Hampton & Richmond 2 Tonbridge Angels 2

AS FAR as debuts go, Steve Sodje’s first appearance in a Tonbridge shirt will take some beating.

With his transfer from Braintree only completed on Friday morning, the big striker had just one training session to familiarise himself with his new team mates.

That proved more than adequate as he found himself on the end of Steve Searle’s fith minute cross to plant his header into the top left hand corner.

His impact was noticable throughout the game, proving the missing link in Angels’ forward line. He created chances for Brendon Cass where previously the lighter strikeforce has been out-muscled by opposing defenders.

Player-boss Tony Dolby was understandably delighted with his debut and was quick to single out Sodje for praise.

He said: “It was a fantastic goal. He’s big, strong and causes defenders problems. It’s no secret I’ve been looking for someone of his stature and hopefully this is a platform he can build on.”

The early goal shocked Hampton who are unbeaten at home this season.

However, a brief lapse in the otherwise solid Angels defence, including a rare start in that position for Danny Lye, saw Ryan Ashe bundle home an equaliser from six yards just before the break.

And things turned sround just three minutes into the second half when Hampton skipper Jamie Jarvis touched home Ashe’s free kick to make it 2-1 to the hosts.

But despite the setback, Angles continued to threaten each time they came forward and were rewarded when John Farley, on his return from injury headed home a far post corner with 12 minutes remaining.

Both sides had chances to win the game, Cass again in the thick of things with a curled effort going inches over and Drake again producing an excellent reaction save.

“Looking back I feel hard done by because I felt we did enough to win the game,” said Dolby.

“They’ve played 10 home games, won eight and lost none but looking at the game you wouldn’t have known who was top of the league. We looked like scoring when we attacked and looked solid at the back.”

Dolby is upbeat about his side’s potential after their horrendous run of injuries in the early part of the season.

“Steve Searle and John Farley have played today, Patrick Blackman should return this week and Luke will have served his suspension so in a couple of week’s time we’ll have a surplus of players.”

But he told KM-fm he would still like to add depth to the squad...