Fixtures for season 2007 - 2008 All kick off's are now 3.00pm unless stated
September 15th - Polytechnic (Friendly) (Away) 22nd - Carshalton 5th (League) (Home) 29th - South Bank Cuaco 4th (League) (Home)
October 6th - Old Wilsonians 5 (League) (Away) 13th - Ibis 4(League) (Home) 20th - Old Parkonians (AFA Minor Cup) (Home) 27th - BB Eagles 4 (SAL Minor Cup) (Home)
November 3rd - Old Actonians 7 (League) (Home) 10th - Weirside Rangers (League) (Home) 17th - SouthBank Cuaco (League) (Away) 24th - East Barnet Old Grammerians (AFA Minor Cup) (Away)
December 1st - Polytechnic 6 (League) (Away) 15th - Old Finchleians (SAL Minor Cup) (Away)
January 5th - Old Actonians (League) (Home)
February 2nd - Old Aloysians (AFA Minor Cup) (Home) 9th - Winchmore Hill (SAL Minor Cup Quarter Final) (Home) 16th - Old Actonians (SAL Minor Cup Semi Final) (Home) (K/O 14.00) 23rd - Ibis (League) (Away)
March 1st - Old Actonians (League) (Away) 8th - Carshalton 5 (League) (Away) 15th - Old Wilsonians 5 (League) (Home) 29th - Old Actonians (League) (Away)
29th March Merton 5 - 1 Old Actonians (League) (Away) Scorers: O.G, Ackerman 2, Wren-Jarvis 2 Report: Merton recorded a comfortable win in Gunnersbury Park courtesy of an emphatic opening half hour. With a strong wind in their favour, and against an uncertain defence, Merton started well, passing the ball around and monopolising possession. The first goal duly came, with Ackers turning the ball in following a scramble in the box. With the midfield dominant, Merton continued to press, and it was no surprise when Stu, enjoying a central midfield role, made it 2-0 with a shot from the edge of the area. A third came with as Costin and Ackers worked well to centre the ball - with an Actonians defender deflecting the cross into his net. The fourth goal saw Ackers played in to score from close range, and after thirty minutes, the game was over as a competiton The second half saw a more determined effort from Actonians and they managed to get one back, volleying from 25 yards into the top corner from a clearance. With the pitch breaking up, Merton only managed one goal in the second half, Stu shooting through the keeper for his second of the game
15th March Merton v Old Wilsonians (League) (Home) Scorers: Report:
8th March Merton v Carshalton (League) (Away) Scorers: Report:
1st March Merton 2 - 3 Old Actonians (League) (Away) Scorers: Report:
23rd February Merton 2 - 1 Ibis (League) (Away) Scorers: Mustoe, Smith Report: Two beautifully flighted set pieces from MacLeod enabled Merton 4's to get back to winning ways, A corner and a free kick showing his versatitliy at dead ball delivery. Solid at the back as always Kev and Dev and occassionally Millsy, if he wasn't thinking about how few girls he'd invited to his party that evening, played the offside trap to near perfection. New left back Alex showed why Mustoe is rumoured to be shown the door this summer with a fine headed goal from the early corner and Shaun 'Smallest man in the box but not on the pitch' provided the second again with a header from THE free kick late on to settle nerves. These the only highlights in a scrappy scrappy game before debutant Simon, now betweeen the sticks, for an ijured Nate Dog, managed to teach the oppo Striker how to perform somersaults at high speed, the ref mistakenly saw it as a late challenge in the box and awarded a peno for the late goal which they didn't deserve. According to post-match reports 'they pissed all over us' but in reality it was only Millsy who probably did that later to his girlfreind, as he fell harder than smiddy does for a new girl, after downing a couple too many shots of vimto. Congrats must go to Stu for firstly not being the player to moan the most during the game for once and on going 3 for 3. Commiserations must also go to Costin for a fne effort ruled out for the whistle by the Ref, who we all thanked after the game for that. More league action next week with tough away oppo, Merton will look to continue to find winning ways by playing at the level of the oppo, thats abysmal or beautiful, and begin the late ascent for glory. Man of the match - MacLeod.
