We've got good players who can handle the pressure, says Alex O'Brien

TONBRIDGE ANGELS’ MUST win their final league game of the season at Horsham tomorrow to ensure they have home advantage in the Ryman Premier League play-off’s next week, writes Stephen McCartney.


The Angels are desperate to clinch promotion into Blue Square Bet South along with champions Sutton United and their trip to fifth-from-bottom Horsham must be won or they could even face dropping out of the play-off picture all together.

Tonbridge Angels sit in second place with 73 points, followed by Bury Town (73), Lowestoft Town (72) and Harrow Borough (72).

Sixth-placed Kingstonian (71) and Canvey Island (70) are both ready to pounce.  Unfortunately there will not be a second Kent club in the play-off’s, as Cray Wanderers (68), in eighth place, narrowly miss out.

And no disrespect to Bury Town or Lowestoft Town, but no-one from Kent wants to travel up to Suffolk for a football match on a Tuesday night, so it’s important for the Angels to finish in second, to have a chance to stage both the semi-final and the final at a passion filled Longmead Stadium.

No pressure then for manager Tommy Warrilow and his players.

”It will be pressure, but if there wasn’t that pressure, football would be boring,” replied assistant manager Alex O’Brien.

”Great football players deal with pressure and we’ve got some good football players and they have to deal with being second in the league and going up.

”It’s one of those, it’s a lovely pressure.  It’s pressure our boys’ are relishing to be honest. What will be will be and tomorrow all we can do is set them up right and be organised, tell them about the opposition and the rest is in their hands.  There’s not a lot you can tell players going into the last game.”

O’Brien added, “We want to get into the play-off’s and go up via the play-off’s – that’s our target.

”We’ll go there tomorrow doing the same thing that we’ve been doing.  Hopefully that sees us through and get second spot and then we deal with who we may or may not get after that. 

”It’s very tight.  When you look at the teams in and around it we know if we drop points like we did the other week, you could be out of it.  There’s pressure to go to Horsham and get a win.”

It’s certainly going to be a nervous time at Gorings Mead tomorrow, with the mobile phone companies making a killing as fans want to know how other football matches are progressing.

”Horsham have got nothing really, really to play for but it’s all about us and people will be looking at us and seeing how we’re doing at half-time and full-time and I’m sure they will be texts and phone calls flying around the grounds,” added O’Brien.

Jamie Cade, who resides in Tunbridge Wells, plays for Horsham and he wants to dent his former club’s promotion hopes, by scoring, if comments on fans’ forums are to be believed.
 
But O’Brien said, Whether it’s me or ”Tom, it doesn’t matter who we’re playing.  Nine times out of 10 we know five or six of the (opposing team’s) lads anyway so we’ve had that all season.  We’ve had people wanting to beat us for some reason.  There’s not a dislike, but a nice rivalry against us and that’s fair enough.  We wouldn’t have that any other way.

”I’m sure John Maggs’ boys’ will come out firing and looking to prove a point.  It’s a little bit of pressure for us to deal with that and carry on and we’ll do things that we’re good at – creating, keeping clean sheets and winning games.”

But it’s vitally important that the excellent Longmead faithful keep backing their players – rather than abusing former players.

O’Brien said, “They’ve been fantastic.  Myself, Tom and the club, we can’t thank them highly enough.  They was fantastic again at home to Hastings and they didn’t stop signing or banging drums and we just want a good game for them tomorrow.

”We want a big week for them the following week.  99.9% of the fans have been absolutely spot on from the start, where we had a sticky patch from going out of the FA Cup all the way through to last weekend.  They’ve been absolutely fantastic and the boys’ relish it.”

The Ryman League said last night that club’s may switch their play-off final games by 24 hours to Sunday, 8 May.

“The league’s board of directors have agreed that clubs may choose to stage their play-off finals on Sunday May 8 by mutual agreement,” said a statement.

”The finals are currently scheduled for 3pm on Saturday May 7 but clubs involved in the semi-finals have until Tuesday lunchtime to discuss the possibility of a switch with all their potential opponents.”

But Tonbridge Angels chairman Steve Churcher is having none of it.

He said today, “The play-off teams have to contact each other after the games tomorrow to decide when the play-off final is to be played.

”For the record (and should we be fortunate to be in the final), Tonbridge Angels Football Club would have no desire to play the final on a Sunday!”

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

Horsham  v  Tonbridge Angels
Ryman Premier League
Saturday 30^th April 2011
Kick Off 3:00pm
At Gorings Mead, Horsham, West Sussex RH13 5BP