6th March Merton 4 - 1 Southgate Olympic (League) (Away) Scorers: Buckley, White, Callus, Jones Report: We came into this fixture off a week’s break due to our game away to Broomfield the week before being called off and also without our star Goalkeeper turned Striker Ellis missing. It was perfect conditions for what was a big game for us seeing as the opposition, Southgate, were ahead of us in the league table. On paper we had a very strong team and with the inclusion of Lofty and ‘Greedy’ Reedy we knew we had the team to get the 3points. The opposition themselves looked up for this game as they were out warming up well before us but that did not stop us firing on all cylinders when the ref started the game. Our passing was on point and the decision making from the 11 Merton players on the pitch made it very hard for Southgate to even touch the ball let alone get into the game. A well crafted ball over the top from midfield saw Reedy through on goal only for their centre back to bring him down for the ref to rightly award us a penalty, which Jamie slotted away to the keepers left hand side. Though once going ahead we knew we had to keep up the momentum and with the wind behind us we soon got our second. A fantastic move from defence to midfield saw a great pass for Reedy to back heel to Lofty to poke in our second and his first of the game. Soon after there were a handful amount of chances we should of put away though Chris Callus made sure we went into half time 3 goals ahead, as he perfectly timed his run to catch there back four of guard to go through one on one and slot the ball past there keeper. Half Time arrived and with a 3-0 score line everyone was positive and it was a huge boost for the defence as they dealt with everything that came there way though with the wind against us and with a wounded Southgate team wanting to make a point, we knew we had to be on point, especially in the first 20minutes. Ten minutes into the half Reedy pulled up with what we eventually found out was from two cramped calf’s....probably from tapping away to ‘This is Your Hits...1965’ before the game! Matt Haswell came on in his position and looked to pick up where Reedy left off and soon after Fraser came off after having a great game for John to come on. With keeping the ball on the ground we never really allowed Southgate a way back into the game, though there was one special moment left in the game where from a resulting corner kick the ball fell to the left hand side of the box for SHAUN to chip up and smash in a screamer....the ‘old’ man did me proud and my god did he make those legs look like they should be in a Nivia advert! 4-0 up and we were cruising and we still had chances with Matt missing a great chance and Lofty smashing the crossbar. Though our hopes of keeping a clean sheet were dashed when a mix up in the back allowed there striker whose shot did look wide being diverted into the net by Wells....actually I can’t be that harsh on Wellsy...it was a good shot to the corner that he just couldn’t keep out! The ref soon ended the game after that with what was a very good team performance from us that made my Saturday more enjoyable. A result like this had been coming as the team has grown some consistency in the same players playing every week. The defence is now looking more solid each week with Pete and Theo providing great cover and attacking options as full backs. Fraser once again left his full back bewildered on more than one occasion and Chris battled hard and did great work down the right. Shaun and Jamie worked very well together in midfield and Lofty and Reedy as well as the subs battled hard until the final whistle. Hopefully we can build upon this against our next position and push further up that league table...THATS THE MERTON WAY boys!!
20th February Merton 3 - 3 Old Latymerians (League) (Away) Scorers: O.G. Kelly 2 Report: After our performance last week I was in a confident mood that we could travel over towards Hounslow and get a result against a team that has had mixed results this season. We had a good team put together and with the inclusion of Dan and John there was no reason why we could get a result at Old Lats. The lead up to the game started early for me where I nearly had a cardiac arrest on the 93 bus back home from uni when Paul Ellis aka Taibi told me he would be starting up front…though after regaining my breath I promised him legendary status with the SAL if he scored on Saturday! We arrived early to there ground for what was a late kick off and once noticing the mud bath we would have to play in we knew it would be a scrappy affair. After my Grade A warm up….the week before it was to Beyonce’s ‘Single Ladies’….I knew the boys were up for some R’n’B and 3points!! Though the way we started the game seemed like we were still half asleep as Old Lats piled on the pressure and they soon took the lead with a ball over the top catching both me and Tiddy off guard and there striker slipping it past Wells in goal…1-0 Old Lats! Though in recent weeks we have shown we can respond to going a goal down and we did it again with a great goal from Dan Kelly! After a clearance from defence, he went on a solo run where he skipped the ball past there centre back who I shall refer to as a Frank Bruno wannabe after his attack on Ellis in the 2nd half, and slotted the ball into the back of the net…1-1! We grew confidence from hitting them on the counter and we were soon awarded a free kick on the edge of the box after YES you guessed it Frank Bruno gave away! Sean the midfield maestro stepped up and slotted it into the back of the net after a deflection of there defenders head 2-1 Merton, and we held them to this score line until half time! After much positive talk at half time we knew this was our 3points for the taking though like we have always seemed to have done this season we were slow off the mark after half time and they got there equalizer 5minutes into the 