MATCH REPORTS 2023/24
Pre-Season round-up (part one)
Our pre-season preparations began on Saturday 1 July with a back-pitch friendly against Bagshot. The visitors, managed by one of our Academy coaches, Tony Hart - and sporting several players formerly associated with Tooting & Mitcham such as Kevin Turbi - came from behind to win the match 2-1. A young Terrors side, predominantly made up of current Academy students and hopeful trialists, gave a good account of themselves early on, and took a first-half lead through Hussein Siklawi before tiring towards the end, conceding two late goals. It was a useful exercise in shaking off the cobwebs ahead of more meaningful action.
The following Saturday saw Banstead Athletic visiting, and the team coming together somewhat with initial signings being announced beforehand. Tooting gave an impressive showing, scoring five goals through old favourite Sol Patterson-Bohner, an Alex Penfold penalty, and a hat-trick from Hussein Siklawi - a former Academy graduate returning to the club after briefly featuring for the first-team several seasons ago. There was some confusion as to the final score (!) with not many of those in attendance noticing a consolation goal for the visitors, but the official result was recorded as a 5-1 victory.
Three days later we entertained Glebe, and the visitors looked useful early on. However, keeper Tom Theobald made a couple of decent saves and the Terrors showed commendable patience to run out 2-0 victors with a second-half brace from Shay Brennan.
Our first test against higher level opposition came in the shape of Corinthian Casuals on Saturday 15 July and we rose to the occasion with a 3-1 triumph. The visitors boasted a couple of familiar faces in Jaiden Chang and Jordan Clarke, but were seen off with further goals from Siklawi and Brennan, along with youngster Adenipekun who rounded things off. Some positive signs were really starting to emerge now, such as the eye for goal displayed by Shay - prolific at Step 5 over the past few seasons - and the growing patience and maturity displayed by the team in general. When we didn't have the ball, we were very disciplined in waiting for the opposition to waste it; when we did have possession, we retained it well with some good off-the-ball movement and intelligent passing. The team-spirit on display, amongst a group still coming together, was another plus which augurs extremely well at this stage.
Raynes Park Vale were the next visitors on Tuesday 18 July, and oozed the confidence befitting of a team who have recently been promoted to the highest level in their history. Early on, they looked like they might overwhelm us (as they did in a similar fixture around twelve months ago); Tom Theobald made several good saves to keep them at bay and,
when they finally took the lead midway through the first-half it looked ominous. But the Terrors grew in confidence after the break, and we pinned them back for long periods, piling on the pressure which culminated in a deserved equaliser bagged by Marcus Whittaker ten minutes from time.
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25.7.23 T&MU 1 Dulwich Hamlet 1
We moved into the main stadium for our highest-profile fixture of the pre-season campaign, and the players rose to the occasion as they stood toe-to-toe with two-levels higher south London rivals Dulwich, and were perhaps unlucky not to have come away with a victory.
What wasn't in doubt was the entertaining nature of the evening, with the match beautifully balanced in the second half as both sides looked for a winner; under these circumstances, maybe a draw was a fair result as we matched the visitors throughout.
The game exploded into life inside the first minute, when Marcus Whittaker belied his stature to run at his marker, and draw a foul midway inside the Dulwich half. Hussein Siklawi, so impressive in the opening matches, took the free-kick and curled an inch-perfect strike beyond the visiting keeper into the top corner, with not all members of the Terrors faithful yet in the ground!
We threatened to run riot in these opening stages and almost went further in front when Kieran Campbell shot just over after a nice build-up involving Hussein and Shay Brennan. Shay was looking particularly dangerous and eager to add to his already encouraging pre-season haul.
However, Dulwich found their feet, and began to come into it more as the half progressed, and we were grateful to Tom Theobald who tipped a looping header from Elliott Romain impressively over the bar.
It wasn't long before the visitors were on terms though, and just after the half-hour a neat passing move culminated in a low cross driven over by Sanchez Ming and Danny Mills netted with a classy volley.
Dulwich thought they had taken the lead just before the break when Mills headed home from Romain's cross, but the offside flag was up to deny them a second and the teams departed for the interval on level terms.
Dulwich tightened the screw in the first half of the second half, but the Terrors defence held firm and Theo distinguished himself with another fine save, turning a long-range effort superbly around the post. But we came out of our shell and created a few chances to win it in the latter stages; first, Shay latched on to a through-ball, found himself confronted by the keeper and a defender, and tried to be cute by outfoxing them both but his deft footwork was not rewarded by the finish which drifted agonisingly wide of the post. Then substitute Joel Drew seized on a loose pass from Ming and drove just wide from the edge of the box. Finally, it was another sub, Shawn Lyle, who sensed a moment of glory as he advanced onto a deeply flighted cross, but the keeper had read it well and got to the ball just before Shawn to deny him a last-minute winner.
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Pre-season round-up (part two)
After our resumption of hostilities with our old rivals Dulwich Hamlet the previous Tuesday, we took on another local foe from times past four days later when we made the short journey to the Croydon Arena to participate in Croydon FC's seventieth birthday celebrations. With many activities taking place on site, the centrepiece was a friendly match between the two sides, with the uneven Arena pitch providing ample preparation for our FA Cup tie on a similar surface one week later. The hosts gave us a good workout, although the pitch did result in one or two knocks to both sides, with new skipper Alex Penfold leaving the fray early and doubtful for the following week's first competitive action (he didn't make it - Ed). Having hit the post with a header from a free-kick, we eventually ran out winners thanks to the only goal of the afternoon being driven home from close-range by speedy winger Marcus Whittaker who, as he demonstrated the following week also, can seemingly shine on any surface - no matter how dodgy.
Tuesday 1 August saw us return to the back pitch at Imperial Fields for our final pre-season workout against Westside FC. The starting eleven saw a few familiar faces rested as manager Jamie Byatt began to assess the depth of the squad that he is building. Although Westside triumphed 2-0 on the night, it wasn't a scoreline that completely reflected the balance of the game, as Tooting made most of the first-half running, only to fall behind midway through the half. Shawn Lyle headed just over the bar from Hussein Siklawi's corner early on, and had a second aerial chance not long after which he glanced wide of the target. Westside took the lead on twenty-five minutes when a neat passing move was calmly finished off and they almost doubled it minutes later when James Denison-Smith was forced into a fine goal-line clearance, but the flag was up in any case. Tooting put the visitors under pressure at the start of the second period, with Hussein floating a free-kick to the far post where a shot was deflected wide for a corner - the flag kick being subsequently headed just wide at the back post. There was an excellent curling effort from one of the home substitutes, which the visiting keeper did well to parry; the ball fell invitingly to Jayden Hutchings whose measured effort canoned back off the crossbar. Jayden limped from the action shortly afterwards, leaving him doubtful for Saturday (he also didn't make it - Ed), and after the referee had waved away a substantial Tooting claim for a penalty, Westside wrapped things up by hitting a nicely worked second goal on the break to seal their win.
Athletic Newham 3 T&MU 3 (FAC,EPr)
A quite extraordinary finale saw the Terrors pegged back from three goals down, and grateful to keeper Tom Theobald for a second chance to progress in the competition.
The Terrors struggled to come to terms with the difficult conditions and bobbly pitch early on, with Theo having to be alert to come off his line twice in the opening minutes to repel home efforts.
Only Marcus Whittaker, for the visitors, was showing any kind of threat early on, and it was his deep cross just before the half-hour that enabled us to take the lead; Warren Colman was unceremoniously chopped down as he tried to control the ball in the area, and the referee pointed to the spot, sending off the offender in the process. Kieran Campbell drove home the penalty with confidence, giving the Terrors the half-time advantage.
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When Shay Brennan won a one-on-one with the keeper and nicked the ball past him into the net seven minutes into the second half, it looked like Tooting were heading to a comfortable victory; these thoughts were compounded when Lewis Gonsalves powered home a header from Whittaker’s cross to make it 3-0 Just before the hour.
But the game turned shortly afterward when Marcus, who had already been booked for retaliation in the first half, received a second yellow card for kicking the ball away and, deprived of their talisman, the Terrors fell apart.
It still looked little more than a consolation when Richard Kone netted from the spot eleven minutes from time.
But spurred on by this lifeline, the hosts sprang to life and forced a series of corners that almost won them the tie; firstly, Kone headed home their second to reduce the arrears to one, then after Theo had tipped a close-range effort round the post to give them another flag-kick, Kone rose highest again to head home his and Newham’s third, and bring them level.
With the match deep into stoppage time (even without VAR we endured a 52 minute first-half, and 59 minute second), Newham almost scuppered the need for a replay as Dej Adeosun headed off the line and, from the resulting corner, Tom Theobald excelled himself once again pushing a goal bound effort round the post. It was an exhilarating end to an exhausting afternoon - but par-for-the-course when you’re a Tooting supporter.
T&MU 2 Athletic Newham 4 (FAC,EPr Replay)
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Tooting took their leave from the FA Cup after two extraordinary ties with Athletic Newham.
The Terrors carved out the first opening after just five minutes when Marcus Whittaker’s quick feet shook off his marker and he sent a deep cross to the far post where Shay Brennan’s measured header was beaten out by keeper Wilkinson Boateng.
We continued to exert early pressure and Kieran Campbell’s long range drive cleared the crossbar minutes later.
But after 11 minutes, the hosts were awarded a penalty after Mohamed Cherif Cissé made a rash challenge. Cissé stayed down in great pain and the medics and stretcher bearer were quickly on the scene. After a delay in excess of ten minutes, he was carried from the field of play, and the spot-kick could finally be taken. Keeper Tom Theobald dived low to his right to push the kick from Saturday’s hat-trick hero Richard Kone around the post.
The reprieve was short-lived, though, as a minute later, Kone cut in from the right and netted with a superb shot from the edge of the box.
It was end-to-end stuff for a while, before Theo made a fine close-range stop from Daniel Izekor; the ball fell to Joel Appiah, but he fumbled his effort wide with the goal gaping.
Into first-half stoppage-time, Appiah made amends to double the visitors advantage, showing more accuracy from distance than he did from three yards!
