With a rash of league fixtures looming and a hard-fought home win on the previous Monday evening against league rivals Croydon Athletic, the Tanners youth summoned up more than enough character to see off the challenge of an uninspiring Maidstone side in their Isthmian Youth Cup semi-final.
The home side were without senior side regular, Matt Jones who was suspended but had fellow senior starter Tom Hutchings leading the front line.
advertisement
It was the Tanners who showed their potential from the start when Hutchings had two good chances in the first couple of minutes.
With Charlie Marshall thoroughly enjoying himself down the flanks, the Kent side were under pressure from the start.
Midway in the first half, Leatherhead took a well deserved lead. Tom Williams broke down the the line and cut the ball back.
A wrong-footed Maidstone defence could only half clear the ball and Tom Horley, arriving just outside the box, struck a corker of a shot that was not only cleanly hit but barely lifted as it crashed into the net.
It took only five minutes for the home side to extend their lead.
This time it was a combination of another two Toms that paid off.
Goalkeeper Tom Gibson spotted Tom Hutchings with a run that took him clear of the last defender.
Gibson's long punt only had the chance to bounce once before Hutchings demonstrated that he was worth his senior contract with a cheeky and well-flighted lob over the Maidstone keeper.
This was no solo performance with the whole side working to protect their lead.
As the match progressed, the visitors saw their chance starting to drift away and began to lose their composure - not helped by some fussy refereeing that saw two of their players red carded.
With the two-man advantage, the exertions of the second match in three days started to tell on the Fetcham Grove youngsters and they allowed Maidstone space to create some pressure although, despite two excellent flying saves, Tom Gibson's goal came under no real threat.
So the Mole Valley club's success this year is in the hands of their U18 side - and, given the way they are playing, deservedly so.
Tanners U18s: Tom Gibson, Tom Williams, Daryl Cooper-Smith, Russell Noble, Dan Dean, Joel Fontana, Tom Horley, Rob Stevenson, Simon McManusTom Hutchings, Charlie Marshall. Subs: Yanki Owusu, Hamzah Malik, Steve Barilli, Sacha M'Baye, Robbie Hendry.
If you liked this article and would like to share it with others on the web who might be searching for good content we've made it easy for you to do it.
At the bottom of all articles, you'll see links to six sites. These sites - commonly called 'social bookmark' or 'social news' sites - have large communities of web users who share and rate interesting, useful and fun things on the web.
Clicking the links will automatically add the address of the story you are reading to one of these sites, letting you share it with others. Each site will ask you to register to share stories. Registration is free and once a member, you can store, recommend and search for stories that interest you.
Print
Email this
