Tooting Beat the Blues
Form is temporary, class is permanent. So opined the late, great, Bill Shankley, and it is an adage which T&MUFC fans have been clinging to throughout the thirty days of November; a barren month which yielded only four league points from the twelve contested, and saw the club depart two more knockout competitions.
With the festive period only eight days old, we have already equalled the number of wins achieved in the whole of the previous calendar month. Rather oddly, even these have a symmetry about them – a home triumph over Barking (in the London Senior Cup this time, as opposed to the league) followed by a thrilling performance away from home, and a hatful of goals against a team standing in a higher position in the pyramid than ourselves.
Which brings us to Chertsey, as did (in my case) a couple of trains, a connecting bus, a days hike through open fields and a perilous climb up a sheer rock face, guided by trusty Sherpa. OK, I may have exaggerated slightly, but it wasn’t my easiest trip to watch a Tooting away game and, knowing the potential pitfalls in advance, it was one I was in two minds about making as Saturday morning progressed. The alternative of getting a few supplies in from the supermarket and settling down to a therapeutic afternoon in the warm, in front of the snooker, was quite tempting – particularly when taking into account the mind-numbing frustration of the previous weekend and the goalless draw at home to Marlow. That had very nearly ended in carnage, on the first really cold afternoon of winter, and didn’t exactly have me scurrying out of the door as AM gave way to PM this week. But, it was dry and distinctly milder than of late and given that I’d had my fill of supermarket excitement for the week (courtesy of an unexpected item in the baggage area the previous evening), I decided to take the plunge…
And what a good decision it turned out to be. Chertsey Town FC are domiciled in a tidy little stadium, tucked away in a quiet corner of the town. The locals were out in force to celebrate the annual pre-Christmas goose festival (what this consists of I’m not entirely sure, but I would take Tim Megone’s assertions of witchcraft and morris dancing with a pinch of salt). A good number of the goosed-up (?) patrons made their way to the ground and, along with the usual impressive travelling support, created a rousing atmosphere as kick-off approached.
The Terrors, sporting our lucky plum away strip, were fast out of the blocks and didn’t give the hosts a chance to settle. With Jamarie Brissett and a revitalized Razzaq Coleman pulling the strings on the flanks, the early signs were good. The visitors initial dominance finally gave way to a well deserved lead when Raz controlled a lovely cross-field ball, pulled away from his marker and sent an inviting cross into the penalty area toward a waiting Hady Ghandour. Even then, there was a lot to be done, but Hady took the ball well, twisted and turned away from two markers to make space for a shot, and gleefully buried it, before disappearing into a throng of jubilant bog-enders. The lead was deserved, but it looked like the joy would be short-lived as a matter of minutes later, the referee was pointing to the spot and giving the hosts a chance of parity. Any complaints about the validity of the decision were soon snuffed out, as the ever-present James Shaw got down to his left to keep the lead intact. Spurred on by this, it didn’t take long for the visitors to double their advantage; the tireless Connor French received a throw-in near to the corner flag and put over an inviting cross from which Hady netted his second with a textbook glancing header that wouldn’t have been out of place in a professional match. As the half progressed, Tooting began to take complete control and could have been further to the good before the break, with French and new signing Ainsley Everett both spurning chances to increase the advantage before the referee called a temporary halt to the proceedings.
Rather predictably, the buzz from the travelling support during the break was one of cautious optimism; the two goal lead was useful, but as at Bracknell last season, when we’d outplayed a team unbeaten on their own territory (admittedly only to the tune of one goal that day), the next strike could prove to be the turning point if the hosts could bag it. They did try to exert some pressure as the game resumed, but Sol Patterson-Bohner and Darryl Coleman marshalled the defence superbly and snuffed out any threat that may have caused us concern. After weathering the storm, control was regained and it was Hady who almost completed his hat-trick with a sublime looping effort from outside the area which beat the ‘keeper all ends up, but bounced back off the crossbar. He didn’t have to wait long to complete the job though; with thirteen minutes to play another textbook header made it 3-0, and shortly thereafter a corner brilliantly backheeled by Dominic Morgan-Griffiths into the path of the man of the moment resulted in his and Tooting’s fourth goal.
Chertsey were demoralised by now, as Didi Castanho emerged from the bench and barely had time to smoulder before touching in number five as a discombobulated home defence begged for the final whistle. Their pleas did not fall on deaf ears, and a thoroughly rewarding journey was complete. All that remained was the obligatory handshakes and embraces of the heroes who had done us so proud, and the long trek home had begun.
