The Colts ended an eventful season in thrilling style as opponents Carshalton snatched a late equaliser to draw 4-4. Manager Mick Churchman and coach Mick Thornton were full of praise for the boys after the match, highlighting their excellent style of play, determination and never-say-die attitude all season. The pitch was heavy after overnight rain but that did not stop the Colts looking to play their usual slick passing game. Bouchez showed a neat early touch to find Thornton whose dangerous cross was just cut out before reaching Churchman in the box. Hogan had to be alert on two occasions as Carshalton launched quick counter-attacks but the keeper was more than equal to the task. However, the home side did take the lead halfway through the opening period when their lively forward produced a fine finish. The Colts turned the match upside within minutes and they had Kearley to thank for both goals. First he kept his cool to round the keeper and slot home and then he latched onto a poor clearance to grab his second. Thornton almost extended the Colts’ lead with a curling free-kick before Carshalton drew level on the stroke of half-time. Despite the setback, the Stripes were still charging forward at every opportunity and Thornton showed excellent technique to volley home Creegan’s right-wing corner to make it 3-2. At the back, Power and Abassi were putting in some excellent challenges, while Williams was again strong in midfield and Clark was making some energetic runs down the left flank. Rondeau showed excellent strength and skill in the Carshalton box to turn the defender but his shot was just wide. Carshalton then made it 3-3 but Rondeau put the Colts in front yet again, flicking in neatly at the near post from a corner. There were just seconds on the clock when the referee (no names… ok it was Mick T) allowed Carshalton to retake a corner with the inevitable result – it flew into the back of the net. There was fury among the massed ranks of the Colts’ supporters with chants of ‘You don’t know what you doing’ (there were others but they are unsuitable for publication on a family website). Well done boys for all your hard work. Here’s to the same next season!

Coach: Mick Thornton
Manager: Mike Churchman
Squad: Hogan, Thornton (1), Abbasi, Bouchez, Power, Kearley (2), Churchman, Creegan, Rondeau (1), Williams, Clark .
 

The Terrors put up a fantastic performance against the league champions and came within five minutes of ending their 100% win record for the season.

On a surprisingly good playing surface, given the overnight deluge, Tooting played their way into the game well and with Harry in outstanding form, ably supported by Michael, Epsom were restricted to long range shooting which Bryan was handling with comfort. Cameron and Casey were working overtime in midfield to deny Epsom the time and space to play and the game was finely poised. There seemed little danger midway through the half when James picked up the ball around the half way line with only JJ in front of him. James sidestepped a challenge then played an excellent pass which dissected the Epsom centre backs and drew the goalkeeper from his line. Such was the weight on the pass that JJ’s first touch took him round the ‘keeper and his second rolled the ball into the unguarded net. The goal lifted our boys and shocked Epsom as they threw players forward searching for the equalizer. We continued to work exceptionally hard and were defending with great resolution. On the rare occasions that we attacked in numbers Epsom were equally as resolute. From a fine in swinging corner from Harry we just failed to get the final touch and from another great delivery from Casey from the other side of the pitch JJ just failed to get enough direction on his headed effort to trouble the keeper. As the half time interval approached, Epsom stole an equalizer from a corner. We had switched off momentarily and allowed a short corner to be played and the resulting cross eluded our defence for a soft goal. The second half continued in much the same vein as the latter stages of the first half with Epsom having the lion’s share of possession and our lads defending as though their lives depended on the outcome of the match. Michael and JJ were replaced by Christian and Ben as we switched to three in midfield in an attempt to keep Epsom at bay. Although James was giving the Epsom defence a torrid time with his non stop running, the pace of the game was beginning to tell on the Terrors and we were conceding too much space in the final third. As the Epsom forwards were getting more time on the ball than in the first half, Bryan was being called into action frequently and made several fine saves most of them involving tipping powerful strikes over the bar. When the ball did finally elude Bryan, Casey made a superb goal line clearance to keep us in the match. The pressure was relentless now and a fine last ditch tackle by Cameron prevented a certain goal. With five minutes left Epsom scored a goal out of nothing when their winger curled a fine shot into towards the top corner which Bryan got a hand to but could not prevent dropping over the line for the decider. The way that the Epsom team celebrated was a testament to just how hard our boys had pushed them. In a last ditch attempt to gain a point, JJ replaced the exhausted James and the injured Cameron gave way to Michael but we had little left in the tank and Epsom held on for their win. Although we got nothing from the game in terms of points, the overall team performance was one of which they can rightly feel proud, and we can look forward to next season with renewed optimism. Well played the Terrors!

