Leatherhead      3       -        0       Sittingbourne

 (Barilli, Hutchings, Terry)

 

The Tanners finished the season with an emphatic win that belied their league position against a side who had flirted with a play-off place.

Mickey Stephens started with reserves star, Steve Barilli partnering Tom Hutchings in the attack and Kev Terry playing in a deeper and wider position on the right. Jean-Serge Musungu also gained a rare staring spot.

The match started as an end of season game would have expected to but that soon changed as the Tanners started to get into gear. With the new season in everyone’s minds, it was the lively Barilli who made the first break for the home side. An impressive starter for the reserves, Barilli has gained a reputation for his pace but, on this occasion, it was his his composure in front of goal that counted the most. One of the first of many flowing Leatherhead moves saw the ball played to Jean- Serge Musungu wide on the right. His low cross was met by Barilli with a low, sweet shot that found the back of the net with ease. It was a goal that would give the young striker a good deal of confidence as the game went on.

Barilli showed his aptitude just a few minutes later when a Tom Hutchings cross went over his head but prompted him to chase the ball down and force a corner that was not capitalised upon but showed the degree of promise that he showed on stepping up several levels into the Ryman league.

Midway through the half, against the form book but not against the run of play, Leatherhead extended their lead with a fine strike from their leading scorer. Tom Hutchings. Although the through ball should have been dealt with more assurance by the centre of the Sittingbourne defence, the way that. The assurance that Hutchings struck the ball across the hapless Matt Reed, showed why the Tanners striker is in the leading Ryman League scorers chart.

On balance the home side had the better of the first half with their Kent visitors showing some good approach play but getting very little change from  a Tanners defence w lead impeccably by Iain Hendry.

In the midfield, Stewart Holmes was putting in his usual commanding performance, breaking down Sittingbourne attacks and finding time to feed his forwards with an accuracy that, in recent weeks, has not been matched by many of his team mates.

Sittingbourne did not reach the fringes of the play-off places by accident. They contained much of the home side’s options in the midfield but just could not find that killer ball that would unlock a stubborn Tanners defence – more than ably supported by Chris Lewington who put in yet another assured performance to keep yet another clean sheet.

The second half saw the visitors take the game to the Mole Valley side. With two changes to their line-up at the interval, the Kent side showed more enterprise and pinned the Tanners back in their own half for long periods of the game. Leatherhead were not about to fold and when Dev Williams played in Tom Hutchings, his strike was finger tipped away to safety by Reed to keep the margin down to just the two goals.

If there was any doubts about the Tanners superiority, they were dispelled with ten minutes to go when. The lively Kev Terry picked up the ball midway in his own half, outpaced a floundering Sittingbourne defence, cut into the area and struck a low shot that buried itself in the back of the net inside the near post. It was a fitting end to a first class performance by the Tanners forward – and the whole team.

Many of the home supporters would be left wondering why their side could not pull together similar showings that would have seen off many of the Tanners problems this year – but no one could deny that this was the type of performance that all felt that the Leatherhead were capable of despite it being in an end of season game with little at stake for either side.

 

Team  Lewingotn, Williams, M’Baye, Hendry, Shannon, Holmes, Jones, Barilli (Williams), Hutchings, Terry (Mette-Sissoks), Musungu

Walton & Hersham    0       -        0       Leatherhead

 

To a certain degree, this was like watching paint dry. Neither side was going trouble the play-off places nor were they likely to drop into the relegation zone. The result was a forgettable end of season affair that sent both sets of fans home just grateful that the sun was shining.

For the Tanners, caretaker manager, Mickey Stephens was without Tony Cuff (injured for the remainder of the season), Ryan Palmer and a Jason Henry who has simply dropped off the radar.

