Travelling Tanners

We travel towards the south coast with the NEW GROUND KLAXON ringing in our ears, as I cannot find a previous encounter between the clubs.

Looking at the league, only one team has played less games than us, and that is Horndean. Today we take on their fresh legs in the league to look to keep pressure on the play-off places.

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

Game off

Predictably, tonight's game has fallen to the weather for the third time.

Hopefully Horndean will allow the NEW GROUND KLAXON to sound at the weekend.

Tanners 3 - 2 Met Police

A late goal gives Leatherhead all three points for the second consecutive game, but this time they were well worth the win and had to overcome some dubious officiating…

 

On the 50 Year anniversary of the Leicester City match, Before the game, a genuinely heartwarming moment occurred when a Leicester fan met the players, reminiscing about one of her all-time favourite games. Her grandson was even bought a (blue) Leatherhead shirt.

 

Onto the game and Leatherhead looked comfortable from the start.  The Met Police 'keeper did not look the most mobile of shot stoppers, so the instruction must have gone out to test him from distance.  So when Ruben lined up a shot from distance, he stood no chance and even the most agile goalkeepers would have struggled to save it.

 

About 10 minutes later the officials stepped in to make it interesting.  Met Police made a rare breakaway attack; the lino failed to see the striker in a clear offside position which would have stopped the move there and then but now our defender had to stop the move.  It wasn't quite clear if our defender was fouled, or the striker missed the ball and kicked our defender but after a brief pause the penalty was given.  1-1.

 

Second half and Leatherhead continued to apply themselves well.  After a few missed chances the lively Brisset found himself with a clear shot on goal after the defence parted in front of him.  Straight at the 'keeper but with enough power it went between his legs, albeit with a deflection, and into the goal.  2-1.

 

Another aspect of today's celebration was to show the Leicester game highlights on loop, and therefore I had already seen Leatherhead lose five times so I was desensitised to the award of another penalty.  Our defender rose with his back to the ball only to have the header strike his raised arm from close range.  2-2.

 

It looked like a disappointing draw was on the cards, but Dubai-bound Kavanagh had other ideas.  He sent in a deep cross to the far post that eluded everyone and found its way into the back of the net.  There is a chance a Leatherhead player got some form of contact to help it on its way, but no one was taking they goal from the departing captain.

 

A nice win to try and keep pressure on the play-off places.  We are supposed to be playing Guernsey on Tuesday but Sunday's rain and the arrival of Storm Herminia will no doubt put pay to that…

Met Police are coming…

I'm assuming Thursday night's heavy rain isn't causing a problem today as there is no news of a pitch inspection.

Met Police come to the Grove for this league fixture. A side that sit just above the relegation zone and have lost their last four games… banana skin…

Kick off at 3pm. See you there!

Tanners 2 - 1 Horndean

It felt like Leatherhead got away with one on Tuesday and must have sent a Horndean side travelling down the A3 wondering where it all went wrong.

 

Leatherhead looked reasonably comfortable in the first half.  The odd chance here and there but nothing to really write home about.  The highlights being a cross that was just beyond Lukas and hitting the post from a freekick.

 

Second half and I really did worry for us.  A little bit against the run of play, Horndean managed to get a close range shot in off of the post.  From then Leatherhead disappeared for a while.  Our guests had the chance to make it 2-0 with a striker clear through on goal, but luckily he pulled his shot just wide of the post.

 

Then our saviour stepped up.  Ruben had only been on for seven minutes before their opening goal but started to offer something different.  Notably, someone in the box to receive a cross.  Something we had lacked at Ks and most of this game.  

 

On 77 minutes Lukas fired in a cross from the right and there was Ruben to tap into the open net.  Then just when we thought we were settling for the draw the pair repeated the trick and grabbed the winner.

 

Three points to keep us moving up the table and we get to do it again (Storm Éowyn pending) on Saturday with the visit of Met Police.

Horndean are coming!

