Tanners 1 - 4 Lewes

Leatherhead must be held to account for a heavy loss today as Lewes cashed in with 4 goals.

One recent departure that will will be sorely missed is Dan Gallagher, after his long stretch at the club. His honesty and commitment to the club has never been in doubt. His absence left a gaping hole in midfield.

This game certainly wasn't stolen by Lewes and we now sit sadly at the bottom of the league. Lewes took an early lead when they helped themselves to an early goal on 9 minutes. The ball was bundled into the net again on 26 minutes and we went into half time 2 down. It was enough to make you keep returning to the tea bar throughout the game.

Lewes plundered 2 more goals in the 2nd half and probably felt robbed when we scored a consolation goal. It started to rain and got rather chilly but not bad enough for hands to be put in other people's pockets.

We have won a huge amount of FA Cup money in the past couple of seasons. It would nice to keep some of this loot when we play Lewes again next week.

Lewes are coming

Our old friends, Lewes, come back to the Grove today for this league encounter.

Hopefully futures have been considered and we have all the resignations done and dusted for the week.  Some good news is that International Clearance has been received for one player to make their debut.

Kick off at 3pm.  I'm considering to go... 

Travelling Tanners

Looking at the other teams in the league, this fixture has now been upgraded to "local derby".  Looking at the league it has also been upgraded to "must win". 

We travel to Carshalton Athletic today, a team that have won the last two games and scoring seven goals in doing so.

Kick off at 3pm.  Good luck fellas.

Tanners 1 - 2 Enfield Town

Second half blues and absent friends.

If all our games ended at half time we'd have 8 points and be 4th. As it is we have 2 points and we're 5th bottom. That's a mystery for Nikki to solve and hopefully quite quickly. 

More of a mystery is the curt statement announcing the departure of Richard Brady. No best wishes. No thanks for the promotion and many years of service. No mention of the FA Cup run. Will the long suffering members ever find out the truth......based on recent history probably not.

Enfield Town are coming

After a disappointing last minute equaliser at Folkestone (a match report I now see will be assigned to the "draft folder" forever) we continue to search for our first win.

This happens at home with the visit of Enfield Town tomorrow, a side that lost 4-1 to Horsham...

Kick off at 3pm.  Good luck Tanners.

Travelling Tanners

Leatherhead search for their first win against Folkestone Invicta this weekend.  Conditions are not forecast to be the best, certainly not a day to have hopes of much play at Lords for example.

Our hosts have two wins to their name, beating Worthing and Cray Wanderers already.  No easy task for us then...

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

Tanners 2 - 3 Haringey

The omens were not good as on arrival to the club house we quickly saw the curry was late while a frantic Richard Bligh tried to locate the mildly spiced buffet.  Haringey arrived at the Grove, armed with cake, in reasonable numbers given it was a mid-week game and the distance etc.

I did manage to sneak in a plate of "seconds" so waddled around to the pitch just in time to see the ball strike the hand of Haringey player in the box.  This was far to early for the ref' to make such a decision and you would need to wait about 15 minutes for the game to bed in before getting a penalty for this... On 17 minutes the ball struck Jerry's hand and a penalty was awarded.  0-1.

It was a shame as Leatherhead were on top and were showing good promise.  Leatherhead continued to press for a goal and got it on the stroke of half time when a clumsy challenge brought a penalty to Leatherhead and DSane continued his scoring run.  1-1.

Second half was a very different affair though and despite Nikki's claim of a bright opening 5-10 minutes I thought he had it right before he corrected himself of the time scale being in seconds.  We failed to respond to the increased effort from Haringey and they made us pay.

The first goal came from a ball into the box that was not cleared but placed into the path of a striker who was afforded enough time to pick his spot. 1-2.  Not too long after we conceded again, a header from a corner.

The game appeared all over when Dan Gallagher calmly volleyed a ball into the side netting to set up a finish to the game we barely deserved.  That finish nearly came when Jerry, pushed up front, was free in the box with the ball at his feet.  Striking the ball, while falling backwards, it went just wide and Haringey survived the scare.

Folkestone away Saturday...

Haringey Borough are coming

The team many thought (hoped) would win the league last year, come to the Grove tonight with a win already under their belts. 

The away fixture to North London, last season, will go down with many as one of the highlights of the campaign and showed just how important players like Travis are to our chances... and he is back!

Curry plates up at 6.30.  Kick off at 7.45.  See you there.

Horsham 1 - 1 Tanners

I was expecting a bit more from the trip to Horsham, although holidays and replacement bus services may have reduced the crowd a little. 

On getting there it had a feel of a big game that only comes from parking a five minute walk from the ground.  On entering, the atmosphere was lively but I was expecting t see grown men cry upon entering their new stadium.

