Champions All Tied At Tooting

In today’s clash between last season’s champions of Division One North and Division One South, the points were shared as Tooting came from behind early in the second half.

Whilst it was the Terrors who played the better football in the opening 45 minutes the superior strength and pace of the visitors restricted Tooting’s opportunities for most of the first half, the only clear opportunity coming on 5 minutes when Jake Baxter failed to connect cleanly with a ball on the edge of the 6 yard box played in from the right by Billy Dunn.

It was the visitors who struck first though midway through the period after being awarded a free kick in the 26th minute out on the right hand side. The ball was floated into the 6 yard are and with the Terrors’ defence unable to clear their lines effectively, it was Brightlingsea striker Tom Richardson who was on hand to head the ball home.

Tooting came out for the second half in positive fashion though and immediately looked to move the ball quickly and on the ground, more so than they had been able to do in the opening 45 minutes. It soon paid off as just three minutes into the second half, a low pinpoint ball from Jake Baxter out on the right, low and across the face of the 6 yard box, was met by Billy Dunn who side footed the ball, left footed into the back of the net.

Both sides continued to press forward, looking to win the game. The major second half scare for Tooting came when Peter Wedgworth cleared and effort off the line, albeit he wouldn’t have realised at the time that a free kick had been awarded to the Terrors for a foul on Kyle Merson. At the other end, the nearest Tooting came to adding a second was two long range efforts from Billy Dunn, the first a hard, low shot which was saved by the ‘keeper and the second effort which cleared the cross bar by several yards.

Photo credit: Sam Conquest

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