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The Angels bounced back from their midweek defeat at the hands of East Thurrock United in The FA Trophy, to comfortably brush aside a struggling Hastings United outfit. Captain Steve Aris chipped in with a rare double whilst youngster Adam O誰eill scored his first for the senior team as Tonbridge romped home by three goals to one.
Player boss Tony Dolby replaced Danny Lye, who was suspended and youngster Adam O誰eill replaced Luke Piscina who dropped to the substitutes bench. Fraser Logan returned to the starting line-up to replace Leroy Huggins who sustained a hamstring injury on that truly appalling pitch midweek.
Both sides made a decent enough start to the game, trying to show glimpses of the flowing football that has elevated them both to the upper echelons of the league table this campaign. The first incident came after just 10 minutes as Hastings attacked down their left-hand side through Steve Yates. A brilliant through ball released Nima Cham who found himself in a race with the onrushing Jerome John. The midfielder got to the ball a fraction earlier than the former Fisher and Kingstonian shotstopper and was brought down. With Angels fans fearing the worst, referee Steve Briffit from Croydon brandished only a yellow card and surprisingly awarded a free kick rather than the spot-kick. The resultant set-piece from Duncan McArthur sailed narrowly wide. The Angels then took the lead just five minutes later as youth star Adam O誰eill bagged his first for the senior side. Some neat interplay from a short corner between Nick Barnes and Tony Dolby created a lot of space for striker Ray Powell who slotted a low cross for O誰eill to tap in from only a couple of yards out. The home side almost equalised immediately through promising youngster Sam Adams, but his effort was superbly blocked by the retreating Lew Watts. Shaun Loft had a header cleared off the line, whilst, at the other end, Darren Smith almost capitalised on a fumble by goalkeeper John Sullivan. Tonbridge went into the interval a goal to the good.
The second half was a completely different story to that of the opening period. The Angels began to show their class and looked like scoring at every attempt. With just five minutes gone, Tonbridge doubled their advantage thanks to a rare strike from skipper Steve Aris. The home defence did not properly deal with Dolby痴 corner and Aris drilled in a low left-footed strike to grab his first for the club, much like O誰eill in the first half. However, his celebration left much to be desired. Again, United had the chance to reply straight away but again it was the disappointing Adams who failed to get his shot away. Adam O誰eill had an opportunity to grab his second of the afternoon but his effort was weak and easily dealt with by Sullivan, on loan from Brighton & Hove Albion. Substitute Luke Piscina had a couple of chances to make the game safe but drilled both efforts into the side netting. On 82 minutes, Steve Aris popped up again to ensure Tonbridge travelled back to Kent happy and with maximum points. Again, it was from a Dolby corner, this time Aris acrobatically flung himself at the ball to hit the back of the net. Despite a late injury to goalkeeper Jerome John and Lew Watts deputising between the sticks, Hastings were unable to produce anything as The Blues held on for a vital three points.
Angels Man Of The Match went to captain Steve Aris for the unexpected brace which he netted.
Report by: Gary Cornwell
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