The first game of the season was a long time ago now as Tonbridge Angels and the Fleet once more cross swords, with the 2021/22 finish line fast appearing over the horizon. The first Kent derby of the season is also the last as two clubs who know each other very well meet again.
And to all intents and purposes, both sides know their immediate fate. Fleet will contest the play-offs, though the exact nature of how is still up in the air, while Tonbridge will surely once again play National League South football next season, though the mathematics of that are not quite yet cut and dried.
So while some of the big questions have been answered, there are still big points to play for. The Fleet will seek to keep a third-place finishing position in their own hands by taking maximum points at Longmead, while the same result for the Angels (or anything that betters Billericay’s result at Bath) will be enough for Steve McKimm’s side to absolutely guarantee survival.
Dennis Kutrieb expects another different type of game as Fleet have shifted from Dulwich to Concord and now to Tonbridge, each with their own characteristics and gameplans.
And the boss doesn’t think the Fleet’s opening day win over Tonbridge will play any part in the rematch eight months later. “It was the first game, everyone was flying from us,” he said. “They couldn’t handle us because they were not aware what to expect and we were on top. But obviously, Tonbridge are a good side now and have nothing to do with relegation and that’s well-deserved. They’ll know what to do to combat us. They will be different to Concord but we might need to expect a similar game and so we all need to perform to our levels and keep this run going.”
The run of three consecutive wins should see Fleet home and dry in third place if they can repeat that over the next three or four games. Fleet are second only to Maidstone in the form table but will be fully aware of how this division respects no such table once the whistle blows.
Tonbridge, by contrast, have won only one of their last six and McKimm blasted his players for the nature of their recent defeat to Slough. They responded on Monday with a good away point at Dulwich and were denied all three points only by a last-minute Danny Mills equaliser.
The Angels haven’t had an awful lot of change in their squad since their visit to the Kuflink Stadium in August and the bulk of likely starters this weekend will be much the same as the side that appeared last summer. There are some new additions, however, with defender Teddy Perkins arriving from Welling and former Maidstone striker Jake Embery also in the door.
Former Welling hotshot Adam Coombes is another new face and he’s scored four times since his arrival but the chief danger man remains Tommy Wood, who scored Tonbridge’s winner at the Kuflink Stadium in 2020/21. He has 12 goals to his name this season and has attracted interest from other clubs, though he is described as being only “50/50” to make an appearance, having missed last week’s game at Dulwich.
Tonbridge also have the option of another former Maidstone face, Ibrahim Olutade, who scored their only goal on the opening day of the season at the Fleet.
Longmead has been hosting some big crowds this season with Kent derbies against Maidstone, Dartford and Welling all in four figures. Some 954 visited for the last home game v Slough and Angels’ average is hovering around the 850 mark, so another decent turnout is expected – with Fleet fans likely as ever to travel in good numbers.
This will be the Fleet’s 47th visit to Tonbridge though the first league meeting there since 2014’s 2-0 win over then manager Tommy Warrilow’s Angels. This calendar year, McKimm’s side have lost only two at home in the league and held National League opposition in the form of King’s Lynn Town and Bromley to draws in the FA Trophy before those games went to penalties, so on their own patch and with survival to absolutely confirm, it’s sure to be another engaging encounter on the last straight to the finish line.