Tooting really needed something before the break, and almost got it when Shay Brennan outpaced the defence and fired goalwards, but Boateng made a decent block with his legs. The ball spun up off the turf back to Brennan but he couldn’t guide his header on target and put it wide.
Athletic Newham added a third right at the start of the second half as Izekor netted from Kone’s low cross and made it four when Kone netted his second (and fifth in the two games) with a fine strike into the top corner.
Tooting looked dead and buried at this point, but we should have learned from Saturday that it ain’t over till it’s over, and when Shawn Lyle bundled in a header to make it 4-1 there was still almost half an hour still to play.
Galvanised by this, the Terrors put Newham under sustained pressure for the first time, with Hussein Siklawi firing a free-kick just too high, and Sam Orisatoki did the same with a pile-driver from the edge of the box.
With ten minutes (plus stoppages) left, it was 2-4 as Shay was bundled over in an attempt to get on the end of Marcus Whittaker’s cross, and (just as he did on Saturday) Kieran Campbell netted the penalty with a powerful shot giving Boateng no chance.
Three minutes later, it really looked like game-on again, when a clever flick from Marcus released Shay inside the six-yard box and he showed composure to slip the ball past Boateng into the net, but the flag went up to deny him the goal - it was a borderline offside decision but just shows the fine line between glory and grief.
Still, heads didn’t go down and we continued to force the issue right to the whistle; Hussein Siklawi seized on a loose ball just outside the area but his snap shot cannoned off the post and the Terrors game attempts to complete an unlikely comeback were finally at an end.
Jersey Bulls 0 T&MU 1
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The Terrors got their league programme off to the perfect start, soaking up a lot of first half pressure before a superb second half goal from Kieran Campbell brought the three points back from the Channel Islands.
Jersey made the early running, and we were fortunate when a shot from them bounced off the post and into the arms of Tom Theobald.
They continued to push us back, and carved out another chance shortly after which was fired over the bar.
Tooting were patiently waiting for an opening, and carved out their first chance when Kieran Campbell got clear of the defence but shot straight at the keeper who blocked with his legs when Kieran might have done better.
The Terrors were beginning to advance with more purpose now, and Kieran again had a shot which was too close to the keeper, and Hussein Siklawi also tried his luck with a crisp shot but didn’t fare any better as half-time approached.
Jersey started the second half as they had the first - on the front foot - and Theo was called into action again early on, as he beat out a close-range shot; the hosts continued to apply the early pressure but another offensive move from them came to nothing, and set the scene for the Terrors to gradually wrest control.
In the absence of Shay Brennan, the player/manager had selected himself to provide the attacking threat, playing just behind Kieran Campbell, and the gaffer found himself well placed when the ball was floated across, but his header was comfortably gathered by the keeper.
On the hour mark, the breakthrough finally came; Tooting had soaked up the pressure and were beginning to dictate the pace of the play, and it was Kieran Campbell who netted the goal - his third of the season already - when he picked the ball up twenty-five yards from goal, shrugged off a couple of defenders, and curled a sublime effort into the top corner. A superb strike, and the Terrors now had something meaningful to defend.
Jersey piled forward in an attempt to force an equaliser, and Theo had to be alert to palm away a mid-range drive, then stayed down after gathering the resulting corner but happily was able to continue after treatment. As the game became stretched, Jersey will feel hard done to when an ‘equaliser’ was ruled out for a foul in the build-up, but we also had chances to seal the three points - the best of which saw substitute Rob Daye break through but fail to finish when well placed.
T&MU 4 Balham 2
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A four-goal blast from Shay Brennan finally saw Tooting make it six points out of six in their start to the league season. The prolific frontman was on target after just six minutes when he got clear of the defence and slipped the ball past the keeper for the opener; when he made it 2-0 not long after, it looked like a comfortable evening was on the cards. Marcus Whittaker had shown customary trickiness down the flank and sent over a deep cross which flicked off a defender's head before being steered home from close range with a well-executed volley at waist-height by Shay.
But, Tooting being Tooting, it was 2-2 at the break after Balham's danger-man, Tom Read, bagged a brace of his own. First he showed tremendous determination to shrug off two defenders on his way into the area where he curled home a beauty that gave Tom Theobold no chance.
Theo would have been disappointed with the equaliser, though, a direct free-kick that he'll feel he should have done better with, but he was alert to pull off a couple of stops before the break as the visitors threatened to really turn things around.
Whatever was said at half-time did the trick, and a revitalised Terrors side gradually took control of the game in the second period, finally marking their increasing dominance with a goal midway through the half when Shay slid in a shot from a difficult angle at the far post which crossed the line before a defender could clear it. There was some confusion as play looked initially to be waved on, but the Referee's Assistant on the far side was adamant in what he had seen.
Tooting wrapped up the points about ten minutes from time when Shay deftly guided a header home for his fourth after Kieran Campbell's fierce drive had been well parried by the visiting keeper.
Next up is a real test, with the visit of near-neighbours AFC Croydon Athletic.
T&MU 4 Croydon Athletic 2
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For the second successive week questions were asked of Jamie Byatt’s new-look Tooting side, and for the second successive week the answers were found.
With both sides unbeaten and local pride at stake, this was a highly anticipated match-up and, after a cagey opening twenty minutes or so, it did not disappoint.
When Kieran Campbell seized on a half-chance to storm forward and bury the ball beyond visiting keeper Oshane Brown, it was merely an opening bid in this breathtaking encounter.
The Rams hit straight back, and were level little over a minute later when Jack Marney turned on the edge of the box and fired a powerful shot into the top corner.
This gave them the momentum, and for the rest of the half they looked in control of things and the Terrors were grateful to Tom Theobald who pulled off a couple of fine stops to keep them at bay.
As with last week’s encounter, whatever Jamie said to his players at half-time, it certainly had the desired effect, as Tooting took a grip on the game as the half progressed, and we’re back in front thanks to Shay Brennan, whose diving header from Campbell’s cross capped a fine passage of play instigated by new signing Jay Dunston Digweed whose chipped ball forward showed a class not often seen at Step 5.
This time, Tooting we’re more intent on holding the advantage, and when Warren Colman powered his way through to register his first for the club with ten minutes to go, it looked like a comfortable margin of victory was on the cards.
Not so - back stormed AFC Croydon to force a couple of corners; from the latter skipper Dan Vaughan set a captain’s example by heading home powerfully at the far post and the outcome was back in the balance.
Thankfully, in Shay Brennan we now have an outlet which provides goals from out of almost nothing and when he foxed the last defender and keeper Brown to guide home number four in the last minute of regulation time, there was no way back for the visitors and Tooting made it maximum points from our opening three fixtures.
Selsey FC 2 T&MU 1
Isuzu FA Vase, Qualifying Round 1, Saturday 26 August 2023
The Terrors were on the wrong end of a cup shock, as Sussex League side Selsey dumped us out of the FA Vase on the south coast.
The focus is most certainly on the league, but departure from the two major knockout competitions before the first month of the season has even been completed is a bitter pill to swallow - not least because the financial rewards for progression in either competition is not to be sneezed at for a club at our level.
We started the brighter too, with Warren Colman going close early on; his shot fizzed past the post as the hosts looked nervous.
But those nerves dissipated when James Henton gave Selsey the lead just moments later, and despite enjoying the bulk of the possession as the half progressed, we were unable to create anything really tangible as the Seals held firm, and looked to hit us on the counter - almost playing as if they were the away side in an intriguing game of cat-and-mouse. Those tactics paid off when the hosts managed to keep the ball alive after it looked to be going out following a free-kick, and a defensive mix-up allowed them to poach a second.
There was some confusion as to who had got the final touch, with the home team awarding the goal to Corey Burns, whilst some in the travelling support felt that Jay Dunstan-Digweed should be debited with an own-goal. Whatever side of the debate you sat on, the undeniable fact was that we were 2-0 down and needed something - fast.
We got it moments before half-time, when Marcus Whittaker did superbly well to win a ball he looked to have no right to, and fed Kieran Campbell who bagged his fifth goal of the season to give us a lifeline.
But that didn’t prove to be the spark of inspiration we were looking for, as Selsey shut up shop in the second period and challenged us to break them down. Despite some increasingly frantic defending as the half wore on, they looked like they’d done enough as the match entered the later stages with the score still at 2-1.
Selsey thought they’d broken away to score a third late on, but were thwarted by an offside flag; as the Terrors attempted to force extra-time by poring players forward, we came close to salvaging it but were denied by the bar.
Horley Town 3 T&MU 1
Combined Counties League Premier Division (south) Monday 28 August 2023
Horley Town compounded the weekend misery by inflicting Tooting’s first league defeat of the season at the New Defence Stadium on Bank Holiday Monday.
It looks like a comprehensive victory for the home side, but was slightly flattering to them with the difference between the two teams being in finishing on the day, with the Terrors carving out plenty of chances to have got something out of the game.
Indeed, there was little indication of what was to come during a first period in which we hit wood twice, with Alex Penfold marshalling the defence superbly and winning everything in the air. This restricted them to only one clear chance which Cameron Gyeabour put wide when well placed to do better, shortly before half-time.
Tooting had looked in relative control, albeit without creating anything too clear-cut themselves; Hussein Siklawi tried his luck from long-range about fifteen minutes in, and saw his shot come back off the post. About ten minutes before half-time, a long-throw into the box from Sam Orisatoki was flicked on by Shawn Lyle and Shay Brennan’s header was tipped onto the bar by the home keeper.
But as the teams emerged for the second half, captain Alex Penfold was not with them. The ankle injury that had hindered his opening to the season had flared up again, leaving him unable to continue and - not coincidentally - the chances suddenly started to open up for the hosts.
It was still Tooting who looked the more likely early on in the half, though, and a lovely break from Kieran Campbell down the right saw him deliver a fine cross to the far post; Shay couldn’t quite get a touch on it but Shawn could, only to send his half volley wide with only the keeper to beat.
A lovely through-pass from Sol Patterson-Bohner found Shay collecting just inside the box, but he uncharacteristically couldn’t get it out from under his own feet and a home defender was able to crowd him out before he found a shooting opportunity; this proved costly as Horley took the lead with their first real attack of the half, Gyeabour getting clear of the defence and slotting past Tom Theobald to make amends for his earlier miss.
