Tonbridge Angels 1-1 Hayes & Yeading United - We must not lose to sides around us, says Warrilow

TONBRIDGE ANGELS  1-1  HAYES & YEADING UNITED
Skrill South
Thursday 20^th March 2014
Stephen McCartney reports from Longmead Stadium

TONBRIDGE ANGELS manager Tommy Warrilow says his side must not lose to sides around them if they are to avoid relegation at the end of the season.

The Angels remain in eighteenth-place in the Skrill (Conference) South table with 31 points from 30 games, two points clear of the relegation zone with 12 games left to play.

This game finished 30 minutes late due to a floodlight failure in the 57^th minute, which plunged Longmead Stadium into darkness.

Hayes & Yeading central midfielder, Luke Williams, 24, capped off an impressive performance by heading his side into the lead in the first half, before Mark Lovell, 30, scored his eighth goal of the season from the penalty spot with nineteen minutes remaining to give Tonbridge Angels a deserved point.

“To be honest I was happy with the way we played tonight,” said Warrilow afterwards.

“I thought the first half we were totally dominant and what we normally do, we let a c**p goal in and we’re chasing the game.

“I said to the boys at half-time, I’m not having that we’re not playing well.  If anything we over-played.  We got in good areas and too many touches, again the same old thing.  We had to pull the trigger, have shots instead of trying to walk it in!

“We just said second half, let’s just start like we did against Maidenhead and just keep playing, believe and keep passing the ball.

“I thought we could have moved the ball a little but quicker. I thought we could have moved the ball a little bit quicker across the pitch to switch play and counter attacked the wide areas with the full-backs but overall at least we deserved was a point tonight.

“Yes, we did ride our luck in the second half on a couple of occasions but we were looking down the pitch a hell of a lot more than we were looking up it in the second half.”

The Angels went agonisingly close to taking the lead after only 56 seconds on the clock on a wet and windy night.

David Ijaha sprinted down the right and floated over a cross into the penalty area, which was missed by Hayes & Yeading defender Ben Gerring and unmarked striker Nathaniel Pinney stroked his first time right-footed shot agonisingly past the foot of the far post from 12-yards.

“That’s what I mean,” said Warrilow.  “We’ve got to start putting our chances away!

“We even got into good areas where we’re not picking people out with balls across.”

Tonbridge Angels were playing well and went close again in the fourteenth minute.

Ijaha cut in from the left and swept the ball out wide to right-back Henry Muggeridge, who dinked the ball to striker Michael Bakare, who brought the ball under control, turned and hooked his right-footed volley screaming just wide of the near post from 22-yards.

Hayes & Yeading United created their first opening in the 20^th minute when winger Samir Bhoutimine cut in from the left and stroked his shot just past the foot of the near post from sixteen-yards.

However, Warrilow wasn’t pleased with his side’s marking in the build up to Hayes & Yeading’s 23^rd minute goal.

Right-back Jack Mills clipped the ball down the line to striker Freddie Ladapo, who cut the ball back to Mills, who was given time and space to float over a cross towards the far post.

The Angels defence allowed striker Pat Cox space to cushion a free header across the face of goal where the unmarked Williams placed his header into the left-hand corner from six-yards.

“Disappointed with the marking in the box with the first header and obviously not picking the runner up,” said Warrilow.

“That gave them a lit because prior to that we was dominant, playing some good football and we’ve gone one down.

“I’m looking at the bigger picture, not just the goal.  I thought if we got it back down and played again I thought we’d get one back but the longer the game goes on the more you start gambling more but then when you get the equaliser the most important thing is to keep your discipline and keep playing the way that you’re playing prior to it and I felt we put too many bodies forward to try to get the winning goal once we went one-all.”

Tonbridge Angels recovered from that set-back and should have been level within four minutes.

Skipper Lee Browning clipped his right-footed free-kick over the five-man wall and goalkeeper Mikhael Jaimez-Ruiz went down on his knees to fist the ball away to safety.

But the home fans were beginning to get frustrated as their players kept giving the ball away towards the end of the first half.

Hayes & Yeading United created the last chance of the first half when Cox cut the ball back to Frank Merrifield, who cut inside before dragging his left-footed shot past the far post from 20-yards.

Hayes & Yeading United caught Tonbridge Angels on the counter-attack inside the opening five minutes of the second half, when the woodwork prevented a disaster.

Bakare danced his way into the Hayes & Yeading penalty area but he failed to get a shot out from under his feet and the away side broke away.

The impressive Williams broke through the middle of the pitch starting from inside his own half before cutting inside and cracking a right-footed drive from 18-yards, which crashed down against the crossbar with goalkeeper Lewis Carey rooted to the spot.

“We’ve put one across and everyone’s gone in and what teams do, they counter attack.

“When they hit the bar in the second half we’ve had Michael Bakare - I don’t know how many chances he’s had - then Luis got involved and neither’s had a shot and they’ve nicked it off us and that’s from our attack.

“That was the disappointing thing for me tonight was that we got caught. We had stopped that in our game but tonight I think we’re a little bit too excited going for the win.”

Hayes & Yeading United broke away again after Angels’ left-back Nathan Green trod on the ball after he crossed the halfway line and Williams was given another licence to stride forward.

Williams cut the ball across the box but the ball bounced off Ladapo’s chest at the near post and Carey gathered the loose ball.

