Tooting & Mitcham United v Fleet Town
Combined Counties Premier South
This wasn’t my planned game for this weekend, I was due to be heading for Clacton for the Holland v Pinchbeck match, but a mixture of bus replacement services making the journey closer to five hours each way and, on the day, issues around Waterloo due to signal problems, meant a replacement match needed to be found.
A few weeks back on my visit to Leatherhead I’d met a Tooting fan heading to Sandhurst on Guildford station and he mentioned how good the food is at Imperial Fields and for some strange reason that thought stuck in my head. So, a plan for a trip to Tooting & Mitcham, which would be a new ground for me, was hatched. The train journey being one of my easier ones this season, train to Clapham Junction, a change to Mitcham Junction and a twenty minute walk to the ground from there. The walk Google maps gives you takes you right through an industrial area to the ground but it’s pretty straightforward.
I arrived at the club just after 1.30pm and, with it being a warm day, headed into the club for a drink. They had a fair selection on and I settled on a pint of Somersby cider which cost a very reasonable £3.70. I watched the Man City v Palace second half before venturing to the turnstiles. These opened at 2.20pm and the man on the turnstile first turned me away from one which he then closed, before letting me in albeit a little tersely in a second. I guess he must just have had a bad morning! Anyway, entry is £8 for an adult, £5 for concessions and free for accompanied under 18s.
Inside the ground I bought an excellent printed programme for £3 and had a go on the golden goal (picking out 53 & 74 minutes), and their club matchday raffle, fully expecting to keep up my 100% record of never winning anything at a football match (more on that later). Next came my wander around the perimeter, it feels like a very spacious ground with a large stand on the near side and two decent terraced ends with cover in the middle if required.
Earlier in the week I’d mentioned I was making the journey on social media and Stephen Reynolds contacted me with some info and suggested I ask for him at the club shop. That I did and he very kindly took me to the boardroom to see some of the historic photos and gave me some interesting background on the club, past, present and some of their future plans.
From there I went onto the food cabin where I ordered a bacon cheeseburger which came in a toasted brioche bun and very nice it was too, again reasonable at £5. You can also buy bottled beer there which range from £3.70 to £4.70, including Hobgoblin Ruby at £4 which is cheap for football grounds!
Going into the game Fleet Town had all but confirmed the final play-off place and with their hosts sitting in eighth place in the Combined Counties Premier South.
I took my place in the stand and onto the match itself which, from the start, had a very “end of season” feel to it, with a distinct lack of goalmouth action in the first half. A mistake from a Fleet defender presented Conor Melody with the ball just outside the box, he steadied himself then fired a shot trying to lift it over Finlay Purcell in the Fleet goal only to see it whistle just over the bar.
Fleet’s only shot of note came just shy of the break when Luke Chiki Kandi found Ryan Case on the left. He cut inside the defender and tried to find the far corner beating Toby McKimm in the Terrors goal but also drifting just wide of the upright.
A lacklustre first 45 minutes came to a close with neither side managing a shot on target.
H-T: Tooting & Mitcham 0 Fleet Town 0
The break was much more entertaining, listening to match announcer Joel Ormsby who was very entertaining and some of his quips throughout the break and beyond were very amusing. If you’re ever at a match at Imperial Fields listen out for him, he’s definitely not your usual match day announcer!
Onto the second half and the visitors began to push for an opening. Fleet captain Josh Stepney hit a great effort from distance which cannoned off the post with McKimm beaten in the 53rd minute, which was my golden goal time and is probably the closest I’ve ever come to winning something. So close to breaking my losing streak!
Chiki Kandi had a sight of goal minutes later, finding himself in space on the edge of the box but fired straight into the arms of McKimm. The hosts hit straight back with Shay Brennan winning a heading duel from a long ball forward, he picked up the loose ball and fired goalwards but Purcell was well positioned to save easily low to his left.
In the 73rd minute (so close again!) the home side had the ball in the net. A long cross from the right was headed into the six yard box where Sam Orisatoki got his head to it only to see it bounce off the bar with Max Oldham on hand to bundle the loose ball into the net. The Fleet players were appealing and the referee finally went to speak to his assistant on the far side and disallowed the goal, I can only assume it was either for a foul in the box or an offside.
That seemed to spark the hosts into life. Hussein Siklawi hit a great effort on target from a free kick on the right side of the box and Purcell did well to parry away from danger.
In the 89th minute the Terrors won a corner which, when floated in, the Fleet defence failed to clear despite having three opportunities to do just that. Brennan picked up the loose ball on the left hand side of the box, cut inside and fired across Purcell and into the far corner. 1-0
The hosts nearly made the game safe in added time, Brennan took the ball into the corner but showing neat footwork he smuggled it past the defenders before playing it into the path of Oldham but he hit his shot just too high.
F-T: Tooting & Mitcham United 1 Fleet Town 0 Att: 252
Not the best game but a very entertaining day out in the sunshine all the same. Good to catch up with Tim, a groundhopper who does follow Fleet when he can with them being his local side. He’d been to the Chelsea Women’s FA Cup semi final at lunchtime and just made it to Tooting in time for the kick off. Also good to meet up with Daniel, a young groundhopper, too.
I’ve heard a lot about the food at “The Shak” who serve Caribbean delicacies inside the ground but unfortunately didn’t get to try any on this visit. Still, it gives me a damn good reason to come back at some point in the future!
Thanks to all the people I met on the day, Stephen Reynolds for his help and hospitality, Joel for his witty compering and the “quiet” pre-match playlist, and to all the other helpful and welcoming volunteers at the club that made this a grand day out, to coin a phrase. I left the ground with my first non-league club baseball cap and a pocket full of programmes which signals it’s been a very good day!
Good luck to Fleet in the play-offs and all the best to both clubs in the future!