16th February Merton 1 - 2 AET Old Actonians (SAL Minor Cup Semi Final) (Home) Scorer: Kelly Report: Merton crashed out of the Minor Cup at the semi-final stage after a late, late equalizer and an extra time strike from Actionians denied them a place in the final. Merton had looked set for another upset, when after having the better of the first half, they took the lead midway through the second half, Dan receiving a high ball from Roger, turning his marker and then racing through to meg the keeper. The game stayed at 1-0 until deep into injury time, when an Actonians corner was only half-cleared and the resultant scramble saw them equalize with the last kick of normal time. A dejected Merton were dealt a further blow when Phil limped off in extra time, and with only ten men, Merton saw Actonians snatch a late winner from another corner, just 4 minutes from the end of extra time. It was a cruel blow for Merton, who deserved better, but for this season, their cup run is over
9th February Merton 1 - 0 Winchmore Hill (SAL Minor Cup Q/F) (Home) Scorer: Kelly Report: Merton 4’s caused another cup upset as they deservedly beat Winchmore Hill by a single goal to advance to the semi finals. Despite being several leagues below their more fancied opponents, Merton started the better side and never really looked back. Dan could have opened the scoring within the first few minutes, racing clear of the offside trap before firing at the keeper. Merton continued to press, and with a well drilled Winchmore Hill back 4 playing high up the pitch, Merton were exploiting the space in behind to cause problems. Chances continued to come for Merton, notably a Costin overhead inside the box being batted away by a defender’s hand with the ref unsighted. At the back, Merton looked very comfortable, containing the opposition and launching counter after counter. Winchmore Hill were the happier team as the game went in level at half time. With a place in the semi final at stake, Merton continued to press for victory. Roger and Costin were exploiting the space on the flanks to cause problems, and the goal, when it came, was from this source. Costin received the ball on the right side of the pitch, and slid a pass infield for the onrushing Dan, who beat the keeper to the ball before rounding him and side-footing home. 1-0. Needing a goal, Winchmore came back into the game in the last twenty minutes, but just could not find a way through a determined Merton defence. In midfield, Tommy Rainbow was absolutely phenomenal, pressing and harrying the opposition into mistake after mistake, and, with our back four managing to remain intact for the entire match, keeping chances to a minimum. The few chances Winchmore did create went no further than Nathan, who caught everything thrown at him. In the end, Winchmore ran out of ideas, and it was Merton who finished the stronger, Dan almost sealing the game in injury time on the counter. A great result, and a semi final awaits next week. Despite knocking the best team in competition out, Merton remain underdogs, a tag that seems to suit them!
2nd February Merton 1 - 3 Silhill (AFA minor Cup) (Home) Scorer: Bann Report: Merton crashed out of the cup at the quarter final stage with a 3-1 defeat. With a sticky pitch and powerful wind raking the pitch, it was important to get off to a good start. Unfortunately, Merton fell behind from the kick-off, a speculative long ball down the left was kept in play by an alert forward, who beat the fullback and crossed into the box. The ball came out to a Solihull player at the edge of the box who smashed home. 1-0. As Merton still failed to settle, a second goal came with the opposition's second attack when a speculative strike from distance could only be parried by the keeper, and was forced home. 2-0 and a mountain to climb. Merton responded playing the ball down both flanks with Alex and Chris and with Ritchie Bann winning a series of flicks as the ball was pumped up front. As Merton began to build pressure, a free kick from the left was curled in by Roger. Ritchie leapt magnificently to head across goal and into the corner 2-1. The second half saw Merton dominate possession and territory, without creating too much in the way of clear cut chances. With the opposition defending well, and in numbers, and with a swirling wind keeping the ball in the air most of the time, the game was scrappy. A corner from Alex almost crept in, and Dan hit a volley on the turn just over the bar. A flick from Ritchie saw Dan almost nip in, only for his clipped shot from a narrow angle to be turned past the post. The referee then appeared to give Merton a penalty for a hand-ball by the covering defender, only to mysteriously reverse his decision as the opposition protested. As time wore on, Solihull began to get chances on the counter, and, from a corner, they got the killer third goal, the ball dropping in the area to be prodded home. With ten minutes to go, Merton made a last ditch effort, Kev agonisingly heading against the bar, and, in injury time, Dan hitting the bar again from a fantastic reverse pass by Ritchie However, after previous cup comebacks, this one was not to be, and the game ended 3-1.
