MATCH REPORT
Two late withdrawals from the squad meant that the reserves, like the first team, only had eleven players available, which was very disappointing.
This meant that Shelley Osborne had to start in an unusual position for her (right back), and that we had to hope that no serious injuries would occur during the match.
Predictably, Kent Magpies came straight at us from the start , but our girls held firm.
The Magpies goal that came after 10’ was an avoidable goal, coming from a movement down their left side which we should have dealt with before the ball reached our 6-yard area.
No matter, Tooting responded in typical, gritty fashion, by starting asking questions of the opposition.
Our possession play was solid , with some good passing movements in all areas of the pitch and with some good final passes not being rewarded with the desired outcome.
Against the run of play, Kent Magpies scored their second goal, helped in this by a misunderstanding between Shelley and Charley, with the ball spinning away from our goalkeeper grasp and tapped in whilst virtually on the goal line.
One or two heads started to go down after that, with not much happening before the break, apart from an ankle injury to Michelle Tapping.
A reshuffle at half-time, and a few reminders to the players of what they had turned up for, were urgently needed.
Sharron Barnett moved to right back, Shelley Osborne Price to left midfield, Natalie Alexander-Grant moved up front to partner Melanie Anderson.
From the start, Tooting showed that they had found again their willingness to take the game to Kent Magpies and gradually started to gain the upper hand, which they maintained throughout the 2nd half, despite Michelle aggravating her injury, which greatly restricted her contribution. I looked at the bench: NO ONE THERE!
Our continuous pressure finally got its reward in the 65th minute by way of a goal scored by Natalie, from inside the penalty area, with a shot across the goal keeper, which went in off the goal keeper’s right-hand post.
With 25 minutes to go, Tooting upped their pressure onto Kent Magpies whose back line, it must be said, was excellent.
Despite this, we managed to break away time and again, only for the finishing touch to let us down or to elude us altogether, never more so than when Melanie, again in a one v one situation with their goal keeper, shot straight at her with only 4 minutes to go.
The pressure was kept on after that, but Kent Magpies held firm, to end up winners.
A gutsy performance by Tooting & Mitcham, which deserved something out of this match.
