“We’ve got a lot of local lads, no-one comes from far here, everyone’s within twenty minutes and that fosters a good relationship within the squad really. They understand how important the [Sevenoaks] game is, how important it is for the club and the (supporters) and that’s been driven into them all week.”
- Martin Larkin, First team manager.
Tunbridge Wells got in Sevenoaks’ faces from the first whistle to the last, and the visitors just couldn’t live with the passion all around the Culverden Stadium pitch, wrote www.kentishfootball.co.uk.
The home side created a couple of half-chances, which weren’t taken by Keelan Mooney and Powell, before they took a deserved sixteenth minute lead.
Sevenoaks left-back Michael Cook was sloppy when his attempted header back towards his goalkeeper Sean Funnell failed to find it’s intended target. Instead Powell pounced onto the loose ball and hooked his shot past the stranded keeper and the ball bounced into an empty net.
Despite playing poorly, Sevenoaks did go close on three occasions during the first half, but the Kent League’s leading goalscorer, Bill Shinners, was denied on three occasions by goalkeeper Michal Czanner and a couple of goal-line clearances.
Tunbridge Wells did have a second goal ruled out - an offside flag had already been raised by the time Powell had headed past Funnell, following Carl Cornell’s header across the box after Alex Rich’s right-wing cross.
Powell was a menace to his former side all night and he really should have wrapped up the victory early in the second half but he powered Mooney’s cross from the left over the crossbar from just six-yards out.
But Sevenoaks Town clawed themselves back into the game, levelling through Chris Walker’s eighth goal of the season, after 57 minutes. Following a trade-mark long throw from Jamie Johnston, the home side didn’t react when Joe Minter had time and space to whip in a cross from the right and nippy left-sided winger Walker was left unmarked at the far post to power a header past the exposed Slovakian goalkeeper.
Czanner was penalised for handling outside his penalty area as Shinners pressurised him, but Minter’s driven free-kick from inches outside the box (in a central position) was blocked by Czanner, who made amends.
Sevenoaks keeper Funnell made his best save of the match halfway through the second half when Andy McMath’s free-kick was met by the unmarked Powell and his bullet header was destined to find the bottom far corner, but the keeper got down low to make a first-class save.
Sevenoaks didn’t really look like scoring; the closest that they came was when Fotana’s drive from distance bounced into Czanner’s arms.
But Tunbridge Wells claimed the morale-boosting victory in the final four minutes, which inflicted a third straight defeat on their local rivals.
McMath floated a free-kick into the Sevenoaks penalty area and Johnston was penalised (and then booked) for pulling down Tom Davey at the far post.
McMath sent Funnell the wrong way with an expertly taken right-footed penalty and Larkin was full of praise for his two goalscorers.
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