26th January Merton 5 - 4 Old Aloysians (AFA Minor Cup) (Home) Scorers: Wren-Jarvis 2, Mccloud, Kelly, Brading Report: Merton edged another thriller to progress through the the next round of the AFA Minor Cup. With the game kicking off 40 minutes late, Merton made the faster start, pressing across the pitch,and their early endeavour was rewarded only 5 minutes into the game. Mills and Costin worked well down the right, before a clearance fell to Richie Bann on the edge of the box. His shot struck the right post, before Andy, following up smashed the ball across the face of the goal for Stu to slide home. 1-0.
Undeterred, Old Aloysians pressed forward, the quick forwards and wingers asking questions of the Merton defence. With Dev marshalling the back line, Merton repelled this early pressure, before hitting back on the counter. A second goal came, and when it did, it was a corker. From a throw-in the ball fell to Andy who unleased a howitzer of a shot from the corner of the box, the ball swerving in off the post from 20 yards. 2-0.
Again, Old Aloysians replied with a spell of pressure, and this time, they were rewarded, a miskick at the back allowing the opposition striker to score from close range. 2-1. Determined to restore their two goal advantage, Merton again pressed forward, their workrate at closing down the opposition and counter attacking unrelenting. Some quick feet from Dan saw him offload a shot which was parried wide, and Costin cut inside to try his luck from distance. A third goal finally came when a flighted ball through the middle from Roger saw Stu glide between the two covering centre backs and nonchalantly lift the ball over the onrushing keeper. 3-1.
Merton got to half-time without too many more alarms, the back four of Mills, Phil, Dev and Roger defending superbly and from the kick-off, they struck again. The ball was worked down the left-hand side, before Andy laid the ball back to Roger to cross into the box. Dan, lurking behind the opposition centre-back managed to get to the ball first, a neat touch taking him round the centre-back before calmly flicking the ball into the far corner. 4-1. At 4-1, it seemed the game was done, but Old Aloysians continued to press, and around the hour mark, they managed to pull a goal back, a surging run after a Merton corner saw their winger take the ball 60 yards, before playing in their forward (who looked suspiciously offside) to finish in the far corner. 4-2. Things got worse for Merton as Dev limped off, and as a reshuffled Merton tired, the chances began to come for the opposition.
As Aloysians began to dominate, Nathan kept Merton in front with a string of superb reaction saves, most notably managing to push a close-range effort against the bar when it seemed for all the world it would be a goal. In the end, Aloysians got themselves back into the match from a corner, a scramble in the box ending with an emphatic close range volley. 4-3, and with fifteen minutes to go, the game was back in the balance. On the counter, Merton had a few brief glimpses of goal, Stu not quite connecting when played by Dan, who himself had shot just over from distance a little earlier. More Aloysian pressure followed as Merton tried to defend their lead, and again, Aloysians profitted from another corner, and another goal-mouth scramble, with a back-header past Nathan. 4-4, with eight minutes to go.
At this stage, it seemed there would only be one winner. Two great chances for Aloysians were flashed past Nathan's far post before Merton, summoning one final effort, pushed forward once again. A throw-in down the left ended with the ball being whipped into the box, the clearance falling to substitute Jared on the edge of the box. His goal-bound volley went through a crowd of players, Dan helping it on with the lightest of touches as it nestled in the bottom left corner. Incredibly, Merton led 5-4, and with just seconds to go, they saw out the game to claim a thrilling victory.