2nd half! A ball over the top caught Theo out and there striker from the edge of the box drilled it across goal into the bottom corner! We had to respond and we did as 10mins after there goal we received a throw in, in there last third and once launching it in Tiddy battled for it well for it to fall for Dan Kelly to poke his shot into there bottom left hand corner…3-2 Merton! After this goal we sensed the opposition faltering and we pushed for another goal, and a great through ball from Ellis should have seen Frazer Haswell slotting a great goal away but was just put off and saw his shot go over the bar. With according to the ‘Ref’ who I shall write a special account for later calling for the last 30 seconds of play we looked to hold the ball in the corner but Old Lats were wrongly awarded a goal kick. From this they hoofed the ball up pitch and received a free kick inside our half for what was going to be the last play of the game! The resulting free kick fell to ‘Frank Bruno’ who was denied by a great save from Wells though the ball was then set up to the edge of the box to see a shot take a wicked deflection off Theo to make it 3-3 and with that all our hopes of winning the game! We deserved the win and everyone worked there socks off though unfortunately in recent weeks we have had shocking referee performances! Ironically the ref for this game was the one that eased BB Eagles win over us 2weeks ago but as the saying goes…that’s football! Thanks to John and Dan as there help was greatly appreciated and to all the boys that turned up. Wells did well in goal and Ellis put in a solid effort up front as well as Frazer on the wing who troubled them all game! If we keep up this work rate in every game we have left this season there is no reason not to see us finish in a respectable position in the league! I’m away for next weeks big game against Broomfield and wish the boys well, though not the worry the SAL’s finest match analyst will be back for Southgate’s game against the 3rds at the hood!
13th February Merton 5 - 4 Ibis (League) (Home) Scorers: Bull 2, Callus, Gechev, Mihramane Report: In what can be only described as a great game for any neutral! We came into this game determined to make a point due to our disappointing defeat the week before and with our own Rob Hulse up front in the shape of Bully we knew we could trouble Ibis¡¦s defence. We started off well with Chris callus troubling them down the flank and opening the scoring with what I can only describe as a cross that got helped in by Mother Nature (wind) into the top left hand corner...did I care...HELL NO....1-0 Merton. We should have doubled our scoring due to some more half chances but Ibis caught us out with a ball over the top with there tall number 9 nodding it down for their striker to slot past Ellis, 1-1. That goal woke us up a little and we hustled our way back into the match but then it was the turn of the referee to make his cameo performance one that would merit any global award for his amazing *cough* decision making, where the ball clearly went over the line for a goal kick only to be ruled still on the pitch for their surprised winger to cross the ball for their striker to head in his 2nd. I was furious with the referee and was lucky not to be booked but I love my yellows and got one later which I will inform you about. We were soon nearing half time before we were awarded a free kick just inside there half in which I decided to go forward for, seeing their defence sleeping and dying for water I slotted in behind for Sean to deliver a great ball that made those ageing legs look 20years younger for me to head into the bottom corner. Half time 2-2 Game on!!! We knew we could and should get the 3points out of this game and with all the boys battling well we knew we had a good shout. The 2nd half soon commenced and we soon got our deserved third goal through Bully who was having a great game up front with Theo. Though like with any lead we have had this season we let it slip due to what I can only describe as a matrix style leap backwards by Ellis...only he forgot to actually jump for the ball and it lobbed him to make it 3-3. This game was for the taking and now both teams sensed they had a chance...for now it was Zous turn to trouble there keeper!! An identical free kick into the box from Sean saw me leap in front of the keeper to put him of So Solid style for Bully to knock in, 4-3 and now we clearly though we had Ibis where we wanted them...WRONG!! Another corner against us 10mins later resulted in another goal for them with their defender unmarked back post, 4-4. With 10mins left on the clock or shall I say that dodgy Casio on the refs wrist, we had to get a goal from somewhere and it came from our main man Theo up front. Hustling his way past there last man thanks to his animal pack, he banged in his 2nd goal for Merton with a neat left foot strike into the bottom left hand corner, 5-4. We now had to hold on for the ref to decide there was 5mins injury time. During this time Dan Wells got sent off for harassing the ref all game, though I don¡¦t blame him. Maybe it would have been better coming from a man who didn¡¦t look like Billy Elliot in those tights. Then the inevitable happened, with the ref not happy that he hadn¡¦t had a starring role in todays game, he awarded Ibis a penalty for what you may ask..GOD KNOWS!!! This was where i saw fit to receive a yellow shouting at the ref for the associations address for a complaint letter, this was going to the High court! Though we had luck on our side as there midfielder retook the penalty twice to have it saved well by Ellis...great save!! Ref blew his whistle and we got our deserved 3points, everyone played well with solid performance from those that started but also from the substitutes that came on! Hopefully we can build some consistency and follow up this win next week with another solid performance...as Roger would say...THATS THE MERTON WAY!
