Cranleigh fell to a narrow 3–2 defeat against Tooting & Mitcham United U23s in a frustrating afternoon that saw controversy play its part.
The hosts started sluggishly and were punished early, conceding a goal inside the opening stages. Despite creating one or two clear chances, Cranleigh struggled to find rhythm in the final third and went into the break 1–0 down – a fair reflection of the first half.
The second half was a different story. Cranleigh came out with renewed energy, equalised, and looked the stronger side. However, momentum was halted when Tooting were awarded what appeared to be a dubious penalty, which they converted. Cranleigh hit back almost immediately to level again and created opportunities to take the lead, but couldn’t make them count.
The visitors then restored their advantage late on, profiting from a soft free-kick awarded despite a clear foul on Faulkner in the build-up. The result sees the Cranes slip to third in the league.
Joint manager Sam Carpenter expressed his frustration after the game:
“It was very hard to play against a non-footballing team who started wasting time after 20 minutes of scoring their goal. They spent more time on the floor than attempting to play football. We look forward to facing them again at their place in the next couple of weeks.”
Full time: Cranleigh 2-3 Tooting & Mitcham United U23s.
