Match Report by Jake Cox
Leatherhead 2-0 Hampton & Richmond Borough
An electric opening ten minutes from the Tanners saw Leatherhead race to a two-goal
lead through goals from Caballero and Gallagher. Defiant and resilient defending helped
Leatherhead to defeat Hampton & Richmond Borough 2-0 in the FA Trophy second
round.
The away side who are two divisions above Leatherhead were frustrated by an
excellent Tanners display in front of a packed Fetcham Grove crowd of 868.
Inside 60 seconds Leatherhead took the lead, a perfect start for the Tanners. A brilliant
ball was whipped into the penalty area by Nathan Hogan and was met by the head of
Seb Tauta-Caballero at the back post who commandingly fired the ball into the top left-
hand corner.
Hampton & Richmond Borough looked shell-shocked in the opening stages, laying the
foundation for a classic cup tie at Fetcham Grove.
A huge crowd of Leatherhead fans behind the goal were given even more to cheer
about when on 9 minutes Jordy Gallagher found himself unmarked at the back post as
the ball was played into the area and the number 7 side-footed the ball into a vacant net
to double the Tanners’ advantage.
The away side began to come into the game with a quarter of an hour gone. A brilliant
defensive block denied Hampton a swift route back into the game. However,
Leatherhead looked dangerous on the counterattack.
The Tanners gained most of their early joy down the right-hand side with Anas Igozouln
and Louie Paget combining well to deliver a stern warning to the side a couple of
divisions above Leatherhead.
After a firmly contested free-kick, Cameron Black received treatment for a head injury
with a 5-minute stoppage in play. Pressure began to build on the Leatherhead backline,
but they remained resolute with half an hour gone aiming to frustrate Hampton &
Richmond Borough.
Caballero, looking for a brace, was passed the ball by Gallagher and he had a shot from
the edge of the box but it was too arial and hammered into the top of the stand,
Leatherhead maintained an attacking threat all through the first half, looking to extend
their lead.
Ian Selley would’ve been more than pleased at half-time after his side raced into a two-
goal lead inside 10 minutes against opponents of two tiers above. Caballero and
Gallagher were on target to provide the Tanners with a half-time advantage.
Leatherhead had a great chance through Jacob Breckon at the start of the second half,
but he couldn’t quite get the ball out of his feet from 10 yards out, before the ball was
cleared by Hampton.
Sonny Wheeler was called into action with a swift effort kept out by the Leatherhead
keeper’s feet. Inevitably the away side began to dominate possession with chances
coming more regularly for them.
Hogan found himself in space just outside the box with the ball sitting up nicely, he
volleyed it just wide of the left corner, very nearly a third for Leatherhead at Fetcham
Grove with 53 minutes gone.
Just before the hour mark Hampton & Richmond Borough’s number 11 protested for a
penalty, referee Daniel Baines waved it away, keeping it 2-0 to Leatherhead with the
home fans in full voice behind the goal.
Hampton & Richmond Borough piled the pressure onto the Tanners; the home side sat
deep and absorbed pressure well to run the clock down.
Sonny Wheeler remained relatively untested in the Leatherhead goal as the time ticked
on at Fetcham Grove, a historic and remarkable win edged closer with less than fifteen
minutes to go.
Right at the death Wheeler combined with his backline to somehow keep the ball out of
the net with several efforts blocked and denied by the woodwork.
A superb performance from Leatherhead saw clinical attacking coupled with resilient
defending to fire the Tanners into the third round of the FA Trophy.
Ian Selley will be jubilant with his team’s performance as they deservedly ran away with
the victory, tensions boiled over at full time with a large scuffle overshadowing a simply
brilliant afternoon at Fetcham Grove.
Next up for Leatherhead are Bedfont Sports away next Saturday (22 nd November, with
Kick-Off at 3pm.)
Leatherhead: Sonny Wheeler, Seb Tauta-Caballero, George Hedley, Mark Waters,
Cameron Black (C), Jacob Breckon (Tyrell Butler 88), Anas Igozouln, Jordy Gallagher
(Niran Butler 76), Nathan Hogan (Isaac Olaniyan 68), Louie Paget, Kelvin Manuel-
Massango
Hampton & Richmond Borough: Matt Rowley, Charlie Sayers, Harry Thomas, Alex
Wilkie, Jude Mason (Ben Parkinson 55), Harry Gardner, Luke Robertson (Ronan Silva 45), Mike Atkinson, Sam Deadfield (C) (Davide Rhodari 65), Soul Kader (Craig
Fasanmade 45), Junior Dixon
