FA Cup Extra Preliminary Round
Littlehampton Town 1 Tooting and Mitcham United 0
The Olympics may be in full swing with the Great Britain team winning a bevy of medals in Paris but there’s still time for a pleasant distraction from the games by embracing the return of the football season. And what could be a better place to start than an intriguing FA Cup tie between Littlehampton Town who are now approaching their third season of Isthmian League football and Tooting and Mitcham United who have now dropped below Littlehampton in the Football pyramid as they start their second season in Step 5 and the Combined Counties League.
I have a confession to make here as my mum was a Mitcham girl and regularly watched the Terrors with her Dad at their old Sandy Lane home in the 1940’s and 50’s when Tooting were a real force in the Amateur game. They had quite an FA Cup pedigree too and in 1959 took First Division Nottingham Forest to a third round replay in the year Forest went on to win the Cup itself.
Fast forward to the 1970’s and as a kid growing up in Sutton and watching my local non club Sutton United ply their trade in the Isthmian League, Tooting were a nemesis of theirs as they regularly got the better of Sutton over a period of years. Tooting also had another FA Cup run to remember in 1976 when this time they got as far as the 4th round before falling to Bradford.
Tooting remained a force at the top of the Isthmian game for some time but since the turn of the millennium , other than a few odd seasons at Premier Division level they have suffered a slow decline They moved from their old Sandy Lane home to a state of the art stadium at Imperial Fields in 2002 but on pitch success has eluded them. In 2023 they were relegated to the Combined Counties League and a disappointing 13th place finish in their first season at that level meant that on paper they were underdogs for today’s game.
In contrast Littlehampton have been going through a period of unparalleled success in recent seasons. 2022 saw them become the first Sussex side to reach the FA Vase Final as well as becoming Southern Combination Champions which saw them promoted to Step 4 for the first time. A solid mid table debut turned into more of a struggle last term. Ultimately relegation was evaded with a bit to spare and with a new stand built this summer and a host of new recruits hopes are high for a better campaign this time around.
Pre season friendlies have come thick and fast but today’s game meant the phoney war was over with both sides eager for Cup progress before their league campaigns start in earnest. As if to mark the occasion the sun came out after a cloudy morning and a healthy crowd of 339 including plenty of visiting supporters were there to witness this Extra Preliminary Round tie.
The punters didn’t have to wait long for a goal as Littlehampton drew first blood in the 8th minute.Alex Laing whipped in a cross from the left and a hapless defender could only divert the ball past a helpless Toby McKimm in the Tooting goal. The visitors responded well and largely had the better of the rest of the half. James Binfield made a smart save in turning a snapshot on to a post in the 15th minute but was otherwise untroubled despite Tooting’s territorial dominance.
The second period saw Littlehampton assume greater control although with only one goal in it they could never relax. Indeed with five minutes left Tooting came within an inch of an equaliser when a shot hit the inside of the Golds post and agonisingly rebounded along the line rather than in. Frustration got the better of them in the final minute when Jamal Jimoh’s reaction to a Charlie Pitcher foul saw him see a red card to end his participation in this season’s FA Cup. A few minutes of stoppage time ensued before his teammates experienced the same fate and the visitors might feel hard done by that their efforts weren’t rewarded with a replay. As for Golds they will be very satisfied with progress and another home tie with Faversham in a fortnight’s time. In the meantime both sides will be hoping to build on today as their League programmes begin this week.
The Olympics might have another week to run but the football marathon has only just begun.