ALTHOUGH not much can be read into pre-season results, Saturday's creditable goalless draw against League One outfit Brentford gave Angels manager Tommy Warrilow a great sense of satisfaction.
The whole day could be considered a success with a decent sized crowd, 486, turning up to see how the new look Angels lined up for the first time and to welcome back former player Leon Legge to the Longmead, who played 24 minutes after coming off the bench. Brentford were suitably impressed and have indicated they plan to return to the Longmead in the future.
Angels played well in patches, especially in the second half, and six of the new signings made their debuts alongside the players that have remained from last season, so it will undoubtedly take a little time for everyone to gel.
"I was more than happy with what I saw on Saturday," Warrilow said. "It was our first match and I didn't want us to lose three or four nil, but I thought we more than held our own against a pretty much full strength Brentford side. The performance could have been better, but for the first match I was quite happy.
"In the first half, they had the lion's share of possession and we were kicking into a bit of wind so it was always going to be difficult.
"However, we came into it more in the second half and could have perhaps snatched a goal. It was good to give some minutes to some of the players on the bench and I thought they did well when they came on."
He praised the defence for their performance, including Scott Kinch, and said that this is an area he is looking to improve on after last season's somewhat disappointing goals against tally.
With Lee Worgan away on holiday, Warrilow called in a favour from his friend Gary Wilson at Eastbourne Borough, drafting in Seb Barton to fill the void. New signings Peter Hawkins, Danny Walder, Lee Browning, Jacob Mingle, Frannie Collin and Jake Beecroft all got a starting place. Jon Heath, Scott Kinch, Liam Harwood and Paul Booth made up the rest of the team.
Brentford were the better of the two teams in the opening half, with Booth and Collin, who had some elegant touches, nullified by the well drilled defence.
Barton saved well at his near post from a close range header from Myles Weston 10 minutes before the interval, but in truth Angels defended well as a unit throughout the match. Hawkins and Harwood striking up an almost instant understanding and Heath was his usual consistent self.
Angels picked up the tempo in the second half and nearly took the lead in the 53rd minute. Beecroft's corner from the left found an unmarked Harwood, but his goalbound header was blocked on the line.
Charlie MacDonald nearly profited from a generous decision from the linesman, he came back from an offside position, but his 68th minute shot, perhaps rightly, bounced off the post.
Kinch nearly scored a spectacular goal seven minutes later, when he let fly from 25-yards, however the effort went narrowly wide of the far post.
Warrilow made a number of changes in the second half with triallists Anthony Joseph, Ryan Rook - brother of prolific striker Carl making an appearance, along with Paul Semeluka - impressive with his distribution. Jack Brivio and Matt Hollyoak all got minutes to impress.
Kirk Watts came on and treated the crowd to a show - beating his full-back on several occasions, but Sonny Miles, who was nursing a jaw injury, was not risked.
This Is Kent
Midfielder David Hunt reckons he can become a regular scorer from set-pieces if he gets the chance.
The 27-year-old curled home a 25-yard free-kick in Wednesday night's 1-1 draw with Wycombe Wanderers, to register Brentford's first goal of the pre-season schedule.
Hunt was not a regular starter last season, but found the net three times - including one direct from a free-kick in a memorable 2-1 win over Norwich City.
The arrival of Toumani Diagouraga last week on a permanent basis intensifies the competition for places in the midfield engine room.
And while boss Andy Scott has craved more goals from set-pieces, Hunt is confident he can deliver .
"I've scored about six goals from free-kicks so I'm pretty used to taking them and used to scoring," he said.
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Staines Town landed a pre-season scalp as they ran out 3-2 winners over Brentford in front of a crowd of 700 at Wheatsheaf Park last night.
Swans manager Steve Cordery introduced new signing Warren Harris, snapped up from neighbours Ashford Town (Middx) ahead of the match, while Bees boss Andy Scott fielded a new side featuring plenty of familiar Griffin Park favourites.
Brentford's former Watford custodian Richard Lee was beaten inside the first five minutes.
But Bees levelled eight minutes later when Michael Spillane rose majestically to head home Sam Saunders' corner.
Swans were soon back in front when Leroy Griffiths' corner was floated deep to the back post for Marien Ifura to head back across goal and in at the far post.
The match was held up for 10 minutes when Bees teenager Jack Ward suffered a suspected broken leg after falling awkwardly.
When the game resumed, Griffiths was unlucky when his low drilled strike smacked off the foot of the post with Lee beaten.
Staines netted a deserved third goal midway through the second period when the effervescent Griffiths looped a clever finish over the head of Lee and his defenders after the striker had pounced on a mistake at the back.
It was only in the last quarter of an hour that Bees started to grab a hold of the game, Staines having made seven changes.
With Leon Legge pushed up front, their pressure was brought to bear when Saunders smashed a terrific free kick into the top corner.
Swans boss Steve Cordery said: "We played some good stuff.
Your Local Guardian
Blues boss Gary Waddock has further strengthened his squad for the forthcoming campaign with the capture of Brentford centre-back Alan Bennett on a one-year deal, wwfc.com can reveal.
The Irish defender enjoyed two loan spells at Adams Park last season, playing five times in his first spell before returning for the final game of the campaign, in which he scored in the 3-0 victory over Gillingham.
Bennett becomes the eighth new player to join the squad ahead of the 2010/11 season and will be looking to replicate the success of his last spell in League Two, when he captained Brentford to the title in 2009.
Aged 28, Bennett is set to feature in Saturday's pre-season friendly at Adams Park when the Blues take on Reading, the club with whom he began his career in English football after moving from hometown club Cork City.
Gary Waddock said: "We've been looking for a centre-back after Hinsh (Adam Hinshelwood) retired and Benno fits the bill perfectly. We know about him and what he will bring to the group.
"I'm looking forward to working with him again."
Official Wycombe Wanderers Website
ALAN Bennett has become the fourth player to make the switch from Brentford to Wycombe Wanderers.
The defender played five times for Wanderers last season before a loan spell was cut short by an ankle injury.
The 28-year-old returned and scored in the 3-0 home win over Gillingham in the final game of the season in May after falling out of favour at Griffin Park.
He joins former Bees teammates Nikki Bull, Danny Foster and Ben Strevens in making the switch to Wycombe and has signed a one-year deal.
Blues boss Gary Waddock has made no secret of his desire for a fourth centre-back after Adam Hinshelwood was forced to retire and may give Bennett a run-out in the pre-season friendly with Reading at Adams Park on Saturday.
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