Author: Rod Ellis, Leatherhead FC Match Reporter
Leatherhead 4 Sutton Common Rovers 3
Two second half goals from Dave Tarpey helped Leatherhead overcome a tricky
Sutton Common Rovers side in a seven-goal thriller at Fetcham Grove.
Some excellent finishing saw SCR take a two-goal first half lead. Tanners nicked a
goal back before half-time and scored another two early in the second half to open up
a 3-2 advantage, only to concede a third goal almost immediately, before Tarpey
smashed home a late winner to seal the three points for the hosts.
Tanners boss Hayden Bird kept with the same players that had beaten Walton &
Hersham so well on Boxing Day, with the only change being Ben Frempah in for the
suspended Michael Elechi.
Leatherhead made a tentative start and conceded a goal after three minutes. Zaid
Ouaret Sorr latched onto a cross into the penalty area and buried the ball past
goalkeeper Slavomir Huk.
Tanners gradually settled into the game but failed to test Endurance Johnson in the
visitors’ goal with shots from Max Mullins and Kenny Beany safely gathered by the
keeper.
Leatherhead were further punished on 39 minutes following a moment of brilliance
from SCR’s recent signing Shakeel Morris. The widely travelled striker collected the
ball forty yards out and jinked his way past three defenders before finding the corner
of the net with a superb strike.
Tanners pulled a goal back in first half stoppage time. SCR failed to clear their lines
from a Leatherhead corner and Mullins struck the ball through a crowded penalty area
to reduce the arrears.
Tarpey’s introduction as a sub at the start of the second half made a decisive impact.
Alexandre Stingelin should have been dealt with a long, high ball through the middle
on 51 minutes. But the SCR defender failed to make any contact with the ball,
allowing Tarpey to latch onto it, beating Johnson with a low shot to the corner of the
net.
Leatherhead’s turnaround was almost complete six minutes later, as they took the lead
with an excellent finish from Dan Hector. But within a minute of the restart, the
visitors were back level again thanks to a fine strike from Ryan Stedman-Hoyte.
A tense final half hour followed with both sides desperately searching for a winner.
And the decisive goal came to Leatherhead on 86 minutes. Mullins delivered a low
cross into the penalty area from the right and Tarpey stole into the box to poke the
ball home from twelve yards.
SCR were reduced to ten men in stoppage time when Courtney Swaby was dismissed
after throwing a punch at Leatherhead’s Louis Collins. But there was an
overwhelming sense of relief around the ground at the final whistle as Tanners
continue to work their way up the league table.
Leatherhead: Slavomir Huk, Max Mullins, Louis Collins, Jerry Puemo, Ben Frempah,
Olly Allen (Dave Tarpey 45), Omarr Lawson (Alpha Diallo 82), Kenny Beaney, Dan
Hector, Keane Anderson, Archie Burnett (Lewis Pearch 70)
SCR: Endurance Johnson, Kevin Diomande, Ryan Stedman-Hoyte, Charles Etumnu,
Liam Holden, Alexandre Stingelin (Bertie Lloyd 59), Shakeel Morris, Matthew
Surmon (Siao Blackwood 62), Tony Halsey (Courtney Swaby 45), Zaid Ouaret Sorr,Tyler Cox