Reserves 0 Tonbridge Angels Res 2 Intermediate Cup

[BlueGate Alan]

Margate put up a good performance against a bigger, older and stronger looking Tonbridge side in the semi final of the Intermediate Cup. The first twenty minutes they seemed a bit over-awed and conceded two goals. After that though they played the better football though did find it hard to break through the big solid defence of the Angels.

 

Chris Lewis had the first chance of the match when he fired just over the bar in the 3rd minute. A minute a throw in by Angels reached Josh Biddlecombe who turned and saw his shot come off the side of the left post. Another throw in in the 11th minute, which was allowed to bounce by the Margate defence, fell to Josh Biddlecombe again and this time he fired home from close range.

 

A minute later Curtis Winnett hit a well struck shot but Martin Grant dived full length to clutch it out of the air. In the 18th minute a cross on the left by John Heath we met superbly in the air by the tall Matt Crane who looped his header into the top left corner to put his side well in control. When it could have been easy for the Margate youngsters to buckle to their credit they never gave up the chase and in the 28th minute Winnett hit another shot shot, which just sailed over the bar.

 

Four minutes later Lewis pounced on the ball in the area but his shot was blocked by the Angels defence and also blocked the follow up shot by Joe Taylor. A minute from the break Elliott Payne put over a good free kick which was headed out by the defence but it fell to Sammy Cliff who saw his shot go just wide of the left post.

 

Margate carried on attacking in the second half and just a minute into it Cliff saw his header go past the left post. Payne then took a free kick in 52nd minute and Cliff once again got on the end of it but his flick also went just wide. On the hour Angels had a rare break into the Margate area and Biddlecombe collided with Marc Beresford the ball spinning up to meet the head of Crane who looped a header towards the unguarded goal but from nowhere Beresford made it back and acrobatically cleared the ball off the line with a scissor kick.

 

In the 73rd minute the hard working Dan Stokes went on a run and found Cliff with a through ball but he fired his shot wide of the right post. The last chance of the match fell to Winnett who, once again, hit a powerful shot only to see Grant pluck the ball out of the air right under his crossbar.

 

Team: Beresford, Stokes (Pile 80th), Payne, Harker, Gray, Kecki, Winnett, Taylor (Woodward 73rd), Lewis (44th Axon), Brown, Cliff. Unused subs Vanhinsberg and Noble.

 

Att 68