Salisbury City 1 Tonbridge Angels 0

TONBRIDGE'S survival hopes took a massive blow as they lost their relegation six-pointer against fellow strugglers Salisbury City.

Defeat leaves Tonbridge seven points from safety with 12 games to play but player-boss Tony Dolby is refusing to bow to the increasingly unlikely odds.

He said: "It’s definitely not over yet, not by a long way. We’ve got a lot of games to play against teams who are down the bottom. It’s our job to win all the games that are winnable. That’s all we can do."

Craig Davis’ eighth minute goal was enough to give City the win, but it was a goal to sum up the Angels’ disappointing season so far. A long ball out of defence was not properly cleared by John Farley and as Davis ran through, he appeared to control the ball with his arm before firing past Jamie Turner.

However, neither the referee nor his assistant were in a position to see the infringement and despite the Angels’ protests, the goal was allowed to stand.

In truth, this was not the main reason for the defeat as the team who fought back so magnificently to beat Folkestone, failed to create the necessary chances to win this crucial battle.

On Saturday, Dolby came the closest to an equaliser when his inswinging free-kick came back off the inside of the post, eluding all the would-be goal poachers in the area.

But other than threatening at set pieces, the boggy pitch and gusting winds did not lend themselves to the fluent football Tonbridge tried to play.

Jamie Turner was forced into a smart save from Robbie Matthews as the Whites looked to double their advantage in the first half. Angels responded with Dolby hitting the post and then shooting straight at Kevin Sawyer when well placed on the edge of the area.

Tonbridge played with the wind in the second half but lacked spark as they succumbed to their 15th defeat of the season.

"We huffed and puffed but really didn’t create enough chances," was Dolby’s frank assessment of his side’s performance.

"It was a scrappy game all round in difficult conditions. We had a lot of possession but even with the wind at our backs we couldn’t create enough."

Tonbridge: Turner, Wilson, McNamara, Dolby, Beales, Farley, Roser, Lye, Huggins, Brady, Barnes.