Leatherhead 4 - 5 Binfield

Leatherhead suffered the kind of capitulation rarely seen outside of Day 2 of the Ashes, as we conceded five – five! – second-half goals to Binfield.

In the first half, this all seemed so easy and straightforward. Anas set up Breckon for a tap-in. 1–0. Hogan shot with his right, then followed up the rebound with his left. 2–0. Then Anas scored a fine goal. 3–0. Leatherhead's potent trident were in full effect.

Half-time brought a moment to sit down with a cup of tea and contemplate how many more we would score… then things started to unravel.

At half-time, Massango made way for Charlie Kennett at left-back and things seemed OK. Binfield came out looking for a way back into the game, but we were comfortable. Their opener was perhaps a little fortuitous, taking a massive deflection to beat Sonny. Nothing to worry about: 3–1.

Then we made a double substitution that probably turned the game. Gallagher and Hogan went off. Suddenly, all of the swagger and potency left the pitch, and our left-hand side were new to a game where the pace was about to step up. Three quick goals followed from Binfield, all attacks down their right, fired in with a pace that Leatherhead seemed unwilling or unable to deal with. 3–4.

With 15 minutes to go, even with the shock of now losing a game we had looked certain to win, I thought we could bounce back… but then we gave away a penalty and the visitors made it 3–5, despite Sonny diving the right way.

To Leatherhead's credit, we tried to salvage a point. Hedley headed home, and Binfield survived two scares when they were able to head the ball off the line and their 'keeper dived sharply to his left to stop a deflected shot from creeping in.

This is the kind of result that, had we seen Moneyfields, Westfield, etc. do this, we would have wet ourselves laughing. As it is, we are the wetees and not the wetor.

Tanners 2 - 3 Horsham

Leatherhead didn't have enough in the tank to see the job out against their National League South opposition after taking a first-half 2-0 lead.

 

Over 1,600 fans came to see the showdown, and Leatherhead not only avoided a perhaps expected early battering but took the game to Horsham. The first goal came after just seven minutes when Anas was allowed far too much space on the ball to run into the box and pick out Hogan. His finish was crisp, to the near post, and beat the hapless 'keeper with ease. 1-0.

 

With Hogan playing through the middle, Jordan Gallagher was given the freedom to play down the right, and he relished the task. Like Anas, the Horsham defence found him difficult to handle, and on 36 minutes, he drove into the box. Two or three defenders tried to stop the attack, but none of them fully committed, and with the 'keeper also coming off his line, Jordan simply rolled it into an open net. 2-0.

 

Moments later, Jordan attempted to curl one into the same corner from further out. Had it not been just a foot wide, a 3-0 lead might have been too much for Horsham to bounce back from. But wide it went, and we went into the break 2-0 up…

 

The second half was a very different story. Horsham had regrouped and came out with purpose, whereas we largely looked like we only wanted to defend our lead. That lead was halved just four minutes into the half when some tight passing through the middle freed a striker to advance on goal and coolly finish. 2-1.

 

On the hour mark, it was all square when Horsham broke away from our corner. We had just gotten back into the game and were applying pressure when Anas completely mistimed a shot, allowing the ball to be stolen and pushed up the pitch. During the pre-match warm-up, Horsham had exhibited some of the most clinical practice shots I've ever seen. I barely feared for my face or cup of tea once. One player stood out in particular—Ola Ogunwamide—who fired a powerful, dipping shot over Sonny and into the side netting from the edge of the box. 2-2.

 

The game remained even, and just as we debated which end penalties would be taken at, disaster struck. A well-worked move down the left allowed for a cross across the face of our goal, and a Horsham player was on hand to slide in and prod it home. 3-2.

 

So, the FA Sodding Trophy adventure ended exactly how I feared it would: losing to a local rival we know too well, as opposed to the delight of losing 5-0 away at Carlisle or somewhere similar. Now we can get back to the business of trying to win the league, and I wonder how many of the Leatherhead-based 1,600 will be donning two pairs of socks for the visit of Moneyfields on Tuesday…

Horsham are coming!

