AFC Croydon
The night was set. A beautiful, gentle summer's breeze brushed over the top of Imperial Fields and the blinding sun beamed into the eyes of those standing on the terraces behind the goal, as the two teams made their way onto the field. Murmurs of Stormzy being in attendance to witness his newly acquired team take on the mighty Tooting were sadly not confirmed by my eyes personally, but the word was he was there. A healthy crowd was in attendance, officially 227, but from a quick head count looked upwards of 300. It’s what you love to see, a Tuesday night game with a buzzing crowd ready to watch the two teams play.
The game got underway. Much anticipation on what AFC Croydon Athletic would bring to the game, from the outside they looked like they would be a good side, many of their newly acquired players have past experience of playing up the leagues, even one who had a Palace cap to his name. The sun finally decided to set, and we could see what was happening without the fear of going blind. Croydon wanted to play the game with the ball at their feet, happy to play out from the back, with one of their Central Midfielders falling deep multiple times to initiate. You could tell they had the players for the job, they looked a good side with players confident on the ball and they would truly pose a threat to our currently unbeaten league side. They looked relaxed on the ball at the back, perhaps too relaxed, and when their keeper was extremely blasé in possession, Kieran Campbell was able to capitalise on a slight miss control and slot the ball calmly into the back of the net, around the 20th minute. 1-0 Tooting.
It didn’t take long for Croydon to bounce back. A fantastic strike from about 30 yards out rifled into the roof off the net, a goal that nothing could be done about. It certainly spurred Croydon on, for the next 15-20 minutes they dominated possession and looked as if they were going to do something with it too. They pinned Tooting back, creating a decent amount of half chances, but nothing too glaring and we survived to the end of the half. In retrospect, this was the pivotal part of the game, we bent but didn’t break, and stood strong underneath the rough Croydon weather to keep the game level at the half. Allowing us to get a needed reset at the half.
The break did wonders, and we really looked the better team for the whole of the second half. We came out sharper and more decisive than our opponents, with some really great forward passes that carved through Croydon like butter at times. In the 60th minute, Tooting got what they deserved and regained the lead. A perfectly weighted ball, from (I believe) Jay on his debut, into the path of Campbell, who had made a well timed run into the right side of the box and delivered a first time ball across to Shay, who headed Tooting back into the lead. A goal that went with the run of play, and sparked plenty of joy in the bog-end. 2-1 Tooting.
Tooting stayed the better side, and when a lazy pass from a Croydon defender found its way to the feet of Campbell, Tooting already had a numbers advantage on the counter which started very high up the pitch. He stayed cool, drove forward with possession, then slid it into the path of Warren Colman, who finished it just inside of the box. Tooting gained a comfy two goal cushion and maintained the advantage of being the better team throughout the second half. 3-1 Tooting.
Of course nothing is ever simple for a Tooting fan, and when Croydon were awarded a corner around the 85th minute, naturally you knew what was coming. A good ball deep into the box, and a climbing header at the back post ended in the back of the net, and the comfort of a two goal cushion had been smashed. Nerves crept back up, and you could see the energy on the pitch shift, as Croydon saw a way back into salvaging the game.
Thankfully, Tooting have a striker in Shay Brennan who cares enough to not let the Tooting faithful stress too much. He did fantastic to convert a ball through to him into a goal scoring opportunity, driving into the box. It looked as if he was ready to strike with his left foot as the angle opened up for him, but he decided to calmly cut inside to the comfort of his right and with two defenders in front of him and the keeper to beat, he found the back of the net and put the game to bed. Joyous scenes. A jump and a fistpump from Brennan, directed Tootings way, marked the secured three points and the final whistle followed shortly. 4-2 Tooting.
A great performance which I’m sure Byatt will be delighted with, to make it through the first half, not playing our best football but staying in the game was brilliant. A base for us to grow into the game, without being a goal or two down, and grow we certainly did. Hoping we see more results follow suit, sitting joint top of the league with 3 wins out of 3, and beating a team, I’m sure many thought would be a real contender this year in AFC Croydon Athletic. Lots to feel good about heading into an FA Vase game along the coast at Selsey this Saturday.