15th December Merton 2 - 2 Old Finchleians (Merton win 9 - 8 on penalties) (SAL Minor Cup) (Away) Scorers: Kelly, Devlin Report: Merton 4’s stormed into the next round of the cup with yet another late comeback to knock Old Finchleans out of the cup on penalties Despite a fiercely sloping pitch and a bobbly surface, Merton started brightly, putting the Finchley side under pressure despite the literal uphill struggle of the first half. Merton’s early cohesion was rocked, however, by an absolutely outrageous two footed tackle that left Diccon in agony, the Finchlean player jumping straight into the back of Diccon’s ankle. Costin came on for the injured Diccon, and before long, our second, and final sub, Stu, was on the pitch after Kev limped off. Despite the set-backs Merton came closest to breaking the deadlock, Dan volleying wide from six yards after a great cross from Roger. At the other end, a fantastic saving tackle from Mills prevented the lively Finchley striker from bursting through on goal. Nil-nil at half time. With the slope to attack down, Merton were looking to build on a promising first half, but were rocked by an early goal just seconds into the half, a swift Finchlean counter dispatched into the corner from 18 yards past a despairing Nathan. Merton rallied, and built up a decent spell of pressure. The equaliser almost came in this spell, Stu cushioning a long ball into Dan’s path, whose first time shot from 18 yards bent round the keeper only to hit the inside of the post and bounce back into the keeper’s arms. Despite the spell of pressure, it was Old Finchleans that were to score next, another swift counter seeing them slot home at the far post. 2-0 to the home side. With Merton unable to regain their passing rhythm and the energy-sapping pitch taking its toll, the game looked up for Merton as it entered the final quarter. Then, almost out of nowhere, Merton put together the best move of the game to grab a vital lifeline. A long clearance from the back saw Dan flick the ball wide towards Costin on the left wing. After a couple of touches to steady himself, Costin arced a cross towards Stu on the edge of the area, who nodded the ball into Dan’s onrushing path, who strode past the last defender before steering the ball past the keeper and into the far corner. 2-1 with twelve minutes to go Sensing another famous comeback, Merton were rejuvenated. Craig and Tommy bossed the central midfield as Merton camped in the opposition half, winning a series of free kicks. As the game ticked into the final moments, another counter saw Finchley with a three on two overlap, only for Craig to halt their progress just outside the box with an experienced foul. Merton came again, and won an injury time free-kick on the left. Roger bent in the delivery, and as the ball cleared the mass of players on the edge of the box, a gambling Kev (just kidding, it was Dev) was left free fifteen yards from goal. As the Finchley players vainly appealed for offside, Dev calmed waited for the ball to bounce, before dispatching an unstoppable half-volley into the far corner with the last kick of normal time! 2-2! And extra time. With only ten minutes played each way in extra time due to light worries, chances were at a premium as the two exhausted sides fought to a standstill. A Merton corner saw the ball fall to Costin six yards out, but off-balance he blazed the ball over the bar. This proved to be only real chance in extra-time as the game went to penalties. Scicluna correctly called the toss and Merton were to go first. (Switching to pen by pen mode….)
And so the shoot-out proceeded to sudden death: Pen 6 – Merton (Craig) Score! Finchley score! 5-5 Pen 7 – Merton (Andy) Score! Finchley score! 6-6 Pen 8 – Merton (Mills) Score! Finchley score! 7-7 Pen 9 – Merton (Scicluna) Score! Finchley score! 8-8 Pen 10 – Merton (Tommy) Score! Finchley miss! Merton win 9-8 on penalties! An unbelievable game, with four goals, a last kick equaliser, extra-time and 20 penalties! Merton can go into the Christmas break in good spirits, having secured yet another comeback win.
1st December Merton 3 - 2 Polytechnic (League) (Away) Scorers: Kelly, Loy, Smith Report: Merton 4’s came from behind yet again to record a 3-2 win at a cold and windy polytechnic ground. With the Merton kit delayed by Barbarians traffic, the team were unable to warm up and had to start cold. This showed as Merton struggled to cope with the windy conditions and not for the first time this season they fell behind to an early goal. A ball into the box wasn’t cleared and a Poly player pounced on the loose ball to rifle a volley into the roof of the net, via the bar and the unlucky keeper. 1-0. Poly almost added a quick second, Mills making a fantastic last ditch tackle to rescue Merton as a Poly striker burst into the box. As usual, this served as a wake up call, and Merton duly equalised, a long throw falling for Chris Smith to strike home a beauty from 18 yards. 1-1. Merton took the lead just a few minutes later, Dan crossing from the right for Stu and then Diccon to bundle home. 2-1. After taking the lead it seemed that Merton would press home their advantage, but they were caught cold, a speculative cross from the right finding the top corner as the ball swirled in the wind. 2-2. The second half saw the wind increase in intensity, and the game degenerated into a series of throw-ins and set pieces as the teams struggled to cope with the conditions. It seemed as though the next chance would be the one to win the game, and midway through the half, it fell to Merton. A visionary clearance by Dev was kept in play by the wind, and Dan pounced on the unsuspecting Poly full-back to nick the ball past him just his own half on the right touchline. A burst of speed took him into the box, and after jinking past the last defender, Dan fired past the keeper from a narrow angle to put Merton ahead. It proved decisive, the Merton defence holding Poly at bay for the remainder of the game. Another 3-2 thriller for Merton, who stay second behind Weirside.
