Tooting and Mitcham United 2 Epsom & Ewell 1 – 29 November 2025 Report

Match Report

Despite a strong league position and unbeaten away record, the Terrors went into this encounter without a home league win since the end of September, and were coming off a mauling from Knaphill in our previous outing at Imperial Fields – so it was imperative that three points were bagged, with the performance almost irrelevant to the result.

In the event, it was a tough, feisty encounter with our visitors adopting a very physical approach. That the game ended with seven yellow cards (five to the Salts) on the pitch was testament to that, and with the points duly bagged (though not without one or two scares along the way) it can be chalked up as a successful afternoon – but not one we’ll be looking to repeat in a hurry!

The tone was set in the first minute, when Jordy Ndozid was the first to enter the referee’s notebook after a heavy challenge on Ali Fofahan. The Epsom man then carved out the first chance of the afternoon when his cross found three Salts players in threatening positions at the far post; perhaps it was a case of ‘too many cooks’, as Stefan Aiwone – probably distracted by the presence of his team-mates – could only head the ball harmlessly over the bar.

The next action of note saw Tooting take the lead; a cross into the box resulted in a spot of pinball, as the ball bounced around, then hit Antonios Nazareth on the hand. the Salts claimed it was ball to hand, but the visiting defender seemed to have ample opportunity to get his arm out of the way, yet seemed disinclined to do so. In my opinion, the referee had little option but to point to the spot, and Shay Brennan drove the penalty home with confidence.

In a game of few chances, what proved to be the crucial strike came in first-half stoppage time when Shay set Max Oldham away down the right. Three Salts defenders were drawn to him like a moth to a flame, which meant there was nobody picking up Taz Mahmoud at the far post, and he calmly slotted the cross past former Terrors keeper Sam Nabbad to put Tooting well in command.

It was almost 3-0 just minutes into the second-half, when Nabbad came a long way off his line and failed to get the clearing touch he was looking for. Timothy Obisanya was forced wide as he tried to get the ball under control, and Aiwone managed to get back to make a last-ditch tackle to prevent another, which would surely have been curtains for our visitors.

There wasn’t much artistry on display, with long-balls and hopeful over the top punts the order of the day – though the dramatic sunset and general enthusiasm of both teams ensured it was still entertaining fare. Without really looking particularly threatening in the last third of the field, Epsom inched their way back into the game through sheer persistence, and finally got their reward when a decent move down the right ended with the ball being crossed to Tyler Robinson. His effort was blocked, but not cleared, and fell to substitute Adam Green. Once again, the shot was blocked by the home defence, but once again they failed to get it away, and Robinson’s second bite of the cherry proved decisive as he swept the ball home from close range.

There was plenty of time for nervousness to set in, but Epsom largely failed to press home their supposed momentum; indeed, it was Tooting who had one or two chances to kill the game off, but – ultimately – the first half strikes had proved decisive, and the Terrors moved back up to second at the close of play.

Team Lineup