Romford travel to South London to play Tooting & Mitcham United in the FA Trophy on Saturday, the first meeting between the clubs since they faced each other in the same competition in 1976.

Tooting & Mitcham United were formed in 1932 following the merger between Tooting Town and Mitcham Wanderers. Romford played both Mitcham Wanderers and Tooting Town in a number of London League games between 1929 and 1931, but the bulk of the fixtures between the sides were the Athenian League and Isthmian League fixtures played between Romford and the merged Tooting & Mitcham United club from 1938 to 1959. Of those ten encounters, Romford won five and Tooting won four.

After Romford turned professional in 1959, the two clubs did not meet again until 1975-76 when they were drawn against one another in both the FA Cup and FA Trophy. In the FA Cup First Round tie played at Brooklands in November 1975, a crowd of 2,033 saw Romford lose 1-0, while in the FA Trophy tie played on the same ground the following January, a crowd of 1,402 witnessed a 1-1 draw in which Paul Davies scored Boro’s goal. The replay, at Tooting’s then home of Sandy Lane, attracted a crowd of 1,695 and Paul Davies was again on target for Boro, but the home side won the tie 4-1.

In 2002, Tooting left their ground at Sandy Lane – which had been their home since 1922 – when the site was sold to developers and they moved into the purpose built stadium at Imperial Fields.

Imperial Fields has a capacity of 3,500 including 612 seats, however for this tie the capacity will be limited to 400 in line with current COVID-19 restrictions. As has been mentioned before, the game is all ticket and tickets can be purchase from Tooting’s ticketing website, https://tmunitedfc.ktckts.com/event/tmu2021h18/tooting-mitcham-v-romford
Programmes can also be purchased in advance through the same link.

To date this season, Tooting have won three and lost two of the five league games they have played in The Pitching In Isthmian League South Central Division, and they currently sit 5th in the table. Their most recent game saw them beaten 1-0 at home by Waltham Abbey last Saturday, watched by a crowd of 400.

While Romford received a bye in the 1st Qualifying Round of the FA Trophy, Tooting have reached this stage following a 2-1 win at AFC Dunstable.

The tie must be completed on the day, and in the event of a draw at the end of 90 minutes, it will be settled on penalties; there will be no extra-time. The winners - who will receive an amount of £2,500 from the prize fund, while the losers will receive £575 - will advance to the 3rd Qualifying Round, to be played on Saturday 31st October 2020.

For anyone travelling to the game by public transport, the nearest station is Mitcham Junction on the Southern and Thameslink lines. Alternatively, you can take a number 118 bus from Morden Station on the Northern Line, while Mitcham Tramlink stop is a ten minute walk. From the tram stop, walk up Tramway Path and turn left on to London Road. Walk past the Fire Station and Imperial Fields is a short walk from the station, just on your left once you have crossed the bridge.

The stadium has ample car parking, and the post code for Sat Navs is SM4 6BF. Drivers should note however, that due to major bridge works on Bishopsford Road all road traffic and buses are on diversion. You can still reach the ground and club car park by car and bus, but please allow additional time for your journey.

The following COVID-19 measures are in place at Imperial Fields:

• Face masks/coverings must always be worn in all indoor areas.
• NHS Test & Trace – Contact details must be left, either using the NHS app, evePASS, or old fashioned pen and paper.
• Tooting’s Café Bar operates a table service only, and customers must wear a face mask except while seated. A QR code reader is needed to order drinks to your table, and only card payments are accepted.
• Full details of Tooting’s COVID-19 measures can be found