Jay May popped up with an equaliser deep into stoppage time to salvage a point the Angels rarely looked like getting in a rather dour season opener.

With Danny Lye suspended and Mike Cramp injured, Dobla played himself in a three-man central defence with skipper Steve Aris and John Beales. Ian Parkes slotted into midfield alongside Nick Barnes and Tim Hambley. May and close-season signing Warren Haughton were preferred up front, with Leroy Huggins and Luke Piscina on the bench.

Tonbridge opened brightly, Ray Powell's shot after a nice move down the right being bravely blocked by Fleet skipper Steve Noakes - but Andy Sinton's side stole the lead on six minutes. "JJ" Jerome John could only palm out a teasing right-wing cross into the path of the onrushing James Rose, who guided the ball home.

The Angels pressed for a leveller but lacked cohesion, and were kept out with relatively few alarms by a well-marshalled Fleet defence in which Donovan Chislett was outstanding. Nathan Smart and Phil John showed the visitors were still a threat on the break with efforts which flew too close to JJ's goal for comfort.

Tonbridge created their only real chance to level on 28 minutes, but Haughton, Craig Roser and Hambley all somehow failed to get on the end of "Razor" Powell's cross and Fleet went into the interval a goal to the good.

Piscina was introduced in place of Parkes for the second half. Roser nipped in to intercept a back header early on but stabbed his shot just wide, and the game gradually resumed it's first half pattern. A moment of Piscina magic nearly pulled the Angels level on 71 minutes, Luke sidestepping a couple of defenders on the edge of the box and being unlucky to see his drive crash off the underside of the bar to safety.

Bernie Asante should have sealed it for the visitors late on. A two-on-one break with Phil John left him with JJ at his mercy in the Tonbridge goal, but the Fleet sub made a comical hash of the finish. It was to prove costly, May's cross-shot finding the corner of the net at the death to get the Angels out of jail.

Report by: Tony Browne