Horley grew in confidence, and Theo was now being kept busy for the first time in the match; one notable save saw him beating a low drive away down at his near-post to keep us in the game.
Tooting created chances, with Shay spurning another with a header, but Horley were dangerous now and Gyeabour added his second of the afternoon with a similar move that led to his first.
When Harry Mark curled in a superb free-kick late on, it seemed to put a gloss on the game that they didn’t deserve; Sid Dack’s well-taken consolation in injury-time at least gave us a goal to shout about on a frustrating day.
T&MU 3 Alton 4
Combined Counties League, Premier Division (south), Saturday 2 September 2023
There have been many remarkable games seen in this stadium over the past twenty years, but this may well rank as quite the most extraordinary as a Terrors side, seemingly in complete control of the game, somehow contrived to throw away a three goal lead, against a side ultimately reduced to nine players. As supporters, we think we’ve seen it all - but this may well rank as the biggest shooting-oneself-in-the-foot exercise yet. At least until the next one.
The team looked full of confidence at the start, against a side with only one point and one goal from their three previous league outings, and Marcus Whittaker’s run and cross provided an opening for Shay Brennan, who saw his header drop just wide of the target.
The same combination started the move which led to the Terrors taking the lead. In the 23rd minute. Shay was this time hauled unceremoniously to the floor before he had the chance to shoot, and the referee had no option but to award the penalty. By the letter of the law, he probably had no option but to send the offending player off too - although it still seemed a bit harsh. Either way, Alton were down to ten.
Kieran Campbell took the spot-kick, and drilled it home for his sixth goal of the season.
There was no let-up in the home side’s dominance, and ten minutes later it was two when a ball lifted into the box found Shawn Lyle advancing goalwards; a combination of keeper and defender thwarted him, but the loose ball fell to Warren Colman who emphatically drilled home from just inside the area. When Shay added a third, six minutes before the break after a fine move and cross-on-the-run from Sid Dack, it was surely just a question of how many Tooting would win by.
However, a soft penalty just before half-time gave the visitors a lifeline - Owen Lumsden netting from the spot - and set the scene for a sobering second 45 minutes, from a home supporter’s point of view.
Tooting could still have been further out of sight, when early in the second half, a corner taken by Marcus was drilled against the underside of the bar by Kieran - 4-1 there would surely have been asking too much of the visitors - but the ball bounced out and Alton broke straight up the other end, the move being finished off by Adam New who brought them back to just one behind.
Ten minutes later, they were level; some more sloppy play at the back left Louis Keiran-Russell in acres of space and he wasn’t going to pass up the chance of glory.
Tempers got heated amongst the home fans, and that translated itself onto the pitch where things threatened to boil over. When Alton went down to nine after Jamie Phillips saw red, surely they would just pile their few remaining players behind the ball?
Not likely, they could sense panic in the home ranks and substitute Mohammed Regragui took advantage to bundle in the winner.
To compound a bleak afternoon, Kieran Campbell then saw a second yellow card for simulation to leave the game ending at ten against nine and Tooting in tatters.
T&MU 4 Guildford City 1
A four-goal salvo from Shay Brennan - his second such haul of the campaign - took his personal tally to twelve for the season, as he led the Terrors to a stunning victory against the league leaders.
Guildford arrived with five wins out of five in the league, and full of the confidence that such a run brings. They left with their tails between their legs, having been thoroughly outplayed by a Tooting side fired up to erase the memory of the previous week's capitulation against Alton.
The visitors started on the front foot, with Tula Ajayi-Obe heading a corner over the bar early on, but once Tooting went in front, they were never really in it after that.
New signing James Reed looked impressive on his debut; on nine minutes he cleanly and brilliantly dispossessed Jack Cleevely in the middle of the park, and fed Marcus Whittaker on the right flank. As is his wont, Marcus took on and beat his marker for pace, before slipping the ball down the channel perfectly for Shay who was just inside the penalty area. There was still plenty for him to do, but he did it superbly, crashing the ball across the keeper and into the top left corner from a tight angle.
Another flowing move almost saw a second when Warren Colman played an inch-perfect pass for Marcus who ran into the box, but as he tried to take it past Adam Longman, the keeper just managed to get a trailing leg to the ball to thwart the danger.
It didn't take long for the lead to be doubled, though; Sid Dack, enjoying another impressive outing, beat the offside trap with a perfectly timed pass which left Shay in acres of space. He slotted it under the advancing keeper for his second of the afternoon.
Tooting continued to press and another through-ball found Jamie Byatt on the edge of the area, but his shot lacked power or direction and the keeper safely held.
Nathaniel Mensah, who enjoyed a brief spell in the black and white stripes two seasons ago, was Guildford's most impressive player, and he was constantly trying to make things happen on a sweltering afternoon. One long run into the box was brilliantly shadowed by Sid, who made an excellently-timed clean challenge to deny the striker a shooting opportunity.
Another chance fell to the player-manager, in the starting line-up for the suspended Kieran Campbell, and this time he did better, forcing Longman into a decent save, touching the ball around his near-post for a corner.
Guildford began to come into things, and enjoyed their best spell of the game which resulted in them getting a goal back with seven minutes to go until half-time. Manny Acheampong made a break down the right and whipped a ball into the box at pace which eluded one striker, before Sid cleared for a corner as another tried to get on the end.
The corner was lifted to the far post; Tom Theobald misjudged the flight of the ball and could only help it onto the feet of Mensah, who tapped home from close range. Mindful of what had happened seven days prior, a collective gloom seemed to envelop the home support.
They needn't have worried; there wasn't long to go until the break, but there was still time for Shay to complete his hat-trick, then add a fourth for good measure. Firstly, Marcus again found space down the right, and crossed into the danger zone. Shay was covered by two defenders, yet still had the ability to control, turn past both, and fire past Longman seemingly in one fluent movement. 3-1.
Then, a Guildford attack was broken up by the impressive Dej Adeosun, who lifted the ball forward. Jamie flicked it on to Shay on the edge of the box, who beautifully lobbed the advancing (and shell-shocked) Longman to make it 4-1.
Guildford City did attempt to adopt a more attacking stance in the second period - their counter-attacking set-up had been a failure, after all - but Tooting defended very well, under the circumstances, to restrict them to long-range efforts which never really troubled Theo in goal.
Wisely, we weren't over-extending ourselves in a bid for further goals - probably a sensible reaction to the Alton match - but as the game went on, and it became evident City were tiring in the heat, there were one or two chances to really put the seal on an impressive showing; Guildford sub Callum Sullivan was almost pressured into an own-goal as his back-header flew past Longman but just over the bar, and impressive home sub Justus Egbueri - in only his second first-team outing after impressing this season for the U23s - did not look overawed as he headed just over from a corner.
But the damage had been done in the first-half, and Tooting were largely content to protect the lead and see things out as we eased to a comfortable, though hugely impressive, three points.
Tadley Calleva 0 T&MU 1
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A goal in the dying minutes ensured the Terrors safely negotiated a difficult journey to the Hampshire countryside, and returned with a vital three points in the bag. With skipper Alex Penfold missing once again because of his ankle problem, and top scorer Shay Brennan unavailable due to work commitments, this was a thoroughly professional performance by the visitors; it is fair to say we rode our luck a little in a first half in which our hosts hit the inside of a post and the underside of the bar, but once we took control of the midfield, we started to dominate the game and ran out deserved victors.
Tadley’s main threat seemed to be from set pieces, of which they gained quite a few in the early stages. Tom Theobald was in commanding form, taking plenty of catches confidently, and getting down low on a couple of occasions to deal with shots. From one of these saves, the ball fell to a home striker whose firmly hit effort bounced off the inside of the post and back into the grateful arms of Theo. There were shouts for a penalty when Kieran Campbell broke onto a lovely through pass from Warren Colman, tried to take it past the keeper and was brought down but the referee wasn’t impressed and waved play on. Theo was called into action again shortly after when he made a useful stop from a speculative long-range shot, and Robert Daye - making his first start - was unlucky not to get a touch on Sid Dack’s cross as the play dovetailed from end to end.
Tadley ended the half on top as a rising drive crashed against the bar and bounced down, and Lewis Gonsalves almost headed into his own net but Theo showed great reactions to save his team-mate’s blushes. As the teams departed for their half-time break, there was a feeling amongst the fans that the second 45 might belong to us - the perception was that Tadley’s failure to take their chances may prove costly.
That seemed to be the case as, marshalled superbly once again by Jayden Hutchings and Deji Adeosun - assisted by the tireless running of Warren Colman - we gradually tightened the screw as the second half unfolded, before hitting them with a sucker punch as the clock ticked down. We were aided by the hosts being reduced to ten as a home player saw red for a second bookable offence with about ten minutes left. This gave us the numerical advantage which we exploited when a corner in the last minute of regulation time was played short to Kieran Campbell on the edge of the box, and the stand-in skipper floated a beauty over the mass of bodies in the six-yard box and the desperately backpedalling keeper who couldn’t keep it out. Tadley attempted to mount some pressure in the short time that remained, but the Terrors were in no mood to let these points slip away.
T&MU 1 Spelthorne Sports 3
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A strangely disjointed showing by the Terrors saw Spelthorne Sports run out surprisingly comfortable winners as we slumped to our second home loss of the league campaign. That didn’t look likely early on, as we went on to the front foot from the word go and almost took the lead with our first attack. Shay Brennan showed good skills to work space down the left flank, and then crossed towards Kieran Campbell who was advancing into the box. Kieran beat the keeper to the ball, but couldn’t keep his header down and it flew over the bar. However, we were a goal down shortly afterward as Spelthorne scored from their first attack. Some lacklustre defending at the back allowed Jamie Fuller too much time and space to turn, and he picked his spot past Tom Theobald. We were almost on terms before the break, some good work by Joel Drew presented Shay with an opening, but his side footed shot went just wide, and Warren Colman gave Kieran an opportunity to volley but he couldn’t generate the power needed to trouble the keeper. With half-time approaching, Jayden Hutchings advanced upfield for a corner and sent a powerful header against the crossbar; we looked the more likely to score at this point.