Trophy fever comes to The Grove today, as we host old friends Horsham today.

Their manager complained of being to the "bare bones" due to injuries in the week, but given their place in their league I'm sure they have good bones.

Kick off at 3pm. See you there!

Met Police 1 - 4 Tanners

A late flurry of goals sealed a fine 4-1 win away at Met Police in this "Boxing Day" fixture.

 

The first goal alone was worth the cash-only admission. The ball moved through the box in a series of flicks and tricks until Breckon looped it into the path of Mehmet, who volleyed it into the bottom corner.

 

The Met Police then dug in and frustrated us for the rest of the half. Even after they went down to ten men, following a nasty straight-legged, studs-up challenge, they held on and managed to snatch an equaliser when we mishit a clearance, and it fell to their striker.

 

In the second half, we scored another early goal. Hogan swung in a dangerous corner to the near post, and in a flurry of activity, it snuck in. I'm not sure if it was an own goal or whether the 'keeper completely misjudged it, but we gratefully accepted the late Christmas present.

 

While The Met threatened (hitting the post and nearly pouncing on a spilled Wheeler catch), Leatherhead upped the pressure and began to dominate. The return of Anas was key, as he coolly slotted a shot around the 'keeper to make it 3-1 and then set up Hogan to make it 4-1.

 

All in all, a nice away day… but now we return home for the visit of Ks on Saturday.

Travelling Tanners

It's Day 8 of my in-laws' visit and today I woke up to a flat tyre, so I am ready for a game of football today.

Today we travel to Met Police (cash only at the gate), who are finding life a little tough in the league BUT are capable of slotting five past Hendon.

Kick off at 3pm.  Directions can be found here.  See you there!

Tanners 3 - 2 Bognor Regis

On arrival at the clubhouse, it was clear this was a big showdown, as a large travelling contingent had arrived by coach and occupied many of the tables. With it being the last game before Christmas, and facing once-National-League-South opposition, the fixture was set up to be a well-attended game. 

Just before kick-off, there was a last-minute decision to change ends, and as we crossed paths, we encountered a group of gingerbread men and some elves, as several fans had come in fancy dress. Some of Santa's Little Helpers had a song with some not-so-festive words about Leatherhead, but they lost—so stick that up your chimney and smoke it.

 

Onto the game, and it did not disappoint. Both sides took turns controlling the match, with us hitting the post and Bognor being denied by two desperate goalmouth clearances. Then, as I went to the bar to try and find a table, we scored. A misplaced header went wide but was rescued by "The Lip," Logan Coles, who put the ball back into the area, and Hedley fired it home on 47 minutes.

 

You would be forgiven for thinking we could see out the half, but we conceded a foul on the edge of the box. The resulting free kick was expertly bent to the left of the diving Wheeler. "F****** get in there!" shouted a parcel of merry reindeer.

 

In the second half, Leatherhead really showed what they were made of. "The Lip," Logan Coles, was purring around midfield like a Rolls-Royce, and trying to watch Nathan Hogan was like trying to follow a ball at a tennis match as he switched sides to confuse the Bognor Regis defence. Eventually, he found space to run at goal and bent the ball past the Bognor Regis 'keeper. If we learned anything from the game so far, it's that in training, we need to work on defending set pieces and our goal celebrations, as Hogan's was both confusing and strangely erotic.

 

Hogan was on hand to make it 3-1. A similar run, but this time he fired it powerfully in at the near post, with the 'keeper feeling a sense of déjà vu and going the wrong way. Suddenly, the fancy dress costumes and the words "replacement bus service" felt a lot heavier than they did at 2:45.

 

Bognor Regis did make things a little tense when, on 90 minutes, they were awarded a penalty. However, some festive timewasting in the corner meant we held on for all three points. Onto Saturday, when we play Met Police away…

Bognor Regis are coming!

Mid-table Bognor Regis come to the Grove today for our last fixture before Christmas.  This coincides with the arrival of my in-laws from Brazil, but somehow I have been given a free pass and will not be required to drive to Heathrow to pick them up.  The miracle of Christmas!

 

Kick off at 3pm.  See you there!