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Fifth Team Manager: Ed Plaistow
5th Team Fixtures 2009 - 2010
Match Reports 2009 - 2010 12th December Merton 1 - 6 Kew Association (League) (Away) Scorer: Report: 5th December Merton 2 - 2 Carshalton (League) (Home) Scorers: Ward, Saville Report: This was it....Carshalton's visit to JH had finally come and this gave us our chance to get our league campaign back on track. We welcomed back Dylan, Ryan and Glen while Chirs Dodd and Lee Lenihan were out. We seemed like 'The Borrowers' compared to the opposition, every single one of them was literally 6 foot tall! We got this underway and played some very good football, passing the ball on the deck seemed to work better then the so-called 'Hollywood' balls Chappell refers to. 15 minutes in we took a surprising but deserving lead, a cross from Ben (not a mazy run from Dylan) that Dylan lobbed the keeper but not the defender who headed onto the bar & Wardy followed up was there to capitalise on the rebound and head into an empty net but only at the expense of a gash to the eye. Following us taking the lead we kept things tight and the back and the midfield worked hard to win as much as they could in the middle. Carshalton were passing the ball around well and were using their height and strength to their full advantage when on the ball. 10 minutes before the break the guests managed to find the equaliser they had been working so hard for. A cross from the left was finished via a deflection with a neat header. The teamtalk at the break was a positive one..... The second half was pretty much like the first. We played some great passing football and caused some problems in the final third but couldn't seem to find the all important second goal......not until we were awarded a corner anyway. Tommy with a lunging right foot volley surprised everyone and made the game ours to lose. After a few more half chances from both teams Carshalton levelled once again. A volley from one of their midfielders beat Chris to his bottom left. The game finished level and Carshalton showed great spirit throughout the game. Its was a game that was thoroughly enjoyed by all that took part. Next week we travel to Kew hoping to distinguish the loss we suffered earlier in the season. FINAL SCORE : 2 - 2 TEAM: Chris Outred, Dan Outred, Tommy Savile, Mark Chappell (Glen Porter), Edward Plaistow (Capt), Ben Lawrence (Aaron Ackerman), Tim Roberts, Ryan Perry, Dylan Haswell (Dylanie Richards), Dean Porter, Andy Ward 28th November Merton 1 - 0 West Wickham (League) (Home) Scorer: Roberts Report: This week saw the arrival of West Wickham to JH following our disappointed trip to their stomping ground on the opening ay of the season. The only bit of action worth mentioning of the first 45 minutes was our goal. We won a free-kick 5 yards outside the oppositions area and with Chris Dodd at the helm we knew that we could cause their 4 foot keeper a few problems. The free-kick was placed well however the keeper got to it but only managed to feed it to Tim Roberts who fired into the roof of the net. I blatant penalty appeal was turned down but following a similar incident that didnt go our way earlier in the season we knew we had to get on with the game and protect the slender advantage that we had. Chris Outred replaced Lee Lenihan in goal at the break. The second half was a quiet one, not many chances from both teams and tiredness showed straight from the restart. Its clear to say that this has to be the toughest game to date, we havent had to defend a one nil lead for over an hour and lets hope we dont have to again anytime soon. Next week sees the arrival of Carshalton to Joseph Hood. With them being the only undefeated team left in the league, a win against them will surely make our challenge of the league title a little more interesting. FINAL SCORE: 1 - 0 TEAM: Linehan, Outred, Plaistow, Saville, Chappell (Leaver), Roberts (Bester), Dodd, Richards, Lawrence (Ackermann), Ward, Porter 21st November Merton 4 - 1 Old Lyonians (League) (Away) Scorers: D Haswell 2, Richards, D Porter Report: This week saw us travel to Harrow for the second consecutive game following the postponement of last weeks home game against Carshalton. The majority of us arrived at Old Lyonians Sports Grounds a little later than the others after a 2 hours public transport journey that saw us change trains/tubes a total of 5 times! With a number of regulars missing we were unable to field our strongest XI however the team that took to the field quite arguably staked their claim for a place in next weeks squad if not starting line-up. With