Travelling Tanners

The FA Trophy beckons today as we travel to Faversham.  I am blatantly going to steal some online research here, when I tell you we have faced each other four times at the Aquatherm Stadium and the stats are one win, two draws and one loss; the win being a 2-0 win in the FA Trophy.

Financially this competition could make a big difference to Leatherhead and we are certainly gathering players that could allow us to progress; even with the loss of Will Salmon to Lewes.

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

Tanners 2 - 3 Merstham

Leatherhead suffered a disappointing defeat in the Mick Sullivan derby... and it was all going so well.

Chid opened the scoring to give the home support real hope out luck had changed.  A defence splitting pass burst onto by Chid who nodded coolly home. Seen only by loyal supporters who hadn't fled to Cornwall.

It was then made 1-1 when the Tanners conceded a needless penalty.  Up steps an ex-Tanner; Bowman got a hand to it but couldn't keep it out.  

We then found ourselves  2-1 down due to a huge mistake by our defence.  The player in question,  despite being 8ft tall, couldn't head the ball gifted merstham a second.

Leatherhead struck back and what a strike.  Sami from distance took aim and found the underside of the bar via the desperate dive of the 'keeper.   Game on.

Game off.  The second half was not pretty from a Leatherhead perspective as we failed to really threaten.  Then the controversy as Bowman came out to punch the ball and did under pressure from a Merstham player.  The two players came together but the ref was on a penalty bonus so awarded another one (the second time we have conceded two penalties in a game this season) and up steps another ex-Tanner to make it a painful 3-2.

A break from the league but onto the complete waste of time that is the FA Trophy.

Merstham are coming!

This is it.  The big one.  The Mick Sullivan Derby.  A few weeks ago, this looked like a real six pointer but wouldn't you ruddy believe it but our visitors score a harmful of goals and push on.

Leatherhead were unlucky not to get more on the road last week and have trained twice with this game in mind.  Oh, Sami is back.

Kick off at 3pm.  Good luck fellas!

Hornchurch 1 - 1 Tanners

Only a few brave Leatherhead fans made this trip, but those who went were rewarded by a goal, a hard working performance, a point and a handshake at the end of the game.

Leatherhead looked a different side today.  Guilty of giving the ball away still but now they work hard to defend and threaten when in possession.  Onokwai has made a massive difference.  He is a presence upfront and has the ability to pull defenders out wide and then run at them.  He had the Hurnchurch No 2 in his pocket for most of the first half.  He went on to open the scoring by running onto a ball slipped through the middle and instinctively placing it into the bottom corner. 

He could have doubled the lead when Hornchurch under hit a back pass and he was clear on goal.  HIs confident shot bordered on casual and it was well saved.

One we went into the second half and while Hornchurch grew in the game it was beginning to feel like we had done enough.  Another chance to double the lead came and went when a ball was crossed across the 6 yard line but the shot was blasted wide.

Then we came undone but giving the ball away in a dangerous area and allowed them a free shot.  It could have been worse but our 'keeper pulled off a great save from a free header.

A point that we would have taken before the game and something to build on for the Mick Sullivan derby when we face Merstham; a team that scored five today...

Travelling Tanners

Leatherhead's new charges travel to Essex for this Ryman Premier encounter after suffering another heavy defeat.  

The trip to Lewes was always going to be tricky.  What I enjoyed was seeing a side that wasn't being bullied so easily, looked more "street-smart" and created chances.  It is true that Lewes probably created more before the sending off but better sides than us will travel to Lewes and come under pressure at times.

Leatherhead are now just screaming out for a change in fortune.  A game where a perfectly good goal stands or where a wayward shot doesn't deflect into the goal.

Hopefully that will come tomorrow with the trip to Hornchurch.  I thought I was sounding the New Ground Klaxon until I remembered I had been to AFC Hornchurch.

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

P.S. If anyone is driving back via Gomshall, please let me know...

Travelling Tanners

A new regime takes charge of Leatherhead tonight as we travel to Lewes.  We seem to be permanently playing the side placed in sixth place and this is no different tonight.  This is going to be a tough game, despite the two new players already drafted in.

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

Tanners 0 - 3 Enfield

A difficult one to watch today, even by our standards, as we lose 3-0 and barely laid a glove on our opposition.

The writing was on the wall fairly early on in the second half when Leatherhead gave away a clumsy penalty.  We thought our luck had changed when a Pogba-style run up saw the shot go well wide.  Alas our defense was at hand to give them another chance from the spot and this time he made no mistake (although a good dive from our 'keeper nearly kept it out).

