Tonbridge Angels 0 Harrow Borough 0

TONBRIDGE extended their unbeaten run to four games in all competitions but had to settle for a draw in a game they largely dominated.

The most unfortunate moment for the home team came on 57 minutes when referee Lee Venamore decided not to award a penalty when Steve Sodje was sandwiched by two defenders, Jesper Nielson and Perry Norman.

The pair were lucky to escape censure after a typical burst of pace and power opened to the path to goal Sodje who was looking to mark his home debut with a goal.

"It was definite contact on me without the ball," insisted Sodje afterwards. "I was one on one with the keeper so I would have carried on. He didn't get the ball. I got the ball and had a chance to score."

Angels' assistant manager Mike Rutherford agreed. He stressed: "I felt the same as everyone in the ground - a clear penalty."

Mr Venamore said afterrwards that he had seen no contact.

Earlier, Danny Lye had seen his header from a very tight angle beyond the far post hit the crossbar from a cross supplied by Anthony Hogg.

Harrow also hit the woodwork, the towering presence of Dean Marney meeting Clemente Lopez's free kick, three minutes after Angels' penalty appeal.

Tonbridge's John Farley had an excellent game, especially in the first half, but let himself down by getting a booking for dissent.

The combination of last week's hat-trick hero Brendon Cass and Sodje did not register a shot on target during the game, though Sodje did make his presence felt throughout.

A third minute challenge on Karamoko left the keeper rattled for several minutes, the Angels number nine then receiving a yellow card for a two-footed lunge on Howard Newton, escaping harsher sentence due to a slight touch on the ball.

After the match, a philosophical Rutherford highlighted the small margins between draws and victories that would convert relegation danger into mid-table security.

He said: "You get tight games like this and you know one or two goals is going to be enough. I felt there was only one team likely to score that goal and that was us.

"We're not happy with our position in the league but we're happy with our performances in recent games. All it will take is a couple of results to get us moving up the league."

Tonbridge's fortunes are now beginning to take a turn for the better, Tony Dolby's imminent return from suspension and Sodje's arrival providing competition for places at both ends of the field.

"In some games this season the team has literally picked itself by who's fit and available," added Rutherford.

"But now players are coming back, we've got choices in a couple of areas and as a management team you can't ask for any more than that."

Tonbridge: Turner, Beales, Roser (c), Humphrey, Farley, Street, Searle, Lye, Cass (Piscina 78), Sodje, Hogg.