6th February Merton 0 - 3 BB Eagles (League) (Away) Report 1: After so long it felt good to be waking up on a Saturday morning awaiting a football match to be played rather than a text from Neil notifying us off another woeful pitch we couldn¡¦t play on! The match was away to BB Eagles and we knew we would have a game on our hands due to the opponents not losing all season but with a solid team on paper we fancied our chances. After enjoying the luxuries of the district and Piccadilly lines with Sean, Ellis a.k.a Taibi and Theo we soon arrived in the Acton area where we met with the rest of the boys at their ground. We started off well on what was an awful pitch and I can¡¦t remember the last time we had lost so many match balls due to the train tracks near by...them engineers are loving life!! We battled well in the first 45mins and It stayed 0-0 until half time and the half time talk was positive as we knew we could get something out of this game, that was until 10mins into the 2nd half the ref....who looked like he was on half term from middle school...gave them a poor decision of a free kick on the edge of the box which there midfielder disposed of very well. We battled on but you could see that goal had dropped our heads a little and momentum and with Murphy wearing slippers as boots we found it hard to make any good chances. They soon hit us on the counter attack and slotted in their second and third goals which was harsh on the boys as we battled well throughout the whole game. Credit to Roger for making the trip and giving us his superb support and to all those that could make the game and as for their quote of ¡¥our class shown through¡¦...they had as much class as Belgian chocolate...from LIDL!!
Report 2: We travelled to Gunnersbury knowing we had a tough assignment in front of us. BB Eagles: Top of the league, played ten won ten. They had also managed to win their three games in January, while we hadn¡¦t kicked a ball December 12th because of the weather. Two months is a long time without playing football (especially at my age) and fitness and sharpness inevitably suffers. It should be noted that back at the ¡¥Hood in October we pretty much played BB off the park for 70 minutes, until a terrible defensive blunder against the run of play at 1-1 precipitated a Merton collapse and decisively turned the game in their favour. They ran out 3-1 winners, and you can¡¦t criticise a team for making the most of the opportunities presented them, but to claim as they did in their match report that their ¡§superior quality, fitness and belief told¡¨, is frankly laughable. The following is a quote from BB Eagles¡¦ own match report of the more recent game, and there is more to follow. ¡§Sadly, a handful of Merton players seemed desperate to bring us down to their level and their constant whinging [Pot, kettle anyone?] about every decision the balls, the pitch and whatever else their loser old man* on the sides wanted to go on about became very grating.¡¨ * Rog, you may have a case for libel here. It¡¦s up to you ƒº BB Eagles 3rd Team, particularly in the match reports I have read, exude a palpable scent of confident entitlement, and as they are unbeaten in the league this year, and are clearly running away with the division, you can understand why. However, this confidence is also clearly affecting their capacity to realistically assess their own performances and abilities. They do not play attractive football, whatever they might report, but do play very well to their strengths: They have size, strength and speed in all the right places and are very good at capitalising on other teams¡¦ mistakes, mainly by breaking quickly and effectively. Arsenal, they ain¡¦t, (although they do appear to share a touch of Arsene Wenger¡¦s famously one-eyed approach to match analysis). Their level is pretty much our level, and on another day we would got something out of the game - which is what we deserved, (and any neutral watching would have been quite unsure about which team was top of the league, and would have agreed that Merton deserved something out of the game). BB are generally well organised, and a have a good goalkeeper who compensates for a pretty average back four. They have a strong midfield and have a very large unit in the middle of the park who wins his fair share of most things. They have a tricky, direct right winger and pace and strength up front. They simply do not have the collective skill to play patient, possession football, but definitely do have the tools to exploit a stretched game, and do so by getting the ball forward quickly to