However, the match turned early in the second half when Tooting shouts for a penalty after Kieran was unceremoniously shoved to the floor were ignored; the referee had no hesitation as play switched to the other end and a similar challenge from Justus Egbueri resulted in a spot-kick, driven empathically home by Kelvin Karanja. As the game entered the last ten minutes, hopes of a point were rekindled as Shay took advantage of confusion in the visiting penalty area to seize on the loose ball and halve the deficit, but all that optimism was undone moments later when Jamie Fuller ran through several half-hearted defensive challenges to fire home his second, and the visitors third.
Knaphill 6 T&MU 2
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Knaphill underlined their promotion credentials as they ran riot against an under-strength Terrors side, on a day that we will want to forget as quickly as possible. The hosts haven’t really figured in much of the discussion regarding play-off contenders, but this emphatic victory - their fifth in sixth league matches (one draw) - serves notice of their intentions as they went about their business quietly and efficiently, and leapfrogged Tooting in the top half of the table. Neither side had had time to settle before a long-range effort by Zac Hawker flew past Tom Theobald to give Knaphill the advantage. There was little indication of what was to come as Tooting patiently worked their way into the game, culminating in a deserved equaliser just before the half-hour as Shay Brennan collected Jamie Byatt’s pass and angled a shot beyond Jos Barker and into the far corner. But that good work was undone almost immediately as Justus Egbueri lost his attacker, and his attempts to salvage the situation resulted in a clumsy challenge and an obvious penalty kick. Adam Aziz gave Theo no chance, and the Knappers were back in front. The advantage was doubled on the stroke of half-time as Will Jacob took advantage of more hesitation in the Tooting back line and suddenly, it looked like the game was in serious danger of totally getting away from us.
That proved to be the case ten minutes into the second half as Zac Hawker ran unchallenged to net his second, and ten minutes after that it was 5-1, with Tom Drinkwater thumping in from the edge of the box. With fifteen minutes left, Jamie Byatt took advantage of Barker’s fumble which presented the player-manager with the easiest of chances which he duly rolled into an unguarded net; had Tooting managed to net again, an unlikely comeback might have suddenly looked on but it was the hosts who completed the scoring, substitute Jack Hawker joining his namesake (and relation?) on the scoresheet and leaving Tooting in disarray.
Brook House 0 T&MU 2
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It may ‘only have been the League Cup’, but it was imperative that the Terrors got a positive result after two consecutive defeats in the league, and a difficult trip to Fleet looming four days later. In that regard, this can certainly be ticked off as ‘job done’, after goals from two recent signings, Nathan Best and James Reed, eased us comfortably into the second round against our Step 6 opponents. It might not have been as straightforward as the scoreline suggests had we not had the wake-up call of a disallowed goal going against us early on, as the hosts - clearly more at home on the bobbly surface, and under the very dim floodlights - went straight on to the attack. They thought they’d gone in front after just eight minutes but a close range strike found the Assistant Referee’s flag already up before it hit the back of the net, curtailing their exuberant celebrations. Tooting heeded the warning, and began to make inroads into the Brook House half with Nathan Best looking lively, Dej Adeosun linking up with James Reed (a flourishing partnership could be developing nicely there) and skipper-on-the-night Shay Brennan looking in the mood to add to his already considerable goal tally; Shay, indeed, was already working the keeper, forcing him out to block on more than one occasion as the Terrors outfoxed a rather primitive ‘offside trap’.
With no programme or teamsheet provided - and little forthcoming from the home side’s Social Media accounts - I am not able to give the keeper his due by naming him here, but he was certainly the main reason they managed to retain parity for so long, making some eye-catching saves and blocks to deny Deji, Johnny Akoto (enjoying, I thought, his best game in a Tooting shirt so far), Shay and Nathan, who all threatened. When he was beaten, by Robert Daye’s strike from distance, the striker’s shot was powerful and well-hit, but he couldn’t match that with direction and it dropped just wide. It looked like the half would finish goalless, when on the stroke of half-time, Nathan Best - arguably the half’s most impressive player - outpaced his marker and slipped the ball underneath the oncoming keeper to give us the advantage.
With visibility poor in the murky gloom, the home side emerged for the second period in different shirts - a far more striking shade of pink enabling them to identify each other better - and it nearly paid dividends in the early stages when Piotr Jachucha (making his Tooting debut in place of Tom Theobald) was called into action twice to make important blocks, having been a spectator for much of the first 45. Once again, Tooting learnt their lesson and re-imposed themselves, and it looked only a matter of time before the lead was doubled; this duly occurred with about twenty minutes left when James Reed curled in a beautiful free-kick, and progression looked assured. But we don’t like to do things the easy way, and a third penalty against us in successive matches (difficult to ascertain why in this light, but shouts of ‘handball!’ probably give a clue) threatened to derail us, but the taker clearly had his own visibility issues as he blasted it so far over it would probably have cleared three goals had they been standing atop one another; there was just time for Piotr to make another fine save up high to his left, before the nights work was complete.
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Fleet Town 0 T&MU 0
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Tooting scrapped out a point on a balmy day in the Hampshire countryside, in a game that could have gone either way but ended in our first league draw of the season. With several of the hosts’ players looking like they might be more at home in a basketball team, it was fairly obvious from the word ‘go’ that an aerial assault would be on the agenda for the Terrors’ back line and, marshalled superbly by Jayden Hutchings - not the tallest centre-half around - we coped admirably well to return home with a clean-sheet. It was Tooting who carved out the games’ first chance, a little over a minute in, when the lively Nathan Best showed good feet to skip past a couple of home defenders down the left but his low cross in found nobody far enough forward to threaten the home keeper. Deji Adeosun, coming off a fine game in midweek, needed to be prominent again - and was when he got a crucial foot in to dispossess Connor Young who was bearing down on the Tooting goal.
Not surprisingly, the hosts best chances were coming from set pieces and they forced a series of corners all of which were confidently dealt with by Tom Theobald and his back four. A pleasing passage of play almost saw us in front; Sam Orisatoki was showing up well as an attacking full-back down the left and his whipped ball in was taken down neatly by Kieran Campbell, attacking the far post, but with no real angle to shoot from he laid the ball back into the path of James Reed on the edge of the box who took a touch to wrong-foot his marker, then measured an effort which dipped just wide of the post. Johnny Akoto was building on his excellent midweek outing and got in several important blocks and interceptions when Fleet were looking dangerous, as the half ended goalless.
Early in the second period, either side might have broken the deadlock as a deep cross was headed just over at our end, then Nathan attacked again down the left, sent over a cross which was just too high for Warren Colman but Sonic arriving at the far post got a clean touch, putting his effort just over the bar. Despite Callum Smart in the home goal not really being forced into a save of note, Tooting continued to look the more likely to nick something as the half unfolded, but almost lost it at the death. The match was in stoppage time when the hosts mounted an attack down the left side; for once Johnny was unable to get a meaningful challenge in, an attacker cut inside him and shot for goal which solicited a large roar from the home fans who thought it had gone in. So did many travelling Terrors at the other end but thankfully it had nestled in the side netting, and our point was secured.
T&MU 0 Abbey Rangers 0
Combined Counties League, Premier Division (south), Saturday 14 October 2023
After plenty of goals in our first nine matches, we registered a second successive goalless draw in our last home outing against a stubborn Abbey Rangers side.
The visitors arrived with some confidence-boosting recent results under their belts, including a fine 2-0 win at Redhill four days previously, and showed understandable confidence early on as they pinned an under-strength Terrors side back in their own half for much of the first period.
Thankfully, Tom Theobald was on good form - saving well with his legs early on - and the defence in front of him proved they were ready for the challenge too.
The positive approach from the visitors meant Tooting spent much of the opening period playing almost like an away side, soaking up the pressure and looking to hit our opponents on the break. Warren Colman and Nathan Best were linking up well, and looking the most likely pair to make something happen.
Our best hope of scoring in the half came when new signing Blake Loyza was upended in the box, but our shouts for a penalty fell on deaf ears as the referee waved play on.
Abbey almost took the lead on the stroke of half-time, when Danilo Cadete skipped away down the left flank and crossed dangerously to the far post where Kalari Lisbie climbed highest to get a firm touch, but headed wide.
Tooting regrouped at the interval, and emerged in a more positive frame of mind for the second half. Marcus Whittaker replaced Nathan at half-time and was almost on the scoresheet in the opening minutes when he collected a cross on the far side of the penalty area but lifted his shot just over the bar.
The returning Shawn Lyle then did well to control a difficult cross just outside the box, but on turning found he had little support and was unable to do anything positive with the ball; it was a much better start to the second half though.
Abbey showed they were still dangerous when Ross Murdoch slotted home from captain Jack Watts’ low cross, but the flag was up to signal a clear offside decision.
It always looked as if one goal would be enough to win it for either side, and we had our chance when an up and under found Kieran Campbell challenging ‘keeper Sam Gray close to the goalline, with the visiting custodian getting to the ball first - just.
Abbey’s chance to nick it fell to substitute Spencer Maw, after the ball had flown around the Tooting area; Maw showed a rare touch of class on the afternoon to get hold of it and aim a curling effort toward the top corner. A diving Theo looked to have it covered, but it drifted just wide in any case as the game finished goalless - in every sense of the word.
Camberley Town 1 T&MU 4
Combined Counties League, Premier Division (south), Saturday 21 October 2023
Tooting shrugged off some difficult conditions, as well as the loss of an early goal, to ultimately run out comfortable winners and move back onto the fringes of the play-off race.
Camberley, who we last met in a competitive fixture almost a quarter of a century ago, have struggled for any kind of consistency in the early months of the season, and looked more surprised than anything when they took the lead after thirteen minutes with their first real attack. Sam Whitehead got away down the right and whipped a ball across that the Tooting defence failed to clear; there was still more than an element of misfortune on our part as the ball ended up in the net after deflecting off Sid Dack.
It did not take long for the Terrors to restore parity - the very next attack ended with an equaliser. A free-kick midway down the right side was floated across by Jayden Hutchings; Blake Loyza reacted very well to control it at the far post and drive low across the penalty area, wrongfooting the keeper as Kieran Campbell arrived at the far post to touch home from close range.
The rest of the half saw both sides have chances to add to their tallies; Leo Spicer drew a good reaction save out of Tom Theobald’s legs, and Theo was also forced to back-pedal to tip over a speculative drive at his far post from the same player.
