Plastic Pitch 1 - 1 Tanners

A unnatural bounce took Zak by surprise and prevented us from taking all 3 points away from Sussex by the Sea.

A superb crowd of 906 weren't afraid to leave the in laws at home and came to watch the Levred.

Woody and Chloe had enjoyed a pre-match Cod and Chips on the seafront and all was going wonderfully until the 89th minute and that bounce.

Nevertheless this was probably our best performance of the season especially the first half when we were lively and creative. 
Wednesday's home league game has been postponed as Corinthian Casuals have a cup match.

Travelling Tanners

Today's game couldn't get much tougher.  A trip to Worthing is a tricky affair at the best of times, chuck in their form and plastic pitch and this could head south quickly.

Leatherhead have shown real progress though, and scoring a few goals in the FA Cup can only boost confidence.

Kick off at 3pm.  Good luck fellas.

Hanwel Town at home

The reward for getting through to the third qualifying round is a home tie to Hanwell Town.  A team going quite well (7th) in the Bostik South Central Division. 

The game is to be played on yet another weekend I find myself away!  6 October.

Haverhill 0 - 6 Tanners

This was a case of Men v Boys. The Men went to watch an FA Cup game at Haverhill. The Boys went to pick up in-laws on the instruction of the wife.

This was one of the easiest draws we could have got as Haverhill are at level 5 but that hasn't stopped us losing to teams at this level in years gone by.

Haverhill have a tidy ground and a superb pitch and slightly American Football style supporters with a silly drum and trumpet. Mostly they were here to enjoy the day and no one seemed that concerned when we opened the scoring through Sean on 8 minutes.

Man for man we were too strong for Haverhill despite their henpecking, and it never looked likely that we would be under the thumb for too long. Robert added a 2nd and we went into the convivial bar 2 up. 

We started the 2nd half with real purpose and soon went 3 up thru Elliott then 4 up thru Elliott. He then got promptly subbed. That will teach him to score 2 goals. He didn't want a hat trick anyway.

Travis made it 5-0 from the spot then scored again for 6-0 to complete a comprehensive win.  As a lucky omen, I also missed the game we scored heavily last year... Let's hope for a nice home draw in the next round.

Travelling Tanners

I'm not having the best of weekends.  After months of training, the 100 mile ride I was going to undertake (the Velo South) was cancelled due to bad weather.  In addition, my Brazilian family land from Brazil at 4pm and we need two cars pick them up, which results in me missing this tantalising game. 

That wouldn't have been so bad as I had an AirBNB booked for myself just outside Chicester by a country pub tonight for myself but I am not going there either ON ACCOUNT OF THE BLOODY RIDE BEING CALLED OFF!

...and breathe.  The new ground klaxon sounds as you lot travel to Haverhill of the Eastern Counties League Premier Division.  They sit near the bottom with only a win and a draw, but have played a couple of games less while they enjoy their progress in the Cup.

Kick off at 3pm.  Directions can be found here.  Good luck fellas.

Potters Bar 0 - 1 Tanners

Everything about this game screamed scrappy. Arduous road conditions, the scrap to find a parking space... hell, it was so scrappy the lady in the tea bar needed to take a break 15 minutes into the game and shut up shop for 10 minutes.

On the pitch Leatherhead equipped themselves well and certainly were the better team in the first half.  Our goal came from Cullen, who struck his shot from just inside the area into the top corner after the home side failed to clear. 

We struck the bar from distance too but, on the whole , chances were hard to come by but we went off the happier side.  As Nikki Bull strode off I was impressed with his maintaining of the high line with regards to his tie; the point coming halfway down his chest.  I assume this is because he allows for some dramatic unloosening of it as the stress levels build in the second half.

Predictably it was indeed Potters Bar who came out firing and were now creating some clear cut chances; Zac earning every penny of his clean sheet bonus.

Nikki Bull's tie would have been nestling perfectly on his belt as Sean missed a one on one with the 'keeper at a time when we really needed the second goal but we held on to get a valuable win on the road.

FA Cup duty next week!

Travelling Tanners

Tomorrow we travel to newly promoted Potters Bar FC in the league after the distraction of the cup games.  Both clubs are safely through to the next round in the FA Cup while deciding that the league cup is too much effort and crashing out.