Gareth, Tim, Ryan and Aaron missing we welcomed back Ben Lawrence, Glen Porter, Chris Outred and Dan Leaver. With the hosts winning the toss it was down to us to get the game up and running. Right from the off it seemed as if we were going to be a little too much for OLs to deal with, Dylan causing havoc down the left and the defence intercepting anything that came towards them. With OLs playing 5 along the middle, Glen and Chris Dodd were left exposed but with back up from Tommy and Chappell no harm was caused. We took a deserving lead 15 minutes in, Dulanie providing a great ball into the box that Dean easily converted. Ben rattled the crossbar with an unbelievable solo effort but nobody was there to gamble on the rebound. With many chances wasted due to a lack of composure we only found ourselves one goal to the good going into the break. We stepped up come the second half......... With the rain starting to fall ever so slightly we started passing the ball round with ease causing the opposition to jump into challenges and give away needless freekicks. With just under an hour to go we doubled our advantage through Dulanie who rounded the keeper and tapped into an empty net for his first goal in Merton colours (might be a worth mentioning that he showed his joy of scoring by running the length of the pitch, one hand aloft Alan Shearer style!). It wasn't long after we doubled our advantage that we added to our tally through Dylan with, like Dulanie, his first goal for the club. Dylan managed to add his second of the game 10 minutes before the end to make the score 4 - 1. OLs goal came from a lack of concentration in the box when then number 8 was left free to rifle a right foot shot into the roof of the net....apparently, according to Lee, if was my fault as I should have 'gone through' the number 3 who was twice, no, three times the size of me. Next week we face West Wickham at home looking for redemption following our disappointing defeat at their place at the start of the season. If we play like we have done the last 2 league games then 3 points should be guaranteed. FINAL SCORE: 1 - 4 Team: Lee Lenihan, Dan Outred, Tommy Savile, Mark Chappell (Dan Leaver), Edward Plaistow, Ben Lawrence (Chris Outred), Chris Dodd (C), Glen Porter, Dylan Haswell (2), Dulanie Richards, Dean Porter 7th November Merton 2 - 4 Old Manorians (Cup) (Away) Scorers: Dodd, D Porter Report: This week say us travel to North Wembley for our first AFA Cup tie of the 2009/10 season. Following a longish tube journey KO was delayed by 15 minutes due to the referee getting stuck in traffic despite living local! The hosts won the toss which meant that we got the ball rolling however it wasn’t long until Old Manorians proved that they can play football with neat touches, great communication and a great range of passing caused havoc in our half. 10 minutes in we found ourselves a goal down, Tim Roberts bringing down their number 4 in the box and the spot kick being easily converted. Not long after we went behind did we find out that it was a steeper mountain that we had to climb in order to make the next round. Their number 9, who was playing on the on the wing and thankfully picked up an injury just before half time and had to be subbed, out muscled Dylan on the left to find the back of the net with a cool, calm and collected right foot strike. We did however manage to pile on a little pressure in the first half and get back into the game after being awarded a penalty following a handball in the area, Chris Dodd rifling the ball into the bottom right hand corner. The only other incident to mention from the first half is when the ref told me to ref the game and threw his whistle at me, all for expressing my opinion about a decision that I felt should have gone our way. The team talk at half time was one of many words; we all knew that improvements could be made in order to make our performance that little bit better. Both sides came close with chances in the first 20 minutes of the second period however it was us who managed to find the equaliser that was needed, Dean beating the offside trap to ‘lash’ a half volley into the bottom right hand corner. We should have taken the lead 5 minutes later but Andy fired straight at the keeper from 5 yards. Injuries to Chris, Dylan and Gareth meant a reshuffle and the introduction of Glen, Aaron and Dulanie. Following the changes we felt that after coming back from two goals down we could go on and win the game, to be fair anything less than that would be disappointing……….and disappointed we were. With 10 minutes to go Old Manorians took the lead after a left