Match Preview

THE LONG AND THE SHORT OF IT.

This is a meeting of the longest named club in the division* and the shortest named, indeed the shortest named FA affiliate.

There's a bit more to this match than name length however. Tooting are one place away from the play-offs and Ware another place and two points behind them. A home victory will take us above the visitors and into dreams of a play-off spot.

We drew 1-1 at Imperial Fields in November when Albert Adu gave us a first minute lead with a well judged volley but we conceded deep into the five added minutes at the end of the game. Both sides had a man sent off and the weather was pretty much unrelenting with wind and rain throughout. Hopefully this Saturday's game will be a lot different though at the time of writing both wind and rain are forecast.

Tooting won at home to Waltham Abbey last week whilst we were pushing league leaders Hayes all the way in what was ultimately a 1-0 defeat. There are still doubts over injuries to Alaa Oujdi and Charlie Yexley but we have no disciplinary issues to worry about. On the other hand United will be short of Saidou Khan and Isaiah Jones both of whom are suspended.

As always the programme for this game (£1.50 on the gate) includes the fixtures, results and tables for all our age teams; Matt Walker's continuing series on his football tour of Europe; and Ian Bush's latest match photos and Traveller's Tales.

And don't forget the Under-18s are at home on Sunday in a Herts Cup quarter final against Garston at 11am. Admission is free and there's food, drink and TV in the clubroom. Then at 3pm there's a charity match featuring Teddy Sheringham in support of Tierney Kinsella's cancer treatment - £5 admission and £1 for under-16s.
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* OK, I know there's the equally long Ashford Town (Middlesex) but the Middlesex part of their name is often truncated to Middx and is only there to distinguish them from the original Ashford Town in Kent. And they're defunct now and replaced by Ashford United so why do they even need the county in their name? We can ask next week when we play there.