On the pitch and Leatherhead can be reasonably content.  This time last year, we were given a sound thrashing at the hands of a newly promoted side but this time we more than held our own.

There was a patient composure to our build up play and in the first half I would say we, overall, controlled it.  Our goal came from a DSane penalty which was won through a challenge where the ball appeared to be won but at the expense of taking out the striker.

DSane could have double his tally but for the intervention of Ekpiteta who struck, albeit a powerful shot, while lying on the ground.

Horsham then struck.  We fell asleep and the ball was worked into the box and slipped into the back of the net, beating Zak at his near post.

Second half and Horsham really did compete.  We headed off of the line at least once and saw the ball less in dangerous positions.  Jerry had two great chances to take the lead.  A powerful volley going just wide of the right post and a glances headed even closer to the left.

Just as I thought we deserved more, Zak pulled off a miraculous save to justify the honours being even.  On to Tuesday's curry night...

Travelling Tanners

So, here we go again.  Another season starts following, result wise, a disappointing pre-season.  However, let's cheer ourselves up the glorious sound that is the NEW GROUND KLAXON.

Tomorrow we travel to our old friends Horsham.  A team that drifted down the leagues and even out of Horsham due to their ground sharing arrangements.  That is behind them as they join us in the Isthmian Premier League in their new ground.

Parking advice has been given and we should aim to park in the RSPCA and take a shuttle bus.  There is also a Park & Ride opposite and details can be found here.

Kick off at 3pm.  See you there!

Farnborough Town are coming

Leatherhead take in Farnborough in a round of strange exhibition games; two games lasting 60 minutes each.  To accommodate this they kick off at 2.30.

A pity, as after our first win in the week it would be good to set ourselves out again but I doubt a settled side will be played today.

Good luck fellas.

Travelling Tanners

I'm back from Serbia, where it has been difficult to keep up to date with the friendly results.  I've heard "unlucky", "great effort" and "grand stand finish"... all bywords for losing each game I am guessing...

Onto tonight where we play Greenwich Borough of the Isthmian League South East Division.  Despite the prospect of a new ground, I was unable to make this game.  Hopefully some updates will come from somewhere.

Kick off at 7.45.  Good luck fellas.

Kensington & Ealing Borough 3 - 2 Tanners

Another game against a side a few leagues below us and another defeat.

I couldn't make this game, which was a shame as I did enjoy the trip to Corinthian FC.  A quick glance at Twitter tells all we need to know.

Eddie DeSane looks our best chance of getting goals and he was at hand to ger our first to make it 1-1.  A Trialist makes it 2-1 in the second half before have a similar collapse to the one we suffered in  Kent.

2-2 quickly became 2-3 as yet another defensive cock up costs us the game.

Preparations continue but focussing the mind to iron out some of these howlers will allow the team to build some confidence... next up Moneyfields and their Pompey-esque badge...

Fixtures are out!

The fixtures are out and can be found here!  The New Ground Klaxon sounds as early as the first game, as we travel to Horsham and their new ground on 10 August...

Then to Boxing Day... and day for local derbies... away to ruddy Cray...

They highlight too Non League Day, where we travel to Merstham for the typical ill-tempered game we know and love.

Corinthian FC 4 - 2 Tanners

I was told, on arrival, that we had played them six or seven times before and had yet to lose this fixture so felt fairly certain of seeing a comfortable win at my 300th ground.  Some old faces were there, evidence that the prospect of retaining the services of the team that nearly finished in the play-off places was almost a reality plus some new faces.

Tieless Nikki must have sent out an order, "get all of the mistakes for the season out of the way tonight" and if so they followed it to the letter... we're going to win the league.  First up Zak misjudged the flight of the ball and attempted a catch far too low with the ball slipping through his fingers and set up an easy tap in.

Sunshine football continued as their number 4 headed home a powerful own goal.  Moments later Eddie DSane, who struck the bar with a powerful drive earlier in the game, latched onto a low cross to make it 2-1.

I popped off to the bar in what I thought would be a harmless drink only to hear the Corinthian No 4 had redeemed himself not once but twice but dispossessing Seager and pouncing on a Hester-Cook back pass.  The second and third mistake of the game.

3-2, all not lost until another defensive error saw someone (I forget) fail to trap a ball and allow it to run to a striker who put it away.

The result isn't important as such but the application is.  Telling from the language they were effing up for it which is half the battle.  Onto Saturday and a tricky trip to Kensington & Ealing Borough.  Ground 301..? 

Travelling Tanners

It all starts again tonight with the annual trip to Corinthian FC.  We have been a little quiet on new signings but retaining the side that nearly finished in the play-off places is also encouraging.

This will be my 300th ground, so I am hoping to make the trip (traffic willing).

Kick off at 7.45.  Directions can be found here.  See you there?

