Work To Do For Tooting After Hartley Defeat
- Official TMUFC
- Jul 23, 2017
- 2 min read
If Tooting needed a reminder that life after winning the league wouldn’t be a stroll in the park, they certainly received one this lunchtime from EvoStik Southern League new boys Hartley Wintney.
In a game that in terms of possession was a fairly even affair, but more importantly the two time Combined Premier League Champions battled harder and made fewer errors at the times, and in the places that mattered.
Tooting, starting the game with three centre backs and two wing backs, had plenty of possession in the opening 20 minutes or so of the game and looked to keep their visitors on the back foot. Despite the possession and link up play which saw the Terrors continually press forward, particularly down the right hand side, they were unable to create any serious threats to the Hartley Wintney goal.
On 27 minutes, some might argue against the run of play, the visitors took the lead when lack of marking allowed a long ball from out on the Terrors’ left, to find the feet of a visiting striker who gratefully accepted the opportunity to put the ball into the back of the net.
There was more concern for Tooting though right at the end of half when centre back Quincy Rowe collided with skipper Sol Patterson-Bohner and both players went to the ground. Whilst Sol eventually made it to his feet, Quincy, who had initially been winded by the incident, remained on the ground suffering considerable pain to his back. He was eventually helped off the pitch and after being attended to at the side of the pitch by paramedics, he was taken to hospital for some precautionary checks.
Five minutes into the second half, Tooting found themselves two down, when a 25 yard effort was hit home after Tooting had lost possession in the middle of the park. Tooting’s first real effort on goal came on 67 minutes when Peter Wedgeworth fired in a good effort from the left after some earlier nice link up play between Billy Dunn, Claudio Hoban and Chace O’Neill.
However on 80 minutes the visitors went three up after Tooting once again gave up possession, allowing an effort to be struck home from distance. There was time for the Terrors to grab a consolation goal though on 86 minutes when Jordan Wilson met a Billy Dunn corner just inside the box and struck a low, first time drive into the bottom corner of the net.