The Tanners simply did not turn up for the first half hour of this game. Had the Swans had forwards who could hit the target, they could have found themselves two or three down in the first half. Within the first ten minutes, Leatherhead goalkeeper, Chris Lewington, was called upon to make a save at the far post as the defensive marking had disappeared for the moment. The defensive uncertainty seemed to affect Leatherhead’s otherwise excellent keeper when he went to meet ex-Tanner, Julian Thompson who easily evaded him and struck a shot that was cleared from the six yard area by a relieved Tanners’ defence.

Things could have got worse when a poor clearance found a Walton forward who launched a hopeful shot from some forty yards only to see it rebound to safety with Lewington beaten.

The first half was more about the home side than their Mole Valley opponents. It does seem incredible that eleven players could put in such an uninspiring performance but it was so on the day. It was matched by an equally unimpressive Swans side who seemed to want the ball more but, when they had it, seemed unable to find ideas of what to do with it.

Leatherhead scarcely troubled a static looking Swans keeper in Antony Hall. The amply built number one scarcely had a save to make and when he was put under pressure, was not threatened by a Leatherhead player in a scoring position.

The second half started with Tom Williams, an impressive performer for the Tanners’ second string, replacing a Dev Williams on the right side of defence. Within a few minutes of the re-start, Steve Goddard, rapidly becoming a favourite at Fetcham Grove, found space, turned and shot over. It was one of a few chances that were to come the Tanners way on the day.

Ex-tanner, Julian Thompson had found it difficult to find a club that would give him a starting position after he left Fetcham Grove. He has always been an awkward player to mark and he could have given the home side the lead when his turn and shot was well dealt with by Lewington. It did not seem that either side was going to find the net on the day.

With just over twenty minutes left to play, Mickey Stephens introduced Steve Barilli in place of the frustrated Goddard. Barilli has shone in the reserves this year with his pace and goal scoring ability and it was right that he was given his chance to appear for the first team.

This was always going to be a game that was nicked by the odd goal. It should have come from the Tanners when one of their few flowing moves saw the hard working Tom Hutchings break wide left and strike a superb cross field ball to Matt Jones. Jones had the chance to control the ball and play it back into the heart of the Walton penalty area. Instead, he chose to strike a shot at the near post that screwed wide.

This was not an entertaining game to watch and was typical of an end of season performance where neither side had anything to play for. On Saturday, the Tanners have a chance to dent whatever play-off hopes Sittingbourne have with their last home game of the season. It will take a far more committed performance to achieve that aim.

Team  Lewingotn, D Williams (T Williams), Shannon, M’Baye, Hendry, Holmes, Jones, Wilfort, Hutchings (Musungu), Terry, Goddard 9Barilli)

Leatherhead      0       -        3       Dulwich Hamlet

                                                   (Francis, Kaffo 2)

 

It seems that whenever the Tanners take one step forward, they follow by taking two steps back. It was no different this weekend when, after an encouraging win against Whyteleafe on Friday they lost their manager Bob Langford on Saturday and followed that up with an abject performance against an average hamlet side.

The game started very badly for the home side when, after just two miutes, Dulwich’s Daniel Francis won the ball on the right hand edge of the penalty area and turned inside to finish with a shot that left Chris Lewington grasping at air.

Although Leatherhead responded by taking the game to their South London opponents, the final ball was always poor or the shot was going wide. It is unlikely that Sheikh Ceesay in the Hamlet goal had a worthwhile shot to save all game.

Things got even worse for the Mole Valley side after twenty seven minutes when a long punt caused Lewington to race pout of his area to block a Dulwich attempt only to see the ball fall to the ungainly Junior Kaffo who rifled the ball home from fully thirty yards.

With injuries starting to take their toll, Jason Turley – so effective in the Whyteleafe game – succumbed to a knock and was replaced by Matt Jones. The rest of the half had little to commend it. Leathread gave the ball away far too easily and, for all their trickery on the ball, Hamlet had no shape and impressed very little.

The second half started with Tony Cuff (who was one of the few Leatherhead players who looked as though he could deliver a decent ball) giving way to an ankle injury and being replaced by John Wilfort.

