The OT’s unbeaten run continued on Saturday with a thrilling Arthur Dunn Cup classic quarter-final away to Old Aldenhamians.
The OTs congregated in the Aldenham sports centre on a bitterly cold afternoon ready to do battle with a side that are effectively 15 places ahead of us in the Arthurian League tables. However, anyone who has seen OT performances of late could see that we are clearly a far better side than our league position would suggest. But we certainly hoped that Aldenham would fall into the trap of underestimating us, as Westminster had done two weeks previously. And if any of the opposition had any preconceptions that a side who are bottom of Div 1 would be a Mickey Mouse outfit, these would only have been reinforced by the farcical pre-match drama that ensued. Optimism and determined focus were replaced by panic as the skipper realised that 3 of our players had not arrived and, to make matters far worse, they had the team kit. Without the kit, the OTs could not take to the field to do a warm up. Instead, the punctual members of the side endured an excruciating wait in the changing rooms, hoping that the kit would arrive, along with our centre back and midfielders. The match was scheduled to kick off at 13.00. Our kit arrived at 13.20.
So with some stretching in the gymnasium and the jog down up to the pitch serving as our warm up, the OTs gathered round for a quick team talk from skipper Atkinson and an isotonic boost from Dixie. Despite our poor preparation, we were not going to be caught cold. With a very large crowd of parents and friends assembled to support a fired up Aldenham, it was clear from the off that they were a very different proposition to Westminster.
Starting around 40 minutes late, the OTs started very brightly with some excellent passing and movement. It was clear from the very start that the match was going to be an incredibly tight affair, with evenly matched teams and no one pulling out of 50/50 challenges. Ed Cloke immediately made his presence felt with a series of powerful tackles on his opponents. In a sign of things to come, Dixie Cook was dominating everything in the air and giving their centre backs a very tough time, linking up well with Dicky T. Both sides had plenty of early half-chances, with some excellent football from both teams. As has been the case in recent weeks, we were causing problems for Aldenham from set pieces. Sam Colley’s delivery was excellent all game and it lead to a snap shot from Dixie that forced a good save from their keeper. Late in the half Duncan Elliott skilfully glided through the Aldenham midfield and, after shaping to shoot, slid a delightful ball through to Dix who didn’t quite connect with his right foot. Had it been on his left, it would have been 1-0 OTs. They had chances too, with Ed Bugge making a smart save from the OA number 7 late in the half.
We went into half time goalless, and feeling confident that we had a great chance of winning the tie. After a rousing team talk and more isotonic rehydration from Cook, we went into the 2nd half knowing that the first 10 minutes were crucial. The injured Will Bryant was replaced by Giles Binnie on the right side of midfield. Unfortunately, the opposition came out of the blocks quicker than us in the second half. Confusion in our box led to Aldenham taking the lead just after half time with a goal that perhaps should have been given offside by new linesman, Taylorson. The goal was a bitter blow and it prompted a period of sustained pressure from Aldenham. Soon after, Aldenham felt they had scored a second goal - but it was chalked off by linesman Taylorson’s offside flag. This decision was met by a torrent of abuse from the rather unpleasant team manager and the baying home fans but was the correct decision.
Tonbridge soon reasserted themselves and Charlie Hill was creating huge problems for their right back. After some slick play Chilli forced his way into the box, knocked the ball past the defender and was scythed down by the goalkeeper. The referee, who it must be said had a good game overall, did not give it and we felt hard done by. We felt even more aggrieved 10 minutes later, when some good skill from Dicky T brought yet another cumbersome challenge from a defender in the box and still we received no penalty. Aldenham were living dangerously, and as the game moved into the last 15 minutes, it was all Tonbridge in search of an equaliser. After a corner from Colley the defender’s clearance ran out to the edge of the box to be met by skipper, Atko, who had a series of scuffed shots rebound back to him and he eventually found himself in front of goal, 5 yards out, with the chance to take the game into extra time. But his shot ballooned over the bar. This miss was followed by Giles Binnie, who had a great game, forcing two excellent saves from their keeper and leaving the OTs beginning to wonder if it was to be one of those days.
However, in the 89th minute Charlie Hill won a free kick and after a melee in the box, the flick-on found its way to super-sub, Taylorson. He held off two defenders to volley a last minute equaliser into the top left corner. Cue hysterical mass celebrations from Tonbridge, followed by the final whistle. Extra time.
With the momentum switching entirely towards the OTs, we dominated all of the early exchanges in the first period of extra time. The opposition were dealt a further psychological blow, with their star player limping off. Our pressure was rewarded after 10 minutes, with a penalty given for a foul on Dixie. He got up, dusted himself off and sent the keeper the wrong way to give us a 2-1 lead and the cup semi-finals were within touching distance.
We defended resolutely for the remainder of extra time and indeed could have added to our tally, with Tennant narrowly volleying over the bar after a superb move. Tom Dye was outstanding all game at the back and with three minutes remaining, we looked comfortable. But, this epic cup tie had yet one more twist and in the 118th minute Aldenham won a corner and sent up their entire side into the box. A short corner, crossed into the box was met by, of all people, the Aldenham goalkeeper. He headed a looping header into the corner of our goal that brought about a pitch invasion by the opposition fans. It was a bitter blow and was soon followed by the final whistle. 2-2 and a replay as Tonbridge.
This was an absolutely cracking cup tie that had everything, played at a high standard and was hugely competitive. We probably deserved to win, but are happy to have them down to The Stadio. We will have a number of players back and we should definitely try to get some supporters down to Tonbridge. Well done boys. This was a fantastic effort.
The replay will be scheduled in the coming days and lets make sure we have a powerful side out. And this time let’s make sure we turn up on time - with our kit.
We have a league game this Saturday and we need to carry this form into our league campaign. We have the players and the form to fight our way out of our league position so lets have everyone available and let the skip know as early as poss that you are available.