Home keeper Stuart Norman was also being kept busy, saving down low to his right from a Kieran Campbell drive from the edge of the area and coming out of his goal to get to the ball just before Shay Brennan after a lovely through-pass from Warren Colman almost set him clear.
On the stroke of half-time, we found ourselves in front thanks to another set-piece goal; this came from the other side of the pitch, with James Reed lifting an inch-perfect cross onto the head of Lewis Gonsalves who cushioned his header expertly to guide it beyond the flailing keeper and into the bottom corner.
Tooting looked far more determined at the start of the second period, beginning to push the home side back consistently, and retaining possession well when openings didn’t immediately materialise. Camberley were becoming less and less effective, and the Terrors looked more likely to increase their tally than the hosts did to find an equaliser.
The goal our pressure deserved finally came with about twenty minutes to play; Warren Colman was flattened midway inside the Camberley half, and the ball was lifted into the box. A home defender’s attempt to head clear was weak and it fell perfectly for Warren who drove it back with interest from the edge of the six yard box to give us a two goal cushion.
Camberley rallied briefly, and piled bodies in the box for one attack which left the ball flying around the penalty area like it was in a pinball machine. In the confusion, Theo made three close-range stops in quick succession to maintain our two-goal advantage, but as time began to run out, we upped the pressure again and scored a well-worked fourth after Warren Colman drove forward, played a classy pass with the outside of his right foot to Kieran who was motoring down the right flank. He beat the covering defender and fired the ball across for Blake Loyza to open his Terror’s account with a fine first-time finish.
T&MU 3 Sheerwater 1
Combined Counties League, Premier Division (south), Saturday 28 October 2023
The Terrors shrugged off a half-time deficit and the second half sending off of Sid Dack to emerge as comfortable victors over struggling Sheerwater and move into the play-off spots.
This was a controlled display in which we dominated much of the first-half possession and carved out the lion’s share of the chances before a sucker-punch left us briefly floundering on the canvas as things threatened to go astray.
Thankfully, it was just a flash knockdown and the befuddled Terrors held on towards the break while their collective heads cleared, and the temporary reprieve of the bell (whistle) enabled them to turn the tide and wrest back control over the second half of the contest.
We made all of the early running, and might have led at several points during the first half; Warren Colman shot over early on, though whether it was a cross or a shot was debatable. Shay Brennan took advantage of defensive confusion to present James Reed with a shooting opportunity he drove over from the edge of the box; Justus Egbueri headed just over from a corner and visiting keeper Jack Minchin saved well from a firmly-struck Kieran Campbell effort and a close-range Blake Loyza one as it looked only a matter of time before a goal was registered.
Yet when it finally came, six minutes before the break, it was the visitors who were celebrating as Marco Haigh took advantage of Tom Theobald’s failure to collect a low drive, and couldn’t really miss from five yards out.
They had threatened just before the goal, to be fair, as a speculative curling shot from Morris Musslewhite dipped over Theo’s far post, but the advantage galvanised them while a shellshocked Tooting side suddenly looked vulnerable; Jayden Hutchings headed away from near his own goal-line under pressure from Musslewhite and skipper Nathan Pooley drove inches wide from the edge of the box as the half ended.
But that was the extent of the visitor’s attacking threat, and Tooting emerged from the tunnel determined to erase what had gone before. Shay Brennan, as he so often is, was key to the turnaround which saw two goals in a little over three minutes turn the game on its head. He’d already hit the bar after robbing a dawdling defender on the edge of the box, sending a curling effort onto the woodwork but didn’t let that disappointment frustrate him when he engaged in a chase for the ball with Minchin and a covering defender. As both advanced, Shay improvised with the outside of his right boot to arc an effort over both and into the top left corner. I was still noting the particulars in my notebook minutes later when he slipped number two past Minchin after defensive hesitation. And, after Sid Dack received a second yellow for a high challenge, (and Theo saved well down low to prevent a shock equaliser from the free-kick) Shay broke away again and showed commendable restraint to eschew the chance of a hat-trick, instead squaring the ball to his better-placed team-mate, Blake Loyza, who lashed in his second in successive matches to wrap things up.
Cray Wanderers 4 T&MU 2
London Senior Cup (sponsored by Veo) Round 1, Wednesday 8 November 2023
Defeated - but by no means disgraced against a team two divisions higher, the Terrors exited the London Senior Cup after a battling display in south east London in which we overturned a half-time deficit to lead early in the second period, but could not hold on for a memorable result.
The Isthmian League Premier Division side started strongly, and carved out a couple of chances in the opening ten minutes that were comfortably dealt with by Tom Theobald. They then had the ball in the net, but Gary Lockyer’s close-range effort was disallowed for offside.
They were in front on thirteen minutes though, as former Terror Antonio Dembele got away down the right and his ball into the centre was guided home by the head of Yahya Bamba.
Bamba almost got his and Cray’s second minutes later, but steered his shot just wide of the post.
Tooting began to play their way into the game, and Shaun Rowley in the home goal held a firm shot from Nathan Best, before Lewis Gonsalves had a shooting chance inside the box, which was blocked off by a defender. It was developing into an even, entertaining game.
Some neat interplay between Marcus Whittaker and Kieran Campbell led to the latter curling a chance inches wide of the post, and Blake Loyza went even closer, slicing a shot just wide as half-time approached; we were definitely in the game.
Twelve minutes into the second half, we were not just in the game - we were in the lead!
On 55 minutes, Cameron Black was adjudged to have brought down Kieran Campbell and the tall striker picked himself up, dusted himself down, and confidently stroked home his fourth spot-kick of the season.
Two minutes later, the tie was turned on its head as Blake Loyza worked himself some space in the penalty area and slotted comfortably home from 12 yards.
The hosts stepped up their efforts, pushing the Terrors back, and we responded to the challenge - defending calmly and with confidence and looking to hit the home side on the break.
With twenty minutes to go, Cray were back on terms and the tie was delicately poised again; Yahya Bamba went on a run, burst into the box and lofted the ball over Tom Theobald’s head as the keeper advanced.
Just as Tooting had bagged two in quick succession, so did Cray as Gary Lockyer won the ball inside a crowded penalty area and forced home their third.
It was still anybody’s game, although Lockyer hit the post shortly after, but as time ticked away, and Tooting pressed, Nyren Clunis added a fourth to finally end our brave effort.
Attendance 96
T&MU 0 Epsom & Ewell 3
We paid our respects before the game on Remembrance Day, but it was a match to forget as Tooting fell to a disappointing home defeat.
Although it was undoubtedly a below-par display by the Terrors, the scoreline was a little generous to our visitors as the match turned on two key second-half incidents.
Firstly, in the opening minutes of the seond period, Jayden Hutchings received his marching orders for an offence that, in truth, a lot of referees would have seen fit to deem only worthy of a yellow card; maybe the reaction to the incident from the visiting players influenced the match official, but a similar incident in the first period had been dealt with in a more lenient fashion.
Whatever the rights and wrongs of the affair, Tooting had responded reasonably well to the challenge of playing a man light. Yet the footballing fates conspired against us again to gift the visitors a second goal moments after we’d come so close to getting back on level terms.
That move, started by substitute Callum Porteous who picked a stylish pass upfield to send fellow sub Nathan Best away down the right was almost finished off by topscorer Shay Brennan who had advanced to the edge of the area to collect Nathan’s pass before shooting away from the already-diving goalkeeper Harvey Keogh. Keogh had gone to his right, and Shay sent the ball to the opposite corner but the luck was with the visitors as the ball struck Keogh’s feet and rebounded kindly for a defender to clear.
A goal then, with just over ten minutes to play, would have almost certainly galvanised us - and might have even led to a late winner. Instead, seconds later, Sam Orisatoki found himself in the left-back position and, under pressure from a visiting forward, elected to pass back to Tom Theobald and give him the chance to clear downfield instead. Unfortunately for Tom, a bobble just as he went to strike it carried the ball away from him, toward the goal, and despite his frantic efforts to get back and hack it off the line, the referee deemed that it had crossed and awarded the goal.
With heads down, Epsom’s third goal - a nicely worked move neatly finished off by substitute Luke Miller, it must be acknowledged - merely rubbed salt into our wounds, and gave the visitors a slightly more convincing scoreline than the game merited; they had opened the scoring during an even first half when a corner swung in under the bar was headed down by Oliver Thompson and finished off by Tijani Eshilokum from about six inches.
Despite all our efforts, Shay’s near-miss was the only real chance we carved out all afternoon, which is a worry.
T&MU 1 Redhill 5
We endured a torrid afternoon, as Redhill underlined their play-off credentials with a resounding triumph at Imperial Fields.
The visitors arrived on the back of a five match unbeaten run as one of the in-form teams in the division, and left without having been seriously troubled by a strangely toothless Tooting side.
Redhill started confidently, and forced Tom Theobald into a couple of early saves. They should have led on the quarter hour mark when Rhys Wyborn was given time and space in the penalty area, but could only shoot wide of the target.
Unfortunately, that did not signal a reprieve for the Terrors, and the damage was done in the last twenty minutes of the half as the Lobsters rattled in four goals without reply.
First, on 24 minutes, a stylish one-two down the right flank resulted in Fin Roberts firing confidently past Theo, and they doubled their lead little more than a minute later as Tyrese Sutherland’s speculative cross-shot eluded Tom and snuck in at the far post.
Tooting were shellshocked, and fell further behind sx minutes later; Rhys Wyborn played a lovely pass inside Callum Porteous and Adam Grant slotted effortlessly home.
It was four two minutes before half-time, as Fin Roberts scored his second of the afternoon following a powerful run down the right, and a powerful finish into the top corner.
One imagines the paint was peeling off the dressing room walls during the interval as the management team delivered their verdict to the players. At least the Terrors gave a better account of themselves in the second 45 - they could hardly have been much worse - although there was probably an element of Redhill easing off a little knowing the job was all but done.
Shawn Lyle’s deflected effort looked to have given us something for our improved play, but the referee had seen some infringement and ruled it out. Then, with twenty minutes left, substitute Nathan Best showed good skills to engineer a shooting chance on the edge of the box, and curled an effort toward the top corner which keeper Luke Wynne-Roberts spectacularly palmed away with a superb one-handed save.
