4thnov05

Friday 04th November 2005

We will bounce back after our two defeats, insists Dolby

Tonbridge Angels suffered their first two defeats of the season this week but player-boss Tony Dolby refused to be too despondent and vowed his players would bounce back for the important visit of Horsham to the Betterview Longmead Stadium tomorrow, writes Jez Durrant.

Tonbridge were beaten 4-1 at Leatherhead on Saturday costing them top spot in the Ryman League Division One table and then an insipid display on Tuesday saw them deservedly go down 2-0 at home to Whyteleafe.

A tired looking Tonbridge side never really got going and the visitors were worthy winners with two second half strikes. But for the woodwork and the continued excellence of Angels' goalkeeper Jerome John the margin of victory would have been greater.

Dolby told the Kent and Sussex Courier this week, that he and his players would not start to panic following their last two results.

He said: "We look at them as individual games and we did not play well enough. We are not trying to paper over any cracks we just did not play well enough.

"We had a couple of players out and we are going to look to bring in a couple this week to try to freshen things up a bit. We are not going to panic but get back to some hard work."

Tonbridge's lacklustre display on Tuesday could be partly explained by their workload this season after a heavy pre-season. The club has played nearly 25 games already with regular Tuesday and Saturday fixtures.

With no let-up in this in the immediate future Dolby's men are facing a punishing schedule.

Dolby said: "It's been week in and week out Tuesday and Saturday and sometimes we need to work on things during the week. It has been a nightmare."

Following the two defeats Tonbridge remain a point-off top spot as Dover Athletic were well beaten 4-0 at Hastings United on Tuesday night.

Tomorrow the Angels host third-placed Horsham before travelling to Kingstonian on Monday night.

Dolby conceded that it was important to bounce back against Horsham, adding: "On their day they are a very, very good side who could punish us. We need to work hard and get back to our attacking play.

"Picking the boys up won't be hard as we have a good bunch of lads and a good spirit in the camp.

"The last two games have been bad days at the office and we can't dwell on it. We will forget about it and not be too despondent."

Tonbridge Angels v Horsham
Ryman League Division One
Saturday 5th November 2005
Kick Off 3:00pm
at Betterview Longmead Stadium, Darenth Avenue, Tonbridge