Tooting Bec

Tooting Bec FC is a non-league football club from the south London area of the same name who were formed in 2004, starting out life as members of Junior Division Two of the Surrey South Eastern Combination playing at Fishponds Road in Tooting.

Manager Steffan Wells lead the team to promotion at the first attempt to Junior Division One where Bec finished as runners-up at the first attempt in 2005-06 having moved to the Prince Georges Playing Fields at Raynes Park as Nathan Asare put away the goals.

The side consolidated in Intermediate Division Two after previous assistant Oliver Bone swapped roles with Wells before the previous boss took control once more leading Bec to promotion with a third place in 2007-08 as Gerald Hutchfull finished as top scorer.

For their debut campaign in Intermediate Division One the team was led by joint managers Dave Masset and Ed Cornwell. Asare returned as main goalscorer in 2009-10 as Bec finished as their league champions as well as picking up the League Shield.

The club became members of the Surrey Elite League for the 2010-11 season, initially finding the standard tough. Mid table finishes ensued for four seasons from 2012-13 until 2015-16 before a runners-up place was achieved in 2016-17.

Bec had moved to a 3G pitch at the rear of the main stadium of the Imperial Fields home of Tooting & Mitcham United with John O’Connor taking over as manager in 2015 from Frank Lopez after a previous spell as coach.

The 2017-18 season saw Tooting Bec crowned as Surrey Elite League champions to be rewarded with a place in Division One of the Combined Counties League. The club moved into share the main stadium and finished in third place in 2018-19.

Bec were in fourth place when the 2019-20 season was curtailed owing to the Coronavirus pandemic as O’Connor stepped down as manager to take on a role as Vice Chairman while Bryan N’Zinga took over team affairs.

Matt Hancock was made manager in December 2020 in a season that was truncated with Bec in fourth place. However, owing to league restructuring, they were transferred to Division One of the Southern Counties East League for the following season.

The team ended in the playoff places which ended in a semifinal defeat to Sutton Athletic, which was backed up by a runners-up spot in 2023-24 which offered another stab at the playoffs. This time Larkfield & New Hythe Wanderers were defeated but Lydd Town won the final on penalties.

This was after agreeing a groundshare at Chipstead after being forced onto the back pitch at Imperial Fields after Kingstonian became tenants at the stadium. A ninth place finish in 2023-24 was followed by the appointment as Gary Nice as manager.

Tooting Bec FC will play in the Southern Counties East League Division One in the 2024-25 season.

My visit

Tooting Bec 2 Lydd Town 2 – Bec win 4-2 on penalties (Sunday 11^th October 2020) FA Vase Second Qualifying Round (att: 174)

There was a choice of matches to take in around the home counties. I enjoy knock out competitions if on offer and my regular travelling pal Tony agreed. The FA Vase saw teams who are tenants to other clubs who had home fixtures on the Saturday move their games.

After a brief discussion, a trip across London looked a good option. I quite like Imperial Fields and it’s easily accessible. As I hadn’t previously seen Tooting Bec play, this match won my vote over the Cray Wanderers v Bishops Stortford game at Bromley. It proved an inspired choice.

An easy enough journey by tube, train and tram deposited me at the Mitcham stop. Bishopsford Road was closed wing to bridge repairs over the River Wandle but fortunately a path was still offering access for pedestrians.

There was a queue at the Caribbean food outlet at the sponsored named Campus Society Stadium. Admission to the game, costing £6 was via a table through the open gate. I was slightly surprised to find out that the programmes were already sold out but no worries.

I totally understand why clubs only produce a limited print run having seen plenty of leftovers in the past at other grounds with no real sale value after the game. The amiable chap on the desk told me it could be downloaded on the website and was even prepared to print one off and send it on free of charge. Now that’s what I call service!

By now Tony had arrived. We gained access into the bar under the stand where the App required to order drinks to our table failed to work. Maybe it was the internet connection, but it appeared that it was cider or nothing. We declined.

Inside it was sad to see Imperial Fields showing signs of age despite only being opened in 2002. While still structural sound, paintwork was peeling off the underneath of the covered areas, the toilets near the entrance were out of order and some fences were broken.

