Hampton & Richmond Borough were held goalless at Beveree Stadium as Tonbridge Angels were 3-0 victors on Tuesday night. Brody Peart opened the scoring early, before Bailey Akehurst and Bunmi Babajide netted against a ten-men Beavers side.
The Beavers lined up differently than they did in their last-minute loss against Bath City at the weekend, with goalscorer Nathan Paul-Lavaly as well as Junior Dixon and Sam Deadfield starting for the side.
The game started with pace, and the Angels pressed hard early on.
Peart found the net in the third minute after he was sent through in the right half- space. He took the ball into stride and beat Matt Rowley with a far post effort.
Up one, the Angels dropped deep and looked to slow the game down, while the Beavers worked hard to equalise.
HRBFC showed glimpses of positivity building up the left side of the pitch with Kai Innocent, Davide Rodari and Dixon linking up in attack.
With the Beavers favouring the left, Paul-Lavaly looked to provide balance on the right hand side. The Bromley loanee was an energetic presence, consistently driving the ball forward with purpose searching for an equaliser.
One of those runs created a dangerous chance around the half-hour mark when the wing-back, streaking up the right side of the pitch, squared the ball to an open Rodari in the six-yard box. An audible gasp sounded around the Bev, but Rodari lost his footing before he could make contact with the ball.
The Beavers looked more dominant as the half ticked on, but couldn’t find that final pass to break down a well-organised Angels defensive line.
The Beavers kicked off the second half with the pace they’d been lacking in the first 45.
The introduction of Craig Fasanmade for Deadfield meant a more attacking approach for the side, with Innocent and Paul-Lavaly sitting higher and wider in possession.
Our number nine’s presence was felt immediately. He fired an effort on target within minutes, following a clever chop to beat his defender.
HRBFC seemed to be getting back into the game, but the Angels doubled their lead on their first attack of the half.
In the 53rd minute, Ricky Korboa found defender Bailey Akehurst with a low cross at the backpost for a tap-in.
The game grinded to a halt after the second goal, and even more so when Harry Thomas received a second yellow card just minutes later.
The defender, who had been booked in the first half, took down Babajide outside the 18-yard-box and was sent off.
Alan Julian looked for new ideas from the bench, introducing George Penn and Reece Grego-Cox, but the Beavers struggled with ten.
Substitute Babajide scored the third for the visitors in the 83rd minute following a build up gone wrong. Innocent’s pass was intercepted, and Babajide, a former Beaver, was found wide open at the back post to tap a cross in.
This result sees Hampton & Richmond Borough fall to 21st in the National League South, just one point behind Slough Town.
The Beavers can return to winning ways on Saturday, as they travel to play 24th-placed Eastbourne Borough before hosting AFC Totton on the 2nd of December.
As always, many thanks to the 386 of you who showed up to support the boys under the lights. We hope to see you next week.
Up the Beavers
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By Nkele Martin