Team: Bryan, Michael, Harry, Cameron, Casey, James, JJ, Ben Christian.

Man of the Match – The Team

Colin                 
 

A last minute goal by Epsom gave a very misleading score line to an evenly fought match on a huge pitch. Tooting defended well in the early stages with Michael showing a welcome return to form and Harry playing well alongside him. At this stage of the match Epsom were restricted to long range shooting which Bryan was dealing with comfortably. At the other end, a good interchange between James and JJ led to an Epsom defender clearing off the line with their goalkeeper beaten. The boys were adapting well to the new system of only one up front and JJ was working hard to bring Ben, Casey and James into play as often as possible. Midway through the half, Epsom took the lead when a long range shot was parried by Bryan and an Epsom player reacted quickest to tap home the rebound. The Terrors battled well for the remainder of the half and after James was fouled near the corner flag the resulting free kick from Casey was volleyed agonizingly wide by JJ. The second half was as even as the first with the Terrors attempts to play good passing football usually failing with the final delivery. The match opened up as the midfield players began to tire and the lack of a full squad told against our boys as more than one pair of fresh legs would have boosted our chances. As it was Ben gave way to Lucas on the left of midfield as the game became end to end. Bryan distinguished himself with a fine double save, stopping the first shot with his legs and positioning himself well to push the follow up round the post. Epsom were in the ascendancy now but there seemed little danger when a Tooting move broke down on the right hand side of the pitch and the ball was played wide to the Epsom left wing who was forced into a wide position by Michael. However the winger produced a rocket shot from an acute angle which was in the back of the net before Bryan could move. Tooting battled back and were working hard to win the midfield battle but still the final ball was elusive as we lost possession on numerous occasions when we had the spare man in attack. In the final minute, Bryan’s goal kick was helped on by James to Casey who lost control and Epsom scored the final goal of a game which was evenly contested but had a final score line which did not reflect the Tooting performance.

Team: Brian, Michael, Harry, Casey, James, Ben, JJ, Lucas.

Men of the match – Michael and Harry

Colin                
 

A last minute goal by Epsom gave a very misleading score line to an evenly fought match on a huge pitch. Tooting defended well in the early stages with Michael showing a welcome return to form and Harry playing well alongside him. At this stage of the match Epsom were restricted to long range shooting which Bryan was dealing with comfortably. At the other end, a good interchange between James and JJ led to an Epsom defender clearing off the line with their goalkeeper beaten. The boys were adapting well to the new system of only one up front and JJ was working hard to bring Ben, Casey and James into play as often as possible. Midway through the half, Epsom took the lead when a long range shot was parried by Bryan and an Epsom player reacted quickest to tap home the rebound. The Terrors battled well for the remainder of the half and after James was fouled near the corner flag the resulting free kick from Casey was volleyed agonizingly wide by JJ. The second half was as even as the first with the Terrors attempts to play good passing football usually failing with the final delivery. The match opened up as the midfield players began to tire and the lack of a full squad told against our boys as more than one pair of fresh legs would have boosted our chances. As it was Ben gave way to Lucas on the left of midfield as the game became end to end. Bryan distinguished himself with a fine double save, stopping the first shot with his legs and positioning himself well to push the follow up round the post. Epsom were in the ascendancy now but there seemed little danger when a Tooting move broke down on the right hand side of the pitch and the ball was played wide to the Epsom left wing who was forced into a wide position by Michael. However the winger produced a rocket shot from an acute angle which was in the back of the net before Bryan could move. Tooting battled back and were working hard to win the midfield battle but still the final ball was elusive as we lost possession on numerous occasions when we had the spare man in attack. In the final minute, Bryan’s goal kick was helped on by James to Casey who lost control and Epsom scored the final goal of a game which was evenly contested but had a final score line which did not reflect the Tooting performance.

