Tuesday 21st July 2026
Pre-season Friendly – South Park (Reigate) (A) 2-4
I do enjoy a midweek summer friendly, and for this one, I shared the love. My better half also made the (rare) trip, and we’d arranged to meet a couple of friends there as well, so whatever the outcome of the game, a convivial evening was assured. Having watched the last knockings of the World Cup over the weekend, I pondered whether we’d be seeing a France/England-type goal fest, or a Spain/Argentina-style snooze-a-thon. In the event, it was the former, and Tanners got ‘Franced’…
It’s a shame we couldn’t schedule any of these midweek games to be played at The Grove. Having attended a volunteers’ meeting there the night before, the surface was lush and green, and I guess avoiding an excess of games during this series of heatwaves helps with that, along with the excellent work Mark Allan and others are doing to keep it that way. I get that modern artificial surfaces bring advantages, but it will be a sad day if/when we ever sacrifice our beautiful grass pitch…
Tanners lined up strongly, and it was good to see Anas back in the side. Nathan started on the bench, but he was introduced earlier than planned when Kofi took a knock towards the end of the first half. By fulltime, it was the trusty Anas/Nathan duo that had scored the Tanners’ goals, the first coming after just five minutes. Charlie’s ball over from the left evaded all but Anas, who collected it and rattled it past the keeper at his near post.
With a speculative effort from Joe having already been registered, it looked to be very much business as usual, and the Tanners looked to attack at every opportunity. However, as had been the case against Merstham at the weekend, there was a tendency to overplay at times, and consequently, real chances were at a premium. Tanners took a more direct route on twenty minutes, and it almost produced a second goal. Kofi showed his skills on the right and delivered a pacy ball in to Charlie. His firm shot had the keeper beaten, but the ball smashed back off the angle. A couple of minutes later, Sonny was given his first test, saving with his feet after South Park countered.
With forty-two minutes played, Nathan and Anas exchanged passes in a neat one-two, the latter providing the former with a good shooting opportunity. The curling shot had just a bit too much on it though, and it went a foot or two over the bar. That was the final meaningful action of the first half, and I must admit it was a relief to be able to swap ends to get away from the lone South Park drummer, singing his song about ‘super Craig McGee’…
Halftime – South Park (Reigate) 0, Tanners 1.
My mum is a wonderful woman, and by far her most saintly act has been to put up with my dad for the last fifty-plus years. Don’t get me wrong, my dad is also a superstar – there isn’t a thing he can’t build, install or mend, but he’s a bit of a ‘character’. This is a man who once ordered a pizza for pudding at Firenze in the High Street, and who insisted on serenading a packed Frascatti (as it was then) with his opera ‘singing’ one Sunday lunchtime. Chatting to John Dean at halftime, it was therefore an immense relief to learn that Dad had managed to behave himself when he bumped into John at The Anchor after the Dorking win…
The Merstham game had the feel of a ‘proper’ match – minimal subs, made sparingly. Tonight, we were back to wholesale changes at halftime. If nothing else, this made sure that everyone ‘got minutes’, but it made for a disjointed and frustrating performance. I wouldn’t go as far to say that South Park dominated us – it was reasonably equal in possession terms – but they were certainly the more direct and threatening side, and they showed signs of their intent within moments of the restart, Sonny having to tip a shot onto the bar.
It took a further fifteen or so minutes for the hosts’ ‘shoot on sight’ policy to finally pay off, a left footed shot finding the bottom corner for 1-1 after minimal build-up play. Simple but effective, and they were at it again not long afterwards, taking the lead in similar fashion.
Nathan levelled it for the Tanners on seventy minutes. He initially won the ball, before starting off a neat quick sequence of passes between himself, Charlie and Issac. The ball ultimately made its way back to him, and his bottom corner finish was emphatic.
With around ten minutes to play, South Park won a corner. More often than not, the best the taker can hope for is an assist, but their man went one better – his inswinger sailed in over sub keeper Joe’s head for 3-2. Tanners attempted to respond, but clear-cut chances never really materialised. The best was a George header from a Harry free kick with a couple of minutes to go. If there’s one man you want on the end of those, it’s George, but on this occasion, he wasn’t able to direct his header the right side of the post. Then, to rub it in, South Park promptly went down the other end and scored their fourth…
Fulltime – South Park (Reigate) 4, Tanners 2.
Positives? A summer break hasn’t blunted Anas’ or Nathan’s goal scoring edge, and Kofi expects to have shaken off his knock by the weekend (that’s what he told me at the end anyway). A run of five consecutive wins ended tonight, and shipping four goals in half an hour will have been a concern, but equally, the management team knows what’s what. Pre-season is, after all, a time to experiment, work out the wrinkles and build fitness. We go again on Saturday, when Ashford Town (Middlesex) visit us at The Grove. See you there – COYT!
