Tonbridge Angels Ladies made great strides in their bid to secure a top-two league placing on Sunday, by beating closest rivals Long Lane Development 2-1 at Kidbrooke.
A number of players had fallen ill during the week but fortunately the Angels were still able to field a near-full strength squad while the hosts had faced similar problems leading up to the game and as a result were only able to field ten players on the day. However those ten were more than a match for the Tonbridge squad who were made to battle for all the points right to the end.
One gamble was made in selection with defender Flo Anastasiou switched to right-wing, this paid off in the 26th minute when Lauryn Underhill played the ball across for Anastasiou to curl a shot in off the far post from the angle, her first goal for the club.
The scores were levelled within six minutes as a momentary lapse of concentration at the back allowed the home team back into the game. Underhill looked to have shrugged off a marker inside her own half only for a strong tackle to see the ball cleared behind the Tonbridge centre-backs, and the Long Lane forward finished cleanly from a one-on-one with Sam Wright.
Tonbridge regained the lead just before half-time when Nancy Syrett’s corner was collected by Becky Janes, who found the bottom corner from 15 yards out.
It had been a high-tempo first half but the pace of the game slowed significantly in the second and clear-cut chances were few and far between for either side. This suited the Angels perfectly, defending a narrow lead against ten players, and their best chances came from counter-attacks, but a strong showing from Lorrie Hyland in the Long Lane goal prevented the visitors from extending the lead.
The 2-1 win means the Angels now require just three wins from the last five games to guarantee themselves a top two finish. There’s no game next Sunday afternoon, and the team now has a fortnight to prepare for a Kent County Plate Quarter Final at home to Glebe on January 21st.
Team: Wright, Foster, Syrett, Moran ©, Lyons, Fothergill, Anastasiou, Smith, Akehurst, Janes, Gibb. Subs: Underhill, Jarvis, Archer, Weston.