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Fourth Team
Manager: Dan Kelly 4th Team Fixtures 2009 - 2010
30th January Merton 3 - 7 BB Eagles (League) (Home) Scorers: Kelly 3 Report: Despite leading 1-0, 2-1, and then 3-2 at half-time, Merton conceeded 5 second-half goals to continue their disappointing start to 2010. Among the seven goals were two own goals and a penalty, so self inflicted wounds combined with a couple of classy finishes form Eagles put the game out of reach for Merton. 23rd January Merton 1 - 3 Carshalton (League) (Away) Scorer: Sleaford Report: After taking the lead in the first half with a 20 yard dipping drive from James Sleaford, Merton failed to capitalise on a couple of early chances in the second half, and then slipped to defeat as first a corner was headed in for the equaliser, then a 25 yard free kick curled into the corner, and finally as Merton pressed for an equaliser, a Carshalton midfielder was allowed to run from his own half unchallenged to slot home and put the game beyond reach. 12th December Merton 1 - 1 Kew Association (League) (Away) Scorer: Kelly Report: Merton's last game before Christmas saw them take a point of the leaders, but it really should have been 3 as they dominated the game. In the end, they salvaged a point a few minutes from time, Dan Kelly running up to a long ball and battling past two defenders to stab it past the keeper. 3 injuries after the only sub had been used rather hamstrung Merton's second-half efforts, but nevertheless a point was rescued. 5th December Merton 1 - 0 Old Westminster Citz (League) (Home) Scorer: Kelly Report: A late, late goal saw Merton follow up their first win of the season with another 3 points at home. Fielding an almost unchanged side for once, Merton had hoped to carry on their impressive form from the second half of last week's game, but instead on a tacky pitch the game drifted through the first half with neither team able to create much. The second half started in much the same vein, but as the half wore on Merton were increasingly under pressure. A spectacular half volley on the run from fully 30 yards almost broke the deadlock, but goalkeeper Lee Wilkinson managed to get fingertips to the ball at full stretch and tip the shot wide. At the other end, Merton had only a couple of speculative efforts from distance from Luke Buchan to show for their endeavours, and as the game entered the last ten minutes it was Westminster that looked the likeliest to score as they forced a series of corners. Then, with just two minutes on the clock, a long goal kick saw Luke get the slightest of flick-ons to allow Dan steal in behind the Westminster defence, chesting the ball on as he drove into the box. With defenders closing in on him he managed to round the keeper but in doing so had gone so wide it seemed the chance had gone, only for him to somehow cut the ball back into the empty net. Westminster looked absolutely gutted, and Merton held firm without too many alarms for the remaining few minutes, Jon and Luke both having chances to extend the lead as Westminster threw themselves forward. So, 2 wins in 2 weeks and the table is making for slightly better reading now. Next up, unbeaten Kew.. 28th November Merton 3 - 2 HSBC 5th (League) (Home) Scorers: Buchan, Kelly 2 Report: Merton finally got a win in the league at their seventh time of asking. After starting brightly, Merton took the lead when a throw-in found Luke Buchan at the corner of the 18 yard box, his hooked half volley curling into the far corner. Merton continued to have the better of the play, but then conceded a surprise equaliser - HSBC scoring a similar goal to the first with a dipping volley from the corner of the box. HSBC then forged ahead just before half time, countering down the right from a Merton throw-in near their own corner flag and squaring for a fine goal. Into the second half and Merton looked sluggish for the first ten minutes, before suddenly sparking into life. Jon Norman released Dan Kelly down the right and a surge of pace took him into the box, turning inside the full back and then drilling the ball inside the near post with his left foot. The goal lifted Merton, and they took the lead only a few minutes later, this time Luke Buchan getting free down the right to place a pinpoint cross into Dan's path, the ball lifting over the keeper and into the net. 3-2. Merton now were totally dominant, with the attack and midfield closing down relentlessly and depriving HSBC of any meaningful possession. Luke almost made it 4-2 on two occasions after being played in by Dan, the inside of the post agonisingly denying him on the last occasion. Into the final minutes, and HSBC very nearly equalised, a looping cross hit against his own bar by an onrushing James Sleaford, and then clawed off the line by the keeper. Fortunately, that was the last HSBC attack and the game ended 3-2. A first win for Merton in the league, at last, and a fantastic performance across the team, full of running. 