their potent attacking players. While they clearly accuse us of being a long ball team, they also enjoy a nice long ball over the top to exploit their pace. They can call it what they want, but they really need to get off their hypocritical high horses. On an awful pitch we made the best out of bad conditions and, quite surprisingly considering our ring rustiness, and a bit of a makeshift line-up, we dominated possession and territory for long periods of the game. Sometimes the ball went forward quickly, sometimes it didn¡¦t. As Andy Gray and the Sky Sports cameras were not there I am sadly unable to relay accurate stats about how we dominated possession, territory and chances, but we did. We went 2-0 down a couple of minutes into the second half to a disputed direct free kick, having been unlucky to be 1-0 down at the break. Between that point and the last 10-12 minutes - nearly half an hour - BB Eagles didn¡¦t have a shot or even get into our box. It was pretty much one way traffic, but we missed our chances when they came along and BB defended well, and their keeper didn¡¦t put a glove wrong. As we chased the game and threw extra bodies forward in the final quarter we became extremely stretched and appeared to have at least 6 players up front (i.e. not defending) at any one time, so BB did what they do well, and exploited that fact. It could have been more than 3-0 in the end, which would have been more unfair on the lads than 3-0 clearly was. Here¡¦s another quote: ¡§A 5 minute break whilst Dave O had to go off and inflate footballs to FA approved standards allowed us to re-focus on actually playing football and not getting involved with the oppo's stupid games¡¨ What happened was that BB only had one decent football. Their pitch is right next to an above ground section of the district line and if a ball goes over the very high fence you don¡¦t get it back, ever. [Some tube worker is clearly making a killing out of selling second hand footballs in West London]. So on a pitch where you are likely to lose balls some genius had decided only one ball would be sufficient, with a handful of half-flat training balls as back up. When the inevitable happened in the first half, BB offered one of their Poundland specials which clearly wasn¡¦t fit for purpose or even pumped up. Of course, they didn¡¦t have a pump either. Well they kind of did, but it was apparently kept in a ¡¥special¡¦ hiding place in the clubhouse, and only one player knew where that was. BB were happy to play with sub-standard equipment, but couldn¡¦t grasp why we preferred to play with a decent football thank you very much. It was somehow taken as petty and controversial when we politely suggested that, as there was quite a bit of time left in the first half, someone should jolly well run along and locate said device from behind the toilet cistern or wherever it had been hidden, and that they should stop behaving like a complete shower of amateurs. (I know it¡¦s an amateur league, but come on!). This situation was not helped by a referee who dithered a bit and clearly wasn¡¦t sure what to do in this situation. He had a ¡¥difficult¡¦ game but was quite young and inexperienced, and if he¡¦s prepared to referee matches (especially with no linesmen) and take the inevitable stick every weekend (and he definitely got stick in Gunnersbury) then he deserves patience from players and some time to learn his trade. It¡¦s not a job I would be prepared to do (like most players) so fair play to him really. If there¡¦s no ref, there¡¦s no game. Their player (And lo, The Keeper of the Pump was calleth ¡¥Dave O¡¦) eventually returned with the pump (From its hiding place behind a framed portrait of Princess Michael of Kent above the bar); we kindly offered to put a bit of air in our match ball, which was much better than anything else on offer. You can probably guess what happened to our ball later in the game, so we ended up playing with one of theirs in the end anyway. And thus, the snake ate its tail. On the day we gave as good as we got, but didn¡¦t get what we deserved, but football¡¦s often like that, isn¡¦t it? I was proud of the ¡¥battle¡¦ and effort that every single player put in, and of the way that we kept taking the game to BB, playing our fair share of decent football in difficult conditions. After a pretty rotten start to the season we are definitely moving in the right direction, and, weather permitting, I think we have pretty good prospects for the second half of the season. History is written by the winners, but sometimes what¡¦s written is actually just sanctimonious drivel.