Despite the odd flurry when a Steve Goddard header went straight to an under-worked Ceesay – Dulwich were enjoying most of the possession – admittedly without really showing that they had enough of a cutting edge to make their territorial advantage count. For the Tanners, Stewart Holmes, yet again, showed his prodigious work rate and Iain Hendry continually competed for balls that a tall Hamlet set of forwards never really looked like using to the best advantage.

Caretaker manager, Mickey Stephens took his last throw of the dice when he brought on promising midfielder, Tom Horley in place of an injured Dev Williams but, in all truth, it made little difference. Dulwich could have extended their lead when a cross cum shot cracked off the angle of the post and bar but did eventually get their third and Kaffo’s second as the game was lurching to its welcome conclusion with just four minutes left. Kaffo never gave up on a ball that was spinning away from goal and, on the left hand edge of the penalty area, turned and hit a low shot that squirmed under Chris Lewington’s body.

There have been slim pickings for the Tanners over Dulwich Hamlet for the past few seasons and this proved no different. The team would certainly have been unsettled by their manager’s untimely departure just two days earlier but it was disappointing that the heart had completely gone out of their game just a couple of days after they put in a competent performance at Whyteleafe.

For many of the supporters, the last two matches will be nothing more than a chore if performances are of the same calibre. Whoever takes over this side for the coming season will need all of his motivational and managerial skills to pick the Tanners up again for the next campaign.

Team  Lewington, Williams (Horley), Shannon, Palmer, Hendry, Holmes, Cuff (Wilfort, Goddard, Hutchings, Terry, Turley (Jones)

Whyteleafe         0       -        2       Leatherhead

                                                     (Turley, Terry)

 

In the first half of the 2 handed Easter programme, the Tanners earned three well deserved points over their ex-Assistant manager, Stuart Massey. With a number of ex-Leatherhead players in the side and both teams wanting the points to steer well clear of any potential danger, this was a crucial match for both clubs.

With Jason Henry and Sacha M’Baye missing, starts were provided for recent signing Jason Turley and also Ben Shannon. Steve Goddard and reserve team centre back Michael Corbett (stepping up from the reserves) joining Dave Hyatt, John Wilfort and Matt Jones on the bench.

In fact, Whyteleafe did not prove the stiff, physical opponents that the Tanners have faced over recent seasons. Although their defence mad the strike partnership of Tom Hutchings and Kev Terry work for every ball, their attack hardly troubled Chris Lewington in the visiting goal with Andy Martin proving as ineffective as he did in his time at Fetcham Grove.

Leatherhead showed their intentions from the start. Within the first 2 minutes leatherhead forced a corner to the left but the rehearsed short kick did not go to plan and the defence scrambled the ball away.

The opening goal was not too long in coming a long ball from Tony Cuff looked to have been over hit and on its way for a goal kick. With his usual tenacious turn of speed, Tom Hutchings prevented the dead ball kick and lofted a superb cross to the far post where the late arriving Jason Turley rose to head an excellent first goal for the club.

The Tanners shaded the rest of the half playing some decent passing football and stretching a competent ‘Leafe defence. When the home side were able to get forward their forwards were no match for a superb Iain Hendry partnered this week by Ryan Palmer. Hendry was rightly “Man of the Match” although Turley, playing his best game for the club and the ever consistent Stewart Holmes ran him very close.

The remainder of the half was scoreless but we saw some of the old Whyteleafe as the half way loomed with some strong challenges that did not seem to trouble the Tanners players unduly.

With leatherhead in the ascendance, there should have been a second goal after 15 minutes of the re-start. The impressive Turley finished a superb move that started with some tenacious tackling from Holmes in the midfield and continued with an inch perfect through ball into the area. Turley rounded the giant Rob O’Hara only to be hauled down with the goal open. This produced an inevitable red card and a Tanners penalty. Usually these spot kicks are meat and drink to Hutchings but on this occasion his shot lacked confidence and force and was parried for a corner by substitute goal-keeper Adam Broomhead – who had started the game at Centre-back for the ‘Leafe.

