We made a couple more changes to Saturday’s team: Connor McShane came in for Brendan Murphy-McVey, and Andrew Herring replaced Ali Fofahan up front. Brendan and Ali joined what was actually a strong bench due to players returning from injuries and no suspensions.
A crowd of 151, with a large contingent from Tooting & Mitcham, enjoyed a very tight game with little goalmouth action. We started quicker, but T&M soon took control of the game, although we had the only chances that troubled the keepers. They moved the ball around quickly, and our midfield was doing a lot of chasing, but our defence held strong and Faebian Witter in goal had little to trouble him.
On 11 minutes, T&M had their first chance when No. 8, Darrel Wopara, beat Toby Young for pace on their left, but his shot/cross went harmlessly across the goalmouth for a goal kick. Luis Oliveira went on a driving run on 26 minutes, beating three tackles, but his shot was not particularly strong and was easily snapped up by (former Salt) Toby McKimm in the T&M goal.
Harry Murphy was shown a yellow card in the 33rd minute for what looked like an innocuous challenge. The next chance occurred on 43 minutes, when we moved the ball nicely out to Luke on the right. He seemed to lose it but managed to get it to Luis, who again went on a run into the box and found Jason Vincent, whose shot was saved again by McKimm. T&M had been restricted to a couple of corners, each one easily dealt with by Witter in the Epsom & Ewell goal.
There were no more chances of note, and the teams went in honours even.
HT – Epsom & Ewell 0–0 Tooting & Mitcham United
The second half continued in the same vein. T&M seemed to be controlling the game but not creating many goal chances. A shot on 55 minutes from T&M went very wide of the goal. We made a substitution with Brendan replacing Connor, who had covered an awful lot of ground, and on 57 minutes Ali replaced Andrew Herring, while Oba Akinniranye came on for Luke Miller, who was having one of his quieter games. Emmanuel Limpo replaced Harry Murphy on 62 minutes.
On 64 minutes, Jason won the ball with a great challenge and found Oba on the right. He drove into the box, beating two players, but couldn’t find Jason, who had continued his run, and the ball was cleared for a corner. On 68 minutes, Ali was fouled just outside the box in the centre of the goal, but McVey’s shot was easily saved by McKimm.
Epsom & Ewell were starting to put pressure on T&M now, with a bit more pace up front and a direct approach, and we created a number of chances but just couldn’t find the final touch to get a deserved goal. T&M No. 11, Tyrese Ayeni, was then booked for a poor challenge on Oba on the left-hand side, but again the free-kick came to nothing. We then brought on Che Bell for Kionte on 75 minutes, and we went the real direct route, with every throw-in being sent into the heart of the T&M goalmouth.
On 82 minutes, with one of their few forays into our half, T&M’s No. 2, Tariq Mahmoud, was found in the box. He moved the ball, trying to find space for a shot, but didn’t get a chance until the ball deflected off a Salts defender and bounced nicely into his path, where he drilled it into the net.
Epsom & Ewell 0–1 Tooting & Mitcham United
Unfortunately, despite the effort, we couldn’t find that composure in front of goal, and it got a bit frantic, with a final chance from Naz going over the bar from about six yards.
Final Score – Epsom & Ewell 0–1 Tooting & Mitcham United
It was a hard-fought game with little goalmouth action. T&M probably had more of the ball, and we had more chances, but they took the one that fell their way. Did we deserve a point? Absolutely – and the way the T&M players celebrated with their fans showed the relief of getting three points here at Chalky Lane.
After the game, joint managers Max and Craig, although disappointed, were pleased with the performance, feeling all the players gave a good account of themselves. But again, it shows how much we miss Kingsley in these tight games.
Anyway, we go to Redhill on Saturday, who are a couple of places above us, with a 3pm kick-off at Kiln Brow, and we have another difficult away game on Tuesday night at Alton.
As always, it would be great to see you there.
