An apology.
First of all I have to apologise as this will not be a match report that I'd normally write, thank heavens for that I hear you cry, as I was not able to attend the match in person. Therefore, it will be more of a review of the build up to the game during the week, with some match details put in after talking to people and reading the various social media comments of the game itself, mostly from Twitter.
When Carlos Tevez left Manchester United and joined Manchester City, the blue half of the city became very active in welcoming him to the Etihad Stadium by paying for billboard advertising, thus allowing the United manager, Sir Alex Ferguson, to coin the phrase "noisy neighbours", and there's no doubt our very own neighbours are, indeed, very noisy.
It can't be argued that they have more supporters attending their games than we have attending ours, they are more vocal than we are at their games due to their South Stand Choir, whilst we have more of a Main Stand Whimper, however, our fans are just as passionate as theirs, we just go about things in a different manner.
Their fans were far more active on Twitter than ours during the build up to the game, all friendly I must add, whereas it was a more low key approach from everyone associated with the Crows. After all, there's no right or wrong when it comes to supporting and promoting your club, as long as it doesn't go overboard and become offensive or aggressive, something I'm pleased to say never happened.
They definitely tried to galvanise their troops for this game, as they looked to put one over their nearest neighbours and have at least some bragging rights over us to cheer them up, after what has been a disappointing season in all truth for them.
As for us, we are roughly where we thought we would be at this time of the season, occupying a mid-table position, therefore, whilst you go out to win every game, a draw, win or defeat will not mean a lot of difference as we head towards the end of the season.
The same could be said for the Wells as well, they are not likely to get relegated due to the form Holmesdale FC have displayed throughout the season, although if they get many more results like the one they gained away at Beckenham Town on Saturday, a 5-1 victory, that situation may change.
Therefore, bragging rights were really the only thing on offer for the fans and probably those supporting the Wells felt that they were favourites for the game, even though the league table tells a different story, especially when a few of them were predicting a 2-0 win for the team from the Culverden Stadium.
Our fans are probably in the older age range and we don't have as many young supporters as the Wells do, therefore, past experience has told us that you don't crow about things too much before the event, as too much self confidence and self promotion can often come back to haunt you, as a couple of Wells' fans might have to admit on Easter Monday when they play away at Sevenoaks Town.
Apparently, following their Easter fixture at home to Sevenoaks Town, where the Wells won 1-0 last season, a couple of them bet £50 each with the Sevenoaks Town manager, Micky Collins, that his side will never finish higher in the league than Tunbridge Wells FC.
It would appear with Sevenoaks Town on a 10-match unbeaten run and riding high in the league, that bet will be lost and they will duly have to hand over the £100 to Micky Collins either prior to, or just after, their Easter Monday game.
As for our game against them on Easter Saturday, it's probably fair to say it was not a classic, hardly surprising due to the strong wind, the pitch conditions and to what the fixture meant to the respective players and fans from both clubs.
From what I read and heard, the match referee was determined to keep a firm grip of the game from the start, with Barton, twice, and Butler, both getting a talking to for challenges he thought warranted having a word in their shell-likes.
In the end Shea got the Crow's first yellow of the day, not the most likely person you'd have expected it to go to, for his first tackle of the game. The referee had now set the benchmark for the rest of the match inside the first 15 minutes.
Wells then suffered an injury blow, Seenan having to go off injured after 20 minutes, Nwoko replacing him and two minutes later, the first shot of the game came from the home side, however, Moore's effort went well wide.
At the same time, the Crows had to make a substitution as well, Waterman going off injured and being replaced by Sinclair in the 22nd minute, not a bad replacement to bring into the fray.
On 31 minutes the first real clear chance of the match fell to Mici, following great work between himself and Biddlecombe, however, Mici's header was saved by Lawrence in the home goal.
Moore then became the first Wells' player booked after 33 minutes and just after Ridley was inches away from putting a Biddlecombe cross into the net, so near yet so far.
In the 40th minute our former captain, Jason Barton, picked up a yellow card and before half time, Wells had a chance which went well wide and Crows had another chance, a bobble didn't help Ridley too much though and therefore, he scuffed the chance.
The referee then decided to even up the yellow card score, making it 2-2, when Biddlecombe saw yellow just before the break for a late challenge, therefore, as the players went off and the fans headed to the bar, it was 0-0 and all still to play for.
There was a definite surprise at half time as Barton was replaced by Ikpeme for the Wells as the second half was starting, whether it was due to an injury, tactical or because he'd been booked is not clear, however, it definitely buoyed the Crows and probably handed the match initiative to the away side.
The Crows took a firmer grip on the game as the half moved on, Mici having a free kick saved by Lawrence, then Biddlecombe goes close but his effort ended up in the side netting, then in the 60th minute, Ajala was replaced by Parsons as the home side looked to try and get back in the game.
The home fans will say that the game changed in the 64th minute when Moore received his second yellow card for bringing Mici down and therefore, he had to leave the field as the referee waived the red card in front of his eyes.
Whether it made any difference to the result overall is pure conjecture however, what can be said is that if you are on a yellow already and you are aware the referee is prepared to show any player a yellow card for anything that resembles a bad challenge in his eyes, you have to be judicious when deciding to make a tackle, something Moore did not take into account.
The only goal of the game arrived in the 67th minute, a ball was played over the top of the home defence and Biddlecombe was able to smash the ball into the roof of the net from a tight angle, much to the delight of everyone associated with the Crows.
Biddlecombe also had a couple of further chances to increase the lead whilst at the other end, Collick never had to make a save, I'm sure he never expected it to be that quiet before the game actually kicked-off.
In the 78th minute Clarke replaced Shea for the Crows and then in the 80th minute, Carrington came on for goal hero Biddlecombe as the Crows went in search of a second goal to seal the three points for sure.
Butler then incurred the wrath of the match referee as he received a yellow card and even then the referee was not finished brandishing the yellow card to three more players, Ikpeme seeing one in the 87th minute and Spackman following him in the 90th minute for the Wells and then Carrington saw it for a challenge as we headed for the final whistle.
In the end a 1-0 win for the Crows, the three points and the bragging rights head back to East Sussex and will remain there until the fixtures come out for the 2016/17 season and we play each other again when I'm sure the pre-match hype will be even greater next time.