U23s v Bec

U23s and Academy manager Daniel Yankah started his team talk by listing the names of over thirty volunteers and club officials that put in countless hours of hard work behind the scenes to allow any match to go ahead at Tooting & Mitcham United.

“Without these people there is no football club, they are the football club, and we have to pay back that commitment with a performance that embodies their passion and hard work.”

The words landed. Nods of acknowledgement, murmurs of agreement and claps of recognition.

Now, to some it might seem odd to make use of this level of team talk for a Surrey Premier Cup match, where our development squad would be facing off against former tenants Bec. Not a game that will define the club’s season- first team results will always trump the achievements of the development squads success, and rightly so.

But for me it was the perfect timing. Many of the starters in the game were first team players looking to increase their minutes, to give first team manager Jamie a decision to make, to build up their match fitness and to keep ticking over. Many have had glimpses of the crowds at Imperial fields but some won’t have really witnessed the unquantifiable work that goes on behind the scenes. Dan’s list was an insight that hopefully would bring that into stark relief.

The rest of the squad, many 19 years of age or younger, with a 16 year old on the bench. Nearly all of them current members or recent products of the club’s youth section and Academy scholarship. Many have an intimate relationship with the scale of the club, their classrooms in parts of the club many of us would not know how to find. But that insight is also paired with a youthful focus on themselves and their personal journeys. Some forget to look up and see all that goes into building the platform the club tries to provide for them. Again, Dan’s team talk sought to bring that work into sharp focus. Not to create a heavy responsibility to carry onto the pitch, but a lightness that comes from knowing that your community aspires for you to succeed, to feed the desire to outwork your opponent.

Because the club *is* its volunteers. They care. And this must be mirrored by the club’s players from top to bottom of the pathway.

Maybe the message weighed heavy in the early phase of the game. More likely, in my opinion, is that those that started did not hit the ground running, heavy legs and a lack of match sharpness across the board, it took us 45 minutes to really get going.

Unfortunately Bec’s momentum is strong, always has been and that legginess and lack of edge ultimately cost us the game. Bec were robust, well organised from front to back and ruthless in taking a two to nothing lead into the break.

The second half was a more assured performance from the home side, having the lion share of the ball and the chances. Three substitutions on the hour mark made a difference, three sets of young legs opened the game up and sixteen year old Alex cut the lead in half.

But the ‘23s’ couldn’t find the equaliser. Excellent moves not punctuated by any resounding full stops. Tooting Bec’s experience and resilience saw them through.

The loss was disappointing, all defeats are, but the second half performance was encouraging and the minutes under the belt of those with more immediate first team aims was a positive.

Just a note to say that I believe Callum Porteous will very quickly become a favourite on the bogend. Vocal and committed, a very accomplished defender.

Next up for the U23s is a short trip to Raynes Park for their next game in Surburban League on Saturday.

Maybe see you there.

Up the Stripes