Bob Langford brought on Steve Goddard to add fresh legs to the attack and rested Tom Horley who had played well through the game. And, with 73 minutes gone, the inevitable happened. Turley, again, was involved when he threaded a through ball to Hutchings who made ground and slipped the ball into the path of Kev Terry. Terry took one touch and blasted home a fierce shot that the regular goal-keeper would not have stopped, let alone his substitute.

With the game sewn up, there could have been a third. Terry broke down the right and crossed for a Whyteleafe defender to crash the ball into his own net. Despite the celebrations, the 2 goal margin held when the linesman adjudged that a Tanners forward was in an offside position and “active”. It is this type of interpretation that confuses the fans but at the end of the day it did not matter.

With a tough home match against Dulwich Hamlet on Easter Monday, the Tanners will have, at least come out even over the weekend. This was a competent and competitive performance that went some way to showing that the Tanners could achieve more. They will have found Hamlet a tougher challenge on the Monday.

Team  Lewington, Williams, Turley, Palmer, Hendry, Holmes, Cuff (Wilfort), Horley (Goddard), Hutchings, Terry, Shannon

Leatherhead      0       -        1 Eastbourne Town

                                                                             (Norwood)

 

The Tanners less than impressive run in to the end of the season continued with a lacklustre performance against an Eastbourne side who, although sitting comforting in mid table, were comprehensively beaten in the last two meetings between these sides.

Bob Langford started with holiday returnee, Steve Goddard on the bench and Jason Henry making way for Tony Cuff. Sacha M’Baye partnered Iain Hendry in central defence in place of the injured John Cartledge.

The home started promisingly enough. Within the first two minutes, Tony Cuff played in top scorer, Tom Hutchings who could only find the in form Russell Tanner in his way. In fact, Leatherhead had by far the better of the opening exchanges but their final ball lacked the quality needed to unlock a good defensive display from the East Sussex side.

The first and only goal of the game brought any hopes of a dominating home performance to an early end. On the break, a through ball from an impressive Greg Manton found james Norwood in space. His low shot gave Chris Lewington little chance and, against the run of play, Town took the lead.

To their credit, the Tanners continued to press forward causing Eastbourne to defend in numbers. Unfortunately, there were too many balls in the final third of the pitch that gave the Tanners forwards time and space to create very much worthwhile. True, Tom Hutchings did work hard to create scoring chances but with the visiting defence holding firm he was not able to hit the target.

Neither side were able to create too many goal scoring chances but on the odd occasion that Eastbourne did find themselves with chances, they found Iain Hendry in dominany aerial form and Chris Lewington on hand to make one or two fine blocks.

The second half started very much the same as the first. Within a minute of the re-start, a typically tenacious Tom Hutchings run saw him evade the attentions of five visiting defenders. As had happened so often during the afternoon, his pull-back from the dead ball line was cleared and the opportunity came to nothing.

Norwood could have doubled his tally when the highly promising centre back, Sacha M’Baye misjudged a through ball but the lively Norwood screwed his shot wide.

With the game slipping away from his side, Bob Langford took the unusual step of making a triple substitution replacing John Wilfort, Kev Terry and ben Shannon with Steve Goddard, Jason Henry and Jason Turley.

The replacements did give the Tanners added impetus and Goddard was unlucky to find Russell Tanner in inspired form in the visitors’ goal when his far post header brought a point blank save to keep the one goal differential. Earlier, Tanner had foiled Goddard with a more routine save from a shot that was fired straight at him.

With the clock running down and a highly frustrated Stewart Holmes seeing his endeavours rewarded with a yellow card, the home side dropped yet another three points from a single goal defeat.

The Tanners are probably safe from relegation but such a disappointing performance will need to be rectified if they are to finish the season on a positive note.