12th December Merton 1 - 1 Old Lyonians (League) (Away) Scorer: Callus Report: Up against a Lyonians side struggling near the bottom of the table, we were keen to follow up last week¡¦s victory with back to back wins. With a bit of chopping and changing, we welcomed in Dane and George for their Merton 3¡¦s debuts, and had a strong spine with Shauno and Bully in the middle, with Zou and Tiddy centre backs. We started the game well, with George looping a decent early effort towards the top corner that the Lyonian¡¦s keeper could only parry. Chris Callus was on hand to volley in for 1-0. We controlled the rest of the half, without ever really threatening to double our lead, and went into the break 1-0. The second half remained tight, and the pacey Lyonian¡¦s forwards were looking threatening on the counter attack, whilst the best we could muster were a few pop shots from the edge of the box. Around the hour mark, there was a bit of a mix-up at the back, and their striker pounced for a crucial equalizer. It was a disappointing goal to give away, as we had been looking pretty solid at the back until then. The game opened up after this, as both sides pushed for the winner. In fact, it was much the same as last week really, with both teams having chances, except this time we couldn¡¦t quite find the crucial winning goal. So the game finished 1-1, and the jury is still out on whether it will be 1 point gained, or 2 points lost.
28th November Merton 2 - 1 Old Latymarians (League) (Home) Scorers: F Haswell, Tiddy Report: This was a fiercely contested match, that saw us ultimately win our third league game in a row. However, we had to dig deep to earn the win, and it was a match that could easily have gone either way if truth be told. The first half was very tight, contested largely in midfield, with our quartet of Frazer, Dave Warren, Shauno and Chris being worked hard. There were few chances, until the half hour mark when we over-committed on the left and they broke quickly in a 3 on 2 situation. Paul saved well from their forward though and we immediately launched a counter-attack of our own with Ian flicking on for Simon who broke clear of their defence, but his attempted chip fell short and into the keepers arms. So a goalless, but entertaining first half with both teams trying to play football meant we were all set for an interesting second half. As we have done several times this season, we started sluggishly after the restart and found ourselves 1-0 down when they winger (debatably) broke the offside trap and squared for their centre forward to tap home. It was a tough one to take, but we rallied quickly and started looking more and more threatening, but at the same time, leaving gaps at the back as we pushed for the equalizer. Ian was replaced on the hour mark by Matt Haswell, who almost immediately jarred his knee and so was replaced by Pete. Chris then swung a cross in from the right, which beat everyone, reaching Pete at the far post. He drilled it back across the face of goal, and Frazer tapped in from close range for 1-1. From here, both sides were pushing for the winner with just 10minutes left, with Paul pulling off several great saves to keep us in it. Pete thought he had won it with a crashing drive from the edge of the box that the keeper somehow tipped over. And as the clock ticked down, we found ourselves with a free kick half way in their half. Shauno floated the ball in to the back post, Pearcy nodded the ball back across goal, and Tiddy was on hand for a trademark 2 yard header for the winner. This was a gritty performance against a good Old Lats side, so was an important 3 points that sees Merton continue to climb the table.
21st November Merton 1 - 2 Silhill (Cup) (Home) Scorer: Murphy Report: Following our penalty shootout win against Reigatians, Merton 3s were rewarded with a draw against Silhill. Thankfully it was a home draw, as Silhill are based all the way up in Solihull! Winning the toss, they decided to kick with a strong wind in the first half, and immediately started putting us under pressure with long balls up to their big centre forward, who had a good battle with Zou and Neil throughout the game. The first goal came for Silhill after 20minutes, but unfortunately with a lot of help from Merton. Following one of their long balls that bounced on the edge of the box, Pete tried to head it back to Paul in goal, but instead it fell for their centre forward who gratefully tapped it into an empty net. 1-0 Silhill. It was a cheap goal to giveaway, but on the plus side, it proved to be the catalyst for Merton to actually start playing with some urgency, that thus far had seriously been lacking. We started snapping into tackles, and pushing Silhill further back into their own half. The equalizer came after 30minutes with Chris Callus the creator. He got to the byline, pulled the ball back, and Simon bundled the ball in for 1-1. It was a great response, and the game had started to come to life, but as the wind kicked up even more, it was difficult to gain territory, and they managed to take the lead again just before half time. A deep cross from the left hand side found their big centre forward who crashed a good header in off the underside of the bar. With the wind behind us in the second half, at only one goal down, we knew we were firmly in the game, and we started the second half brightly. We were creating chances, with Shaun pulling the strings in midfield, and Matt Haswell looking dangerous on the left wing. We also had a clear handball shout for a penalty turned down, before a goalmouth scramble where the ball was cleared off their line twice (once via Alfie's's backside). They offered nothing in an attacking sense in the second half, but despite all the possession and territory we couldn't find the crucial goal and the game finished in a frustrating and disappointing 2-1 defeat, meaning we've now got just the league to concentrate on for this season.
