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Tonbridge produced the perfect response following their FA Cup defeat by winning at Chelmsford last night.
Angels were back in National League South action just two days after going down 7-0 at home to Bradford City.
If it was still playing on anyone’s minds it certainly didn’t show as Steve McKimm’s side won 2-0 with goals from Tom Parkinson and Tom Beere.
McKimm was glad to be back in action so quickly and delighted with his players’ response.
He said: “We made a couple of changes, just to freshen things up a little bit, and everyone stood up and did what we asked of them.
“We said to them on the pitch after the Bradford game it’s done, there’s no point dwelling on it, get your heads up and your chests puffed out, you’ve played a side that’s absolutely dominated you but you’ve given it your all.
“We didn’t want to get beaten like that in front of everybody on TV and our families but that’s football.
“The best thing to remember is the next game and we've won at Chelmsford for the first time in 50-odd years.
“You’ve got to have a strong mentality. Yes, we’ve been bashed, but put it out of your heads and concentrate on what really matters, which is the league.
"I was glad to have another game so quickly, so we didn’t have all week to dwell on the FA Cup before going into training.
“You talk about getting back on the bike and going again.
“I know my players inside out, I know how strong they are and how determined they are.
“I knew Saturday would have hurt them and the best way to deal with that is to come out fighting and that’s exactly what they did.”
It was just a fourth league game of the season for Tonbridge, given their cup exploits, with victory moving them on to six points in 11th spot.
McKimm said: “Our job is to get enough points to stay in this league. We need to do that before we look at other targets.
“Six points from four games is an improvement on last year and we’ve got to keep trying to improve, which is what this team does.
“I couldn’t be happier with the way we’re applying ourselves.
“There’s going to be stages where it’s horrible, and we’re going to come unstuck a few times, we just need enough points to make us comfortable in this league and the sooner, the better.”
McKimm was pleased for goalscorers Parkinson and Beere as the pair continued their return from long-term ankle and knee injuries respectively.
It was Parkinson’s first full match since March last year, and he opened the scoring, with man-of-the-match Beere clinching the points.
McKimm said: “Both are coming back to full fitness and it will still take a little while to get that match fitness they need, but they’re not far away. It’s like having two new signings.”
One downside from last night saw centre-half half Arthur Lee taken off with a knee injury. Angels fear there could be ligament damage.