Redhill rubbed salt in the wound by breaking up the other end immediately, and scoring a fifth through Tyrese Sutherland’s second of the afternoon; Shay Brennan did get us on the scoresheet in the last minute with a lovely turn and finish from the edge of the area but it was far too little, far too late, to have any bearing on the result.
Cobham 2 T&MU 2
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An entertaining game on a crisp, autumnal afternoon, ended in honours even with both sides probably feeling they’d done enough to secure all three points.
Cobham looked a far better outfit than their lowly position suggested, and were particularly dangerous from set pieces. From one of these, twenty minutes in, they went in front as a simple far post corner was not dealt with by the Terrors defence, and Ryan Marklew rose to head in unchallenged.
It had been fairly even to that point, with the Terrors looking dangerous on the flanks, but the game threatened to get away from us a few minutes after the goal when our hosts were awarded a penalty following a coming together inside the box which looked fairly innocuous from the other end of the field.
Derick Heyford stepped up to take the kick, and although he didn’t strike it as firmly as he would have liked, it still needed saving and Tom Theobald did just that down low to his left to keep the deficit at one.
We began to edge our way back into the game and skipper Shay Brennan did well to get a shot in from the left-hand side of the box which was deflected inches wide of the post, the resulting corner coming to nothing.
Nathan Best showed good skills to engineer a shooting chance on the edge of the area, but dragged his effort wide as half-time approached.
It looked as if we’d be trailing at the break, when Theo and Deji worked the ball upfield and Shay outpaced his marker, getting to the ball just before advancing keeper Rourke Pickford and angling it past him stylishly.
We could still have gone in behind, though, as with the last action of the half, home striker Reis Stanislaus collected the ball just inside the area and drove a firm shot goalwards, only for Theo to deny him with a superb one-handed save up high to his left.
Sid Dack made a welcome return to the starting eleven, and a trademark pinpoint cross from him, seven minutes into the second period, allowed Shay to net with a fine volley and put us in front for the first time in the game.
The next goal was crucial; had we got it (and we had chances) we would surely have eased away to victory, but credit to Cobham who plugged away and twice went close to an equaliser (Theo made another fine save to foil Derick Heyford, and Reis Stanislaus twice headed wide when well-placed) before they made it 2-2 on 68 minutes as Stanislaus finally got one on target, heading in following another corner.
When Rhys Paul saw red for the home side fifteen minutes from the end, following a cynical challenge on Blake Loyza on the edge of the area, it looked set up for Tooting to nab a late winner - yet Heyford went closest in the final minute, blazing wide when unmarked close in.
T&MU 1 Hilltop 2
Cherry Red Records Premier Challenge Cup, 2nd Round, Tuesday 5 December 2023
Our Premier Division (north) counterparts started much the brighter, and had two opportunities to open the scoring in the first five minutes. One was saved well by Piotr Jachucha and the other blocked by a stretched Tooting defence.
However, on eight minutes we went in front when James Reed scored his first goal for the club, firing home a free-kick from just outside the box which went into the bottom left-hand corner.
Hopes that that would settle the Terrors down proved unfounded, as Hilltop bossed much of the rest of the half, growing in strength as they did so.
Just as it looked like Tooting would carry their slender advantage into the break, the visitors equalised on the stroke of half-time, when Hussein Mahdi fired home from the edge of the box.
As the second half progressed, Hilltop got stronger as the Terrors became increasingly ragged, and the visitors began to dominate, particularly down both flanks where they were fast and clever, and first to every loose ball.
Just before the hour mark, they deservedly took the lead after hesitation in the home defence led to Jordy Mumbiny forcing home a scrappy goal from close range.
Unfortunately, we never looked like threatening the visiting defence after that and the game petered out with Hilltop squandering several chances to further extend their lead.
I kept some stats as the evening progressed, and they make for pretty damning reading: we mustered four chances on target, and four off with two corners. Hilltop outdid us comprehensively with eight on target and ten off, forcing seven corners in the process. Unfortunately, that says it all as Tooting departed the League Cup with barely a whimper.
Deji Adeosun was one of the few home players who did make something of an impression on the night, and he was presented with the Ramble Inn Man-of-the-match award by Phil Steventon on behalf of the Aurora Centre at Merton College.
Match Report by Stewart Handy
T&MU 2 Tadley Calleva 3
Tooting are in a slump, and despite a much better display than we have seen in recent weeks, fell to a third successive home league defeat after two late goals completed the turnaround for our Hampshire visitors.
In truth, although Tadley-Calleva missed some glaring chances - most notably an open goal early on when the game was still goalless - we did more than enough to bank three points here, and the result just goes to show the fine margins a referee’s decisions can make when a club is chasing success, or looking to stave off failure.
We’d had much the better of the first half, taking the lead on twenty minutes thanks to Shay Brennan (who else?) who fired home a powerful half-volley from the edge of the box, after the ball had bobbled around with Tadley failing to apply the necessary clearance.
We’d had chances, some sparkling wing play from new signing Mario Quiassaca was followed by an incisive cross which Nathan Best could only half-connect with, and steer just wide. Justus Egbueri had escaped visiting shouts for a handball (it was ball to hand) to set up Shay who drove just across the face of goal and wide of the far post.
Tadley’s best chance had seen Kieran Rodgers beat Tom Theobald to a loose ball, and get it under control, but with the goal gaping, he steered his effort wide of the post.
But just when it looked as if Tooting would depart for the interval with a much-needed lead, our old defensive failings came back to haunt us again, with several opportunites to have leathered the ball away into the proverbial ‘Row Z’ not taken, which enabled Andrew Charsley to steer home a well-taken equaliser through a host of bodies seconds before the half-time whistle went.
The Terrors continued to look the better side as the second half progressed, with Tadley seemingly content to sit back and look to hit on the break, and we deservedly regained our lead on the hour mark when some superb wing-play from Nathan best culminated in a whipped-in cross which was forced home by some (legal) part of Shay’s anatomy.
The match hinged on an incident shortly afterwards, when Blake Loyza headed home ‘a third’ from a corner. The referee intially seemed to point to the centre-circle - surely indicating a goal - before changing his mind and disallowing the effort for a foul on the keeper. We were still reeling from this when Tadley broke, and Theo brought down a charging forward for a penalty, comfortably despatched by Kieran Rodgers with six minutes left. The sad inevitability of the last-minute winner, guided home by the same player, really did rub salt into what is beginning to look like a very gaping wound.
Match report by Ed Parlett
Carshalton Athletic 3 TMU 1
Specsavers Surrey Senior Cup, 2nd round, Monday 11 December 2023
On a chilly night, not far from home, Tooting & Mitcham gave a good account of themselves against our local rivals from two steps above.
Pouncing on a mistake by home goalkeeper Aaron Jones, who allowed a not-very-well-hit shot from Blake Loyza to slip through his fingers after just eleven minutes, Mario Quiassaca opened his account for the Terrors, bundling the ball home from close-range.
We weren’t in front for long, though, as Carshalton worked an opening through to Mark Marshall on the edge of the penalty area, and he sidestepped one defender before finding the bottom corner with Piotr Jachucha perhaps a little unsighted.
We went into the break on level terms - a fair reflection of the first half we had seen which, although dominated possession-wise by the Isthmian Premier Division side, had seen both teams with chances to inflict further damage on their opponents.
The second half played out much like the first, and Carshalton’s overall superiority showed in their scoring of two more goals. Former hero of the Bog End, Danny Bassett got the first of them, but - sure - he generally scores anyway. His goal was a typically well-taken strike after good work by his team-mate Tommy Bradford to carve open the chance for him. Oluwabunmi Babajide made it three with another close-range finish. Goals two and three were plundered inside the last fifteen minutes just as it looked like we might keep our hosts frustrated.
Tooting’s performance, whilst reaping no rewards after the break, delighted the ample travelling support; the lads gave a good account of themselves against a strong Carshalton side, and whilst the scoreline suggests some comfort for the hosts, the game itself will have been one that the Robins were happy to get through unscathed.
For us, it is a step in the right direction - particularly in light of recent disappointments - it certainly felt like that from watching in the stands, at least.
Match Report by Adam Best
TMU 1 Horley Town 2
Attendance: 148
Tooting & Mitcham’s home games are following a sadly familiar pattern just at the moment, as Horley inflicted a fourth successive home defeat on the Terrors (fifth, if you count the League Cup tie against Hilltop at the beginning of December).
That pattern usually includes : some controversial refereeing decisions, a disallowed goal and a dismissal for the home side, and a late goal against just when it looks as if our luck has changed, and we’re about to take something positive from our endeavours.
Horley arrived in a similar barren run of form as ourselves - that they left with their first win in seven league outings owed much to two huge slices of luck - a cruelly deflected goal in the first half, and a rather fortunate winner seconds from the end of stoppage time.
They took the lead in the fifteenth minute, when a speculative long-range cross cum shot sturck a home defender and veered wildly away from Jack Minchin, making his debut in goal.
We might have been level by half-time, had Mario Quiassaca’s close-range strike stood for his second goal in a week, but the flag was up and the goal ruled out.
Callum Porteous had been the victim of a number of questionable challenges, none of which were punished more severely than with a yellow card so perhaps his frustration which caused him to retaliate - while not condoned - was at least understandable. Callum saw red for his actions as the match entered the last period, and Tooting were up against it again.
To their credit, the Terrors seemed to have done enough to salvage a point when Blake Loyza bundled home a free-kick in the second of six added minutes at the end of the game, but Horley still found time to forge upfield, and win a free-kick themselves. Daniel Stone’s kick, driven low goalwards, may have taken another slight deflection - off friend or foe, it was hard to say - but somehow snuck in for the points.
Match report by Ed Parlett
TMU 1 Colliers Wood United 2
Combined Counties League Premier Division (south) Saturday 23 December 2023
Our last home game of 2023 went the way of too many others, as bottom club Colliers Wood overturned a half-time deficit to run out 2-1 winners and leave the Terrors without a win in seven league matches.
Tooting started positively, with Harvey Lavender hitting the angle of post and bar with a cross-cum-shot in the opening minutes, but the visitors had a chance to open the scoring themselves shortly after when a header went just past the post.
