25th April Merton 3 - 2 Alleyn Old Boys Scorers: Eruero, Burton, Hughes Report:
18th April Merton 3 - 3 Old Wilsonians (League) (Home) Scorers: Eruero, Hailstone, Hughes (pen) Report:
14th April Merton 3 - 2 Weirside Rangers (League) (Home) Scorers: Reed, White, Thomas Report:
4th April Merton 1 - 2 Alleyn Old Boys (League) (Home) Scorer: Hughes (pen) Report:
21st March Merton 0 - 1 Crouch End Vampires (League) (Away) Report:
7th March Merton 1 - 0 Old Parkonians (League) (Home) Scorer: Banks Report: The Reserves got their title chances back on track with a very hard fought victory against a good team who will (hopefully) take points of the teams at the top end of the table. We started off playing wing backs but adjusted the formation after about 15 minutes as their midfield were getting too much of the ball – the first half passed without much goalmouth action, we had some infrequent good moves, mainly involving Warren Burton, but we couldn’t engineer a shooting opportunity to seriously test their keeper. At half time, we focused on getting more joined up play at the top end of the pitch and getting more shots away. The second half started and the game drifted in a familiar fashion, very competitive, decent play at times but no shots. The turning point came with the introduction of Mike Banks on the right wing, he immediately flicked the ball on, which resulted in a free kick being won which was taken my Mark Thomas, hooked back across goal by Simon White and Mike was on hand to finish from close range for his 2nd goal in 4 appearances after his transfer during the January window. Shortly after this, Mark had a good chance to extend the lead, but uncharacteristically for him, he smashed the ball over from 8 yards. Liam Bray had to be taken off due to a challenge to his shin and was replaced by the immobile Mike Reed, this forced change resulted in us playing 4-5-1, which meant that their full backs who had been advancing throughout the game could not push forward as much. There was a moment where it was pinball ricochet in out penalty box and somehow they didn’t score, Lofty said that it was something to do with him, and as it was his birthday weekend, I’ll say that he made a great goal line clearance. There were a number of interesting decisions given in this game both in favour and against us, but unfortunately we picked up a few bookings for rash challenges. Special mention to Paul Ellis who made a very good save when faced with a one and one at about eight yards out. This was a very satisfying win, and our play is starting to improve again. There are 6 games to go, with any 1 of 6 teams that could win the league, we are currently in 3rd – how high we go, will be down to how well we play and how hard we work…. Line up – P. Ellis, C. Hailstone, S. Jones, A. Morrison, S. White, C. Jones, L. Bray (capt) (M. Reed 65mins), J. Bucknell, M. Thomas, J. Butler (M. Banks 60mins), W. Burton.
28th February Merton 0 - 1 BB Eagles (League) (Home) Report: The performance was much improved from the previous week, but unfortunately the outcome was the same – the Reserves have now slipped to two league defeats in a row and this leaves their title and promotion chase very much in the balance. The Joseph Hood pitch was in very good condition given the state of the weather over the last two months and we started the game with real purpose and endeavour. The first half passed without much significant incident with the exception of a well hit left foot volley from distance from Lewis Cosgrove. When we got the ball in the danger areas, we either played the wrong ball or the right runs weren’t made and this resulted in BB regaining possession. The back three of Simon White, Darren Pearce and Shaun Jones accompanied by Chris Hailstone and Lewis as wing backs ably coped with what threat BB posed. The second half started in a similar fashion, but after a while the game started to become more open and after about 65 minutes, BB took the lead. A Mike Reed tackle on their striker saw the ball ricochet directly into the path of their central midfielder whose finish gave Dan Wells no chance. We tried to push forward and the game became even more open, both Craig Cosgrove and Chris Hailstone had opportunities to shoot but looked to favour the pass to a team mate and the chances went begging. The stretched game resulted in the opposition’s substitute striker breaking into the box and after getting ahead of Mike was brought down by the same player for a penalty. Fortunately Dan’s imposing presence was able to put the penalty taker off and the ball was smacked into the cross bar – it may have been because he was still laughing at Dan’s comedy save a few moments before…. Like the previous week, we did not make enough of our set pieces as a number of deliveries were either over hit or under hit, although Shaun’s deliveries were our most consistent route to causing them danger. One other area that seems to be lacking is the believe that we could have got the result after falling behind, we can look at all the factors that prevent us from playing the way we were earlier in the season but the bottom line is that we will only take from the match what we put in (and that includes training) – we’ve used 44 players this season, so understandably the familiarity isn’t going to be the same as if we were playing with the same players week in week out but this is the reality of playing for a club with 6 teams, so we’ve just got to get on with it and do what we can to improve – train and get fit as a team, starting this Wednesday. Line up – D. Wells, C. Hailstone, S. Jones, D. Pearce, S. White, L. Cosgrove, M. Reed (capt), L. Bray, P. Pearce, M. Banks (C. Cosgrove 65mins), W. Burton. Unused subs – L. Sawyers, P. Ansell.