Team: Brian, Michael, Harry, Casey, James, Ben, JJ, Lucas.

Men of the match – Michael and Harry

Colin                
 

The Colts will be wondering how they ended up on the wrong side of a five-goal thriller against Hampton. The boys played some outstanding football and created enough chances, especially in the first half, to have put the game beyond doubt. But Hampton scored a scrappy equaliser after Churchman had put the Stripes ahead and the home side won it with two brilliant individual efforts before half-time. The Colts started confidently and deservedly went 1-0 up after Williams opened up the Hampton defence with a super pass and Kearley’s pinpoint cross fell to Churchman who finished crisply with his left foot. Hampton were on level terms almost immediately though, forcing the ball home from close range. Rondeau looked likely to restore the Colts’ advantage but the Hampton defender got in an excellent last-ditch tackle just as the midfielder was about to shoot. Hampton then took the lead, with the home side’s tricky winger giving Hogan no chance with a bullet-like shot from outside the box. And the same player got his second of the game just before half-time, sending a low drive into the corner. The scoreline seemed harsh on the Colts who had numerous chances in between. Kearley dragged his shot wide after another powerful burst from midfield by the outstanding Williams, and then Churchman hit the side-netting after a lovely run and cross down the left by Rondeau. Creegan also saw an effort go agonisingly wide just before half-time as the Colts pushed forward, with many of the attacks started by excellent passes from Power and Bouchez. Thornton and Abassi came on in the second half and were immediately into the action with some bustling runs deep into Hampton territory. Williams gave the Colts hope of salvaging a point by scoring his side’s second goal. He took Rondeau’s pass into his stride before beating two defenders and unleashing an unstoppable shot into the roof of the net. The same player almost grabbed an equaliser with a stunning volley which the keeper did well to stop and Hampton just held on for the points.

Coach: Mick Thornton
Manager: Mike Churchman
Squad: Hogan, Thornton, Abbasi, Bouchez, Power, Kearley, Churchman (1), Creegan, Rondeau, Williams (1), Clark.               
 

TM started the game brightly with some quick passing and sharp movement and were quickly on top of a sluggish Brentford side. The opening five minutes saw TM go close a number of times hitting the crossbar twice with shots from Tommy and Charlie. The first goal came after five minutes with a glancing header from Tommy following a throw in from Charlie, which took the keeper by surprise. TM continued to pass the ball well and challenge for every ball. The second goal came from a good up field pass to Tommy who took on the defence and passed to Reece in the box calmly slotting home. Tom was called upon to make two fine saves in the first half, but generally the defence with Chin and Ben at the back were comfortable. The score was 2-0 at halftime. Junior Bees battled harder in the second half with the hill in their favour, however, TM continued to outplay them with their inter- passing. TM scored again from a good midfield move with Reece finishing slickly. Bees pulled one back from a breakaway which was against the run of play, however, TM went on to score again with a fine shot from Charlie following some good work down the right. TM continued to play well and created many chances with all players involved. A further driving move into the box resulted in the Bees fouling, and the resultant penalty was taken superbly by Charlie giving the keeper no chance. All in all it was a good organised display from TM with their good passing and determined tackling creating many chances with the team deserving the margin of the win.

Squad: Tom, Ben, Chin, Luke, Tommy, Bradley, Charlie, Owen and Reece.

Reporter: John Highwood

Coach: Andy Chute .