The game began with some early pressure from Tunbridge Wells but we defended well and had a few chances going forward on our own. Unfortunately they managed to score from a corner early on but we weren’t deterred, as lots of good play down both flanks lead to Joel O’Hara whipping in a low cross that came off a defender and ended up in the back of the net.
Buoyed by the goal, we stepped up our game and were arguably the better side for an extended period. Some heavy challenges were put in by both sides to prevent any more goals, and one such challenge lead to Dan Frith getting quite a nasty looking injury. Playing the rest of the second half with 10 men, we still looked very strong going into the break.
However, a scuffle between the players broke out just after the half time whistle and Jake Davey was shown a straight red for allegedly head-butting another player.
Despite going into the second half with 10 men (Dan Frith being replaced by Reece Allen), we still looked dangerous and Chan Quan nearly put us ahead just minutes into the second half. Tunbridge Wells used the extra man to their advantage however and despite a solid defensive effort and Rob Hambley pulling off some good saves, Wells scored with 20 minutes to go through Curtis George, who was making his debut for his new side.
The last few minutes saw our valiant search for an equaliser go in vain as an Alfie Dean header rattled the underside of the crossbar and looked to have bounced over the line, only for the ref to wave play on. Despite playing brilliantly for most of the game we just couldn’t find an equaliser in time and Tunbridge went home with the points.
Sam Freebody