21st February Merton 2 - 4 Norseman (League) (Away) Scorers: Bester, Banks Report: Merton Reserves suffered their first away league defeat of the season and regrettably it was no more than we deserved as we were second best in all departments. We weren’t helped by a pitch that wouldn’t have been out of place next to the Cornish coastline, but as both sides had this to contend with, this could not cited as a disadvantage. Within the first 8 minutes, we were a goal down due to one of their larger players heading home from a corner after arriving unmarked in the 6 yard box. It wasn’t long before we were back on level terms – a Mike Reed corner was cleared to the edge of the box and Clyde Bester was on hand to find the bottom corner with a shot through a crowd of players. This scoreline didn’t last for long either as we conceded another goal in similar fashion to the first with a Norsemen player bundling the ball in from close range from a corner. Falling behind briefly inspired us, our play improved, and we drew level again with Liam Bray finding Mike Banks who finished well from close range with his left foot. 25 minutes into the game, we fell behind again, this time the Norsemen goal came from a long throw that we did not deal with and there was another finish from close range. Our midfield couldn’t really get into the game, although Clyde Bester was showing some good touches and invention. Mike Banks was also working hard up front. We went into half time knowing that we’d basically not turned up for the first half. The second half was an improvement but we couldn’t force the equaliser, although Clyde went very close with a deft left foot shot from 20 yards.. Towards the end of the game, play was becoming very stretched and Norsemen scored with 5 minutes to go – their midfielder received the ball from a pull back from their winger and had enough time to flip it up and volley it into the top corner. Our organisation was not anywhere as good as normal, and this is something we need to work on, but also our commitment didn’t look to be as high as what we’ve come to expect – this has to come from within and is something that can’t be coached into any of us. This will go down as a bad day at the office, probably our worst of the season, and we now need to recover quickly if we are going to maintain our push for the title. It is very tight at the top, with 5 teams very much in it, therefore every point is vital and we can’t afford to have any more off days. Line up – P. Ellis, L. Cosgrove, S. Jones, D. Pearce, P. Welch (P. Summers 45mins), S. White (L. Sawyers 65mins), M. Reed (capt), L. Bray, C. Bester, P. Pearce, M. Banks
14th February Merton 3 - 1 Ibis (League) ( Away) Scorers: Thomas 2, Hall Report:
31st January Merton 2 - 2 Old Actonians (League) (Away) Scorers: Pearce P, Thomas Report: After 6 weeks without a league game and 4 weeks since our last match of any sort, away to the league leaders was always going to be a big test for us both in terms of our fitness levels and the match up itself. Merton, with a new look strike force of Rich Bann and Paul Pearce, started the game very well and took the lead inside the first 15 minutes with Paul inviting a challenge from the centre back inside the box, and was duly fouled to earn a penalty. Mark Thomas powered home a good shot which the keeper get quite close to, but fortunately for us, not close enough.. We continued to press and at 1-0 hit the woodwork twice, with Simon White spotting the keeper of his line, launched a shot from approximately 35 yards that clipped the top of the bar and then, in another move, Rich hit a looping shot from inside the box which also came off the bar. Simon also had a gola disallowed due to an infringement at a corner. We were lucky not to concede when one of their players put the ball over the bar from 4 yards out from a corner. The game started to get niggly with lots of handbags being produced which