The lead was doubled when a powerful shot on the edge of the box found the side netting.  We would love to blame the ref' who should have sent off one of their players for a nasty challenge but it would have perhaps made little difference.

Second half saw some tempers boil over but with neither side particularly interested in scoring... until Enfield did to make it 3-0.  We did have a shot in the 90th minute but I don't think the travelling 'keepers clean sheet bonus was ever really in threat.

Lewes on Tuesday it is then...

Enfield Town are coming

Leatherhead have not had the run of the green recently.  A perfectly good goal disallowed one game and striking the woodwork three times the next.  Such is life when you're down the bottom of the table.

A good side arrive at The Grove today in Enfield Town. Let's hope for better luck today…

Kick off at 3pm.  See you there!

Travelling Tanners

On a day when the local Butlins is evacuated due to a suspicious device, Leatherhead will hope for an explosive performance tonight against this well placed side.

The game last week was postponed due to the fuel crisis but goes ahead tonight despite heavy rain.  A well earned point at the weekend gives us something to cling on to but the lack of goals will be a worry going into this away fixture.

Kick off at 7.45.  Directions can be found here.  Good luck fellas.

Tanners 0 - 0 Haringey Borough

Sitting in the bar before the game, with a surprisingly strong pint of Birra Moretti, and seeing our only player over the age of 23 not warming up I could be forgiven for wishing to stay in the bar for 90 minutes longer.  Haringey are a good side in 6th place and we had just come off the back of a 7-0 thrashing.  I did venture out and witnessed a hard fought draw that could / should have been more.

For the neutral it probably wasn't the best game.  For the home support, it was a joy to simply see Leatherhead pass the ball without gifting to the opposition.  We did that and put the visitors under pressure for good periods of the game.

Only in the last 10-15 minutes of the first half did we look under threat and early in the second where the obligatory fight occurred.

Those behind the goal had settled for a point though but we suddenly thought we had more.  Sami had a shot saved but the ball could only be parried into the path of Jedd and a covering defender.  Jedd wanted it more, stole in and tapped in our first goal for 450 minutes.  Wild celebrations followed; celebrations that were cut short by the lino who saw something that no one else did (including the defenders who would normally appeal for anything) and put up his flag.  The ref did go over but the decision stood and we were denied a precious win.

Away to Bognor Regis on Tuesday to try and build on this result then...

Haringey Borough are coming

I couldn't bring myself to write a match report for the game last Saturday.  One, I couldn't get to it as I only had a few litres in the tank; and two, well... Christ... we lost 7-0.

Tomorrow we welcome 6th place Hanringey Borough to The Grove in the latest fixture where Leatherhead hope to get some kind of result to move us from the bottom of the table.

Kick off at 3pm.  See you there!

Travelling Tanners

A new ground klaxon sounds almost as loudly as the car horns from the idiots panic buying petrol; but we are off to Bishop's Stortford tomorrow.

Our hosts sit in 12 place after securing two wins and two draws from their first 6 games.  Leatherhead, meanwhile, still cling to their opening day win and have the most goals conceded in the league.  The latter not helped by the injuries suffered to Manny and Cameron.

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

Corinthian-Casuals 3 - 0 Tanners

If Corinthian-Casuals spent as much time preparing for this game as their programme editor did for the programme, it is no wonder they ran out comfortable winners.

The first 20 minutes saw the hosts ask all the questions and Leatherhead having few answers.  We were sloppy while their high tempo game piled on the pressure.  The goal came from an inability to clear or close down and a well placed shot from the edge of the box into the bottom corner.

Corinthian-Casuals, understandably, had to drop the pace after 20 minutes and allowed us to grow into the game a bit but in truth we were well marshalled throughout the first half.

Second half was much of the same until Corinthian-Casuals missed an absolute sitter.  Manny had been replaced at halftime and the sub 'keeper dropped a shot in front of a striker with the goal gaping in front of him.  Luckily he could only stroke the shot onto the post.

This galvanised Leatherhead and suddenly we were in the ascendancy.  Some furness was substituted with good old fashioned physical play but it was effective and for 20 minutes we dominated.  Our golden chance came when Alex Sami pounced on a loose pass out of defence and had a clear run at goal.  Huckle, who was playing the "Jerry role" up front, was screaming for the ball and with the 'keeper committed to Sami it looked the better option.  Sami believed in himself and took a shot but it was smothered and the chance was missed.

If a looping header had more spin we might have equalised but a defender got back to clear and soon the game was effectively over.  A sweeping move out of defence saw a pin point cross find its target and a powerful header had the ball firmly in the back of the net.  A third goal in the last minute only added insult to injury.