Ks 0 - 4 Tanners

All the goals Leatherhead could have scored over the last few games, to give our play-off chances real hope, were piled onto Ks to ensure at least one Surrey based club feels worse than us going into the closed season.

No one could have predicted that so many goals would be scored from the first half, such was the lack of quality from both sides.  This was the very worst of all end-of and pre season games I have seen for a long while, with neither team looking likely to try let alone try to score.

Half time and a few changes later, we were a different side and soon gave Ks a good thrashing.  First it was Travis, a player that was unlucky not to receive either of the fans' awards, as he cut inside and placed a curling shot past the 'keeper.

Dan Gallagher must have heard such mutterings of the unlucky Travis and calmly side footed a cross into the same corner.  He soaked up the adulation, this time without tripping over anything.

It has to be said, their 'keeper took some painkillers in the first half so was perhaps not as mobile as he could be but there was little he could do about the third.  A ball that was cleverly lobbed to the far post was headed into the roof of the net by Olutade to prove he is still a Tanner...

The fourth goal was the icing on the cake.  Travis sent in a free kick that Shaun leapt for but failed to get his head on it, with the 'keeper assuming there would be contact was deceived by the dummy and in it went.  Shaun tried to claim it, briefly, but the goal was Travis'.

The players and management tea, were given a hearty send off.  See you next season.  We hope.

Travelling Tanners

For the last time this season, Leatherhead hit the road and take on Kingstonian.

If Nikki is still having wayward-player issues, I hope he at least sets out the team in a reasonable manner.  Notably, a striker upfront and our best midfielders in midfield.

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

Dorking revisited

A football coach I know visited The Grove Saturday and sent me his appraisal of the game, which I post now...

Enjoyed the game Monday, Dorking just showed their experience.

I would have played Travis up front.  Danny G worked hard but was no goal threat and played well in midfield against Lewes.

You should have been ahead before they scored. The first corner and a bit later when Jerry turned the ball in from the right would both have been almost tap ins had there been a more experienced cam playing but everyone had joined the charge of the light brigade towards the goal line. The 3 quality free kicks from the right showed you had no centre forward.  Everyone made runs perpendicular to the flight and moved late.

Their first goal was predictable the moment no.9 flicked it and then had the nouse to stay put. Quality strike though.  Second goal we predicted the moment your no.7 didn't react to a ball in towards the middle edge of your box. Allowed the Dorking player through in an overload. 2 passes goal, just because no.7 was 4ft to far to his right.  Third goal the left back was really poor. Needed to be much stronger and a bit more canny.  He knew who had isolated him and needed to get underneath him sharpish. Also too much time given to crosser.

Overall though we were very impressed. The team set up worked, the players competed really well, pressed as team and had some great moments, they just didn't gift you the crucial openings you gave them.  A far better display than Worthing put up against Dorking.  You need to keep the players you've got and ad a proper striker.

Impressed with your youngsters who all listened to and carried out the coach's instruction except your left back who moaned all the time and didn't listen much.

We really enjoyed it though.

Tanners 0 - 3 Dorking Wanderers

On arrival at the ground I witnessed a throng of Dorking fans behind the goal, looking stunning in bright crisp red and white stripes; the sharpness of colour you can expect with merchandise so recently taken out of its cellophane packaging.

On the pitch Nikki Bull had something more serious to contemplate; how to deal with such a big game and manage his squad.  A post match interview would indicate that a couple of our strikers have announced they are too good for Leatherhead and want to play elsewhere next season. 

It is a pity they did not back these thoughts of grandeur up with a few more bloody goals in recent games, as then we would be looking at a play-off place.  Their punishment for this petulance was to sit on the bench and enjoy the sun.  This meant Dan Gallagher was pushed up-front to make a nuisance of himself against a rather robust defence.

Leatherhead did try and compete.  Dan did indeed make a nuisance of himself, playing like a long-haired Naill Quinn by mixing it up, winning the ball and moving the ball onto attacking players around him.  Sadly none of them were Kevin Phillips.

Dorking were ruthless and showed why they won the league.  From a soft free kick in their own half, they swept the ball forward and with their first shot made it 0-1.

At half time we sat next to some Dorking fans speculating about all of the new grounds they probably wouldn't go to.

Second half and nothing much changed, except we threatened less and they score more.  Two more ruthless finishes were more than enough to make a bad day for Nikki even worse and comprehensively ceil the win.

It was my full intention to clap our team off of the pitch, but in the distance I saw a Dorking fan admire my son's homemade flag and after some deliberation he managed to "accidently" place it in his bag.  So when I should have been thanking my team for a season hard fought I was in fact sprinting around The Grove to retrieve my property.  I did make it back in time to present The Lip's Player of the Season Award to Dan Gallagher... if only I prepared a speech... and had a hair cut... or shaved... oh well, there is always next season.