Dover Athletic 0 Tonbridge Angels 1
A sweet finish from Jephte Tanga early in the second half was enough for Angels to see off ten-man Dover in a feisty Kent derby at Crabble.
Tanga’s low shot past Mitch Walker was the difference between the two sides as Alan Dunne’s men recorded their second win and second clean sheet on the road.
And there can be no doubt that the turning point of the game was the dismissal on the stroke of half-time of ex-Angel Naz Bakrin who received his marching orders from referee Fabio Roque incurring the wrath of the Dover fans and manager Jake Leberl.
Dunne made two changes to the side narrowly defeated by Torquay on Saturday with Jordon Thompson and Bunmi Babajide coming in for Harry Gardner and Harvey Lintott in what appeared to be a 4-2-2-2 starting formation.
With Sam Corne still short of match fitness and Thompson given his first full start of the season, Lexus Beeden retained the captain’s armband.
With Dunne’s side attacking away from the noisy Angels fans segregated at one end, early exchanges suggested a tight encounter.
On 22, referee Roque booked Bakrin for a foul on Angels striker Frankie Baker. Angels best effort soon followed after some fine wing play by Tanga who cut in from the left flank and sent a low shot inches wide of Walker’s left-hand post.
Jake Leberl’s men came perilously close to opening the scoring just after the hour mark. Jack Bates crossed, de-Carrey Sheriff rose to head the ball goalbound but the ball struck Luke Baptiste meaning Nathan Harness was able to save.
Another ex-Angel Sonny Fish went down on 38 and after a spell of treatment had to be replaced.
This meant an additional eight minutes times in the first half. Four minutes in, ex-team mates Ethan Sutcliffe and Bakrin tussled in what looked a fairly innocuous coming together. Yet Roque saw fit to book both players meaning a second yellow for Bakrin who was subsequently ordered off.
At half time, Dunne brought on Gardner for Jaden Brown as Angels sought to press home their advantage.
And they did precisely that on 53 when Tanga, on the right flank, capitalised on a defensive error. The lively paceman made space for himself and fired in a quality low shot which beat the sprawling Walker and nestled in the far corner.
With Angels now attacking towards their own fans, Tanga was able to receive the deserved acclaim from the travelling contingent at close quarters.
Dover’s response was immediate and, now attacking their own fans and despite their one man deficit, they poured forward in numbers and won a succession of corners.
Harness, however, was in good form and dealt with everything that came his way.
With twenty minutes left, Dunne made a judicious substitution replacing Babajide with ex Dover man Alfie Pavey who did precisely the job required of him.
Shortly after, Gardner had a decent effort punched away by Walker but then found himself in the book for the third time this season just after. He made good headway and reached the edge of the box but went down too easily after being clipped and Mr Roque booked him for simulation.
Dunne threw on Paul Osew for Ricky Korboa as Angels continued to thwart a spirited Dover side.
There was just time for Harness to make another important save and then go into the book for time-wasting.
Mr Roque’s final blow of the whistle signalled an important three points for Alan Dunne’s side and the management team and players celebrated with the fans in the away end.
After the game, Dunne told Angels Media: “I’m really pleased to get another away win and a second clean sheet. It wasn’t easy by any means and you know it’s always going to be tough coning to Dover but I thought overall we deserved the win.
“I said to the boys at half-time to keep going because I thought we’d eventually crack them and that is what happened. Credit to Dover though because they never gave up and made some chances.
“We weren’t perfect by any means but we got the job done and we now move on to Saturday and another difficult match against Truro.”
Angels: 4-2-2-2 Harness; Sutcliffe, Thompson, Beeden (cap), Akehurst; Brown, (Gardner), Bullas; Tanga, Korboa (Osew); Baker, Babajide (Pavey)
Subs not used: Burford, Lintott, Cockerill, McDonald
Photographs by Dave Couldridge
