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

Tooting fell away from the promotion places following a number of unsatisfactory results in January. Three away defeats against lower placed teams have all but crushed any remaining hopes that we had of reaching the playoffs. We also suffered the disappointing loss of consistent defender, Tom Jelley, to Ryman Premier League side Hampton & Richmond. One of the perennial problems that teams of our stature constantly face is losing your best players. The manager obviously does his best to get good players in, but if they perform well, they will attract the attention of higher league teams. Most players would like to test themselves at the highest level possible, and I think most supporters fully accept this reality, and Tom moves on with our best wishes for the future and much appreciation for his performances over the last two seasons.

Probably the main highlight of the month, if not the season, was our away trip to Guernsey. Still very much a novel experience to fly to a game, around 100 fans made the trip this season of which many tend to make a weekend of it. This season we were also treated to an excellent game in front of over 750 spectators.  Although we conceded a very early goal, we made a great recovery and deservedly equalised with a fantastic volley from Frankie Sawyer (see it here). We were on top and playing well before a moment of madness by our goalkeeper, Luke Badiali, saw him sent off for a retaliatory action, which saw us go a goal behind to the resultant penalty and go down to 10 men. However, despite our numerical disadvantage, we equalised in the 2nd half when Sawyer pounced on a goalkeeping mistake for his 2nd of the match. However, with the large crowd urging them on, Guernsey got a late winner to earn a 3-2 victory. Despite the defeat, I think most fans were very happy with the effort the remaining 10 players put in. And the rest of the weekend gave us plenty of time to drown our sorrows!
 

On the positive side, we continued to progress in the county cup competitions. In the Surrey Senior Cup we had a few nervous moments before disposing of Mole Valley 3-1, which means that we progress to the quarter final where we face a tough task away to Metropolitan Police. Meanwhile in the London Senior Cup we progressed into the semi final last night (Tuesday) with a penalty shootout win at Cockfosters. We went two goals down early on, but a brace by Dan Summers earned parity. Goalkeeper Luke Badiali was the hero this time with two fine penalty saves. We will play either Cray Valley or Wingate & Finchley in the next round.

This month, we have also seen the emergence of teenager Saidou Khan as a first team player. He had made a few appearances as a substitute, but due to injury and suspension he has recently been given a run of games in central midfield. He has shown composure on the ball, plus an ability to drift past players. He also scored his first ever senior goal and picked up the man of the match award in our 3-2 win over Ramsgate. He definitely looks like a player who could succeed at a higher level. Let’s just hope it is with us!
 

A quick note regarding this Saturday’s game. We are at home to league leaders Burgess Hill Town. Not only are they comfortably top of the league, but they are the only unbeaten team in England. So any extra support would be most welcome as we attempt to become the first side to take their scalp.

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

Upcoming home fixtures:

• Burgess Hill Town on Saturday 31st January at 3:00pm
• Walton Casuals on Saturday 14th February at 3:00pm 

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