resulted in a couple of bookings, and this theme continued throughout the game. About 10 minutes before half time, Actonians equalised with a goal that probably should have been avoided in the respect that their striker was given too much space, but even though he still had space, it looked like he wouldn’t be able to score but his shot ricocheted off one of our defenders and found its way past Paul Ellis. The goal seemed to knock the stuffing out of us a little, and we didn’t create much leading up to half time. We started the second half even better than the first, and went ahead within the first minute or so. The goal came at the end of a good move which involved Simon and Rich and Paul did well to control the ball in the box, swivel and shoot first time to put the ball into the top corner. After this there was not a huge amount of goal mouth action but the game continued to be a physical one. Our lack of recent matches clearly started to affect out fitness, and as the game wore on, we were being penned back. The pressure Actonians exerted finally told with a goal that looked suspiciously offside. The first shot was blocked, but the rebound was smashed home at the near post. Liam Bray, who had a good game, went off injured and Lewis Cosgrove came on in his place, and shortly afterwards Mike Banks, a transfer window signing from Weirside came on upfront in place of Rich Bann. Shaun Jones had a good game at sweeper, and talked and read the game well. A draw was a fair result over the balance of 90 minutes but the second half definitely belonged to Actonians, without creating many chances. Our unbeaten away league record remains and we are still in second place (without knowing Alleyn Old Boy’s result), but we need to ensure that we get our fitness back so that we can compete to the fullest for the whole game… let’s ALL get down to training on Wednesday!!! Line up – P. Ellis, C. Hailstone, S. Jones, D. Pearce, D. Cook, S. White, M. Reed (capt), L. Bray (L. Cosgrove 70 mins), M. Thomas, P. Pearce, R. Bann (M. Banks 75 mins), unused sub – C. Cosgrove.
3rd January Merton 0 - 1 HAC (Surrey/Kent Inter Cup) (Home) Report: Due to some new year frost, the Joseph Hood pitches were subject to a pre match pitch inspection which deemed only 1 pitch playable and with the reserves due to be in cup action their game took priority. The conditions made for a very difficult game for both sides, and Merton struggled to make any significant impact early on. We lost Ede Eruero early on due to a leg strain, and he was replaced up front by Ritch Bann. We defended well, but were unable to create anything of note in the first half, with the exception of set pieces which caused the occasional difficulty. Our performance started to improve in the second half, and bizarrely it was during our best spell of play that we fell behind to a goal scored by their striker after a very good passage of play. We continued to create more pressure, with Ivan Gladkow having a number of shots from range. After a Ritch Bann throw, their keeper made 2 incredible saves in succession from Chris Jones where it looked like it was a certain goal. A pull back from Simon White set up a good chance for Chris Hailstone but he was unable to connect and Alex Morrison then pulled his shot wide. Our defence were pretty solid, with Chris Hailstone having another very good game, and we restricted them to very few opportunities but overall the opposition displayed more quality on the day and deserved their victory. We now have 1 focus which is the league, we are top and have 11 matches to play. Let’s ensure that our promising start to the season is maintained, we perform to our potential and aim at maintaining top spot at the end of the season. Line up – P. Ellis, C. Hailstone, A. Morrison, D. Pearce, S. White, C. Jones, M. Reed (capt) (C. Bester 72 mins), L. Bray, I. Gladkow, D. Parkinson (S. Jones 65 mins) E. Eruero (R. Bann 15 mins).