24th November Merton 2 -1 East Barnet Old Grammerians (AFA Minor Cup) (Away) Scorers: Costin, Kelly Report: 17th November Merton 2 - 2 SouthBank Cuaco (League) (Away) Scorers: Costin, Wren-Jarvis Report: Merton 4’s came from two goals down to secure a point in a result which probably suited neither side. With a much changed team, including a new goalkeeper, Merton found themselves two goals down at half time, despite playing nearly all the football. Merton started well, with Dan and Stu running at a nervous South Bank back four. A goal almost came as Dan was played in, his shot parried into the path of the onrushing Stu ten yards from goal. Unfortunately Stu strike blazed over the bar. Almost immediately, South Bank scored as Merton failed initially to clear the ball, before it somehow made it through to the South Bank forward, who made no mistake from 12 yards. Merton continued to press, but an injury to Jared saw him limp off after half an hour, and directly contributed to the goal. The subsequent reshuffle saw Mills relinquish the left-back slot, but before Mustoe could run from the sidelines into the vacant position, South Bank had exploited the gap to cross into the box, the ball fired through a crowd into the bottom corner from 18 yards. 2-0. With Merton looking dangerous going forward, but struggling to maintain their shape defensively, the next goal was crucial. Just on half-time Costin found Dan in the box, and his jink convinced the over-fussy referee to award the penalty. After much protesting, Roger fired over. 2-0 at half time. The second half saw a much improved effort and saw an almost instant reply. Dan swept down the left to put a hanging cross into the box, and from the resulting melee, another penalty was awarded. Costin stepped up to score twice, after the initial goal was ruled out for encroaching. 2-1. And within five minutes it was 2-2, Costin and Andy Mac linking up down the right for Stu to sweep home the cross. The game looked to be Merton’s for the taking, but fatigue started to set in as the game progressed. Merton survived a series of corners, debutant keeper Darryl pulling off a fantastic reaction block from five yards to relieve the pressure. At the other end, a shot from Dan almost squirmed from the keepers grasp over the line, before with just two minutes remaining, a flick from Stu found Andy Mac running in on goal. He unselfishly squared it to Dan, who tried to clip it under the onrushing keeper, only for the smallest contact from the keeper to push the ball onto the post. 2-2.
10th November Merton 2 - 3 Weirside Rangers (League) (Home) Scorers: Kelly, Rainbow Report:
3rd November Merton 2 -1 Old Actonians (League) (Home) Scorers: Kelly, Loy Report: Merton 4’s ground out a 2-1 victory over Old Actonians to maintain their early season run in a game lacking in quality compared to previous weeks. Perhaps inevitably after the high-octane, high quality football of the previous two weeks against higher placed opposition in the cup, a return to league football against a very poor Actonians side saw Merton suffer a first half hangover. After a bright start, with Stu going close twice, Merton faded and the half dissipated into a series of misplaced passes and directionless football, with neither side really able to retain the ball. After a half-time wake-up call, Merton went out in the second half determined to raise themselves, and their renewed effort soon saw them take control of the game. Dan drilled a volley straight at the keeper, and Stu slid the ball just wide of the post as early chances came Merton’s way. Midway through the half, the goal came, Diccon playing in Dan to slot under the keeper at the near post. 1-0. Merton continued to press, but the next chance fell to Actonians, Nathan diving to his left to push a strike round the post. Wanting to seal the game, Merton pressed on and with five minutes remaining, Dan skipped past two defenders on the byline and eventually cut the ball back for Diccon to smash home from 18 yards. Perhaps thinking the game was safe, Merton relaxed, and were punished by a swift counter when the ball was lost in midfield. A covering Roger managed to block the first effort, but a fortunate bounce allowed the Actonians striker to fire home for 2-1 with three minutes remaining. It proved only to be a consolation, Merton seeing out the final minutes without too much alarm. Victory saw Merton remain top of the table, with a clash with rivals Weirside Rangers to come next week. Not a great performance, but the three points were all important.
