Tonbridge Angels 0-4 Heybridge Swifts

TONBRIDGE Angels crashed to another heavy defeat as their defence leaked four goals to Heybridge Swifts.

The Angels have now conceded 14 goals in their last four games and remain one of the favourites for relegation from the Ryman League Premier Division.

On this evidence, it is hard to see how Tonbridge will make up the four-point gap to reach the safety zone unless drastic changes are made.

When talent is lacking, as is the case for the financially constrained Angels, passion is what will see a team through a relegation scrap.

With the exception of Tony Dolby, the player-manager, and one or two others, it is difficult to argue with chairman Paul Dainty’s recent assessment that some players do not seem "up for it".

Dolby thundered into two early midfield challenges but instead of spurring his charges on, Heybridge took a two-goal lead inside 11 minutes.

When a spinning ball eluded keeper Jamie Turner, Cliff Akurang took control before being tripped by John Farley as he was in the act of tapping into an empty net from two yards.

Somehow, this was not deemed a clear goal-scoring opportunity and Farley escaped with a yellow card but the league’s leading scorer, Carl Griffiths, slotted home his 21st goal of the season from the spot.

Before the PA announcer could finish saying his name, Griffiths watched as Akurang made it 2-0 after beating Nicky Humphrey for pace and marauding straight through the centre of Tonbridge’s defence.

Heybridge, as most teams would, appeared content to protect a 2-0 lead away from home but they managed a third before half-time when Akurang exploited another gaping hole in the centre of defence, squaring the ball to Griffiths who couldn’t miss from six yards.

Some fans may expect better from a team managed by a player who is primarily a defender himself, but as Dolby points out: "All the talking and tactical nous in the world is not going to prevent basic errors like those."

Danny Lye is one player whose commitment cannot be questioned, though there are better ways of expressing it than the horrendous two-footed jump-tackle he produced in the 54th minute.

The ensuing 22-man melee saw Lye receive an anonymous hand in the face while Swifts skipper Kelly John Pollard was particularly agitated, and had to be restrained.

As with Farley, Lye saw yellow when he could have expected worse, while his victim, Paul Abbott, was fortunately able to continue.

Pollard exacted his revenge in a more telling way, his attempt to turn the ball back across goal from a short corner deflecting in off Turner’s legs to complete the scoring on the hour mark.

As for Tonbridge attacks, Richard Brady came close with a curling first half shot while Leroy Huggins’ flick header was tipped over.

Dolby took responsibility himself in the second half, bursting from midfield to shoot at every opportunity, but Paul Rutherford was never seriously extended.

It is hard not to feel sorry for Dolby who is so clearly frustrated at not being able to transfer some of his drive and determination to those in blue shirts around him.

He said: "The first couple of minutes I’ve put in a great challenge on someone and then got up and smashed someone else. I got up thinking 'we’re in the bottom three, we need a bit of fight’ but it just didn’t materialise and that’s so disappointing for me.

"We’ve conceded early goals so often in the last couple of months. The players are just not learning to defend as a unit and it’s absolutely killing us."

Were it not for the noise created by the 40 or so fans, and one drum, provided by Heybridge, the Longmead Stadium would have been reminiscent of a cemetery on Saturday. Many more performances like this and Tonbridge’s season will soon be dead and buried.

Tonbridge: Turner, Beales, Roser, Dolby, Humphrey (Cramp 51), Farley, Piscina, Lye, Huggins, Brady (May 51), Sodje.

KM-fm sports editor Simon Watts spoke to Tonbridge chairman Paul Dainty after the game…