20th December Merton 2 - 2 Crouch End Vampires Scorers: Eruero, Cook Report: Two new additions to the Merton Reserves squad meant that 35 players have now been used this season including 8 goalkeepers in 13 games. Lee Linehan was called up from the 5s to play in goal, and Paul Summers (Geordie) came from the 1s to start at left back. This was a game which we should have won, but it’s debatable as to whether we deserved to. We started the game pretty well, and it wasn’t long before we took the lead – Chris Jones fed the ball to Geordie, who beat a few players down the left hand side, and played the ball into Liam Bray who shot across the keeper from outside the box, and Ede Eruero was on hand to react to the keeper spilling the ball, and fire the ball high into the net. Crouch End weren’t creating a great deal but our play was rather mixed with passes going astray and wrong decisions being made. Their goal came from penalty awarded due to a handball in the box by Geordie, but to be fair to him, he had no chance of moving his hands out of the way, as it was clearly ball to hand, and additionally we really should have ensured that the ball was cleared out of the box before this incident. We went in level at half time without having really threatened their keeper further. In the second half, we played a little better and had a number of chances. Chris Jones played a great first time ball to Will Martinez whose shot went narrowly over the bar. Simon White picked up the ball after a weak kick by their keeper, and sent a high shot towards the goal but the keeper recovered in time to get back to the goal line. Mike Reed had a chance to score after a great cross from Liam Bray, but probably should have gone for a diving header rather than using his thigh, and the ball went past the post. Mike then had another opportunity after Ede laid the ball back to him, but his shot under pressure went just over the bar. Merton went 2-1 up with 10 minutes to go from a goal from Dave Cook – Chris Jones fired in a great cross from a corner (for his third assist from corners in three games) and Cookie rose at the back post to head his first goal of the season. It looked like our hard work had paid off, but with 3 minutes to go, a chipped ball over our back four put in their striker who notched the equalizer – like the first goal, this was probably a goal that could have been avoided. Merton went top of the league with this point, but with the goal coming so late, it was disappointing that we couldn’t have extended our lead at the top by a further 2 points. Next game is the cup quarter final on January 3rd against the Honourable Artillery Company – so we need to come out after the excesses of Christmas and the New Year with all guns blazing!!!! Line up – L. Linehan, D. Cook, A. Morrison, D. Pearce, P. Summers, L. Bray, M. Reed (capt) S. White (S. Jones 70 mins), C. Jones, W. Martinez (C. Hailstone 65 mins), E. Eruero.
6th December Merton 2 - 0 Old Parkonians (League) (Away) Scorers: Pearce D, Jones Report: The score line may suggest a routine victory but the events of this game were anything but, and will be remembered for a very long time…. After extensive efforts to ensure everyone knew where they needed to be and at what time, hopes were high that we’d get our best 11 out and put in a good performance and get a result against a team who drew with top of the table Old Actonians the week before. After managing to delay kick off for 15 minutes, and contemplating whether Rog would be willing to turn back the years and don a Merton shirt 98 years after his first appearance, we started the game with 10 players. With Jon Beale still on route, Dave Cook was as keen as mustard to go into goal, and in doing so, became Merton’s 7th different keeper in competitive games this season. This meant that we lined up in a 4-4-1 formation with Mike Reed moving to an unfamiliar right back role and Ede Eruero in central midfield to accommodate Cookie. Despite the numerical disadvantage we started the game well and had the most of the possession for the first 5 minutes. Minutes later, our disadvantage was enhanced further when we went down to 9 men when Ede was sent off for an altercation on their captain after a tussle. We adjusted the formation to a 4-3-1, and survived a couple of minor scares until Jon arrived after about 15 minutes in, which meant we could return back to our starting formation of 4-4-1. Having a relative extra man (back up to 10) gave us the boost we needed and it wasn’t long before we were ahead. We forced a corner, and Chris Jones whipped in a corner straight onto Darren Pearce’s head and he notched his first goal of the season. Old Parks had a lot of possession but apart from one chance created by a very good ball across the box, they weren’t able to break down Merton’s two banks of four. After 30 minutes, Paul Pearce and Lewis Cosgrove arrived and in all the excitement Rog was trying to get Mustard to bring one of them on, having not appeared to remember that 10 was now our maximum for the day. Everyone was working incredibly hard to shut the opposition down and shepherd them into areas where they could do the least damage, and it was working well. Will Martinez, returning for his first game for the 2s this season, was occupying the back four by himself, and Ivan Gladkow did excellently throughout to keep possession and buy us valuable time. We got to half time still one goal ahead, and then faced playing up hill in the second half on a pitch that was becoming quite boggy. The second half followed a similar pattern as the first, although at times we could have stayed on our feet a bit more, to prevent giving away needless free kicks, but given the pressure we were under it was inevitable that some mistakes would be made, in any event Jon was equal to everything they put into the box. The second goal came after Will saw one of Chris’s many runs and released the ball for him to run on to and score with a deft left footed shot into the top corner. After this, Paul Pearce came on for Clyde Bester, who had made a promising debut, after coming up form the 5s, with some very good touches. Alex Morrison, Kieran East and Cookie had solid games alongside Darren and all contributed massively to keeping Old Parks at bay. Chris Jones went close with a free kick towards the end, as did Will with a shot that went just over the bar after a cross from Ivan. This result was achieved due to the absolute hard work and commitment shown by everyone on the pitch, they should all be proud of themselves for getting a result that puts us joint top with a game in hand. What is clear though is despite the joy in achieving so much against the odds, we should never put ourselves in this position again, and this means realising that the steps that we take leading up to the game are just as important as the ones on the pitch – texts should be replied to, and journeys planned properly. Let’s learn from this and celebrate the fact that we wanted to win the game more than the opposition and we did it The Merton Way! Line up – J. Beale, D. Cook, A. Morrison, D. Pearce, K. East, C. Bester (P. Pearce 65mins), M. Reed (capt) (L. Cosgrove 68mins), I. Gladkow, C. Jones, W. Martinez, E. Eruero.