7th Nov Merton 3 - 2 Bank of England (League) (Away) Scorers: F Haswell, Callus, Barnes Report: After last weeks first league win in what seemed like ages, we felt we could see the first green shoots of recovery, but were certainly not going to be relying on any quantitative easing handouts from the Bank. (that is the last of the finance related puns, honest). The first 5 minute curse of the thirds struck as always and we relied upon Paul Ellis to make a couple of important stops before we hit our stride. Frazer and Chris working hard up and down the flanks were vital for us. Ian and Simon up front are starting to look like a great partnership and with steady constant forward balls from both Shaun and Jamie we were pressing high up the pitch. Demand for goals was high, supply unfortunately was low, the price would be high for the team who conceded first. With continued slick, quick passing Chris found himself on the flank, a quick dummy sold to the fullback, a near post delivery and Frazer was there to convert with, err well his chest. The least he deserved for all his hard work. Another well earned goal followed for Chris with a great strike from distance, 2-0 up and still creating, a heavy deficit loomed for the bank. (okay I can¡¦t help myself). Frazer had several chances to increase our lead, let¡¦s just say the bounce of the ball was ¡§unpredictable¡¨ in the opposition¡¦s area. Second half, and guess what? the first 5 minute curse, this time leading to a bank goal after confusion in the box and a rebound off the woodwork fell to their striker. But unlike the 3¡¦s of old are heads were still up, good passing, quick through balls and we still looked dangerous. Alfie came on and again looked sharp, positioning himself well to connect with a good cross from Matt (another impressive performance from him) to head home for our third. A second goal for Bank came in virtually the last minute, but really we should have been a lot safer than we were at that point. Paul Welch in another of his last games for Merton made a great last ditch tackle then followed by a huge sliced clearance. He followed this with a typical ¡§charge of the light brigade¡¨ assault on their centre forward to prevent a goal bound shot. This 3 minute spell summed up his Merton career perfectly, he will be missed, safe travels Paul. Our forecast looks a lot brighter; we need to keep the momentum.
31st October Merton 5 - 1 Old Finchleians (League) (Away) Scorers: Waters, Murphy 2, Callus, Tiddy Report: We took a long trip up the Northern Line in search of our first League victory of the season. Last weeks cup win on penalties could and should have been more convincing, we hoped that win had given us a little bit of confidence that someone was due a hiding! On a sloping pitch but lovely playing surface we began a little shakily but as soon as we settled we began to press. It did not take too long to show we were the better team although our first real opening came via the penalty spot. A clear hand ball, ball calmly placed into the back of the net by Jon. We then pushed on good work all over the pitch, and we were rewarded. Simon getting his first with 30min gone after good work on the left, and his second (a header from 10 yards) perfectly timed with a minute of the half left. They came back at us second half and after a good spell from them they got one back with a great strike. We then weathered a little spell of chances from them, Paul Ellis pulling off a couple of great saves. Some great last minute challenges from defenders and center mids alike, a booking for Paul Welch (on one of his many, ¡§last games¡¨ for Merton) also followed for being a big girl! I thought we showed good spirit though, riding the pressure, working hard and eventually playing our way out of trouble. With Dave struggling with his choice of footwear Zou came off the bench, mainly to silence him from the sideline. 10 minutes past and then the vital goal from Chris Callus, a quick and long run from the right connecting with a good delivery from the left. 4-1. With 5 minutes remaining Tiddy added the fifth burying it from 10cm out after the worlds longest approach, running from the center circle. Scorers, Jon Waters (Pen), Simon Murphy 2, Chris Callus, Kieron Tiddy.