On twenty minutes, a driving run from Blake Loyza into the box was halted when he was brushed over by a defender; it looked a soft penalty award, but given we get denied so often with more clear-cut shouts, it was a welcome gesture and skipper Shay Brennan drove the spot-kick confidently past Wood ‘keeper Toby McKimm.
That should have been the platform Tooting needed to capitalise on against a team who had only secured one league win up until that point - and that way back at the start of the season.
Indeed, the lead could have been doubled not long after when Shay muscled a defender out of the way to seize control of the ball on the edge of the box,and his low cross found Mario Quiassaca whose neat turn and shot was deflected wide for a corner. Tooting continued to apply pressure as the corner was only half cleared, and Blake found himself with a chance but couldn’t summon enough power and McKimm held comfortably.
That we hadn’t managed to convert our superiority into goals was a worry at half-time, and we were duly punished early in the second half when a cross to the far post was converted by Coby Acquaye from about six inches.
With the home ranks severely depleted by injury, suspension and illness, gaffer Jamie Byatt picked himself to support Shay in attack and it was the player-manager who almost put the Terrors back in front when Shay twisted and turned, and sent the ball to the far post but it drifted away from Jamie and the chance was gone.
Just after Tooting had wasted another chance - sub Marcus Whittaker’s turn and cross being headed just over by Shay - the visitors were awarded a penalty, equally as soft as the one given to us. Jack Minchin showed superb reflexes to save the kick at mid-range to his left, but the ball was drilled back in and, amidst the confusion, found its way over the line via a home defender. There were so many bodies converging in the six-yard box, it was hard to pinpoint who had got the final touch.
Tooting attempted a grandstand finish in hopes of salvaging something from a difficult afternoon, but Jamie bursting clear of the defence and putting a shot wide when well-placed was the closest we came to a point.
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The club raised £200 for St George's Hospital at the match. Thank you for your generosity.
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Attendance 245
Match report by Ed Parlett
Epsom & Ewell 4 TMU 2
Combined Counties League Premier Division (south), Saturday 30 December 2023
A forgettable calendar year ended on a predictably low note as struggling Epsom & Ewell completed a league double over the Terrors for the first time since the 1932/33 season, when both teams competed in the nascent London League.
It was a Curate’s Egg of a performance from Tooting, who started in dominant fashion only for defensive frailties to rear their ugly head once again as we went behind on 23 minutes, in the hosts first real attack, when Luke Miller’s cross found Ethan Nelson-Roberts unmarked, and in acres of space which the home forward exploited to its fullest to head the ball home at the far post.
It didn’t take long for the Terrors to re-assert control, and we were back on terms shortly after when Mario Quiassaca was on hand to smash home a rebound after some good work by Shay Brennan to create the chance.
It got better minutes later, as Mario bagged his second with a powerful near-post header, and with Tooting well on top at this point, it looked only a matter of time before the lead was extended, as the Salts foundered.
However, as so often in recent times, the half-time break proved a turning point, and Epsom emerged for the second period with a renewed sense of purpose - no doubt after an ear-bashing from their manager in the dressing room.
Epsom were forced into a substitution early in the second half, as Oli Thompson left the field with a groin injury, but his replacement, Lewis Perch, was destined to play a game-changing role as he emerged from the bench.
As the steady rain turned to lashing sleet, Epsom adjusted to the conditions much the better, and were on terms just past the hour as the impressive Miller was on hand to fire a loose ball home and score a well-taken goal.
With our forward line increasingly isolated in the poor visibility, we were finding it hard to engineer anything positive in the opponent’s half of the field, and the restoration of the lead for the Salts was duly attained with twenty minutes left as the increasingly influential substitute Perch found Jaan Stanley who calmly side-footed in number three.
Tooting attempted to force their way back into the game, but were still struggling to create anything tangible - such a disappointment after the rampant first-half display - and we were punished for our toothlessness once again as Perch got some personal reward for his tireless running when he arrived seemingly unseen at the far post and slid in number four to seal the points with six minutes left. It put the cap on a miserable afternoon; hopefully a New Year will bring more positive results for Tooting & Mitcham.
Match report by Ed Parlett
Colliers Wood United 1-2 T&MU
Combined Counties Premier Division (south), Wednesday 24 January 2024
Tooting finally got a first match of 2024 under our belts, and shrugged off the frustrations of so many recent weeks to record our first victory since the dying days of October, picking up a more than welcome three points.
The match was won by a brace from Shay Brennan, both coming during the first-half, and - despite some jitters which led to a late reply for the hosts, plenty of cards (including a red for Dej Adeosun) and visits to the ‘Sin Bin’ - the Terrors just about held on to the victory.
A revitalised Colliers Wood, recent victors at Imperial Fields, started brightly and carved out a couple of early half-chances, one of which drew a good save from Jack Minchin. But Tooting settled down as the half progressed and went in front just past the half-hour when Shay was on hand to stroke home after some nice movement and a pinpoint cut-back to the striker.
Just before the break, it was two as the skipper measured a beautiful right-foot volley into the net following a corner.
But we never make it easy for ourselves, and as the match entered the final period, with the Wood plugging away diligently but offering little in the way of tangible threat, things took a turn for the worse as Deji saw red for dissent. This led to some unseemly scuffles, cards being waved around, players sent to the ‘Sin Bin’ for a temporary wind-down, and a renewed sense of purpose for the home side.
They were slightly fortunate to receive a penalty for hand-ball, when it seemed more a case of ball-to-hand after being struck with some power, but Jack Minchin saved well - as he had from the same opposition roughly a month ago. However, on that occasion they managed to scramble the ball home as it rebounded from Minchin’s save and the same happened again here - Kacper Nozka credited with the final touch which forced the ball into the net.
Thankfully, heads were kept in the few minutes that remained as Andy O’Brien marshalled the defence through the dregs of the match to an important victory.
Match report by Ed Parlett
T&MU 5-0 Fleet Town
Combined Counties Premier Division (south), Saturday 27 January 2024
The Terrors continued their explosive start to the new calendar year with a clinical dismantling of one of the form teams in the division to make it back-to-back wins for the first time since October, and rekindle optimism around Imperial Fields, just when it seemed to be diminishing rapidly.
The visitors arrived in south London having won six of their last seven matches to move onto the fringes of play-off contention, and looked confident and well-organised early on. After a fairly cagey opening, Fleet stepped up a gear to force Jack Minchin into saving well from a cross-shot which might have deceived him. Appeals for a penalty shortly after were met with a shake of the head (the referee) and sarcastic jeering (the BogEnd), but at this stage, it looked like we had a tough afternoon on our hands.
It seemed like things would get a little easier on 24 minutes, when recent signing Lolu Ojo showed good trickery down the left flank, cut inside leaving his marker for dead, and sent an inch-perfect ball across for Shay Brennan (who else?) to convert first-time from roughly level with the penalty spot.
There was still little indication of what was to come as Fleet enjoyed plenty of possession, put together some nice passing movement, but were being frustrated by a Terrors defence marshalled superbly by Andy O’Brien.
At the start of the second half, the visitors looked to step up their efforts but the Tooting defence continued to hold firm and look for an opportunity to hit them with a quick counter.
This presented itself twenty minutes into the second period, when the hosts broke out of defence with Mario Quiassaca leading the charge. The big man flicked the ball neatly past his marker, and infield to his skipper whose first shot was blocked by keeper Joel Halliday, but the rebound was gleefully buried with aplomb to double the advantage.
Fleet were suddenly on the back-foot, as confidence soared in the home ranks and just five minutes later it was three when Andy O’Brien headed powerfully home from a free-kick, giving Halliday no chance.
There was little respite now as Tooting expelled all their frustrations of recent times, and went for the throat. O’Brien smashed his second and the Terrors’ fourth with a powerful strike from just inside the box after the ball had pinged around following a free-kick, and Shay completed another hat-trick (and took his total for the season to 26 league goals) by finishing off a flowing move with another clinical finish. It was the perfect end to a perfect afternoon - the challenge now will be to keep this sort of form going into forthcoming fixtures and see where it takes us.
Attendance 175.
Match report by Ed Parlett
Balham 2-1 T&MU
Combined Counties Premier Division (south), Saturday 3 February 2024
Let’s make no bones about it - Tooting should have come away from this game with a comfortable three points in the bag, having extended our 100% record to three matches in 2024 in the process.
We dominated this game for the majority, so much so it is difficult to recall any clear-cut goalscoring opportunites for the hosts - until the last seventeen minutes when they suddenly found two goals against our hitherto watertight defence.
Balham started the match playing a very high defensive line, which was breached twice in the early knockings, with Shay Brennan breaking clear before he steered his shot just wide of the post, and Conor Melody doing similar to skip down the flank and cross to Blake Loyza whose shot was smothered.
Further chances fell to Lolu Ojo and recent returnee Noah Kelo, both of whom tried their luck from distance - Lolu’s was the closer effort, clearing the bar by inches as the Terrors continued to display the initiative.
If you play with fire, you’re liable to get burned at some point; the only surprise may have been that it took until four minutes from half-time to finally break through with purpose. Mario Quiassaca and Shay Brennan both broke clear beyond the last man, with the flag staying down as Balham appealed for offside. The big man showed a deft touch as keeper Haydn Read advanced, slipping it neatly past him and into the corner of the net.
The Tooting dominance continued as the second half got underway, as we retained the lion’s share of possession, playing the majority of the next thirty minutes in the Balham half of the field. If a Sky Sports-style heat-map had been produced, the Tooting penalty area would have resembled the Antarctic.
Around the hour mark came the clearest chance to double our advantage, as Shey Brennan latched on to an inviting through-pass, advanced into the penalty area, and rounded the keeper to leave himself with a gaping net; however the usually reliable frontman’s sights were slightly askew here, and he could only put the ball into the side-netting.
This reprieve gave the hosts a bit more confidence, and their topscorer Tom Read put them on terms when Tooting failed to clear a corner.
But almost immediately, it looked like Shay had atoned for his earlier profligacy, as another (seemingly) well-timed run saw him clear of the back line to receive Lolo’s through pass and execute an unerring first-time finish past Read, but this time Balham’s appeals were upheld, and a late flag went up.
