Blues stretch National Champions
Our two Over-60’s teams started the Second Phase of the Kent League on Monday night at Longmead. Both teams put in excellent performances with the Blues being narrowly defeated by Bexley and the Greens getting their first points of the season against Anchorians.
Angels Blues 1-3 Bexley Reds
National Champions Bexley visited Longmead bringing their strongest team including three England Internationals. They are unbeaten in the League and most Cup competitions for many years so it wasn’t a surprise they had a strong start ¬†pushing the Angels back. As the game developed we gained possession and kept it very well without creating any chances. But a neat passing movement in midfield gave top scorer Nigel Bragg a half chance which he took from long range giving us a 1-0 lead at half time.
The second half started much as the first with Bexley playing a fast but accurate passing game to pull the Angels formation around. Some harsh refereeing had left the Angels teetering on the brink of a “running penalty” and this gave Bexley the edge. Their class eventually came to the fore with an unkind bounce giving them the chance to equalise then a sharp move split the Angels defence to allow them to go 2-1 up. As the Angels pushed for the equaliser the referee gave another running office to ensure Bexley had a penalty to round off a 3-1 win.
A great performance from the Angels and POTM was Mike Hurn our reliable keeper who produced some great saves especially in the second half when the pressure was on.
It was encouraging to hear the Bexley team congratulating us on the performance and saying the two games against us this season have proved their most challenging over recent years.
Report from Glyn Hodges
Angels Greens 2 – 0 Anchorians
The Greens took on Anchorians in the first game of the Plate segment of the League at Longmead on Monday.  
We agreed a proposal from Anchorians to play seven-a-side rather than the normal six-a-side. A decision which ultimately suited our style of play. We used a 2-3-1 formation with Rene and Kevin starting at the back and a formidable midfield of Zep, Gordon, and Daryl with John G upfront. 
The first half was very combative, and Anchorians made quite a few tackles from behind. We were very solid in defence, and Jim had few saves to make. It was 0-0 at half time. 
In the second half, Terry came on for Kevin. Both provided really solid defensive contributions. As the game opened up with both teams pressing for a goal, our midfield gained more control. We found that a fast release of the ball from Jim to John or midfielders by-passed Anchorians midfield, and we created shooting chances. John and Gordon scored both goals with powerful shots. We could have scored more, but Kevin came back on for Zep to shore up the defence. Jim made one really good goal bound save in the latter part of the second half. A really good long-awaited win. 
 Report by John Battershill
