Tonbridge Angels Ladies wrapped up a highly successful 2018 on Sunday, comfortably seeing off Sittingbourne by six goals.

With a number of recent postponements, it’s been difficult for the Angels side to gather any sort of momentum but those fears were brushed aside with a sparkling first-half display in which the hosts chalked up six goals without reply.

The result means the side go into 2019 with three cup quarter finals to contest and also remain in the top three of Division One East having recently beaten both sides above them at home.

With the curtain being brought down on such a successful year, it was perhaps fitting that the show would be stolen by the team’s top scorer in 2018, Becky Janes, who scored her eighth hat trick for the club and took her all time tally over the 50 mark in the process.

Janes opened the scoring in the 11th minute, a simple tap-in after Becky Mackley had broken clear of the defence and played a pass across the goal. Kelly Moran doubled the lead on 23 minutes, curling in a free kick from 25 yards out.

Eight minutes later it was 3-0, with Mackley again setting up Janes to score, and in the 39th minute Mackley took her turn to score to make it 4-0.

There was now an air of ruthlessness about Tonbridge as Janes completed her hat trick on 41 minutes and Mackley made it 6-0 with a minute of the half remaining.

With rain falling in the second half, the Angels were unable to replicate the rhythm that had brought them such a large half-time lead and were unable to trouble the scorers further.

Sittingbourne to their credit had regrouped and put in a stronger performance, and could have reduced the deficit late on but for some excellent last ditch goalkeeping by Helena Fothergill, who has now kept three clean sheets in four months against the same opposition.

So Tonbridge are through to the KCFA Women’s Plate Quarter Finals, for which we await the draw, The side are back in league action on January 6th when Glebe are the visitors to Hadlow College.

 

Tonbridge team: Fothergill, Weston, Smith, Moran, Lyons, Burton, Underhill, Povey, Janes, Walker, Mackley.

Subs all used: Gibb, Gilden, Foster, Syrett.