21st November Merton 1 - 2 Ibis (League) (Home) Scorer: Kelly Report: Merton were unlucky to lose as they crashed to another narrow defeat. With a host of players out and a very makeshift backline, Merton perhaps predictably made a poor start, falling behind after just 2 minutes after they failed to clear their lines on a number of occasions. It could have been worse before half-time but despite gifting a series of chances to Ibis the score remained 1-0. After a frank half-time team talk, Merton came out in the second half a different team, dominating possession and territory. Chances came and went, heroic Ibis defending blocking a number of shots, before the killer blow of a second goal caught Merton cold, a counter attack finding a free Ibis player in the box to make it 2-0. Merton pressed on, and responded almost straight away, a deep cross from James Butler headed into the far corner from 15 yards by Dan Kelly. 2-1. Merton continued to press, creating chance after chance only for wayward finishing and a series of blocks to prevent them equalising. So, another defeat, but a much improved second half performance that hopefully we can take into the next game. 7th November Merton 2 - 2 Carshalton (League) (Home Scorers: Wilson 2 Report: 31st October Merton 0 - 2 Kew Association (League) (Home) Report: Lining up against an in form Kew Merton were hoping to stop the rot after some very poor results. Things weren’t helped as Merton had to field a much changed line up with 4 players dropping out within 24 hours of kick off. The makeshift side saw a feisty start as the challenges went flying in. The ref was letting the game flow as much as he could and on the half hour mark things were fairly even. Kew perhaps playing the better football but with Merton creating chances of their own from some searching long balls. Another set piece was to be Merton’s undoing as the Kew captain climbed the highest to head home. It stayed 0-1 for the remainder of the half as Merton struggled to come back into it Perhaps due to the change in personnel Merton found it difficult to create many chances against a good Kew side but were keeping the opposition at bay quite comfortably as the game saw very few chances. With 10 minutes to go Merton went chasing the game as Chris Devlin went up front to put pressure on the Kew Centre half who was winning everything in the air. This left a hole at the back and as the defence was pulled to the right a midfield runner made the most of this slotting home as he found acres of space. 0-2. That summed up the day for Merton as the losing streak continued. We could have less complaint about this one as Kew probably deserved it on the day. 24th October Merton 2 - 3 AET Lloyds TSB (Cup) (Away) Scorers: Buchan, Head Report: Another cup game and another disappointing defeat in extra time. On a lovely pitch the game started out at a frenetic pace in a very open game. Both sides mixing some patient passing with some long ball stuff. Again Luke Buchan got Merton off to a flying start after hitting a 30 yard piledriver. The lead didn’t last long as the pacy left winger countered from a Merton corner and finished with a delicate little dink The game continued in much the same fashion and only 2 unbelievable saves from Luke Buchan and James Butler denied Merton from regaining the lead. As legs tired it became a much less attractive affair as the game was played in the air with everything resorting to the long ball. In the 90th minute however it was down to some quality football to break the deadlock after some slick passing between Roger Mustoe and Chris Outred saw a fantastic delivery into the box for Simon Head to bundle over the line for what seemed the winner. From the resulting kick off however Lloyds won a corner. A complete mishit fooled everyone though and the ball somehow found its way through a crowd of players to trickle over the line. Lloyds got their winner with 2 minutes left of extra time as the lone striker tried to cross without looking. With nobody in the box it seemed like the danger had been averted but due to another mishit the ball swerved towards goal. Unsure of what was around him Lee tried to play the safe route and tip it over the bar. Unfortunately he had misjudged the flight and only managed to palm the ball into his own goal. 17th October Merton 1 - 2 