footed strike from one of their subs evaded both the defence and Lee between the sticks. The doubled their advantage with only 5 minutes to go following a neat finish into the bottom left hand corner from their number 4. Back to the league next week against the only undefeated team in Carshalton, with a large numbers of our regulars missing, claiming all three points will be tough. FINAL SCORE: 4 – 2 TEAM: Lee Lenihan, Dan Outred, Tommy Savile, Tim Roberts, Edward Plaistow, Gareth Whiteoak (Aaron Ackerman), Chris Dodd (Capt) (Glen Porter), Ryan Perry, Dylan Haswell (Dulanie Richards), Dean Porter, Andy Ward 24th October Merton 1 - 2 Kew Association (Cup) (Home) Scorer: D Porter Report: This week brought the 2nd Round of the SAL Cup following our 1st Round win away to HSBC. Like last week Kew were the opposition that made the trip to Joseph Hood. Hoping to pick up from our performance last week that saw us pick up our third defeat out of four we were able to welcome back Mark Chappell and Gareth Whiteoak to the starting XI. Andy Ward partnered Dean up front following the birth of his son and Dan Leaver came in to replace Tim at CB. The first half was pretty even with both teams passing the ball well, creating space and using it to their own advantage however it was the visitors that took the lead via a set piece. With the help of the wind, a corner from the right found the head of their skipper literally on the line and with only an empty net in his sights Kew had the advantage. Following a number of our guys arguing over who’s man the goal scorer was it took us a little while to get back in our stride. No matter how hard we tried we were unable to capitalise on the chances we were given. Dean came close with a header from a free-kick from Chris on the right that was ‘superbly’ tipped over the bar, Dylan hit the upright with a left foot volley and Dan Leaver shot right at the keeper from a corner. Going into the break 1 – 0 down we had to find a way of getting back into the game. The team talk at half time was positive, we knew that if we played like we did for the majority of the first 45 minutes then there was a good chance that we could find the goal that was needed and hopefully go on and win the game. We felt hard done by with some of the decisions that were going against us and frustration started to show. Sloppy balls gave Kew possession in the middle of the park and this put our defence under pressure. With 20 minutes left Kew doubled their advantage. A ball over the top seemed to be heading for their number 11 who was offside however it was their number 10 that got the goal with a neat half volley into the bottom right hand corner. The goal shouldn’t have stood considering Dan Outred was blocked by the number 11 from making a challenge meaning he was interfering with play. We still felt that we were able to get back in the game when they scored the second however with the clock ticking we knew that Deans left footed strike with 5 minutes to go would be nothing but a consolation. Next week we travel to Acton hoping to get our league campaign back on track. A positive performance is needed before travelling to Wembley in the AFA Cup. FINAL SCORE: 1 – 2 Team: Lee Lenihan, Dan Outred, Mark Chappell, Dan Leaver, Edward Plaistow, Chris Dodd (Capt) (Ben Lawrence), Tommy Savile (Dulanie Richards), Gareth Whiteoak, Dylan Haswell (Aaron Ackerman), Dean Porter, Andy Ward 17th October Merton 2 - 3 Kew Association (League) (Home) Scorers: D Outred 2 Report:This week saw the arrival of Kew 6s to Joseph Hood. Having lost our first two league games of the season we were hoping to add to the 3 points picked up last week against South Bank with a performance we could hopefully carry into next weeks 2nd Round SAL Cup tie at home to Kew. With a few regulars unavailable it was a make-shift back four with Tommy filling in the void left by Mark Chappell following his late decision to opt out. Ryan kept his place in the middle of the park after his Man of the Match performance last week and with Andy Ward declaring himself unavailable due to his fiancé being heavily pregnant and Gareth absent, Dulanie was partnered with Dean up front. Lee Lenihan was back between the sticks after recovering from a wrist injury. For the first 15 minutes it was us who were on the back foot, mis-placing passes and backing out of challenges. The opposition took advantage of all the mistakes being made to take the lead with a 'quick' free-kick after a clumsy challenge just outside the area. Going behind seemed to give us the kick up the back-side that we needed as chances started to come thick and fast however easy chances were being wasted. We found the equaliser 5 minutes before the interval, Dan Outred, our Right Full Back, playing a neat one-two before firing into the bottom right hand corner for his first goal for the club. The team talk at half time was one of many voices; everyone seemed to have an opinion on how we could improve things but with only one person talking at a time everything seemed to sink in. We started the second period brightly, creating chances via both wings and putting the Kew defence under pressure. 