Dolby strives for automatic promotion

If Tonbridge Angels convert the chances they have been creating they will have every chance of securing the Ryman Premier League football they crave, claims boss Tony Dolby.

The promotion chasing outfit’s inconsistency was again highlighted by their last two games, losing 3-2 at Croydon Athletic on Saturday before beating Whyteleafe 3-0 on Tuesday night.
 
But player-manager Tony Dolby told the Kent and Sussex Courier that results have not reflected his side’s recent form, adding: “We’ve been creating chances for a number of weeks without getting the rub of the green.”

Angels are currently lying in fourth position but could be one place higher in the table had they beaten Croydon Athletic as had appeared likely in the first half when goals from Danny Glozier and Ray Powell put them in the driving seat.

But Glozier picked up a second yellow card just before the break and Angels’ ten men could not hang onto the victory.

Dolby said: “I thought we were cruising at 2-1, there was only one team that was going to win it.

”We dominated Croydon in the first half but we let them off the hook when Danny Glozier was sent off.  Even then we still had chances to get something out of the game.”

Dolby’s men bounced back with a convincing win at Whyteleafe and he saw signs that his side were looking more clinical in front of goal, leading to hopes they could yet fire themselves to automatic promotion.
 
He said: “I just thought we were solid right the way through the team.  All the units worked well, the front two were excellent, midfield won the battle and we defended really solidly.  It was an excellent team performance.”
 
He added: “Anybody watching us can see from our performances and the chances we’ve created that we’re playing at a consistently high standard but we haven’t been able to convert our superior possession into victories often enough. Hopefully we’ve turned the corner.”

Tonbridge are four points behind Horsham in the second automatic promotion spot and Dolby is confident his men can overhaul the Sussex side – who entertain leaders Ramsgate tomorrow.
 
He said: “We’ve got 67 points, the top two are playing each other on Saturday and we’ve got Kingstonian at home in a couple of weeks and that’s a big game.
 
“There’s no telling what’s going to happen. Until there is mathematically no way we can get automatic promotion we will keep striving towards that.

”If not, we’ll go into the play offs and if we do at least we’ll go in hitting some form but we’ll keep doing all we can do get an automatic promotion.”
 
The missing piece of the consistency jigsaw could have arrived in the form of Alex O’Brien, an experienced 29-year-old midfielder who has signed from Dulwich Hamlet.

Dolby said; “He is a leader, very aggressive, and he mixes it up really well. 

”He’s not a flair player but I think we’ve got enough flair.  He’s a solid guy there in midfield who’ll hold it together and drive us on.  He provides us with a different dimension.”

O’Brien made an assured debut at Church Road on Tuesday night and Dolby will be hoping for more of the same against Molesey tomorrow at the Betterview Longmead Stadium.

Leroy Huggins – now at Maidstone United – scored a bullet header in a 1-1 draw when the two sides met in Surrey in October.
 
TONBRIDGE ANGELS’ RUN-IN
Saturday 1 April:  H  Molesey
Saturday 8 April:  a  Burgess Hill Town
Saturday 15 April: H Kingstonian
Monday 17 April:  a  Cray Wanderers
Saturday 22 April: H Hastings United
Saturday 29 April: a Corinthian Casuals
 

Tonbridge Angels v Molesey
Ryman League Division One
Saturday 1st April 2006
Kick Off 3:00pm
at Betterview Longmead Stadium, Darenth Avenue, Tonbridge