24th October Merton 2 - 2 AET, 3 - 1 pen Reigatians (Cup) (Home) Scorers: Jones, Murphy Penalties: Buckley, Jordan, Haswell, Report: Following a bad run of results, and up against a Reigatians 2nd team, the 3s were expecting a tough fixture in the AFA Cup. Indeed, the fact this match went to penalties suggests a very close game. The reality is, we played probably our best football so far this season, and should have been home and dry long before a penalty shootout. We dominated possession and territory in the first half, with Jamie and Shaun dictating the play from central midfield, but were a bit nervous in front of goal and couldn't quite find the breakthrough. It finally came in the form of Shaun himself, who converted a close range header following good work from Jon on the left. We pushed forwards, and it felt like a second goal would have definitely killed the game, but following a few close misses, it was Reigatians who scored next. Breaking quickly from a Merton corner, their striker found himself one on one with Paul and deftly chipped him for the equalizer in the second half. So we went off at 90minutes at 1-1, having lost Neil Day to a hamstring strain, and reshuffling the team to put Ian at centre back alongside Welchy, and bringing Alfie on up front. The first few minutes of extra time saw Merton demonstrating their own counter-attacking capability. Paul threw the ball to Pete, who curled it down the line for Matt Haswell to run onto. Matt duly squared it for Simon Murphy who despatched it first time for 2-1. How we could have done with that a few minutes ago! As we tried to see the game out, legs became weary and Reigatians went for broke, and in the last minute of extra time, Ian bundled their striker over in the box, and the Ref pointed to the spot. Their penalty taker fired it into the bottom corner giving Paul no chance. So to the drama of penalties. Paul was facing the same player who had just beaten him minutes earlier from the same spot, so there were mind games from the very start. Their player went for the same corner, but Paul read it this time and pulled off a great save. This sent the tone for the shootout as we won comfortably 3-1. Jamie Buckly, Ian Jordan and Matt Haswell the scorers and Paul making another couple of great saves. No need to mention Shaun's miss in the shootout, and we host Silhill from Solihull in the next round!17th October Merton 1 - 3 BB Eagles (League) (Home) Scorer: Gechev Report: After some poor starts to games recently the 3s started the game well and looked in control of the game. There were half chances at either end in the first 20 minutes but no break through. BB Eagles were awarded a very dubious penalty for handball, but justice was done when the ball was put high and wide with an attempt Roberto Baggio would have been proud of! Theo broke the deadlock after a great run, and an inch perfect pass saw him break the offside trap and slot home comfortably with the defence nowhere in sight. Eagles equalised before half time buy the 3s still looked strong. The second half started well with both teams creating more chances. However, poor mistakes at the back gifted BB Eagles two goals in quick succession and it was an uphill struggle from there. Merton kept battling and played some decent football but couldn't break through a well organised Eagles and the game finished 3-110th October Merton 1 - 5 Broomfield (League) (Home) Scorer: Tiddy Report: A tough day at the office against an unbeaten Broomfield side leaves the 3s still looking for their first win. We started the game brightly enough, with Theo latching onto a few through balls and flashing a few shots wide of the post. Jon also delivered some dangerous corners and free kicks as we pushed for the first goal. But as the half went on, Broomfield began to come into the game more and started to look more threatening. They had a good spell of pressure around the half hour mark that we weathered well, but just before half time, their winger broke the offside trap, cut inside, and curled the ball into the top corner to make it 1 -0. So after a relatively close first half, there was optimism that we could still get something out of the game. But unfortunately this wasn't carried out onto the pitch, and the second half was a very different affair. A very sluggish start led to us conceding two cheap goals within the first 10 minutes and giving ourselves a mountain to climb. With nothing to lose, the game started to stretch quite quickly as we pushed for a lifeline, and it came via a goalmouth scramble, with Kieron volleying home. The next goal was always going to be key and Broomfield again started to mount some pressure, with Zou making some smart saves and Paul Welch pulling off some last ditch tackles. The breakthrough for them eventually came via a well worked move and a shot that rattled in off the bar, Zou could do nothing about. This was followed up with a penalty late on to make the score a somewhat miserable 5-1. With a few late dropouts, missing some key players, and up against a good side that have won all their games this season; this was always going to be difficult fixture for us. But we're looking forward to demonstrating our bouncebackability against BB Eagles on Saturday.