15 minutes in we were denied a 'blatant' penalty when a cross from the left was blocked by BOTH hands of their number 5. With the ref not awarding the penalty and the whole term contemplating how it wasn't given Kew managed to take the lead on the counter with route one football. A pass from their back line found their number 10 who fired past Lee to make it 2 - 1. Things were going from bad to worse. Knowing that we were in desperate need of the 3 points at stake we were unable to find the right formation we felt could get us back in the game. With a huge gap in midfield the opposition were knocking the ball around with ease and doubled their advantage when their lone striker managed to beat Lee and a defender on the line to find the top left hand corner of the net. With 10 minutes remaining changes were made, Shaun McCullough replaced Ben, Aaron came on for Ryan and Chris Outred for Dulanie. Switching the formation to 3 - 4- 3 late on helped with Dan Outred grabbing a consolation with his second goal of the game but it was too little too late. We really need to improve our all-round performance going into our next game in the SAL Cup. After a dismal start to our league campaign and a positive performance in the competition last time out the SAL Cup could be our only chance of silverware. Also, on behalf of Merton FC, I would like to congratulate Andy Ward after his fiance Jenny gave birth to a baby boy on Sunday, congratulations to you both. FINAL SCORE: 2 - 3 Team: Lee Lenihan, Dan Outred (2), Tommy Savile, Tim Roberts, Edward Plaistow, Ben Lawrence (Shaun McCullough), Ryan Perry (Aaron Ackerman), Chris Dodd (Capt), Dylan Haswell, Dean Porter, Dulanie Richards (Chris Outred) 10th October Merton 6 - 4 South Bank Cuaco (League) (Home) Scorers: D Porter, Ward, Saville 2, Lawrence, Plaistow Report: Having lost our first two league games of the season away to West Wickham and at home to Lloyds last week, winning became a priority against South Bank. We welcomed back into the starting line-up Tim, Mark, Gareth and Ben after they were all unavailable last week for different reasons. Lee was unable to take place in goal due to the wrist injury he picked up in the warm up last week so Chris Outred deputised. We lacked communication from the off and passes being rushed ended up being mis-placed and intercepted. 5 minutes in the visitors found themselves a goal to the good with a first time strike into the bottom left hand corner. They doubled their tally shortly after when a ball through the middle of the park found their number 5, a striker in this case, who had to stretch to make sure the ball found the back of the net. It wasn’t until 10 minutes before the break that we found our stride and started playing the football we knew we were capable off, the football that feared the opposition last season. Ben Lawrence got us back into the game courtesy of his knee after great play down the right. Then came the half time whistle…… The team talk was one of many words with everybody wishing to express how they felt the first half went and what could be done to change things. From the restart we knew that with time we would be able to find the equaliser and ideally go for the winner. Dulanie firing over and Tommy hitting a right foot drive that stung the hands of the keeper were as close as we got before the equaliser finally came via the right foot of Tommy. 2 – 2 and it was us who were now in control, South Bank was the ones now mis-placing passes and panicking. A couple of minutes after we had levelled we found ourselves in the lead, a heavy pass from their back line was intercepted my me before cutting in and unleashing a RIGHT FOOT drive from 35 YARDS that found the top corner. Might be the only goal I managed to get this season but at least its one to be remembered. We were now motivated having taken the lead however a gapping hole in midfield allowed the visitors to plays fast flowing football and find themselves 4- 3 up in the space of 5 minutes. Their number 5 grabbing his hat-trick with the help of the upright and their number 11 adding to the