It was encouraging to read that Tooting & Mitcham had been given permission to build some flats on part of the unused part of the vast site to raise money to save the club and to provide further sports facilities for locals. Hopefully, it would include a tidy up.

We took up a place in the stand and admired the kits of the two sides. I’d seen neither designs before. The Bec outfit was particularly fetching. The pitch was like a carpet and I was further enthused by seeing that Neil Keirs was refereeing having enjoyed his handling of a game at Camberley Town earlier in the season.

The Lydd number 7, Olinto Santo created plenty of opportunities in the early stages and made the opening goal of the afternoon when he cut in on goal after wasting a similar opportunity. This time he played it diagonally where it was tapped in at the back post by Dale Horton.

I went for a wander around to take some photos and take in the size of the impressive crowd. Sunday non-league always works with me and it seemed to be striking a chord with several fans, some being attracted as they were unable to watch some of their regular sides owing to the COVID regulations.

What looked like a similar tap in at the back post was somehow spurned over by a Lydd forward to the amusement of some Bec fans on the terrace who along with some away fans had obviously been very thirsty. At least they were enjoying themselves.

Our ref let plenty of good tackling go when free kicks would have been given higher up the ladder. It certainly led to a flowing game. A crunching but fair fifty fifty challenge saw the Lydd number 5 having to go off with a knee injury.

It looked like the visitors would head down the tunnel in the lead at the break until a corner from Panikis Oritis found the diminutive figure of Sam Johnson in the middle who outjumped his marker to head home to restore parity.

The second half saw the game becoming stretched and space open up on the expansive playing surface. At the break Tony predicted 2-2 and penalties while I fancied a 3-1 win for Lydd. My prediction was probably scuppered when their star man on the right went off.

Bec went ahead when Alistair Wiltshire get free down the middle and score despite keeper Tom Barnes get a hand on his effort. Chances were beginning to come at either end, with Johnson causing havoc for the hosts without finding a finish.

An equaliser came fifteen minutes from time when a free kick found its way to the back post for George Grosvenor to hook home and in doing so collide with keeper Zdenek Machacek who required treatment.

This was not as simple as it sounded as Bec had just about the oldest physio I think I’ve ever seen in such a position. Referee Keirs beckoned him on and forward across the pitch. He did his best with the spray, but the custodian was obviously still struggling.

Play became akin to a basketball game going from end to end. Lydd’s number 9 seemed to lose his grasp of the offside law despite making decent movement. Johnson had further opportunities at the other end. A teammate missed a sitter at the back post.

In a fantastic twenty second spell the ball was blocked by a Lydd defender on the line after a shot from Matt Stone hit the post they broke away up the other end before some fine defending at the other end averted danger. Credit to both Bec’s full backs who I thought most impressive.

Credit also to both teams who went hell for leather for a winner before the whistle went for full time and the dreaded penalty shoot-out. I simply couldn’t see Machacek being fit enough to get into his corners and lamented the handicap of such a vital player. How little I know!

The keeper dived to his left to make a brilliant stop from Lydd’s second kick after doing his best to put off the kicker with some animated antics. A Bec player missed kick number four which game the visitors a sniff of a chance to make it 3-3.

Machacek was having none of it as he pushed the next kick over the bar leaving Oritis to step up and score the winning penalty to spark off great celebrations on and off the pitch.

My heroes were Machacek and physio Roger Mann who had provided his treatment. Without such volunteers, non-league clubs everywhere would severely struggle. I hope everyone celebrated accordingly while the players and management of Lydd Town also deserved plenty of credit for the part they played.

Remarkably, it was the second consecutive game I'd seen at the venue being settled on penalties. It was quite cathartic to eventually revisit to reflect on Hendon's defeat to Dulwich Hamlet in the play-off final when 3,321 fans packed into Imperial Fields.

Tony and I headed off to Morden station. Our only hope of watching the England game in a pub drew a blank as Ganley’s Irish Bar was overly busy and with a set of music about to start. Beer could wait until Monday’s football.