Old Salvatorians (Cup) (Away) Scorer: Buchan Report: A trip to Northwest London made for a long journey home after succumbing to a 2-1 loss in extra time. After a bright start Merton made all the running and were deservedly 1-0 up on 15 minutes when Luke Buchan hit a thunderbolt from the edge of the box to leave the keeper with no chance. It looked like it was going to be a good day at the office as Merton continued to press but at half time it remained 1-0 as both Dan Kelly and Luke went close again. Merton were slow out of the blocks 2nd half and the Salvatorians central midfielder, who was by far their best player, started to see a lot more of the ball. However it was still looking comfortable as the forwards failed to threaten a makeshift Merton back 4. A set piece was to be the downfall as a free header was allowed in the area for Salvatorians to equalise. Even then the goal came with a bit of luck as the ball hit him in the nose rather than a firm header which caused the ball to loop over the despairing dive of Lee Wilkinson. 1-1 After the wake up call of conceding Merton began to play a bit more football but life was made difficult when 2 players pulled up with muscle strains in the space of 5 minutes. Due to an inspired piece of management all the subs had already been used so unfortunately we were essentially down to 9 men. Our 2 injured men carried on as the game went into extra time and James Sleaford who was carrying a groin strain almost found the winner when he lobbed the keeper only for the ball to drop agonisingly wide of the post. Despite the man down Merton were doing all the pressing and using Kev Wood as a target man from some Rory Delap style throws from Alex Mills went close again. It was James Sleaford who almost found himself in the right place at the right time getting on to the knock down but hampered by his injury was unable to get a telling touch. Then with 5 minutes to go disaster. Kevin Wood trying to play his way out of trouble got caught in possession and for the first time in 115 minutes the little striker showed a turn of pace and was found with a sublime pass after making a great run dropping off the shoulder of the last man and applying the finishing. Bitterly disappointing after a long trip and a hard fought battle. 10th October Merton 1 - 1 Alleyn Old Boys (League) (Away) Scorer: Kelly Report: Merton got their first league point of the season and were unlucky not to take away all three points as they drew with Alleyn Old Boys After a bright start, Dan Kelly put Merton ahead on the half hour, heading home from fifteen yards after a Mustoe free-kick was only partially cleared. Merton continued to dominate but then conceeded a needless equaliser after an ambitious square throw-in was intercepted, leaving seven Merton players ahead of the ball. From the resulting counter, Alleyn's made it 1-1. After poor second half performances in previous games, Merton came out in the second half with something to prove to themselves, and absolutely dominated, creating a host of chances. A powerful Luke Buchan shot was tipped wide by the keeper from the edge of the box, and substitute Tom Power could have scored with his first touch but delayed and gave the keeper time to recover. James Sleaford and then Dan Kelly blasted just over the bar from similar positions on the edge of the box, and a raking Roger Mustoe shot from the corner of the box was palmed wide. Finally, Tommy Rainbow unleashed a peach of a drive from 25 yards, only for the ball to crash against the inside of the post, and run parallel to the goal line. So, the game ended 1-1, but a much improved league performance which bodes well for the rest of the season. 3rd October Merton 1 - 3 Old Wilsonians (League) (Home) Scorer: Sleaford Report: Merton suffered back to back defeats in the league to Old Wilsonians after a jekyl and hyde performance. Keen to avenge their opening day defeat, Merton started very positively, passing the ball well and dominating possession. The opening goal then duly arrived as James Sleaford ran at the back four and threaded a ball through for Dan, who despite being forced wide, managed to cut the ball back into the onrushing Sleaford's path to crash from from close range. 1-0. Merton had chances for a second with Luke putting Dan through again, but as the half progressed Merton were forced more and more on the back foot, conceding a series of free kicks from wide areas.
It was from one of these that the equaliser came, a cross not claimed by the keeper and falling for a Wilsonians player to tap in at the far post. 1-1. A carbon-copy goal then arrived just before half time to put Old Wilsonians ahead. 2-1.