NEW GROUND KLAXON!

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

Tanners 0 - 1 Worthing

A smattering of 1st team players.

A modicum of interest amongst the supporters.

More than a hint of Autumn in the air.

A strong Worthing side full of confidence.

A weakened Tanners side with unfamiliar faces.

The predictable late Worthing goal.

The regular early League Cup exit.

Worthing Are Coming

The Velocity Trophy (!?) tonight and Worthing arrive to the Grove in fine form. Second place and going well.

The FA Cup will hopefully provide a boost to the team both in terms of the result and the draw taking us to pastures new.

Kick off at 7.45.  Good luck fellas.

Tanners 2 - 0 Herne Bay

Leatherhead book a place in a bag to have Trevor Brooking fondle us into the next round.  Herne Bay are not enjoying life in the league below, so without form on their side they would just have to go toe to toe with us and in th first half we proved too strong. 

A great deal of possession and creativity, particularly from D'Sean, was rewarded when Sean tucked away a shot from close range via the post.

Second half and Leatherhead started slipping down the gears effortlessly.  From dominant, to comfortable to defencive to pensive.  It was at this moment I sensed it was the moment to give Leatherhead their important second goal by loudly announcing I needed the toilet.

It worked as a long ball and found Deacon on the wing; under pressure he moved past the returning defenders to power a shot into the bottom corner.

2-0 the game safe and everyone felt relieved.  The draw in Monday...

Herne Bay are coming

The "magic" of the cup comes to Leatherhead today at a difficult time for Leatherhead.  Any progress shown since the opening game of the season took a knock wih the defeat last weekend, where in the second half we looked rather lost.

Leatherhead have been boosted with the return of two of last year's FA Cup heroes, plus a further signing which will hopefully allow the side to bounce back.

Pulitzer prize winning interviews at 2.30; kick off at 3pm.  See you there!

Tanners 1 - 3 Harlow Town

Disappointing.  Leatherhead fans probably went into this game fancying their chances.  We have shown some good signs of making progress, while our opposition is having a torrid time (albeit after just a handful of games).

Despite Harlow missing a free header, it was Leatherhead who started the game looking the most accomplished.  Harlow's defence was easily fooled and we pulled them apart like a well done chicken.  Sean forcing a good save before Robert had free range down the middle to slot home his first goal for the club.

Then, it all just started falling apart.  Our defence became disorganised; a good save from Bull was not followed up by our defenders and they scored from the rebound first their first while gifting enough space for Bull to be beaten near post.

Soon we became despondent, as what ever Bull said at half time failed to do the trick.  Harlow making it 3-1 just 38 seconds into the second half.  Later we were dishevelled as we missed a penalty.  A chance to make it 3-2 and the ball wrestled from Sean, never mind a player who score 40 goals last season he was the player most likely to score today.  The biggest player won the battle for the opportunity but his kick was obvious, wrong height and well saved.

Not even the spectacle of a drink break - a drink break! - could lift the home side that goes into the FA Cup tie against Herne Bay looking rather disillusioned...

Harlow Town are coming

Nikki has been so brutally honest in his post match interviews that they have now received a 12A rating. If we fail to beat bottom of the table Harlow Town on Saturday they may be reclassified as 15.

A win would see us nudge safely into mid table. A defeat would see us blocking Sammy and Jack and their little friends from Twitter. 

There may be scouts and guides from Herne Bay watching the game. You will easily spot them eating bananas and not disposing of the litter in the black bins provided.

Carshalton 2 - 1 Tanners

Nikki is starting to let things slip. He wasn't wearing a suit but still looked rather nice in blazer and tie.

Carshalton are newly promoted but their budget doesn't yet stretch to real grass. They called an emergency supporters meeting in a pub but there was no appetite for it.

Both sets of supporters approached this game in a low key manner with low expectations. Those expectations were well met in a scrappy first half.

The 2nd half was much livelier. Early on a goal mouth scramble saw the ball hit the bar but it was Carshalton who took the lead on 64' through a similar scramble, then fired in a long range effort a few minutes later to go 2 up.

Robert Cullen grabbed one back with a diving header. The referee then showed he was a wimp by choosing to ignore a handball right in front of his nose when a Carshalton defender deliberately prevented a header going into the net.