Can't talk. Eating curry.

Kick off at 7.45. See you there!

Ks 1 - 1 Tanners

After a string of cancellations and tricky games against lower-half teams, we could now look forward to an easier game against second-place-give-it-a-go Ks… and had we taken some of our first half chances that is how it would have seemed.

 

The nonsensical pitch inspection resulted in someone popping to Wickes and placing a bucket of sand down near a penalty spot.  Other than that the pitch facilitated free flowing football where Leatherhead could have marched onto a 3 to 4 goal lead.  We looked dangerous down our left but no one seemed to want to run on enough to finish the shot / cross that followed.

 

Their 'keeper, under some pressure, flapped at a ball and watched helplessly as it fell towards (some say over) the line until a desperate clearance saved his blushed.  Another powerful shot from the left took a slight deflection that was enough to take it onto the post and out for a corner.

 

Quite the start but the game looked to have settled down, and so with seconds to go I retreated to the bar to warm up only to discover Ks scored on the break.

 

The second half saw a more measured approach from Leatherhead but we still looked dangerous.  Finally we got the equaliser, when a cross found Lukas on the edge of the box and he fired a low shot through a crowded area and into the bottom corner.

 

I thought we would push on and win but the final 5-10 minutes belonged to Ks who kept us under real pressure and probably went away disappointed with just a draw.

 

Onto Tuesday then and the visit of sixteenth placed Horndean…

Travelling Tanners

The pitch passed the most dubiously-called inspection of all time so we're off to Raynes Park Vale to play Ks.

My journey is not the best. The A3 is closed and the train has the glorious addition of a Rail Replacement Service. Joined up thinking, lads.

Kick off at 3pm. See you there!

Travelling Tanners



After several postponements to our schedule, Leatherhead should return to action tonight for the Surrey Senior Cup.

 

For many, this the New Ground Klaxon will be sounding tonight.  I visited our Combined Counties opposition some ten years ago.  Our guests sit just outside the play-off places and recently beat our old friends Chipstead 4-1 away.

 

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

Westfield are coming

This time last year we suffered a 3-0 loss away at Westfield, during a soaking wet late kick off. Hopefully the rain is the only constant today.

Our guests are on exactly the same number of points, albeit with a negative goal difference.

Kick off at 3pm. Good luck fellas!

Tanners 2 - 1 Southall

Not South Park, as I mistyped, but Southall were narrowly beaten despite being down to 10 men for 20 minutes.

Leatherhead opened the scoring on just 11 minutes, Lukas with a powerful strike.

The second half allowed Southall to grow in the game and a low drive into the bottom corner made it 1-1.

Frustration grew as it looked increasingly likely we would be heading towards another disappointing draw. On 70 minutes, the ref showed a second harsh second yellow to reduce the visitors to 10 men.

Still we huffed, until Date popped up with the crucial winner in the last few minutes.

Onto New Year's Day and the visit of Westfield.

South Park are coming…

Even from Brazil, the recent heavy fog has been clear to see but hopefully things will brighten up today.

After a 2-2 draw, away at Binfield, the league has yet to take a sunnier outlook and will still sit in the bottom half… one place below our guests.

Kick off at 3pm. Good luck fellas.

Travelling Tanners

After Saturday's nail biting conclusion, our festive fixtures continue tonight; and nothing says Christmas more than the midweek jingle-all-the-way trip not Berkshire to play Binfield.

Our hosts sit five points below us in 16th. Check the website for details of any possible pitch inspections etc.

Kick off at 7.45pm. Good luck fellas.

Badshot Lea are coming

Bom dia! Greetings from Brazil, where I am finally reunited with my bags after 24 hours.

After a dramatic penalty shootout win, in the week, we get back the the business of the league with the visit of bottom-of-the-table Badshot Lea.

Kick off at 3pm. Boa sorte fellas!