Tonbridge Angels were to be denied an equaliser in the 56^th minute when Lee Browning swung in a free-kick from the left and Luis Cumbers’ powerful header from six-yards was brilliantly saved by Jaimez-Ruiz, who dived to his left to parry.

“He’s made a few good saves tonight the boy to keep them in it,” said Warrilow.

“The longer it goes on the more frustrated everyone gets but like I said to the boys we deserved at least a point.  I thought we were the better side over 90 minutes but we were chasing that goal.”

However, the stadium was plunged into darkness just 58 seconds later and referee Carl Brook took both sets of players off the pitch and the crowd of 273 waited patiently for the game to restart some 30 minutes later.

Warrilow admitted the break in play came at the wrong time for his side.

“Massively for us because we were on top,” he said.

“We started the second half and it was one way traffic. Attack after attack, they won it and cleared it and we get it and went back for another attack and then the floodlights went out but to be fair to the lads when the floodlights went back on we picked up where we left off.”

Once play restarted, Tonbridge Angels were to be denied again by the 29-year-old visiting goalkeeper.

Cumbers whipped in a cross from the right which bounced into the penalty area and struck Pinney on the head, the ball looping towards goal the corner, which forced Jaimez-Ruiz to dive to his left to palm the ball away.

Warrilow said: “He didn’t really get hold of it though did he?

“Pinns is disappointed with the connection he made and it was a comfortable save for him in the end.  We should be working him a little bit better than that.”

Tonbridge Angels accepted their lifeline in the 71^st minute, as leading goalscorer Lovell converted the penalty to give them the goal that they deserved

Muggeridge cut in from the right, played the ball into the penalty area which was flicked on by Ijaha and Bakare’s feet was taken from underneath him by Gerring after he attempted to play a reverse pass to put Pinney through on goal.

Lovell stepped up and stroked his right-footed penalty just left of centre, beating the former Dover Athletic goalkeeper, who dived to his left.

Warrilow added: “Delighted.  We was hoping to give that a springboard to go on and perhaps get another one.”

Hayes & Yeading United were to rue some decent opportunities as they went on to try to score the winner to avoid only their third league draw of the season.

Williams was given the opportunity to run at the Angels defence again, this time drilling his left-footed shot across Carey and past the far post.

Ladapo then cut the ball back from the right but Williams’ poor first touch saw the ball bounce off him and flash wide of the near post.

But Carey produced a brilliant treble save to keep the point in tact in the last 12 minutes to thwart Bhoutimine, Ladapo and Cox.

Warrilow added: “Lewis’s made a great double save at the end there.  That sort of sums our season up. If we had let that in I think it would be very harsh for us tonight to lose that game 2-1 but Lewis’ pulled off two good saves and we deserved that because we didn’t deserve to lose this game tonight.

“A point for me is at least what we deserved out of it.”

Tonbridge Angels extended their unbeaten run to three games and travel to second-from-bottom side Whitehawk on Saturday, before hosting third-from-bottom side Gosport Borough to Longmead Stadium next Tuesday.  Both sides have 29 points to their name.

Warrilow said: “Listen, if we had won tonight, I said to the lads, I wouldn’t worry about it.  We’ve still got 12 games to go. There’s still loads of games to go.

“The most important thing is not to lose to the sides around you so no one gains anything.  If you’re not going to win, you have to settle for a point.

“Overall, tonight, I was happy with the way we tried to play.”

Looking ahead to their trip down to Brighton on Saturday to play Whitehawk, Warrilow expects, “Another battle. They’re not a poor side by any means.  They drew with Ebbsfleet the other week. I know they lost to Eastleigh in the week.

“It’s another game that we’ve not lost tonight. We’ve just got to keep the momentum going of not losing games and taking our chances and if we do that we’ll make life a hell of a lot easier for ourselves.”

Tonbridge Angels escaped relegation with 48 points last season and when asked what target he has set to ensure Conference South football is played at Longmead Stadium for a fourth season next August, Warrilow replied: “There’s 12 games left. I want 36 points. That’s the target.  I think it’s a bit of a dangerous game to start predicting. Everyone says it’s 45. Yes, it might be, but what I don’t want to do is you get 45 and then the boys think they’ve got their target so 12 games, I want 12 wins. It’s as simple as that.”

Tonbridge Angels: Lewis Carey, Henry Muggeridge, Nathan Green, Mark Lovell, Sonny Miles, Jon Heath (Gary Elphick 36), David Ijaha, Lee Browning, Nathaniel Pinney, Michael Bakare, Luis Cumbers (Alex Teniola 74).
Subs: Ryan Watts, Charlie Slocombe, Scott Chalmers-Stevens

Goal: Mark Lovell 71 (penalty)

Hayes & Yeading United: Mikhael Jaimez-Ruiz, Jack Mills, Adam Everitt, Matt Harriott, Ben Gerring, Dean Inman, Frank Merrifield (Rashid Yusuff 62), Luke Williams, Pat Cox (Ben Brown 88), Freddie Ladapo, Samir Bhoutimine.
Subs: Brandon Goodship, Kamaron English, Charlie Crowley

Goal: Luke Williams 23

Booked: Dean Inman 86

Attendance: 273
Referee: Mr Carl Brook (St Leonards on Sea, East Sussex)
Assistants: Mr Peter Georgiou (London SW17) & Mr Andrew Williams (Pinner, Middlesex)