Redhill 5 Tooting & Mitcham United 1 - Tuesday, 16th April 2024
Redhill boosted their play-off hopes with three more points in the bag after Tuesday night's match against Tooting & Mitcham United at Kiln Brow. Their 5-1 win after leading 4-0 at the break exactly replicated the away fixture at Tooting back in November.
The Lobsters were irrepressible from the start, netting three times in the first 12 minutes as the rain came down. Alex Keating slid home the first following a corner from the left and then increased his personal tally to five goals in three games with a blistering right-footer from Nathan Hogan's low ball across that went in off a post.
Then Tyrese Sutherland, denied what looked like an obvious penalty minutes earlier, got behind the struggling Tooting defence to fire home for 3-0. Keating struck a post from a yard out but the assistant's flag indicated offside before Hogan made it four on 31 minutes, cleverly lifting the ball over former Redhill 'keeper Jack Minchin.
The mid-table Terrors didn't seriously test Luke Roberts until he had to finger-tip a Shay Brennan effort over the bar in the last minute of the half. They did pull a goal back midway through the second period, Brennan tapping in after a long throw-in from the right had caused a moment of panic in a packed Redhill defence. But the home side were always likely to increase their lead, even after a raft of substitutions with Thursday night's home fixture with Cobham in mind, and Adam Grant slipped a pass through for Arlie Desanges to shoot across Minchin and into the far corner.
The Lobsters were now fourth in the Premier South table with three games to play.
Man of the Match: Alex Keating
David Barber