Saturday 22 March 2014. Ryman League, Division One South.
Walton & Hersham 0 Tooting & Mitcham United 1.
The visitors completed the double over a lack-lustre Swans by virtue of the only goal of a pretty dire game that was not helped by a blustery wind, scored with just over a quarter of an hour remaining. Neither side created much in the way of chances, with Swans lacking the services of strikers Matt Reece and Andrew Mensah, both missing through injury. Louis Clark was also unavailable.
With the wind in their favour Tooting showed the better control in the first-half, but the nearest they came to scoring was after five minutes when a towering high ball from the right forced home goalkeeper Dan Coles to do well to get back and tip over. It was over twenty minutes later before either keeper was tested again, Coles diving to his left to push round Max Noble’s low shot from outside the box.
Swans then had their first real opportunity when Sean Bradley was fouled just outside the box on the right, but Peter Wedgeworth sent the free-kick straight through to Tooting keeper Gareth Williams.
Noble’s shot from the edge of the box took a deflection to win a corner on the left for the visitors, and from Tom Jelley’s kick Jordan Cheadle put a header over at the far-post. Ryan Palmer played the lively Tinashe Nkoma into space down Swans’ right, and when he pulled the ball back from the byline Noble drove a shot wide. With five minutes left of the half Nkoma did well to keep the ball in play on the left, and he was able to get in a low shot that went straight to Coles at his near-post.
Swans had a couple of half chances before the break. Bradley drove a shot wide from 25 yards after a poor clearance by Tooting, and Andy Lomas sent a volley over the bar from the left following Swans’ best piece of play of a forgettable first-half.
Soon after the resumption Nkoma looked offside as he got away down the right, but he shot wide of the near-post.
Louis Glace-Palmer’s low shot from outside the box was easily saved by keeper Williams before Swans’ best chance came after 19 minutes of the second-half. Glace-Palmer played Vernon Francis into the right of the box, and when his shot took a deflection the ball was looping into the far corner until Jelley hooked it off the line. Bradley’s knock forward then almost got Glace-Palmer in, but Williams was quickly out to deny him.
But with 73 minutes played Tooting’s Harry Knock sent over a free-kick from the left touchline and Nkoma stole in at the far-post to volley into the top of the net to break the deadlock.
Swans soon had a chance to equalise when Bradley took a free-kick from the left and Sacha Mbaye just failed to get his head to the ball at the far-post. With five minutes of normal-time left Bradley again almost got Glace-Palmer in, and in stoppage-time Bradley drove a shot over following Lomas’s free-kick into the box from the left.
Swans’ Team: Dan Coles, Yinka Salami, Andy Lomas, André Scarlett, Tom Mudge, Sacha Mbaye, Sean Bradley, Vernon Francis (Kwabena Osei 82’), Nehemiah Adams (Jack Battie 74’), Louis Glace-Palmer, Peter Wedgeworth (Ross Nunn 82’). Subs. not used: Martin Beard, Tarome Hemmings. Caution: Glace-Palmer, foul (35’).
Tooting Team: Williams, Jelley, Gordon, Alimi, J. Cheadle, Hartburn (Aiken-Simon 54’), Palmer (Watkins 62’), Knock, Onieva, Nkoma (Pinnock 75’), Noble. Subs. not used: Simpson, H. Cheadle. Scorer: Nkoma (73’). Cautions: Nkoma (58’), Knock (84’).
