On Saturday, the curtain will fall on season 2024/25 with the visit of promotion-chasing Boreham Wood to the Halcyon Wealth Longmead Stadium.

Our own aspirations for the match may only extend to the possibility of a top half position with Scott Wagstaff seeking a first win in his five game reign as caretaker manager. “The pressure’s off us a little bit but we’ve been putting the pressure on ourselves to do a job and make sure we do everything right because a lot of these boys are out of contract in the summer so they need to perform,” Scott told Kent Online.

Boreham Wood, perhaps, started this season as the favourites to win the title having been relegated after nine seasons in the National League and, as fate would have it, they still could. The maths seem simple, but they are far from it! For our visitors to win the title they firstly need to win the Longmead encounter, but, should that happen, their attention will turn to see if Worthing and Eastbourne Borough have failed to win and both Torquay United and Truro City have lost. If they win and two of the above happen they will not be promoted on Saturday but they will avoid the play-off eliminator. But, of course, Tonbridge Angels might be the proverbial “fly in the ointment.”

Luke Garrard returned as manager in September just five months after leaving the club. His first spell lasted 18 years in various roles and there seems little doubt he is the best and most successful manager Boreham Wood have ever had. As well as three play-off campaigns he brought the team success in the FA Cup, reaching the third round and a tie against Millwall in 2021, and a remarkable run to the fifth round in 2022 which included a win at AFC Bournemouth and a 2-0 defeat to Everton.

This season their league position has ranged from 11th to top, reaching the summit for a few days in August and then for a couple of spells in January but a run of four defeats in five games in late January and February dented their chances of going up as champions. However they come to Longmead Stadium on the back of four straight wins.

Their squad is an impressive one but two names leap out. One is Kwesi Appiah, who is in a race with Truro’s Tyler Harvey and Eastbourne’s George Alexander for the Golden Boot and took the majority of the awards at the club's Player of the Year event. The other is Matt Rush, a one time Angel loanee, who has 17 goals for his previous club Maidstone United and Boreham Wood combined.

This season’s reverse fixture, just prior to Christmas, brought a hard-earned draw with Ronny Nelson scoring our goal, only to be quickly equalised by Lee Ndlovu, who has since left the club. This will be Boreham Wood's first visit to Longmead since the opening day of the 2013/14 season when the they left with a 2-0 win in which Matthew Ball scored both goals. Our last win over the Wood came in September 2012 when two early goals from George Purcell helped the Angels take the spoils.

Admission prices for Saturday’s game are: Adults £17; Concessions £14; Youths £7 and Under-12’s free with accompanying adult with tickets available HERE. 

Gates open at 1 pm with the Sports Bar and Marquee Bar open from the outset with special offers of two pints of Aspall for £9 or two pints of Carling for £8. The Tea Hut serving burgers, hot dogs, butties, hot and cold drinks and Fries Like An Angel, serving all your favourite loaded chips are also open from 1 pm. The Pie Shack opens from 1.30 pm. After the game, the Marquee will be holding an End of Season Party which will include the Happy Hour, with £1 off all pints of draught lagers and ciders and the special offer drinks price continuing. On the big screens will be the FA Cup Semi-Final between Crystal Palace and Aston Villa.

Saturday will also see the launch of Tonbridge Brewery’s Connor’s Ruby Ale. The Brewery has teamed up with Chasing Connor’s Cure to raise important funds that support the vital research and trials for those with Duchenne, a Muscular Dystrophy condition. Connor was diagnosed in 2016 and his parents, Matthew and Emma, have been raising awareness and funds since then.

Enjoy a couple of pints of Connor’s Ruby Ale in the knowledge that you are helping to accelerate research to save Connor and others like him. Connor loves to DJ and will perform a set in the Marquee prior to the game.

Last word goes to Scott: “I know management is something I definitely want to do in the future.  I'm not sure if I'm ready for it yet, but after the last few weeks I've definitely got the bug for it.  Maybe after a year's more experience of dipping my toe into the water as well as playing, we will see, although largely it's up to the new manager. There's a discussion to be had there, but I want to carry on playing. If it's for Tonbridge, brilliant, I've loved my time here and I'd love to stay, but let's see what comes up.”

Picture: Wes Filtness