Tooting and Mitcham United 2 Balham 1
Combined Counties - 27/12/2025
Report by: Ed Parlett
Match Report
Christmas wouldn’t be Christmas without a local derby on the football pitch, and the latest Northern Line Derby provided plenty of thrills and spills to keep the holiday crowd entertained before the majority were sent home happy with three points in the bag.
Balham were straight on the attack, and almost in front before a home player had touched the ball; straight from the kick-off a searching long pass found Yona Emhatsion breaking clear of the home defence, forcing Toby McKimm into a smart stop to keep things level.
Thereafter, the first half was largely dominated by a Tooting side determined to send the departing Shay Brennan (heading for the far-east for work reasons early in the new year) off in style; a great run and cross from Geovanni Johnson was met by Shay’s header, but he could get neither power or accuracy and the ball went narrowly wide.
Half-chances fell to Max Oldham (shot blocked), Geo (shot deflected by his own team mate, wide) and Antonio Simeone (header over) before Max had the clearest sight of goal yet, but could only stab the ball weakly wide when well placed.
Pressure finally told as Tooting found the goal their dominance deserved; a strong run and cross from the right from Ash Sheppard was sweetly finished off in typical fashion by Shay’s well-placed one touch finish.
Tooting remained on the front foot for the remainder of the half, with ‘visiting’ keeper James Smith taking the ball well right under his crossbar from an inswinging corner, and Alex Cruickshank almost ending proceedings running on to a fine through-ball from Darral Wopara, before slipping the ball past Smith but also past the post.
Balham showed we could take nothing for granted though; a routine clearance was shanked by Toby straight to Emhatsion, but the keeper immediately redeemed himself with a smart stop with his left foot to ensure we departed for the break with our advantage intact.
This was a proverbial game of two halves, as Balham emerged for round two with a renewed sense of purpose. A freekick lofted into the box was headed (not out of danger) by Antonio Simeone almost out of Toby’s hands as the keeper looked set to gather; Balham skipper Piers Oldland tried to chip an equaliser but (thankfully) could only lift the ball onto the roof of the net.
They were on terms ten minutes into the half; Ash Sheppard and Rylan Withers tussled on the edge of the box, with the Balham man going down and referee Sobastian Frazer pointed to the spot. James Anderson calmly tucked away the penalty, and it was 1-1.
Balham pressed, and really should have taken one of the chances they created in the next fifteen minutes, as the home defence rocked precariously; it was difficult to see where a winning goal was coming from as the Terrors looked out of ideas in attack, but thankfully Geovanni Johnson had the answer – driving forward after seizing on a loose ball in midfield to fire home a dramatic winner from distance as the game entered the last ten minutes. Thanks, Geo!