JG writes: At last, a victory! And I guess a victory in sorts for all of us who made it down to the back streets of Tooting, some of us getting lost and arriving at the cemetery instead of the playing fields. Still, when we did finally make it, we discovered a fabulous little pitch surrounded by back-to-back houses and gardens. Despite a generous slope and being a little rough around the edges, this little oasis of green behind a grubby high street had a definite charm all of its own. A perfect arena for Sunday league football.
For those of us who had made such an effort to find the place, we were determined to give it a real go today. We started brightly, kicking downhill, yet despite bossing the first half, went in at half time at 1-1 (a sliced deflected own goal from a corner no less by...ahem...yours truly. Hooray! I was at least on the score sheet once more....followed by a Joe Haley strike for Reccy just on half time).
Second half, uphill, we found it a little tougher going. However, we dug our heels in and kept at it, defending set pieces, pushing forward, trying to keep hold of the ball. Our only major scare was when Radu picked the ball up from a back pass - luckily Sandmere blasted the ball wide from the resulting free kick and shortly after Joe H got his second. On came sub Sam, who arrived at half time after wandering the streets desperate to find us, and duly slotted home a third goal for Reccy.
A late near post header for Sandmere made it 3-2 in our favour and the last few minutes saw some first class Recreativo defending ensuring a trip down to the back streets of nowhere was worth it. Superb!
Back home to Tottenham beating Arsenal, a long soak in the bath before Shepherd's Pie, a bottle of gorgeous Rioja and legs turning to jelly half way through Countryfile. What a fabulous way to spend a Sunday. Well played everyone!
Team: Radu Atlas, Mario Pisano, Kelvin Brown, Joe Dunthorne, Jimmie Gregory, Gregg Stewart, Tom Winter, Rob Paddon, Dave Perret, Joe Haley, Aaron Gayle. Sub: Paul Cowie, Sam Ahiadevor.