Leatherhead now need to dust themselves off for the long trip (and new ground klaxon) for the trip to Bishops Stortford.

Travelling Tanners

A return to FA Cup action tonight with the trip to Corinthian-Casuals.  Given we went into the game on the opposite ends of a 4-0 thrashing, I think we gave our hosts plenty to think about... sadly, they have had plenty of time to think about it.

The winner goes on to play Wingate & Finchley and given the teams that were avoided in the draw, that seems quite the incentive.

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

Tanners 0 - 0 Corinthian-Casuals

For the neutral, this game could be quite forgettable but for a Leatherhead supporter it will mean so much more.

Leatherhead looked genuinely competitive.  Jack Skinner was a menace and brought out the best save from their 'keeper and Alex Sami always looked like a threat.

The way we use Alex Sami is a bit one dimensional at times - chase that! - but when he gets the ball you believe something can happen.  He struck the bar with an instinctive shot-on-the-pivot move from a corner.

While we limited our visitors to few chances they perhaps too consider "what could have been" when a lapse in concentration allowed one of their strikers a clear run on goal.  A low powerful shot was matched by Manny with a dive to his right, thus securing our first clean sheet and our name in the hat for tomorrow's draw.

Replay on Tuesday and a game to look forward to...

Corinthian-Casuals are coming

Leatherhead have taken a bit of a battering lately, both on and off the pitch, but today we host our old friends in the FA Cup tie.

Our visitors had a shakey start to the season, even by our standards, but have found some form. They turned in a 4-0 winning display only this week.

Meanwhile, we do possess the joint top goal scorer in Alex Sami and hopefully the Tower of Dorking returns in defence.

Kick off at 3pm.  See you there!

Tanners 0 - 4 Worthing

A touch watch for the Leatherhead fans, as we succumb to a heavy defeat at the hands of our high flying visitors.

The tone of the match was set straight from the whistle, with Worthing playing some attacking football and creating chances.  Manny was outstanding and kept us in the game with a string of saves.

What was probably the most worrying was not just that Worthing were overrunning us in most areas but that we conspired to help them with some really sloppy passing.  This certainly was a case for their opener, a loose pass set a player free to run on goal and score.

Leatherhead did have their moments though.  Briggs had a low free kick saved and Sami's point blank header was powered down but the ball bounced up and over the bar.

Into the second half and we created some more chances and perhaps if we had taken one we may have given Worthing something to think about.  We didn't and they went on to completely dominate.  A double save by Manny from a penalty only seemed to spur them on.

A ball to feet, turn and shoot was their second.  A jinking run through our defence was their third... and I missed their forth.

Tough to take but we now have the prospect of Corinthian-Casuals on Saturday.  A side that also won 4-0 last night. 

Worthing are Coming

Both teams will have their own respective wounds to lick.  

Leatherhead, despite having goals from Alex Sami, have yet to win in the league since the opening day.  While Worthing would have been looking forward to another trip to The Grove on Saturday but for their early FA Cup exit.

Worthing are going well in the league, in sixth, but there is something about watching Leatherhead under the lights in a midweek game...

Kick off at 7.45.  See you there!

Travelling Tanners

Another trip into Kent but this time for the league and a visit to our old friends, Margate.

Margate are a very different proposition to Whitstable though.  Unbeaten in the league and through to the next round of the FA Cup (by virtue of a replay), Leatherhead will need to be at their best.  A new signing from Woking will further boost the travelling line-up.

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

Tanners 1 - 0 Whitstable

Leatherhead squeezed past a plucky Whitstable side that will no doubt head back to Kent thinking of what could have been.

Whitstable started the replay as they finished the opening game, by taking  the game to us and created some of the best chances.  Nikki Bull would no doubt have mixed feelings about how good his 'keeper had to be.

Just like the first game, it was Leatherhead who opened the scoring.  A Briggs corner was met by The Tower of Dorking, who seemed only challenged by Will Salmon, and looped the ball into the net.  Our loanee has been quite the signing; although he made a few mistakes he was ably supported by Will Salmon and will no doubt learn a lot this season.

The game was then finely balanced with both sides going close.  Whitstable made double subs trying to bring about change and as the game wore on they, unstandably, got more anxious.  

The fizzing play that got them the replay and cut through us in the first half was now a longer more erratic pass.  Defending became that little bit easier, although it wasn't completely without the odd scare.

Despite getting two bookings for time wasting, yet taking two corners long instead of playing it into the corner, we saw out the four minutes of injury time to set up the clash with Corinthian-Casuals by virtue of their impressive 3-1 win against Worthing.