27th October Merton 3 -2 BB Eagles (SAL Minor Cup) (Home) Scorers: Kelly, Loy, Wren-Jarvis Report: Merton 4’s staged a stunning late comeback to knock Eagles out of the cup, coming from 2-0 with 18 minutes to go to triumph 3-2 with a goal in injury time. Such an outcome had not looked likely in the first half as Eagles dominated possession, moving the ball around intelligently and taking full advantage of a swirling wind to press high up the pitch. After early chances were exchanged, Eagles hitting the post and Dan forcing the keeper to tip the ball round the post, Eagles then moved up a gear. From a corner, they forced Nathan into a simply stunning save as he clawed out a bullet header from the top corner. However, Eagles were not to be denied and the goal duly came courtesy of a long diagonal ball into the box, which was controlled and smashed home from close range. 1-0, and Merton managed to survive the rest of the half to trail by that margin at the break. After some frank half time talk, Merton went out in the second half determined to raise their game and maintain their unbeaten start to the season. Dan had a chance to level but over-ran the ball when put clean through by Stu, and the sucker punch of a second goal came almost straight away, Merton failing to clear their lines and seeing Nathan’s parry from the resulting cross find an inrushing eagle player’s head. 2-0. Eagles continued to press, having a good chance for 3-0 but Merton managed to pick themselves up and finally exert some pressure of their own with a series of long throws and corners. From one of the corners Kev rose magnificently only for his header to be cleared off the line via the bar by an eagles defender. It seemed it was not to be Merton’s day. Then, finally, the spell of pressure brought a goal, the ball falling to Dan in the box and duly dispatched high past the keeper from close range. At 2-1, Merton sensed the comeback was on. More pressure was piled on as Eagles assurance drained out of them. Within minutes another cross into the box was brilliantly hooked home by Stu. 2-2, with still ten minutes to play. As the match entered the last ten minutes, both sides knew the next goal would win the game. Andy Mac shot over from the edge of the area, and Dan was played in by Stu but saw his scuffed effort saved, and it seemed that extra time was inevitable. Then, with 90 left seconds on the clock, a tired Merton raised themselves for one final effort. An Eagle’s attack foundered on the edge of the box, and Dan found Costin with the ball on the right, before accepting the return pass down the line. After forcing his way through the covering full back he arrowed a cross in towards Stu, who challenged with the keeper. The ball ricocheted between the two, arcing out towards the penalty shot, and Diccon, with one last lung-bursting forage into the box, headed over the keeper and into the net. 3-2. The come back was complete. A great game, a great result and great spirit from all involved to haul ourselves back into a game it seemed was dead and buried with 20 to go.20th October Merton 3 - 1 Old Parkonians (AFA MInor Cup) (Home) Scorers: Kelly, Wren-Jarvis, Smith Report:Merton 4’s eventually completed a comfortable 3-1 victory over Old Parks in the cup, with Dan, Stu and Chris Smith replying for Merton after the shock of falling behind to an early goal.Merton had started well against a good footballing side, defending resolutely and looking to release Jack and Dan through the middle against a very high backline who were keen to play the offside trap at every opportunity. With Tommy and Jared closing the space down in the middle, Merton looked the more comfortable of the two sides. Dan saw a couple of early chances saved after good work from Jack, but against the run of play it was Merton who went behind, Tommy inadvertently slicing into his own net.Merton replied quickly, Dan benefitting from a dubious offside decision to run clear and dispatch a low shot into the corner. Jack almost made it 2-1 minutes later, but his lob just failed to clear the keeper’s grasp. 1-1 at half time.The second half started brightly for Merton, Dan again forcing the keeper into a save after being played through, and later lobbing wide. Merton continued to force the pace, however, with Chris Smith in particular creating havoc down the left. Stu came on to replace Chris Scicluna, and the substitution paid off as Dan pounced on an error from the Old Parks left back and squared across for Stu to ‘finish’ from 6 yards, with a mishit, bobbling slice that trickled over the line. Old Parks tried to force the pace after falling behind, but with full-backs Mills, Scicluna and then Costin containing the opposition’s pacey wingers superbly, and centre backs Kev and Dev commanding as ever, Merton looked solid without the ball and dangerous with it. The game was finally made safe ten minutes from time, Stu flicking on a throw-in for Chris Smith to guide a precise right footed finish into the corner. 3-1 to Merton, and into the next round.