Sutton Common Rovers 1 - 0 Tanners

I could not make the trip to Carshalton due to an unfortunate incident.  In the morning I discovered a deer in my garden that had been struck by a car and looked to be in distress.  So I called the RSPCA and waited until about 2.30, where they arrived and said there was nothing they could do and the poor thing had to be put out of its misery.  Then I sat down to Simon's commentary and reflected on the metaphor for our season as the first goal went in.

 

We looked bright for the first two minutes (90 seconds longer than Southampton managed last night) when Lukas rounded the 'keeper but hit the post.  Sutton Common Rovers then took the lead halfway through the opening 45, with a goal from Luke Ige after a defensive lapse allowed him to follow up on his initial blocked shot.

 

Leatherhead probably edged the second half, spurning two good chances, but we were not clinical enough to grab an equaliser and so another disappointing defeat is chalked up.

 

Leatherhead return to the scene of the crime tonight, when we face Carshalton in the Velocity Cup.  Kick off at 7.45pm.  Good luck fellas!

Travelling Tanners

Leatherhead make the first of two trips to Carshalton, to face Sutton Common Rovers in the league.

Our hosts sit just above the relegation zone, while we could go into the top half win a win.

Kick off at 3pm. Good luck fellas…

Game off

No game today, as Storm Darragh makes its presence known.

Here are some FA Vase fixtures to keep you busy…

Tanners 2 - 1 South Park

The four to five minutes in the second half were worth the entrance fee alone… as for the first 60 minutes, two sides slogged it out on a heavy pitch so it was understandably slow going.  Then it all happened.

 

We didn't get a spectacular volley from range, but we did get a comically spectacular cock up in defence.  A long ball was poorly shepherded back to the 'keeper who did not know whether to pick it up or not which allowed Williamson to steal the ball.  We all laughed at the time, but credit should go to our striker for putting so much pressure on the first place and having the presence of mind to push the ball past the 'keeper and then run on and put it in the net.

 

Straight from the retake, South Park won a corner and that old warhorse Danny Brachen sensed something was going to happen.  He stood on the halfway line as the ball was flicked on and headed in at the far post.  1-1.

 

Our despair did not last long.  Just a couple of minutes later, a freekick was played into the box where Pearce headed the ball into a defender to create a one-two and then smash it home.  What is Alex Pearce's kit made of?  Man of the Match material, and he picked up the honours this game.

 

Onto Saturday, when we welcome Horndean…

South Park are coming!

The pitch should be heavy, but fine as we welcome South Park back to the Grove after our recent cup encounter.

Our visitors sit just behind us in the league and we can climb to the dizzy heights of 13th should we win tonight.

Kick off at 7.45pm. See you there!

Met Police 0 - 2 Tanners

The second half of this game was worth the entrance fee alone, which was lucky for the supporters who hadn't received the update that it was a 2pm kick-off.  I watched a couple wonder in – I envied them – with confused faces as they could not believe their fellow supporters could look so depressed even before kick-off.  In truth, we had suffered a very hard-to-watch half where we hit the bar but neither side created much.

In the second half, Leatherhead started to show their superiority.  We were dominant down our right wing and it was from this threat we got our opening goal.  A jinking run and a looping shot could only be parried into the path of Ruben, who stooped down to head it home.  A cross from the right should have provided the second goal but Lukas could only head it straight at the 'keeper from a couple of yards out.

Then we made it safe in spectacular fashion.  After a brief spell of header-tennis on the halfway line, the ball fell to Massango about 40 yards out.  Leatherhead's Ronaldinho saw the 'keeper off of his line and volleyed the ball high into the air, towards goal.  The 'keeper tried to get back but he was beaten and the ball went in, after bouncing just short of the line. 

As the sun went down over a floodlightless ground, I didn't know if we were waiting for the referee's whistle or for someone's mum to tell us we couldn't play any more and come in for tea… but the whistle sounded and signalled a win – at last! – and on to Tuesday where we hope to welcome South Park, although the rain may have other ideas…