We can feel very unlucky to only get a single point from 2 hard fought bank holiday weekend games.

It's not all bad news though. At least we didn't lose 5-0 at home. A long way to go to take a few photos and tweet.

Travelling Tanners

Leatherhead's Bank Holiday travels continue with a trip to Carshalton Athletic.

We have just one more point than them, and it could have been more but for a last minute equaliser.

Kick off at 3pm. Good luck fellas.

Tanners 1 - 1 Bishops Stortford

The loud and passionate Leatherhead supporters, well Woody and Gary, travelled the 60 miles to Hertfordshire and returned with a hard earned point. 

Rod had dispensed with his "RE" touchline jacket and was loitering behind the goal incognito. He explained that as company secretary he was still very much entitled to wear the jacket but he just wasn't in the mood. 

Rod was however in nostalgic mood tenderly carrying an FA Cup 1st Round programme of Leatherhead v Bishops Stortford from 1976.  Nikki was bang up to date though. He was sporting a glorious bespoke saville row suit in dashing grey. Ooh! Suits you sir.

Meanwhile on the pitch, Bishops Stortford had the best of the first half having a penalty saved and missing a one on one, but it was the Tanners who went in 1 up at half time with a header from Sean Okojie on 43'.

We were quite comfortable in the 2nd half and looked the more likely to score until a late equaliser on 89' prevented our first away win of the season. It was probably a fair result yet somewhat disheartening.

Nous voyageons a Carshalton jour ferie lundi.

Travelling Tanners

There is great anticipation surrounding the trip to Hertfordshire on Saturday. Will Nikki wear the same suit, a different suit, or casual clothing? Will he smile?

These are just some of the important issues facing us as we travel to Bishops Stortford who have made a sideways move from the Southern Premier. They have had a poor start to the season with just one point so will be anxious to chalk up their first win.  Meanwhile Sean and Travis will be looking to add to their goal tally and propel us further up the league.

Exciting times. You certainly wouldn't want to be driving around France for 2 weeks when Devon is just as nice.  Kick off at 3pm.  Good luck fellas!

Levred 2 - 1 Haringey

Nikki Bull showed our previous managers how to look the part today. 

Gone. The tracksuit of some Mooro. 
Gone. The skinny jeans and man bun of the Bulldog.
Gone. The homeless beard and pocket billiards.

What we saw instead was a wonderful elegant blue suit so it was fortunate that Nikki was not in goal today or it would have got crumpled. He was replaced by a very competent Craig Ross who had made 39 appearances for Barnet last season.

A strong first half performance and goals from Okojie and Gregory gave us our first win of the season leaving us just 3 points off the play offs. Next up we are away to Bishops Stortford and a chance to see if Nikki has more than one suit.

Meanwhile, the Haringey Borough manager played the part of a sore loser going berserk at the final whilst trying to attack our manager. He was found not guilty of affray so you knew it was bad. Apparently he wasn't offended by the suit but livid about alleged  time wasting as we ran out of balls in the final few minutes. Hardly our fault though as his players had hoofed them all into the car park and the river.

Tanners 1 - 1 Whitehawk

The mysterious cloud of what really happened at the end of last season is still lingering over Fetcham Grove. 

Jack Midson continues to tweet snidey remarks and laughing emojis but won't actually say anything of interest. Meanwhile Nikki Bull is valiantly trying to build a side of players that can compete in the league after Sammy and Jack decimated the side. Their bold 5 year plan, explained with such passion at the fans' forum, turned into a one year then run off to a salt marsh plan.

After a worrying display at Hornchurch, this was a much more encouraging performance and the Tanners were unlucky not to take all 3 points. Sean Okojie smashed the ball into the net to equalise in the first half, but will be disappointed that he didn't convert one of 2 golden chances to win the game.

There were also encouraging performances from new boys Robert Cullen and Travis Gregory, whilst Jerry and Dan Gallagher showed those in Essex that the words loyalty and commitment weren't just catchphrases.

3 points on Saturday and all will begin to be forgotten......

Whitehawk are coming

Whitehawk put down an early marker at the weekend, and come to Leatherhead no doubt full of confidence.  Leatherhead meanwhile try to find their feet after a disjointed performance away at AFC Hornchurch over the week.

Kick off at 7.45.  See you there!