Team  Lewington, Williams, Palmer, M’Baye, Hendry, Holmes, Cuff, Wilfort (Goddard), Hutchings, Terry (Turley), Shannon (Henry)

Leatherhead      1       -        2       Croydon Athletic       

          (Hutchings, pen.)                          (Clayton, Godfrey)

 

The tanners effectively gave away three points with two defensive errors that allowed Athltic to complete the double over them this season.

Leatherhead started with new signing Jason Turley drafted straight into the midfield and with John Cartledge partnering Iain Hendry in the centre of the defence. Tony Cuf was still missing from the starting lineup following his 2 match ban.

The match started badly for the home side when, after just six minutes, Cartledge mistimed his clearance, allowing the ball to drop to the feet of Sam Clayton on the edge of the penalty area. The Croydon midfielder’s low shot hit the back of the net before Chris Lewington was able to move.

This was a day when defensive errors were to be the Tanners undoing. Within minutes more uncertainty allowed Clayton a second opportunity but, this time, his shot flew straight at Lewington.

After that initial flurry, Leatherhead began to settle down and take the game to their visitors although the nippy but diminutive pairing of Tom Hutchings and Kev Terry were never going to win the aerial battle that the long ball set up. Their attack looked far more effective with the ball moved wide to the excellent Steve Goddard and the hard working Jason Henry (who, yet again won his share of the high balls against much taller defenders).

Despite all of their pressing, the visiting goalkeeper, Ross Fitney, had barely a shot to save and had a significant role in setting up the Croydon second goal. With nine minutes of the half left, his huge lofted ball bounced somewhere around the edge of the Tanners area. with Cartledge leaving the ball to his goalkeeper and Lewington hesitating, it was left to a brave header from Ben Godfrey to beat the late-coming Lewington and extend the Athletic’s lead. For his pains, the Croydon target man was left on the ground following the collision with the home ‘keeper but it left Leatherhead leaving the field at half-time chasing the game but with no real chances to show for their first half endeavours.

With the Tanners pressing for a goal, it took some robust defending by the Croydon back line to keep them away from the danger area. They should have had their centre-half, Richard Blackwell booked for a two footed lunge on Steve Goddard deep in the right hand corner after he had comprehensively beaten two defenders. As it was, the Tanners striker was the one receiving the yellow card as he was adjudged to have tackled the defender over the ball. It was a poor decision.

The injury prone, John Cartledge completed what was a bad afternoon at the office when he limped off to be replaced by Ben Shannon. With Leatherhead continuing to apply a good deal of pressure, they received their stroke of good fortune just two minutes later. Stewart Holmes had battled to get his crosses into the area and, after a corner and a long throw from Shannon, Croydon’s Karl Murray handled the ball inside the penalty box and, inevitably, Tom Hutchings stepped up to drill the ball low beyond the diving Flitney.

Steve Goddard has become an influential player for the Mole Valley side and when, again, he skinned his marker and struck a low ball into the area, he was unfortunate to see the ball fly to the rear of the onrushing Hutchings and cleared away by a grateful defence.

With stoppages, the officials signalled four minutes of injury time and it was in that period, Leatherhead could have scored the goal that would have given them a deserved share of the points. The first chance fell to top scorer, Tom Hutchings. a fine ball from Iain Hendry, found the young striker who turned inside and struck a fierce low shot that Flitney could not have seen. Unfortunately, the ball cannoned off a post and wide. If that were not enough, Hendry had his own chance to level the score. A ball in from Ben Shannon was played on by Kev Terry for the waiting Tanners skipper to slice his shot wide with the goal well within striking range.

Leatherhead will be disappointed that they did not collect even a share of the points from a mid-table but big spending Croydon side. They will need to eradicate the defensive sloppiness if they are to gain due reward for their efforts.

Team  Lewington, Williams, Palmer, Cartledge (Shannon), Hendry, S Holmes, Turley, Goddard (Horley), Hutchings, Terry, Henry