29th November Merton 2 - 1 BB Eagles (League) (Away) Scorers: Parkinson, Ereuro Report: Coming off the back of 2 league defeats (1 cup, 1 league) it was important that Merton got back to winning ways against a team who we have traditionally struggled to beat. The confidence that we’d displayed in the majority of our games this season was not there for the majority of the first half. We started the first 2 minutes well with Ivan Gladkow and Ede Eruero combining and looking lively, but what followed was 30 minutes of nervousness and careless play. BB Eagles put us under a lot of pressure, and we did very well not to concede, in particular with the ball seeming to stay on our goal line for what seemed like 10 minutes before eventually being cleared. In a rare break Ede put a header just past the post. With about 10 minutes to go of the half, and after moving Ivan inside to form a three man midfield, we started to enjoy more possession and the game looked more evenly balanced. We started the second half like we ended the first, and were playing a lot better. Ironically, we conceded a goal during this better period for us, with a breakaway counterattacking move which initially their forward overran but was then allowed space to come back inside and finish by the inside of the near post. We kept pushing forward, and move which saw Darren Pearce, Chris Jones and Mike Reed all link up released Parky who hit a volley first time with real venom but somehow their keeper saved what looked like a certain goal. Time was running out, and into the last 15 minutes we were awarded a free kick due to a handball from their defender. Lofty whipped the ball in, it was headed out to the edge of the box and Parky controlled the ball and hit it on the volley, and it went in the bottom corner via the conveniently formed tunnel created by both Ivan and Ede’s open legs. This gave us a bit more belief and chances fell to Ivan, Ede and Parky, but we didn’t score until about 5 minutes to go, when a shot from Mike was well tipped wide for a corner, which Chris Jones delivered a pin point cross onto Ede’s head at the back post who rose like a salmon for his 4th back post header of the season. But for offside flags, and a bit of luck, we could have extended our lead further still but given the start we made, we were happy with the win, which must have been a kick in the teeth for BB given the way they played in the first half. Credit to everyone for battling through and persisting, especially as this was a game we could easily have lost, we need to step it up further for a very tough top of the table game against Old Parkonians. Without Oakesy, Mitch and Lewis we would have had 10 players due to some late pull outs on Friday, so a big thanks to them as they really helped us out by coming along and all doing their bit on and off the pitch. Line up – R. Oakes, D. Cook, A. Morrison, D. Pearce, C. Jones, C. Hailstone, M. Reed (Capt.), S. White, I. Gladkow, D. Parkinson (L. Cosgrove 90mins), E. Eruero. Unused sub – M. Bradshaw
22nd November Merton 0 - 1 IBIS (League) (Home) Report:
15th November Merton 0 - 2 Milford And Witley (Surrey FA Inter Cup) (Away) Report: Playing against a first team who play in the same league as our local festive rivals, Old Rutlishians, we knew this was going to be potentially our toughest game of the season. The journey to the away ground was quite a trek, with us having to travel beyond Guildford, and matters were not helped by the game starting 15 minutes earlier than we expected. We started the game well, and the match looked as though it was going to be an even contest, but after about 10 minutes, both teams were reduced to 10 men. Ivan Gladkow, doing his bit tracking back, found himself in the right wing back position, and was on the receiving end of a challenge by the opposition’s striker that resulted in him receiving a straight red. A minor altercation followed and bizarrely Ivan was shown a red card but we weren't at all sure why. On a pitch that was almost as wide as it was long, we struggled to get to grips with the unknown formation they were playing, with Lofty moving higher up the pitch to support Parky and Liam having to hang more