The latest news on Tooting and Mitcham United FC from guest blogger, Roger Butcher

A disappointing December saw Tooting pick up just 1 point from a possible 12, and slip out of the play off reckoning for the time being. It is particularly unsatisfactory as we were leading in 3 of these games. Admittedly they were all against teams vying for promotion, but nevertheless, when the target is a top 5 finish, you have to be getting more points from these games. However, there is a long way to go, and there is still an air of confidence around the camp that we can turn a corner and string a run of results together.
 

And maybe the New Year’s Day derby against neighbours Carshalton Athletic could be the catalyst for this. In front of our biggest league attendance of the season we got off to the worst possible start as skipper Francis Quarm was sent off for a bad tackle in the first few minutes. However, despite being down to 10 men, we looked the better team and were rewarded when a cross from Sol Pinnock was knocked into his own net by a Carshalton defender. Early in the second half the visitors equalised when ex-Terror Jordan Clarke punished his old team mates with a good finish. But Tooting continued to play well, often looking as if there was no numerical disadvantage. The final score of 1-1 should be considered as a good result bearing in mind that we played for 85 minutes with 10 men.

But December wasn’t all doom and gloom as we progressed in two cup competitions – the London Senior Cup and the Surrey Senior Cup. To explain, all clubs, including the professional clubs, are affiliated to their local county Football Association, and its these associations that organise the cup competitions for their members. Tooting & Mitcham are affiliated to the Surrey FA, and for historical reasons, have a secondary affiliation to the London FA. So it is through these affiliations that we enter these two competitions. In theory, all senior clubs including Premier League clubs can enter these competitions but normally withdraw before the 1st round is drawn. However, we have played Crystal Palace and AFC Wimbledon in the Surrey Senior Cup in recent seasons.
 

Admittedly, these two competitions are considered of minor importance to most teams, but a cup final is always a good occasion and I think is well worth aiming for. In our case, we have won both cups in recent years including a unique double of both cups in 2007. This season in the Surrey Senior Cup we crept past Horley Town on penalties after a 2-2 draw, with TJ Nkoma and Sol Pinnock scoring for us. This sets us up for a last 16 clash against Mole Valley later this month. In the London Senior Cup, both Nkoma and Pinnock were again on target as we won 3-1 away against Erith Town. In this case we will be away to Cockfosters in the quarter final.

So still a lot of football to be played this season, and a lot to look forward to. And hopefully a good start to 2015.

Please note the new website address is www.tmu-fc.co.uk

Upcoming home fixtures:

• Mole Valley (Surrey Senior Cup) on Tuesday 13th January at 7:45pm
• Ramsgate on Saturday 17^th January at 3:00pm

Come along – the 280 bus stops just outside the ground!