Tooting and Mitcham United 1 Bromley 1 (Tooting won 8-7 on penalties) – 10 February 2026 Report

Match Report

On a night of high-drama at Imperial Fields, a battling Terrors side emerged battered and bruised, but ultimately triumphant as they saw off Football League opposition to take their deserved place in the last eight of the London Senior Cup for the second successive season.

OK, this was a long way from Bromley’s first-team with our fellow south Londoners fielding a side of young hopefuls, but the calibre of professional club’s youth set-ups is evidenced by the fact that the last seven finals of this competition have been contested by at least one club from the Football League, with Charlton Atheltic’s youngsters being victorious in successive seasons (2022/23 and 2023/24) and Brentford also lifting the trophy in 2021/22, and being runners-up to Hanwell Town (our quarter-final conquerors) last season; (Tooting & Mitcham’s last triumph, five years ago now, saw the Terrors overcome AFC Wimbledon in the final, of course).

On this night, the Terrors could have been buried by half-time – as the confident Bromley youngsters surged forwards seemingly at will. Chances aplenty were carved out by the visitors, whose slick passing game caused all manner of problems for the hosts to contend with.

That the game remained goalless at the break was down to a combination of some fine goalkeeping by Toby McKimm, some determined defending by those in front of him, and – inevitably – a little bit of luck, such as when the crossbar intervened to deny Charlie Paye an early goal after a firm header, then Jed Hobbs just before the half-hour.

Hobbs was also guilty of squandering good chances, blazing over when well placed, and failing to find the power he was looking for enabling another goalbound effort to be cleared off the line as the Terrors held out.

Perhaps Bromley sensed it wasn’t going to be their night, perhaps Jamie Byatt’s half-time team talk (and subsequent triple-change for the second forty-five) boosted the hosts’ confidence, but the second period was a much more even contest as the Terrors gradually played their way back into things. We were still finding it tough to carve out any meaningful chances, but so were they now – and the contest began to unfold more tactically as the bulk of the action was played out in midfield.

However, after all their first-half missed chances – the opening goal when it did come was down to some mis-communication in the home defence, with chances to clear not taken and sub Dawid Przyblo couldn’t believe his luck as he slipped the ball past Toby to give Bromley the lead with ten minutes to go.

It looked as if the Terrors’ gallant efforts had come to nothing, but with the match ticking over into stoppage-time, Ben Cheklit fired over a dangerous cross into the corridor of uncertainty, and amongst a scramble of bodies – both friend and foe – Tim Obisanya forced the ball over the goalline to give us the lifeline of a penalty shootout.

It was our third of the season, and proved third time lucky after ‘defeats’ to Tadley Calleva and Harefield United; Toby McKimm may have missed his kick (due to the number of misses, all eleven members of both sides took one) but proved to be the hero saving four (one twice!) Bromley kicks to enable the Terrors to edge their visitors out 8-7.

Team Lineup