13th October Merton 6 - 2 Ibis 4 (League) (Home) Scorers: Kelly 3, Loy 2, Dews Report: Merton 4’s scored what may be the fastest goal in club history in a 6-2 victory over Ibis. From the kick-off the ball was played back to Tommy, who lifted a high ball towards Jack on the left. Jack flicked the back over a static Ibis back four, and Dan beat the advancing keeper and the despairing centre back to calmly clip the ball into the net. 1-0 to Merton with 10 seconds on the clock! Merton continued their bright start, pressurising a disorganised Ibis back four, but were caught cold on the counter, a long ball allowing the Ibis striker to round our valiant stand-in keeper and slot home for 1-1. Undeterred Merton continued to push forward, and made it 2-1 just minutes after the equaliser. Dan turned his man, beat another to the ball and forged into the box, smashing the ball high and past the keeper. Two goals became three when a miskick from the ibis keeper saw Dan pounce, and slide the ball across for Craig to finish. And fourth duly arrived, when a corner caused chaos in the box for Diccon to smash home. 4-1. Merton continued to dominate, with Kev hitting the bar, Dan forcing the keeper into a smart save, and also dragging a shot wide. After their utter dominance of the first half, Merton started the second in a strangely subdued manner. Ibis began to come back into the game, and forced a penalty from Dev’s challenge. Their striker stepped up to score, but a great protest from Dev (began before he had even seen anything to protest about!) saw a re-take for encroaching. This time the penalty was blazed high over the bar. Ibis continued to press, however, and finally got their reward on the hour mark, finishing from close range. This seemed to wake Merton up, and they began to re-assert themselves. Great work down the right from Craig saw Dan played in, only to hit the post, and a fine run from Jared saw the woodwork rattled again. Mark Costin was also causing problems running at the ball and was almost played in on a couple of occasions. Finally the pressure told, Dan being played in once again and forcing the keeper to parry, and Diccon once again supplying the finish from ten yards. Dan finally got his hatrick with only a couple of minutes to go, a fine ball from Chris Smith finished high past the keepers’ near post. 6-2 to Merton, with some great football played in spells, and an incredible start.
6th October Merton 0 - 0 Old Wilsonians 5 (League) (Away) Report:
29th September Merton 1 - 1 South Bank Cuaco 4 (League) (Home) Scorer: Report:
22nd September Merton 1 - 0 Carshalton (Home) (League) Scorer: Own Goal Report: Merton 4’s kicked off their season with a battling 1-0 win over a determined Carshalton side. With injuries in defence going into the game, Merton started the game with a somewhat experimental side, with Chris Scicluna moving to centre-back to partner Phil Daw and Mal coming in at right-back. Jack also came in to partner Dan up-front in an unfamiliar line-up. After soaking up some early pressure, Merton began to come into the game a little more. On a hard pitch, finding a final pass to get behind Carshalton’s rather ponderous back line was difficult, and chances were at something of a premium. Dan managed to get on the end of a long pass and force his way into the box, opting to go on rather than go for the penalty the defenders rash tackle could have earned, but his low drive was parried by the keeper. The ball fell to Richie Bann who shot high over the bar from 12 yards. Shortly after this, Richie smashed a free kick from the edge of the area against the bar, following fine hold-up work from Jack to earn the free-kick. At the other end Roger volleyed a clearance just over his own bar, but generally Merton’s makeshift defence were keeping Carshalton at bay. Half-time and nil-nil. The second half began in much the same vein, with Carshalton having more of the ball, and Merton looking the more dangerous when the ball did come their way. Richie moved up-front to try and use his height, and the move paid off in somewhat unexpected fashion around the hour mark, when Richie was released down the left. His cross found Dan, and his in-the-general-direction-of-the-goal-bound shot was deflected past Carshalton’s despairing keeper and into the net. 1-0 Merton. Rather than push on after the goal, Merton were pinned back by a determined, though limited, Carshalton side. For much of the remainder of the game, Carshalton camped in the Merton half, as the home team struggled to keep the ball. However, Merton battled manfully to protect their lead, and managed to restrict Carshalton to just a handful of half-chances – a dipping, bouncing volley that Nathan tipped over the bar, a brief scare when Roger cleared the ball against his own man and almost saw the deflection trickle in, and finally when Chris Smith cleared on the line following a Carshalton corner. So a battling performance with an unfamiliar side, and a winning start. Hopefully the football can flow a little more for the next game.
