travel to Hayes Lane to face Kent rivals Bromley tomorrow.

“A bit disappointing with no wins on the table,” admitted Warrilow.

“We haven’t come out of the traps on Saturday against Boreham Wood, obviously disappointing with the pre-season we had. That’s what football is about. You can have the best pre-season in the world but you can’t take your foot of the pedal.

“We missed an opportunity there to get something out of the game. I’m not happy with the goals, as per normal. We gave the ball away for the first one and the second one was a second ball from a corner.  People aren’t doing their jobs.”

Reflecting on their cruel defeat down on the Sussex coast, the Angels boss said: “We went to Eastbourne Borough and to fair up until the last fifteen minutes it was much of a muchness of a game.

“A good start. The first half was pretty end-to-end. We were dealing with the long ball threat they were imposing.

“We went a goal in front - but again we had a chance to put the ball into an area second half and we gave the ball away and no-ones picking up the second ball.

“We spoke to the lads at training last night. People have to do their jobs. People are trying to win the balls they shouldn’t win and leaving gaps and we’re getting punished.

“The winning goal was just schoolboy stuff. They scored after 93 and a half minutes and in the 93^rd minute we had the ball lined up in their half by the corner. Instead of throwing it down the line and keeping the ball, we thrown it inside, lost the ball and not won two tackles and they’ve broken and the lad squared the ball and he finished it.

“They’re the fine margins.  We had a similar chance five minutes earlier when Greenie (Nathan Green) squared it to Mikel (Suarez) and he didn’t take it.

“That’s how close this league is. We’re not firing on all cylinders and we can still play a lot better but there was improvement at Eastbourne but we’ve got nothing to show.”

Warrilow is looking forward to their game at Bromley tomorrow where he is friends with Bromley’s owner Jerry Dolke.

But friendship will be put to one side as he bids to get their first points of the season against the surprise league leaders.

Mark Goldberg’s side – who finished in 15^th place last season, one place above the Angels – opened their campaign with a 2-0 win away to Hayes & Yeading United last weekend, followed by a 4-0 win over newly-promoted side Whitehawk at Hayes Lane on Tuesday night.

Warrilow said: “We’ve got a difficult couple of games coming up against Bromley and Chelmsford.

“Again, I say it every week, it’s the same thing, there’s no easy games in this league.

“The league is a lot more stronger. We’re going to have a hard league this year, not just us but everyone. There’s not one easy game where I think we should get something there.

“Even teams like Concord Rangers (who went up via the Ryman Premier League play-offs) got a point at Chelmsford away and were unlucky by all accounts and lost to a last couple of minutes goal to a decent Basingstoke side.”

Bromley have a team of grafters this season and Warrilow knows what he’s expecting against a side that have not conceded a goal in their first two games.

He said: “We just got to sort ourselves out. We have to defend second balls better. We know Bromley will be a big aerial threat from set-pieces, but we just have to get our own house on order, relax on the ball and get amongst the front two a bit more.

“Just in general try and get some points on the board. It’s still very early days, loads of teams are on 0 points, one point and three etc.

“We don’t want to get caught into a rut and looking for and scrambling for our first point – our first six fixtures are difficult games.

“The fans’ that travelled the other night were brilliant.  Tomorrow I’m sure there will be there again in numbers. They just have to get behind the lads’ and the boys’ have to give them something to shout about as well. It’s a two way thing.

“Bromley are a fantastic club and I’ve got some good friends down there and they’ve got a big 21-man squad down there.  This year they’ve started well and will be on the ascendancy.

“They’ve started well and I’m sure they won’t get carried away with it, like I wouldn’t, because one win will change the picture all together.

“We just have to make sure tomorrow – I keep saying it a lot – if teams are going to score goals, let’s make them work for it.

“We can’t switch off at certain times and that’s what we’ve done and got punished.

“The other night if Mikel put his chance away we would have won the game. We gave the ball away and they go to the other end and they put the ball away. That’s cruel.

“We’ve got to be more lethal in front of goal when the opportunity is there and also we have to do our jobs marking, not just for the first ball, but the second ball when we’re defending set-pieces etc.”

When asked whether he is looking at the Conference South table this week, Warrilow, whose side welcome Chelmsford City to Longmead Stadium on Monday, said; “I don’t really look at them after two games because they don’t take a lot of working out but after half a dozen games I’ll have a look at it.”

But Warrilow has enough quality in his small squad to turn things around.

He said: “We’ve still got a few new lads that are bedding in.  I’ve got three lads who have had a good pre-season, who are waking up their football bones.

“Gary Borrowdale had eighteen months out and is getting stronger and stronger. Nathan Pinney started again last year and he’s getting sharper as he goes on and Phillip Appiah had a year out as well.  They’re all three good players who will get stronger as we bed in as a side because it’s a very good standard that we’re playing in as we’ve found out during the two games.”

Visit Tonbridge Angels’ website: www.tonbridgeangelsonline.co.uk

Bronley  v  Tonbridge Angels
The Skrill South
Saturday 24 August 2013
Kick Off 3:00pm
at Hayes Lane, Bromley, Kent BR2 9EF