tally with a weak drive that Chris should have managed to keep out. With our subs already on the field following the departures of Chris Dodd and Ben due to injury we were dealt a blow when Gareth sprained his ankle after a late collision. Being behind and the possibility of playing out the remainder of the game with 10 men it was up to Andy Ward to help us out as an emergency sub. 4 – 3 down and not much time remaining. We came back from being behind before so it was possible that we could do it again. Tommy made it 4 – 4 a couple of minutes later before Andy showed us what the club were missing with a clever ‘dink’ that gave us the advantage once again. Now that we were in the lead we remained tight at the back and made sure that every pass that we made was completed. Challenges were going in left, right and centre all game however went unnoticed by the ref until 5 minutes before the end when we were awarded a free kick on the right following a late lunge on Aaron. He picked himself up and picked out an unmarked Dean at the back post with a ‘peach’ of a ball, who found the bottom left hand corner with a smart header. Things that changed the game were the performances of Andy and Ryan when they both came on. Lets take the second half performance of this game into next week against Kew 6s and get another 3 points towards our first for the league. FINAL SCORE: 6 -4 Team: Chris Outred, Dan Outred, Mark Chappell, Tim Roberts, Edward Plaistow, Tommy Savile (2), Ben Lawrence (Aaron Ackerman), Chris Dodd (Ryan Perry), Dulanie Richards, Dean Porter, Gareth Whiteoak (Andy Ward) 3rd October Merton 1 - 2 Lloyds TSB (League) (Home) Scorers: D Porter Report: This week saw us at Joseph Hood for our first home game of the season against a team we had defeated on our way to the SAL Cup Final last season. Having put in a display to be proud of last week against HSBC we wanted to be able to keep the momentum going into this game considering we needed the three points to get our season up and running following our defeat away to West Wickham on the opening day of the season. We had regulars missing in Tim, Mark and Gareth. Dylan and Ben were unavailable due to injuries picked up so we welcomed into the starting line-up Ryan Perry and Tom Johnson. To be fair it was Lloyds who started better, playing the ball around with ease and capitalising in unforced errors due to us panicking on the ball for no apparent reason. It was the visitors who took the lead half way through the first half, a half volley going straight through Lees hands and into the back of the net. This might be a good time to mention Lee injuring his wrist in the warm up, unable to bare the pain he was replaced between the sticks by Chris Outred. We picked our game up once we had conceded however couldn’t find the back of the net with Aaron, Dulanie and Tommy all coming close. The last 20 minutes of the first period was a repeat of last weeks game so the words at half time were to keep playing how we were and that the equaliser will come. We were dealt a blow at the beginning of the second half when Glen landed awkwardly on his left ankle, after playing on for another 10 minutes he decided it was time to call it a day and was replaced my Dan Leaver. Time was running out and no matter how much we pushed we were unable to find that goal that we needed. We changed formation with skipping Chris Dodd moving up top to partner Dean and myself moving to the left wing and leaving 3 at the back. The guys on the sidelines were doubting the decision however it seems to benefit us as Dean found the bottom right hand corner from a time angle to make it one a piece. We felt that we deserved more then one point from the game following our second half performance however we remained tight. With one minute to go Lloyds received a throw on from the right. That throw found the head of their centre back, and that header reached their skipper who calmly controlled it on his chest and hit a left foot volley into the top right hand corner that Chris could only get his fingertips to. Next week we need to make sure that we bag the three points against South Bank in order to boost everyone’s moral as two defeats in two seems to have damaged it a little. Team: Lee Lenihan (Chris Outred), Dan Outred, Tom Johnson (Tom Varney), Glen Porter (Dan Leaver), Edward Plaistow, Tommy Savile, Aaron Ackerman, Ryan Perry, Chris Dodd, Dulanie Richards, Dean Porter 26th September Merton 3 - 2 HSBC (Cup) (Away) Scorers: D Porter 3 Report: Having reached the final last year and unfortunately losing to Polytechnic after Extra Time it was important for us to make sure