26th September Merton 2 - 3 Ibis (League) (Away) Scorers: Martinez, Welch Report: The 3's slipped to another disappointing defeat, leaving us still looking for the first points of the season. Despite having to adjust to a new line up, with 4 lads playing with the 3's for the first time, we started ok in what was a scrappy first 20 minutes. IBIS created the better early chances, looking dangerous from long throws, and playing balls through into the channels. The defence coped though, and when IBIS did manage to get through Paul was able to turn a shot onto the bar. At the other end, we created some good chances, but again failed to take them when we needed to, with shots from Will and Theo being blocked or saved. IBIS took the lead after about 30 mins, their forward latching on to a through ball and placing it into the corner. We went in at HT 1 down with plenty to play for. Despite the HT inquest, we were slow to start the 2nd half, and quickly found ourselves 2 down - a simple throw in allowed their player to come forward unmarked and hit a half volley from the edge of the box that dipped over Paul into the net. Heads dropped as we struggled to get back into the game. As we pushed forward, IBIS were able to hit us on the break and we went 3-0 down when their winger squared for any of 3 lining up to score. It was after this that we had our best period, and created 3 or 4 really good chances - Theo couldn't force a header over the line after a good cross from Jon, and Shaun also had a couple of good efforts. Will got a goal back for us with a well placed header, again after good work from out wide, and a few minutes later Paul Welch smashed the ball in from the 6yrd box after a scramble from a free kick. We carried on pushing and forced some corners and their keeper also made a couple of really good saves late on but it was all too late. We showed good character to battle on from 3-0 down, but we need to start playing like that for 90 mins. Line up: P Ellis, P Welch, Zouhair, I Jordan, L Sawyers, Jon Waters, S Raymond (Lockesh), S Jones, J Butler, W Martinez, T Getchev.
19th September Merton 0 - 1 Old Parkonians (SAL Junior Cup) (Home) Report: The 3's went out of the cup at the first hurdle after a battling performance against a good Old Parks side. There was some chopping and changing from the previous week with some new faces in the side, which meant a few players having to play out of position. We struggled to create chances in the early stages, our main threat coming from long balls and set pieces. Old Parks played it around nicely though and were counter attacking with pace. Their best chance of the half came from the penalty spot after Paul Welch was harshly judged to have handled, when it looked like he was trying to move his hand out of the way. It didn't matter in the end as Paul E pulled off a good save down to his left and managed to block the rebound as well. From the resulting corner Paul W redeemed himself by clearing a header off the line and on to the bar. We went in level at HT, having defended well, but without really troubling their keeper. OP came out of the blocks quickly in the 2nd half, and we struggled to keep up with them. They went ahead about 10 mins in, a shot deflected into the path of their striker who slotted it past Paul. We still defended well, but again struggled to create chances and keep hold of the ball, one of our best efforts coming from Dave Raymond who's long range effort just went into the side netting. As we pushed forward we inevitably left gaps at the back and OP continued to look dangerous on the break, but they couldn't find the killer second goal. We put them under some pressure in the last 10 mins getting the ball into the box as often as possible, with Zou's long throws causing problems, but they weathered the storm and held on to win the match. Team: P Ellis, P Welch, I Jordan, S Jones, L Sawyers (Zouhair), C Acres (T Johnson), S Blagrove, K, Tiddy, D Raymond, D Lidnetter, J Butler
12th September Merton 0 - 1 Lloyds TSB (League) (Home) Report: Trying to put the memories of last season behind them the 3's had their first game at home vs Lloyds, and were hoping to get off to a winning start. With some reorganisation in midfield due to lack of natural midfield players we started promisingly. Good attractive play rather frustratingly did not provide many clear goal scoring opportunities. As the first half continued a good solid defence meant that Lloyds only had one chance at our goal and that came from a sloppy pass across the back. But still we could not create up front, it seemed the last ball was always that little too hard for Will or James to get on to. A few crosses caused problems with Will having a good volley, but having only seen the ball late this missed the target. The closest chances came from freekicks around their box, with Cam twice removing a coat of paint from Lloyds post. 0-0 half time. Much of the same Second half, solid defence but still no breakthrough. The midfield had a lot of work to do and it was starting to become obvious that 1 goal would win it, and whoever took control in the middle of the park would get that all important chance. With fitness levels being tested and 15 min to play, a missed tackle in front of our Centre backs, and a lucky ricochet left their centre forward one on one with Paul Ellis. And there was the goal. Tired and with heads down, the final 15 were going our way, but still no goals. With only chances from distance to offer, it was simply a case that their defence outlasted ours. Team: P Ellis, P Welch (S Blagrove), I Jordan, S Jones, C Acres (L Sawyers) , N Day, P Jennings, K Tiddy, C Clarke, W Martinez, J Butler
