Tonbridge Angels ultimately couldn’t carry over Saturday’s momentum in their first home game of the season at Longmead, but came close many times, with the luck just not on their side, writes Max Meads.

The opposition, a newly-promoted Lewes, fielded a relatively young squad, with beloved ex-Angel Luke Blewden in the starting XI. Lewes players also not unfamiliar with Longmead were goalkeeper Lewis Carey and winger Billy Medlock, who started on the bench.

After a quiet opening 5 minutes, Lewes started to get the better of the Angels, with Jack Parter, Craig Stone and Arthur Lee called into action early to clear dangerous crosses. A foul by Parkinson in the 14th minute raised the pressure, but the resulting free kick was poor and was seen out by the Angels with little effort. Lewes came close again in the 21st, but the resulting corner was seen out by Tom Beere.

Around 25 minutes in, both physios were called upon, with Lewes forward Jonte Smith and Angels centre-back Arthur Lee both requiring treatment. Lee was briefly seen to on the sidelines, but played on.

At the half hour mark, Joe Turner was able to send some lovely crosses into the box, but unfortunately neither came too close to going in. New signing Jared Small was involved in a challenge in the Lewes box and was forced off in the 35th minute, with recently signed trickster Adem Ramadan taking his place. Ramadan made a quick impact with a cross on the right wing that the Lewes defenders had to work for.

In the lead up to half time Tom Beere was fouled, and while his subsequent free kick had plenty of power, it did not result in a goal. Just one minute later, Lewes managed to break through on goal, leading Jonny Henly to keep it out with a deflection off his face.

Arthur Lee was subbed off just before the second half, with Tommy Whitnell talking his place. Tonbridge looked brighter in the opening minutes, with Joe and Adem causing problems for Lewes defenders. Lewes came close twice in the 57th minute, but both were seen to nicely.

A good build up by Tonbridge in the 65th minute saw Carey called upon, with the subsequent corner also coming close to breaking the deadlock. 10 minutes later, Alex Read made way for Liam King as the final Angels sub. King made an instant impact, making a good run to set up Beere and Ramadan in the box.

Henly was called upon in the 86th minute, making an excellent diving save to keep the score level. Two quick corners by Tonbridge were not enough to win it in the final moments unfortunately, and the game finished 0-0.