National League South, Longmead Stadium, Saturday 10 August 15.00 BST
Welcome back, Terras fans!
For our first game of the 2024/25 National League South season, we travel to the South-East part of the country to face Kent outfit Tonbridge Angels, as we look to get our league campaign off to a bright start.
Despite our mixed pre-season, Mark Molesley, has remained calm ahead of this weekend, as he insists the key thing for our players is to just “keep improving.”
However, an opening-day victory on Molesley’s first full year as a Terra, since the 2019/20 season, will certainly give our travelling supporters something to cheer about.
We face a Jay Saunders-led side who, after ending up just two points ahead of us last campaign, also aim to improve on their previous mid-table finish.
There will be hopes of revenge amongst those who featured in this fixture last time round, where we were unanimously considered unlucky to walk away empty handed after the hosts had secured a 2-1 victory.
HOW TO FOLLOW…
Saturday’s 3pm kick-off will be broadcast HERE online. Viewers can sign up and pay a total of £10 to view the game.
Though live commentary will be unavailable via our website, you can follow the action via our social media channels. Footage and exclusive reaction will also be uploaded online after the final whistle.
THE OPPOSITION…
One of the league’s familiar faces, this will be the sixth successive year that The Angels have had a firm seat in England’s sixth tier.
The Kent outfit returned to “Step 2” of English football after their 2013/14 relegation saw them in the Isthmian League Premier Division for five seasons.
Tonbridge had previously played in the National League South before their slump, having been promoted ahead of the 2011/12 season, the first time in the club’s history.
Their relative lack of success may be a surprise to some, given their rich record of past players.
The Angels boast famed footy legends such as ex-England international Malcolm Macdonald, Aston Villa top-flight-winning manager Ron Saunders, and former England manager Roy Hodgson, to name a few.
With having such superstars in their half of fame, the hosts will be hoping that their 12 new additions can make a similar impact.
One of those signings is former Terra Nazir Bakrin, who made three appearances for us last season, scoring once.
Bakrin won’t be the only familiar player on Saturday; tricky winger Sean Shields could also feature for the hosts this weekend.
The former Terra, who plied his trade in Dorset between 2020 and 2022, came back to haunt us last season with a fabulous free-kick to give his side the lead in a 1-1 draw.
Overall, the team’s league standings reflect mid-table mediocrity, earning an average position of 14th since their return to the National League South.
Though they will be looking to make an improvement this season, the mighty Terras are certainly confident they can be the devil that haunts The Angels’ start to the campaign…
HEAD-TO-HEAD…
Having played 52 times against Saturday’s hosts, this is a fixture that is rich in history.
Our 23 wins, compared to Tonbridge’s 16, may naturally allow fans to assume that we head into this weekend’s match as favourites.
However, with only one victory in our last five, three points versus Saunders’ side has been hard to come by of late.
Our sole win, however, was an emphatic 5-0 result at Longmead Stadium, our first victory during Bobby Wilkinson’s spell at the club.
Keelan O’Connell scored one of many that day; his position as joint-third goalscorer in this fixture suggests where the difference could be made on Saturday.
The other time our exciting winger found the net against The Angels was also on the opening day, at the start of the 2022/23 season, where his consolation was not enough to prevent the opposition heading back to Kent with all three points.
The score line may have been a different one, had the venue not been changed at the last minute, due to delays regarding the opponent’s pitch.
Luck has continued to be on their side ever since; the last contest between these two sides resulted in a 2-1 Tonbridge victory.
Despite skipper Tom Bearwish’s equaliser, and our numerous chances in the second half, Brooklyn Lyons-Foster’s winner ensured we headed back to Dorset empty-handed.
But, if one thing is for certain, the hosts will not be allowed any fortunes this time round.
As our gaffer told us this week, the most important thing is to make sure we leave Saturday’s game “better than when we arrived into it.”
