Ide Hill bounced back from their disappointing Bank Holiday loss on the road at Ten-Em-Bee with a well-earned point on Saturday afternoon, thanks to a pair of cracking goals from Barry Ryan on his first appearance of the season.
After four wins on the spin, Monday’s loss threatened to ruin the mood of the season but Ide Hill put in a much better all round performance in a gruelling game which both sides could have won. The visitors started well, George Kensell running through in the opening minute and hitting the side netting and Callum Heath and Jamie Fearn driving the team on as Ide Hill looked for the goal their early play deserved.
Sam Heasman started in an unfamiliar striking role and his performance was full of hard running and energy, he stung the keeper’s palms with a rasping drive on 15 minutes and watched another cut back from the by-line well saved.
Just as Ide Hill looked like they would take the lead, they fell behind, a sucker punch of a counterattack despatched by Ludgrove after 20 minutes. The goal came right in the middle of Ide Hill’s best spell of the game and they drew level shortly after in spectacular fashion. Shaun Boyle, who tormented his opposite number down the left flank all afternoon, floated a cross field through ball all of 30 yards to Barry Ryan on the edge of the box. Rather than controlling, Ryan watched the ball come over his left shoulder and struck a volley into the top corner for an early goal of the season contender.
Ide Hill looked to kick on from this moment of brilliance to take a deserved lead into the break; Fearn saw a cracking free kick just saved from the edge of the box and numerous goalmouth scrambles pass without a goal. Just before the break, however, Tudor’s Abel Olatunji cut in from the wing and looped into the top corner from nowhere to take Tudor in 2-1 up.
The visitors, shocked to go in behind, showed good mettle after the break, pulling themselves back into the game with admirable guts and it was Ryan who struck the deserved equalizer on the hour; the effervescent Boyle fed him once more from the left, tricking his way down the wing and finding Ryan in the box. The big striker’s touch seemed to have popped up and away from him but his second was rapier sharp, firing another fine volley, this time with his left, into the bottom corner.
The rest of the game largely failed to match the chances of the first as both teams struggled to break through, although Tudor could have snatched it in the final minute when they saw a shot rebound off the post.
Ide Hill stay in fifth in the league, taking a strong 10 points from their opening five games. Next week they make the long away trip to New Romney who are similarly placed.
