The Angels unbeaten stretch of 6 games came to a rather disappointing end at playoff hopefuls Fleet Town on Saturday. The solitary goal from midfielder James Field, on the stroke of half-time, was enough to secure maximum points for the Hampshire outfit and continue their winning start to the New Year.

Mikele Czanner returned from holiday to replace Dean Neil between the sticks for the visitors whilst the only other change saw player-boss Tony Dolby replace the unfit Danny Lye.

As expected, the home goal was soon under siege with Tonbridge looking the more menacing of the two sides straight from the off. Winger Darren Smith had the first opportunity as he found himself in acres of space in the right hand side of the penalty area. Controlling neatly before drilling across goal, the former Eastbourne man almost picked out Fraser Logan, with what was a rather scuffed effort. However, the young Scot couldn’t reach the ball as it sailed agonisingly wide. Ray Powell was the next to try to break the deadlock but, from a similar position, again failed to hit the target. The shot scraped the right hand upright when it looked to be heading into the far corner. Jay May had two glorious headers midway through the first half but was unable to hit the back of the net. His first, a header from six yards out, was saved on the line by home keeper Justin Gray and his second was somehow cleared wonderfully off the line by defender James Mann. Despite the Angels dominance, Fleet were to go into the interval ahead thanks to their only real effort of note. A clearance from Matt Lewis picked out the skilful James Field who ran onto the ball and unleashed an almighty drive from 25 yards, which left goalkeeper Czanner with absolutely no chance whatsoever.

The second half was pretty similar to the first, in that Tonbridge couldn’t find that breakthrough against a stubborn and resilient home rearguard. Fraser Logan, Ray Powell, Tony Dolby and Jon Heath all had opportunities but it simply wasn’t to be the Angels’ day. In the closing minutes, Lewis almost scored an undeserved second for Fleet, but shot wide when one on one with the keeper.

The Angels’ inability to put the ball in the back of the net cost them dearly on this blisteringly cold afternoon in Hampshire. It was a decent all round team performance with every player putting in maximum effort but it just wasn’t to be. On-loan left-back Danny Glozier scooped the Man of the Match Award for a fine display of attacking and defensive brilliance.

Report by: Gary Cornwell