In the days when Saturday evenings were spent checking to see if you had eight draws, it was known as a coupon buster. A result so unexpected, it made sure that the pool companies where not paying out the jackpot that evening.
Torquay United came into the game on a run of five straight wins in National League South and standing on the threshold of reaching the top of the league table. There was no plausible reason anyone would marked their coupon with anything other than a home win.
Enter, stage right, Tonbridge Angels, fresh off the bus that had left Longmead at 7.30am, and about to put on a performance that delighted their 31 hardy supporters who had made the longest trip of the season and left their manager, with barely any voice left proclaiming: “I said at Maidstone this was the proudest I’ve been, but this tops it, coming to Torquay and getting a result, another milestone for the club and a result that we won deservedly.”
After a wet few days in the south-west that had brought an element of doubt that the game would go ahead, there were glimpses of sunshine as manager Alan Dunne announced his starting XI with two changes from last Saturday’s side. With Brody Peart suspended there was a start for Ricky Korboa and Tobi Omole came in for Bailey Akehurst, who dropped to the bench.
Tonbridge were on the front foot from the outset, winning successive corners and Bradley Williams seeing a shot blocked. Alarm bells certainly rang for the home side when Naz Bakin smacked a shot against the right-hand post after good work from Kyle Smith.
Torquay’s relief was short-lived though, as the Angels got the lead that their positive start deserved when Tom Leahy was sent clear with a first time touch from Arthur Penney to coolly finish past James Hamon, with defenders vainly appealing for offside.
As would be expected, the home side responded but despite a period of pressure, Laurie Shala, in the Angels goal, wasn’t overly extended and after 29 minutes, Tonbridge found themselves in somewhat dreamland as a long throw into the box was headed on to Leahy who laid the ball into the path of Korboa, who with a swivel, buried his shot into the top corner from 15 yards.
Shala was tested on occasions through to the break, but in truth, he had no saves to make that he wouldn’t have expected to deal with anything more than comfortably.
The Angels goalkeeper did excel though on 56 minutes, with a brilliant save low to his right to turn away a shot from Sonny Lo-Everton.
Just past the hour, the game might well have been made safe as Leahy’s effort drifted agonisingly past the post after a good combination with substitute Bunmi Babajide.
The Angels were continuing to limit the home side to half-chances as Louis Dennis flicked a cross into the welcoming hands of Shala but, despite the pressure, there was the odd foray into home territory as Bakrin and Penney both went close.
Five agonising minutes of added time brought a Torquay goal in the fourth of those as Dennis nodded home Jordan Young’s right-sided cross and hearts were certainly in mouths as Young’s effort cleared the bar before the 31 who sang their hearts out in the face of over 3,000 home fans could drift into the Devonshire evening to celebrate a famous victory alongside, it has to be said, a few players that had decided to make a weekend of it with a well-deserved pint, or two!
Picture: David Brooks
