Lip

Leatherhead 1 Tonbridge Angels  0

Isthmian League – Premier Division

It was a series of chance meetings at Church Warsop, Hutton Cranswick and Westella & Willerby with a chap called Dave Garrow, where it all began.

You see, it would have been 2008 and with the Central Midlands League having expanded with four new teams, it was by some bizarre twist of fate that we’d selected the same games to attend. After a third unplanned meet on Humberside, Dave and I joked that we might well end up finishing the four newbies together at Bulwell Town in a couple of weeks time.

Meet we did, this time pre-arranged as he’d taken my phone number, turns out it was purely because he needed a lift from Hucknall Station, not because he appreciated my wit and intelligence and I might be a fine acquaintance moving forward, no, it was pure selfish reasons!

I picked him up, we went to the game, chatted more than usual, and then I dropped him off, was that going to be it? No, he phoned me again, and then I phoned him, ten years later after numerous catch up’s at games and probably weekly conversations, he attended my wedding to Mrs H. Dave had become a good pal, and he was also a fan of Leatherhead FC. He was also notoriously cantankerous!

I’d not really paid Leatherhead much attention previously, but my weekly updates from Dave kept me well abreast of the goings on at Fetcham Grove, I even followed them on Twitter and watched for the results. I was becoming a distant interested observer, but not quite a fan!

I never got to a game at Leatherhead with Dave, he tended to only go midweek, and then he moved to the Midlands, but a bizarre twist in the Summer put a new slant on matters. You see, with Dave’s move, he did his clearing out exercise of his Addlestone flat, and one of his objectives was to sell his programme collection, I toyed with buying it myself, but while I was pondering making an offer he sold it to a chap just down the road from me in Nottingham.

Dave put me in touch with the buyer (he probably had a sell on clause knowing Dave), a chap called Derek Jarvis, we met and did a deal for a chunk of the collection, all parties seemed happy with the outcome, but little did I know, Derek had taken Dave’s Leatherhead items and decided to try and expand it.

It seems Derek used to watch the Tanners in the Sixties when he lived in Surrey, and since that day in August, he’s gone on to trade with a couple of large scale Tanners fans to build what is now probably, arguably, the second biggest collection of Leatherhead programmes in existence.

Derek is now like Dave, someone who I converse with on a regular basis, and I made him a promise that we’d go and watch a game at Fetcham Grove this season. That day would be in April when they took on Tonbridge Angels.

I’ve stayed close to events on the field this season, and after a sluggish start, they are now battling to achieve the Play-Offs to the National League South, largely on the back of some stunning away form, but, what a history this club has, predominantly in cup competitions.

They first shot to prominence in the 1974-75 season when they had a stunning run in the FA Cup. With the ‘Leatherhead Lip’ Chris Kelly the talismanic striker, they beat Colchester United at Fetcham Grove in the Second Round, before travelling to Peter Taylor’s Brighton in the Third Round.

A stunning 1-0 win set up a tie with Leicester City at Filbert Street, and despite being 2-0 up, they were unlucky to lose 3-2. All this, and they weren’t even a top tier Isthmian League side, indeed it wasn’t until three years later that they achieved promotion!

First Round appearances continued, a season later and after beating Cambridge United at home, they went on to lose to Tooting & Mitcham in the Second Round. In 1976-77 Northampton Town succumbed at Fetcham Grove before defeat at Wimbledon, while in the following two seasons both Swansea City and Colchester United needed replays to see off the Tanners.

The FA Cup adventures petered off but in 1977-78 they had a remarkable run in the FA Trophy, and after beating Spennymoor United over two legs they had reached Wembley where they would play the mighty Altrincham. The Northern Premier League outfit won 3-1, but in a four year spell, Leatherhead had become one of the most famous, if not the most famous name, in non-league football.

Weirdly though, the club have not won a league since 1964! They’ve moved up and down the leagues, but the bulk of their time has been spent in the lower divisions of the Isthmian League. The current spell in the top flight has been ongoing for five years now, and barring an isolated season in 2011-12, the last time they were at this level was back in 1983, quite staggering really.

So, with the day upon us, it was a 10am start from Degsy’s crib, and what should have been a 12.30 arrival in Tannerville, ended up being 1.15pm due to the M25 being an arse. Upon arrival we were met by Vice President Pete Bonney who Derek had been in touch with, and in turn we then found ourselves in the boardroom courtesy of Director Richard Bligh and Secretary Jeremy Smith. A hugely friendly and warm welcome was afforded to us, Leatherhead are run by a fantastic bunch of dedicated individuals, and even the mention of Dave Garrow’s name didn’t seem to put them off!

Fetcham Grove is old school classic, and to be fair probably hasn’t changed a huge amount since the days of Chris Kelly. The main stand is made up of a seating section, behind which sits the clubhouse and dressing rooms, while to each side of the seated area are sections of covered standing.

Behind both goals are further sections of cover, to the North end is a deeper structure set back from the pitch on the top of a section of terracing, while at the opposite end is a shallower piece of more modern cover that sits tightly behind the goal. The side opposite the main stand is hard standing with no cover.

A healthy crowd of 505 had turned up to watch a Tanners side, who sit just outside of the play-offs, take on an Angels team who, with their large and vocal following, sat in third place.

The first half was a tight and largely uneventful affair, but the second half was more open as the game became more stretched. The decisive goal came in the 72^nd minute when the impressive Dan Gallagher netted with a low drive from the edge of the box. He celebrated with the home fans who by now had started to out sing the visitors, but not before having a minor trip on the netting behind the goal!

The final whistle was warmly welcomed, the Tanners play-off dreams remain very much alive, with crunch games coming up, it’s likely to go down to the wire.

And that was it, a steady journey home via Casa Jarvis, but we’ve got Mr Garrow to thank for all of this, not quite the ‘Leatherhead Lip’, that moniker has already been taken, but ‘Leatherhead Bottom Lip’, now knowing Dave as we do and his legendary tantrums, it would be a highly appropriate nickname.

Cheers Dave, and, Up The Tanners!