That was frustrating, but worse was to come when sub Andre Rosa got the winner, with - admittedly - a fine lob over a stranded Jack Minchin. A late Terrors flurry failed to yield a point, which would have been the least we deserved.
Match report by Ed Parlett
T&MU 2-1 Camberley Town
Combined Counties Premier Division (south), Saturday 10 February 2024
Tooting made it three wins out of four since the turn of the year, holding off a late flurry from the vistors to record a narrow triumph.
Camberley didn’t look much bigger than our boys, but adopted a physical approach from the first whistle that took us by surprise a little; thankfully it was stamped out with some judicious use of the whistle by referee Alfred Finch-Critchley, enabling us to settle down and start to dominate proceedings.
Our first chance saw Conor Melody play a nice ball down the channel for Shay Brennan to run on to. The skipper side-stepped a defender neatly, but couldn’t get sufficient weight on his shot and it deflected off a visiting defender, across the face of the goal, and wide.
We were in front after our next significant attack, when full-back Johnny Akoto picked up the ball just inside his own half and went on a mazy run, shrugging off defenders with ease until he found himself on the edge of the area. Seeing a gap to the goalkeeper’s left, he went for it and curled a beauty beyond him and in.
The Terrors’ tails were up, and we threatened to increase the lead on several occasions before the first-half was out; a run from Conor down the right ended in a looping cross which Mario Quiassaca headed just over, Shay was slightly wide with his speculative shot, and a low ball angled goalwards by Blake Loyza was just about held by Owen Crawford in the Camberley goal. The visitors were offering little in response as we saw out the half comfortably on top.
A brief flurry of Camberley pressure at the start of the second period yielded litte in the way of tangible chances, and we eased our way back into control and topped off a dominant passage of play with the second goal just before the hour; Shay advanced with the ball into the box, and provided a deft touch to Blake who measured a cushioned header past Crawford.
That seemed to be that, but Camberley conjured up a well-taken goal, quite out of place with what they had produced to this point, when Kingsley Anokye curled home from the edge of the box but we held on for victory.
Attendance 170.
Match report by Ed Parlett
T&MU 2 - 1 Cobham
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A good victory with Quiasacca and Brennan on the scoresheet.
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Full report to follow...
Abbey Rangers 0-2 T&MU
Combined Counties Premier Division (south), Saturday 17 February 2024
Tooting gave a glimpse of the side they could be under Jamie Byatt, with a thoroughly impressive dismantling of third-placed Abbey Rangers on their own pitch. This victory moves us back into the top half of the table and re-ignites hopes that a play-off place may yet be possible. Of course, the trick is to put performances like this together on a consistent basis - particularly against those sides with high ambitions of their own - but, at least for now, we can bask in the warm glow of a thoroughly satisfying afternoon.
It is hard to recall any moments where the hosts put us under any real pressure as the defence didn’t put a foot wrong all afternoon. It would be easy to single out Andy O’Brien and Lewis Gonsalves as the reason - and of course they were immense again - but Louie Reid and Johnny Akoto have also started to show resiliency and confidence, and with Noah Kelo and Deji Adeosun - starting together for the first time - protecting the back four, there was no way through a formidable barrier.
This solidity at the back allowed our attacking players to play with confidence, and they might have plundered more goals that would have given the scoreline an even more eye-catching look.
Midway through the first half, a promising move led to Blake Loyza breaking down the left. He cut inside and sent a dipping cross into the box. The home defence failed to clear and the ball fell to Shay Brennan at the far post but his first-time effort struck the bottom of the post (possibly a combination of keeper and post) and was hacked away from danger.
In the 34th minute, a ball lofted over the top didn’t seem too dangerous, but the Abbey defence made a mess of things, and Shay seized on the loose ball, shrugged off a defender, and finished in style. Tooting had the reward for an enterprising first-half display.
Jack Minchin had had little to do in the opening period, a routined save from a header being the only time he was really called upon to get his hands dirty, but it was hard to believe things would stay the same after the break. However, he may as well have brought a deck-chair back out with him, so untroubled was he in the second-half.
The game was effectively put to bed six minutes after the restart; Blake had already gone close with a twsting header, but the goal that doubled our advantage would not have been out of place several levels higher. A free-kick was floated across the penalty area, and Tooting won two key duels in the air. From the second of these, Blake flicked the ball into the path of Mario Quiassaca, and the big striker took it down on his thigh, before hammering it across the keeper and into the top left corner. A demoralised home side never looked like thay had it in them to come back from that, and Tooting declared at two to bring a huge three points back to south London.
Match report by Ed Parlett
Croydon Athletic 0-3 T&MU
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A tremendous performance and a great result as Tooting turned on the style. The scorers were Blake Loyza, Shay Brennan and Conor Melody
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Full report to follow...
T&MU 0-1 Knaphill
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Tooting kicked off away from Bishopsford Road. Tooting had won their last four league games. Knaphill wore their 2nd kit of yellow.
It was a cold day and both teams struggled to get going, but Knaphill took the lead after 31 minutes with a strange goal having hit the bar twice and the ball tapped in as an own goal by Lewis Gonsalves who could not clear the crowded goal area.
Knaphill looked livelier and missed several chances. They had their usual three forwards missing due to injuries and only had two naned Substitutes on the bench.
H-T 0-1.
In the 61st minute Lewis Gonsalves was sent off for stamping on a Knaphill player, but it looked a harsh decision.
There were very few attacks from both teams and despite Tooting making several changes towards the end, there was little to challenge Knaphill goalkeeper Jos Barker.
F-T 0-1 Attendance 165
Sheerwater 3-1 T&MU
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Shay Brennan's 30th league goal of the season wasn't enough to prevent defeat.
Full report to follow...
Spelthorne Sports 1-0 T&MU
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Tooting were unable to respond to an early goal and fell to a 3rd successive defeat.
Full report to follow...
T&MU 1-2 Sandhurst Town
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Sandhust Town Kicked off the match.
Both teams had early chances but Sandhust took the lead in the first half with a penalty.
Shay Brennan, our top scorer, made it 1-1 just before half time.
H-T 1-1.
We had strange weather with heavy showers and then bright, warm sunshine.
Sandhurst took the lead again after a header from a corner hit the bar, which was then headed in after it looked like it had been cleared by Minchin in goal. 1-2.
In the last minute Shay Brennan missed a penalty that was saved, to condemn the Terrors to another home defeat
F-T 1-2.
Attendance 201.
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Alton 5-0 T&MU
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Another disappointing defeat for the Terrors away at Alton.
Full report to follow...
Guildford City 0-2 T&MU
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An away win for Tooting & Mitcham United thanks to two goals in the first half including a Brennan penalty.
Full report to follow...
T&MU 0-2 Jersey Bulls
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An amazing, friendly atmosphere before the game. Jersey Bulls fans had travelled at 10am from Jersey to Gatwick and put up flags at the Crown Pub before parading to the ground.
It was a close first half with not too much goalmouth action.
H-T 0-0.
A fantastic Jersey goal in the 68th minute as the ball is picked up and put high right Lorne Bickley to beat Jack Minchin. T&M 0 Jersey 1.
Jersey made it 2-0 in 2nd half added time with a close range shot by Miguel Carvalho.
Man of the match was Shay Brennan who worked hard but to no avail this time.
So just one home game left against Champions Farnham Town where there will be no doubt another bumper crowd.
Attendance 269
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Redhill 5-1 T&MU
Tooting were punished for a lack lustre performance at Redhill and were 4 down at half time. Some Tooting fans were consulting the record books as Redhill carved through our defence at will and were 3-0 up within 13 minutes. There were more chances for the home side and it was no surprise when they added a 4th before half time.
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Tooting responded quite well in the 2nd half and managed to put some pressure on the Redhill defence that at one point in the game consisted of 3 former Tooting left backs! Tooting's pressure paid off when Brennan found some space in the box and clinically despatched the ball away for his 33rd league goal of the season. But there was to be no miracle comeback and Redhill had the final say, adding a 5th late on.
Minchin; Dack (Porteous), O'Brien, Gonsalves, Ojo; Loyza, Melody (Caulton), Adeosun (Hutchings), Kelo; Quiassaca (Munoz), Brennan. Sub not used: Byatt
Sandhurst Town 4-0 T&MU
Tooting made a disastrous start the game when a mix up in defence presented Sandhurst with the opening goal in just the 8th minute. From that point on, the home side were in the ascendency and probably should have added to their score. Indeed it wasn't until stoppage time in the first half that Tooting had their first attempt on target when Mbango had a clever chip shot palmed away by the keeper.
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Tooting started the 2nd half with a lot more intent and were spending a lot of time in and around the home team's box. But the good work was undone when an unfortunate deflection off O'Brien found the net when the original shot was going well wide. Still Tooting pushed forward, but to credit the Sandhurst defence they prevented the Terrors from creating any gilt edged chances. As Tooting pushed forward, they were slightly exposed at the back and Sandhurst made the most of this with some clinical finishing and finished the afternoon 4-0 victors. Tooting might feel the final scoreline was a little harsh.
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Minchin; Dack (Porteous), O'Brien, Hutchings, Ojo; Mbango, Melody, Adeosun (Daye), Kelo; Quiassaca (Reed), Loyza. Subs not used: Munoz, Caulton.
Farnham Town 2-0 T&MU
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Tooting were undone by goals either side of half time having had a coupe of chances to take the lead.
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Full report to follow...
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T&MU 0-7 Farnham Town
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A disastrous ending to the season equaling our biggest home league defeat.
Attendance 289.
The last game of the season was us welcome unbeaten Farnham to Imperial Fields.
It was a chilly day and several Farnham fans travelled to watch the Combined Counties League Pemier South Champions.
Farnham are unbeaten this season and looked comfortable throughout.
Tooting fans were great despite another defeat and even did a Congo dance around the Stadium.
Sadly Farnham scored in the 18th, 25th and 39th minuted making it 3-0 at half-time. Then 55th, 59th, 66th and 72nd to make it 0-7. This is the clubs joint highest ever home League defeat.
T&M didn't really have a decent chance and were well beaten.
We finished 13th in the league table.
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