that we were in the draw for the second round. Our first hurdle was HSBC, opposition that we will come up against again in the league and another on of those teams that got ‘promoted’ with us due to the re-shuffle of the leagues. We started the game on the front foot, midfield passing the ball about well and Dean getting on the end on every ball played too him but being unable to find the target. It was HSBC who took the lead 15 minutes in, a floated ball over the top should have been called offside, a decision the ref admitted at half time he should have made, was easily lofted over Lee. No matter how much we criticised the decision we knew that we had to get on with the game and try and find an equaliser. The equaliser that we were after came straight from the restart, Dean firing in a right-footed shoot into the bottom left hand corner following great play from the backline and midfield. We managed to go into the break on top after Dean added another to his tally. There was nothing negative to take from the first half performance so the team talk was one of few words. All we needed to do to be guaranteed of coming out on top after 90 minutes was to keep the mentality and communication at the level it was for the first 45 minutes. The start of the second half was pretty much the same as the first however it was us the managed to bag the first goal of the period, Dean grabbing his hat-trick after great play down the left. We felt comfortable with the two goal advantage however that was short lived as Lee let a shot slip though his hands and into the back of the net. Other highlights of the game saw Glen head over from a corner and Dean kissing the crossbar with a right foot volley. Dylan hobbled off with 20 minutes remaining after pulling his hamstring pretty bad following a shot that sailed over the bar but his absence saw the arrival of Dulanie who did no harm in proving himself with some great touches and awareness. With a second round clash against Kew 5s to look forward to me need to keep the momentum going from this game and take it into next week where we face Lloyds in our first home game of the season. FINAL SCORE: 2 -3 TEAM: Lee Lenihan (GK), Dan Outred (Aaron Ackerman), Mark Chappell, Glen Porter, Edward Plaistow, Chris Dodd (C), Ben Lawrence (Chris Outred), Tommy Savile, Gareth Whiteoak, Dylan Haswell (Dulanie Richards), Dean Porter (3) 19th September Merton 1 - 2 West Wickham (League) (Away) Scorer: Savile Report: Our first game of the season saw us travel to West Wickham to face one of the 3 sides that managed to get ‘promoted’ along with us last season due to the reshuffle of the leagues. With the majority of the 5th team from last season unavailable due to getting selected to play higher meant that a the team welcomed into the squad Glen and Dean Porter , Dylan Haswell, Chris Outred and Lee Lenihan in goal. With 3 players running late, and one of them being our keeper, the start of the game was delayed by 10 minutes. Not having the time to warm as a unit seemed to have an affect on the way we started the game, we were on the back foot from the start and found ourselves 2-0 down after only 5 minutes! There first came from a corner on the left after 2 minutes, their number 15 managing to lose his marker and nodding in with ease. Their second came 3 minutes later; a ball into the box wasn’t cleared properly and a left foot drive managed to beat Lee down the centre. For the remainder of the game it was West Wickham who were on the back foot however no matter how many chances we managed to create we couldn’t hit the back of the net. We felt so comfortable at times that our midfield got pushed up a little to much causing us to get caught on the break but Glen cleared the danger coming through the centre all the time. We did reduce the deficit 10 minutes before the break when Tommy hit an absolute screamer from 25 yards that the keeper could do nothing about. The only other highlight of the first half was a header that hit the post from their number 9. The second half was pretty even in regards to possession and chances created, some great saves from Lee and an impressive defensive display kept the score at 2-1. Preparation for next weeks game away to HSBC 6s in the 1st round of the SAL Senior Novets Cup is vital........being guaranteed a place in the draw for the next round even more so. FINAL SCORE: 2 -1 TEAM: Lee Lenihan (GK), Aaron Ackerman (Dan Outred), Mark Chappell, Glen Porter, Edward Plaistow, Chris Dodd, Luke Buchan, Tommy Savile, Gareth Whiteoak, Dylan Haswell (Chris Outred), Dean Porter |
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