Kentish Football 
Goalkeeping crisis could force Angels chairman making a comeback - EXCLUSIVE
Thursday 12th April 2007
A goalkeeping crisis at Tonbridge Angels could force chairman Nick Sullivan, 46, out of first team retirement – 13 years since his last first team game for the club, writes Stephen McCartney.First choice stopper Aaron Kerr was ruled out for the rest of the season after injuring his knee during their defeat to Hampton & Richmond last month.
That meant Matt Bromby was called up from the reserves but he suffered a dead leg during last night’s comfortable 4-1 win over Maidstone United as the club reached the Kent Senior Cup final for the first time in 32 years.
Martin Grant, 18, will make his first team debut for the Angels for their trip to Walton & Hersham on Saturday if Bromby fails his fitness test – with Sullivan, who had already signed Ryman League forms before the deadline, on the substitutes bench.
Former England youth goalkeeper Sullivan, however, is no rookie, having played for Arsenal, Sheffield United, Tooting & Mitcham United, Bromley, Dulwich Hamlet, Woking, Welling United and Sutton United before ending his first team career at Tonbridge Angels in May 1994, the year after they clinched the Kent League title.
But Sullivan, who quit coaching the Angels youth sides when he took up his role as chairman two years ago, still plays for the Gunners Veterans side and is travelling to Norway in June to play in a tournament for the legendary side.
Last night’s Stones side consisted of only six recognisable faces and Tonbridge found themselves 4-0 up inside 30 minutes thanks to goals from Ray Powell, a Jon Main brace and Ian Parkes.
Main smashed a 45-year club record to score the most goals in one season when he scored his 41st goal of the season.
But he squandered the chance to equal Jimmy Constantine’s record of scoring seven career hat-tricks for the club, when his 86th minute penalty was comfortably saved by Michal Czanner.Manager Tony Dolby, who brought himself on for the last eight minutes, is facing a selection headache as six players picked up injuries on the rock hard Bourne Park pitch.
Fraser Logan (calf), Robbie Kember (ankle), Steve Aris (nose), John Beales (ankle), Bromby (dead leg) and Matt Lovell (ankle) will be joining Alex O’Brien (ankle) and Kerr on the treatment table tonight.
Dolby, however, hailed their return to the Ryman Premier League “magnificent”.
The Angels have exceeded all expectations this season and actually led the table for three of their first four games.
“I think it’s been magnificent in many, many respects,” he said EXCLUSIVELY to www.kentishfootball.co.uk last night.
“Obviously we want to be challenging (for the play-off’s) right ‘til the end, mathematically we are, so that’s a great achievement in itself.
“We had a good FA Cup run, very unlucky to lose in the Trophy to AFC Wimbledon and now the Kent Cup Final, which is great for Tonbridge.”
The club have just missed out on the play-off’s and are currently ninth in the table – and winning the Kent Senior Cup for the first time in 32 years would be the icing on the cake.
“That’s some statistic,” said skipper Steve Aris. “Everyone’s pleased yes. It’s a day out for us at the end of the season.
“We’re going out to win it so hopefully a bit of silverware at the end of the season would be good for us.
“We started very positively, got a couple of early goals and kicked on from there.
“We came in at half-time comfortably at 4-0 and the game’s over by then so yes, very pleasing result and performance.”
Aris, nursing a suspected broken nose, feels proud that the club have achieved so much in their first season back in the top flight.
“It could have been better,” he admitted. “We’ll look back over the season and it’s been very positive.
“We wanted to consolidate at the start of the season but we’ve done much better than that and we’re disappointed we didn’t put a couple of decent results together to make it into the play-off’s but albeit it’s a good season for us.”
Before their cup final, Angels end their season with three away games, at Walton & Hersham, Ashford Town (Middlesex) and Horsham.
Aris said: “We want to finish as high as we can in the league and to be the highest team who got promoted last year, so it will be a good bonus for us.
“We want to finish with as many points as possible.”
Ashford Town meet Bromley in the other semi-final next Monday at The Homelands, but the former Fisher Athletic central defender wants his hands on some silverware.
He added: “Anyone will do – I’ll hopefully lift some silverware.”
Dolby is looking forward to next season – but admitted he needs to work extremely hard during the summer to ensure this season was not a flash in a pan.
“I think we need to strengthen, obviously we can’t rest on our laurels as the second season is always going to be tougher,” he said.
“I’ll be looking for a good cup run and looking for a very strong push in the league again and who knows?
“I’ve very difficult to say where the club’s going to be. We’ve come on leaps and bounds and I’d like it to keep going forward and don’t just stop still.”
Dolby said last night that he wants the Kent Senior Cup final to be played at Dartford’s stunning £6.5m Princes Park Stadium.
Visit Tonbridge Angels’ websites:
Walton & Hersham v Tonbridge Angels
Ryman Premier League
Saturday 14th April 2007
Kick Off 3:00pm
At Stompond Lane, Walton-on-Thames, Surrey KT12 1HF
Red Dragon I.T. Ltd