Tonbridge Angels have received the very sad news that Dave Crush has passed away at the age of 77.

Dave, a centre forward, had two spells with Tonbridge making 183 appearances, scoring 29 goals. 

Crushy, as he was affectionately known, was born in Pembury and started his career at the Angel Ground in January 1966 against Bedford Town. He became a regular in a side that included Malcolm MacDonald.

After a second season, he moved on to Ashford Town where he enjoyed a very successful four seasons scoring 40 times before joining Dover Athletic for a four figure fee for the 1971/72 season scoring 19 goals before, after a couple of months of the following season, a £1,000 bid was accepted for his return to Tonbridge.

In a three year spell, he made 146 appearances scoring 22 times. On 5th April 1975, he was part of the Kent Senior Cup winning side that memorably beat Maidstone United 2-1 at the Athletic Ground, Maidstone.

The season after the cup success, he departed for Maidstone, reportedly with Tonbridge recouping their transfer fee and a little bit more. He spent two seasons at Maidstone before ending his career with spells at Margate, Canterbury City, Hastings United and Ashford, from where he retired from the game in 1984.

To all Crushy’s family and friends, the club offers their heartfelt condolences and our thoughts are with them at this very sad time.