Tooting Six Points Clear After Herne Bay Victory
- Official TMUFC
- Feb 5, 2017
- 3 min read
Tooting rode their good fortune at times this afternoon as they eventually overcame a plucky Herne Bay side to grab all three points and stretch their lead at the top of Ryman League South, thanks to an explosive, Mike Dixon inspired, final twenty minutes.
The first real opportunity of the game came in the 17th minute when Tooting took the lead. A fierce shot from Terrors’ debutant Dan Clements was parried by ‘keeper Jack Delo however the ball only went out as far as Tenny Adebowale out wide on the left. He played the ball straight back into the box where it was met about 10 yards out from goal by Charlie ten-Grotenhuis who stabbed the ball past Delo and into the net. The home side drew level on the half hour though when Tooting failed to deal with a long throw that was hurled into the penalty area. The ball fell to Mark Lovell who struck the ball low and hard from just inside the box and into the back of the net. Herne Bay could easily have gone in front two minutes later but Kyle Merson in the Tooting goal pulled off an excellent double save to deny Taser Hassan from close range. A further golden opportunity fell to the Bay on 36 minutes when the ball was played across the middle of the Terrors’ penalty area where it found Mark Lovell totally unmarked but fortunately for Tooting he fired his effort back across goal and wide of the upright.
Herne Bay started the second half as they had ended the first and it was Kyle Merson who was the first ‘keeper called into action again, this time on 49 minutes. On this occasion though he failed to hold onto a high ball in the 6 yard box and as the ball fell loose it fell to the feet of a Herne Bay striker who prodded the ball towards goal. However they were once again denied, this time by Serg Zamara, who was in position to clear the ball from the line. On 64 minutes a cross put in by Dan Clements from the right hand side was met by the head of Dixon but the cross was just too high for him to be able to get a solid head to the ball and it ended up going wide of the post. Two minutes later another excellent ball was played in by Clements, this time finding Jordan Wilson 10 yards out from goal. He failed to get a clean strike on the ball and as it screwed wide of the goal, Sandy Cunningham also got a touch to it but was unable to redirect it towards goal.
The renewed pressure from the Terrors finally paid off though in the 70th minute when Mike Dixon was put through by Sandy Cunningham. As he closed in on goal and shot, Delo in the Bay goal saved the ball with his legs as he deflected it out for a corner on Tooting’s right. The kick was taken by Claudio Hoban, short, to Ashley Robinson. He took a couple of paces towards the corner of the penalty area and let fly with a fierce shot that sped across the face of the goal, struck the far post and into the back of the net to put the Terrors back in front. There was then an opportunity for Herne Bay to get themselves level again on 79 minutes when Danny Williams was left in space on the right hand side of Tooting’s penalty area. He let fly but once again the home side were denied by Kyle Merson who pulled off yet another great save. A minute later though it was Tooting on the attack with Mike Dixon being played in down the right hand side by Ashley Robinson. As he closed in on the 6 yard box he beat his defender and curled the ball, left footed, around Jack Delo in the Herne Bay goal to give Tooting a two goal margin. Tooting finally wrapped things up in the 90th minute though when Mike Dixon broke forward once again, shaking off his defender and slotting the ball, right footed this time, past Jack Delo.