Ten Men Blues Clip Angels Wings

Grays Athletic 3-1 Tonbridge Angels
Report by The Mariner

A GB Dumaka brace and a Harry Agonbar free kick were enough to see off the Angels but the win was tempered by the dismissal of Jordan Wilson for a petulant kick at an opponent leaving his team mates to play out the remaining 50 minutes with ten men.To their credit the young Blues defended stoutly in the second half to record a win which moved them into the pack chasing a play off place.

Bentley rung the changes for this game taking the opportunity to rest Kenny Beaney and Jay Leader who both dropped to the bench,with Jaoa Carl out through suspension James Stevens and Jordan Wilson came into midfield and Sean Cronin on loan from Wealdstone slotted into the back four.

It was Bentley who registered the first shot on goal in the opening minutes following neat interplay his effort from 25 yards sailing harmlessly over,Okosie for Tonbridge tested Lamar Johnson who saved well,Medlock then saw his shot turned behind by Johnson ,Sobers from the corner seeing his powerful header fly over.

Correy Davidson was beginning to have an influence on the game with his searing pace causing Folkes the Tonbridge fullback real problems and it was in the 11th minute from one of his runs which led to the Blues opener.Davidson outstripped Folkes laying the ball into Wilson who was unceremoniously upended on the edge of the visitors box,Harry Agonbar stepped up and curled a wicked free kick past the despairing dive of Kelly to register his first goal since his return to the club.

The Blues were on top now both Stevens and Agonbar were controlling the midfield looking to turn the visitors back four with a mixture of deft touches and searching long passes,Dumaka latched on to a Wilson pass striking the ball early but failing to trouble Kelly, the same player was unlucky when he chased down a weak back pass touching the ball over Kelly but the uneven bounce robbed him of a chance to get a shot away on target.

At the other end Johnson saved well from a Tonbridge free kick gathering the ball he quickly launched a superb kick to Wilson who sent a searching ball wide to
Dumaka he did well to control the ball under pressure hitting the ball on the run eluding the covering defenders and rolling over the line to put the Blues two up on 35 minutes.

Shortly after came the incident which could have changed the outcome of the game,Wilson appeared to be pulled back by Tonbridge's Parter but Mr .Hillier waved play on,and as the full back pushed forward Wilson aimed a kick at the Tonbridge man which brought the inevitable Red card producing a collective groan from the home fans.

But just 7 minute later the Blues increased their lead,Davidson again doing well getting on the end of an Agonbar through ball his effort was blocked by Kelly but the rebound fell invitingly to Dumaka who gratefully slotted home to give the Blues a vital third goal.

HT 3-0

The Blues now faced 45 minutes with ten men,with this in mind Bentley made an immediate change introducing Nathan Ferguson for Stevens to utilise the extra pace on the counter attack.He made an immediate impact fashioning a corner when tightly marked which unfortunately came to nothing.

As expected Tonbridge began to get on top pushing Grays back as they set about reducing the deficit .The tactic clearly was to move the ball early stretching the homesters midfield.

Blues did well to soak up the pressure reducing the visitors to long range shots which Johnson dealt with comfortable.Despite the early pressure Grays still looked dangerous on the break utilising Davidson's pace which was unsettling the visitors rearguard he was unlucky when he latched on to another poor backpass but Kelly did well to block his effort and the danger was cleared.

Quincy Marfo replaced the tiring two goal Dumaka to bring fresh legs to the proceedings as Tonbridge continued to press for an opening,Manny Parry and Sean Cronin though were forming a formidable partnership considering this was the first time they had played together and Lamar Johnson was particularly commanding decisively attacking the ball in his area.

Tonbridge finally got on the scoresheet in the 80th minute when a cross ball headed down under pressure fell to Bentley who's half clearance rolled out to Medlock his shot beating Johnson via a slight deflection.For Tonbridge the goal was probably too little too late as Blues continued to hold out occasionally launching their own attacks.Kenny Beaney made a cameo appearance at full back for Morrison-Derbyshire allowing Grays to run down the clock to secure another vital three points.

Tonight's win finally saw the Blues league position truly reflect their efforts over the last two months having sat stubbornly in 14th place for so long.A win against basement boys Bury Town on Saturday could further enhance their playoff ambitions however the remaining games will prove a tough examination of their resilience with games against champions elect Maidstone and Hendon amongst others.

At least the next month will provide an exciting time for the Blues faithful,who knows if the team can continue in the same vein as they have since the turn of the year then anything is possible.

Grays Athletic: Johnson Morrison-Derbyshire Siva Cronin Parry Bentley Wilson Stevens Dumaka Agombar Davidson
Subs: Beaney Leader Ferguson Marfo Little

Tonbridge Angels: Kelly Folkes Parter Carey Cox Sobers Elder Parkinson Medlock Whitnell Okojie
Subs: Parkinson Slocombe Taylor Greenidge Milham

Match highlights can be viewed here, courtesy of Kevin James
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O26RiDx1CNE&feature=youtu.be