Tonbridge Angels 0 Bath City 0 match report: Jay Saunders’ side continue their unbeaten start to the National League South season
Published: 17:00, 24 August 2024
Updated: 17:01, 24 August 2024
Tonbridge remain unbeaten in National League South after drawing with Bath at Longmead.
Angels kept their first clean sheet of the season, keeping a highly-rated away side quiet.
But they couldn’t unlock the door at the other end as the match ended goalless.
Captain Scott Wagstaff returned to the XI after being rested against Chelmsford as Angels set about continuing their good start.
There were few chances at either end in the first half.
Tonbridge were patient in possession, keeping the ball down and working it wide to Mo Dabre and Liam Vincent on either flank, but the final ball - be it a pass or a cross - wasn’t quite there to trouble the City defence.
Angels’ best opening came midway through the first half when Dabre pounced on a loose ball and raced in on goal.
He perhaps could have taken the shot on himself but tried to square for Trevan Robinson and the ball was cut out.
In the last action of the half, Jamie Fielding saw a header drop wide from a Sean Shields corner after climbing highest in the box.
For the Romans, a dangerous Jordan Alves ball across the face of goal was dealt with by the home defence and, from the resultant corner, Sol Wanjau-Smith’s effort from the edge of the box was blocked.
Latrell Humphrey-Ewers’ first-time effort from distance flew over, while Scott Wilson’s strike trickled through to Angels keeper Toby Steward.
The hosts’ back three continued to look nice and solid after the break, giving them a platform to build the play from, but clear-cut chances remained hard to come by.
There was an opening for Bath, however, when Angels keeper Toby Steward made a poor connection after coming out of his area to clear the danger.
The loose ball fell to Reuben Davies but he still had a bit to do and fired wide.
At the other end, Shields - now wearing the armband after Wagstaff went off - had an effort blocked after Ryan Hanson and Crossley Lema combined.
Shields was almost in on goal moments later after a bright run through midfield by Jeremy Santos but a well-timed tackle stopped him in his tracks.
With just over 10 minutes left, Taylor Maloney - Wagstaff’s replacement - threw himself in the way of a Wanjau-Smith strike to keep the hosts’ clean sheet intact.
There was a late opening for the hosts with Lema’s ball across goal crying out for a finish.
Tonbridge: Steward, Lema, Hanson, Nelson, Dabre (Santos 56mins), Robinson (Clarke 71mins), Fielding, Vincent, Bakrin, Wagstaff (Maloney 63mins), Shields. Subs not used: Tyrie, Abraham.
Bath: Wiles-Richards, Grimes, Batten, Parselle, Wanjau-Smith, Humphrey-Evans, Wilson, Clark, Tillson, Davies, Alves. Subs not used: Sardo, Fisher, Sweeten, Morgan.
Referee: Morgan Conn.
Attendance: 791.
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Craig Tucker