After the brightness of the first half hour, the second half from Merton was very disappointing, with no more than a couple of half chances created and passes going awry all over the pitch. Old Wilsonians eventually killed off the game five minutes from time with a floated effort from distance which crept under the bar, but in truth they had controlled the second half and deserved the win.
26th September Merton 4 - 2 East Barnet Old Grammerians (League) (Away) Scorers: Kelly 2, Devlin, Sleaford Report: A late fightback from Merton saw them secure an ultimately comfortable win in North London in the first round of the SAL cup. With traffic issues on the long journey up to Barnet meaning the kit arrived pretty much at kick off, Merton were predictably rusty for the first quarter of the game, struggling to find any shape or fluency and consequently being put under a fair deal of pressure. Having withstood this for fifteen minutes, Merton then had a golden chance to go ahead when Dan Kelly was played through on goal, only for him to hit a tame shot at the keeper despite having virtually the whole half to himself. The miss was compounded when Ebog then took the lead, a throw in from the left flicked into the box and volleyed acrobatically into the top corner. 1-0. After a rousing half time team talk from Chris Devlin, the second half began in much brighter fashion for Merton, with the back four of Ansell, Devlin, Wood and Mustoe now utterly dominant. With such a firm base to build, on Merton began to exert more and more pressure, and finally, with twenty minutes to go, they claimed a deserved equaliser. After a series of freekicks and corners, Ebog cleared their lines only as far as left-back Roger, who speared in a low cross to Dan, who has sprung their offside trap. Again faced with acres of space, this time he smashed the ball high into the net. 1-1. From there, it seemed that only one team would win this game, such was their dominance at this stage over a tiring Ebog, and Merton almost scored within a minute of the restart as Mal Wilson found Tom Power, who turned sweetly and shot into the corner, only for an offline decision to rule the goal out. But the game then turned on it's head once more with a bizarre goal from a rare Ebog foray forward. An attacking through in found its way into the box, only for James Sleaford to put his foot through the ball and clear it. Disater struck though, as the clearance bounced off the referee standing on the edge of the box, and ending up presenting Ebog with an easy finish at the far post. 2-1, with the referee commendably distraught. Despite the hammer blow, Merton continued to press, and it was James Sleaford who restored parity, a sharp turn just inside the box following a throw to feet giving him time to spear in a fierce dipping shot from 15 yards into the net. "A touch of Steve Gerrard about the goal" as he said afterwards. 2-2. Just a couple of minutes later Merton took the lead, Dan racing on to a Devlin through ball, flicking it over the onrushing keeper and then clipping it into the net as the scrambling centre backs tried to clear on the line. Ebog tried to rouse themselves for an equaliser, but it was all Merton at this stage, and they sealed the game a few minutes later when another through ball was played to Dan to finish the game. 4-2. A long journey, and a mad last twenty minutes with 5 goals, but a deserved win in the end. 12th September Merton 0 - 3 Old Wilsonian 5th (League) (Away) Report: A makeshift Merton 4s side crashed 3-0 in their opening fixture to Old Wilsonians. On a hot afternoon and on a rock hard pitch, Merton suffered an early blow with centre-back Mark Chappell being raked in a high challenge, Despite a cut that would need 3 stiches and a lump on his head, he soldiered on for the rest of the half as a non-heading left back, but couldn't prevent Old Wilsonian's from opening the scoring slightly against the run of play, a long throw in not being cleared and stabbed home through a crowd of players. Merton continued to press for an equaliser without creating any clear cut chances, but having played into the wind, against the slope, and with the sun in the eyes of their centre-backs, were optimistic of getting a result. That optimism evaporated within 5 minutes of the restart. First a free kick from 35 yards was only parried by the keeper into the path of a wilsonian's player following in, and then almost from the restart, an overhit free kick from the halfway line could only be helped into the net by the keeper. Merton searched for a way back into the game, but couldn't find a goal. Not a good start, and definite improvements required for our next game. |
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