to the right side of midfield. A Chris Hailstone corner was met well by Liam and his header flashed across the face of the goal and past the far post. After about 35 minutes, we fell behind to a well worked goal which ended with a close range finish that gave Jon no chance. At half time, a tactical change was made to bring more movement up front, and unfortunately for Alex Morrison, he made way for Ede Eruero, with Lofty moving back as sweeper. Playing up the hill, and with the ball not sticking up top as we would have liked, we spent a fair amount of time in our own half. We also conceded a number of fouls, with Cookie and his opposing forward seeming keen to change shirts multiple times throughout the game, one of these fouls just behind the halfway line resulted in the keeper (who had a kick that unbelievably seemed to go further than Jon’s) launching a high ball into the box, which was glanced home by one of their players from a suspiciously looking offside position, but the goal stood. Shaun Jones came on for his first appearance of the season, after recovering from an ankle injury, and replaced Parky, with Mike Reed moving up top for the last 20 minutes. In the last five minutes, Mike hooked the ball over the keeper, to the back post but Ede was beaten to the ball by the defender. We played the game out with 9 men after Liam hobbled off after the ankle injury he sustained earlier in the game was aggravated. Special mention goes to Chris Hailstone who had another solid game at right wing back. This was our first defeat in 6 games but it was certainly no disgrace against a first team that would no doubt do well in our first team’s league. We should put this down as a good learning experience against a team who knew how to keep the ball, and looked overall fitter than us – getting all of ourselves down to training on a regular basis will help on both these fronts. We can now concentrate on maintaining our good league form starting with a home game against Ibis this coming weekend. Line up – J. Beale, C. Hailstone, D. Cook, A. Morrison (E. Eruero 45mins), D. Pearce, B. Hughes, M. Reed (capt), L. Bray, S. White, I. Gladkow, D. Parkinson (S. Jones 70mins).
8th November Merton 3 - 0 Witan (Surrey/Kent Intermediate Cup Scorers: Parkinson, Gladkow I, Eruero Report:Monsoon conditions in Merton threatened to call this game off, but a late inspection by the referee of all three pitches at Joseph Hood meant that we relocated away from our usual pitch to the one usually used by the 4s – 6s, and the game was able to go ahead albeit with a slightly late start.The Merton squad is now starting to see a bit of consistency, and this was the first game this season where we had no new squad members.The score line is an encouraging one, but it was a result we ground out with a workmanlike performance rather than one of great play, and 3-0 was probably a bit harsh on Witan.The first goal came after approximately twenty minutes from Ivan Gladkow winning a header from a weak goal kick and releasing his strike partner David Parkinson who ran on to the ball, held off a challenge and fired a shot off the keeper and into the net for his second goal in two games.Playing on a smaller pitch than usual and with wet conditions, we found it hard to regularly get the ball down and play football, but at the other end our defence didn’t allow the opposition many clear opportunities on goal, with Jon saving well with his legs for Witan’s best chance of the first half.Early in the second half, we extended our lead with Simon White launching a long free kick from the right, which their keeper came for and under significant pressure from Darren Pearce wasn’t able to gather the ball, and Ivan was on hand to head home at the near post.This was also Ivan’s second goal in two games, and we are now starting to see signs of a partnership building between him and Parky.A bit of hesitancy in the Merton defence and a deflected cross resulted in a well struck Witan shot coming back off the bar.Ede Eruero, continuing his comeback to full fitness, came on for Parky and it wasn’t long before he got himself on the score sheet for his third goal in four games.The goal came from a 40 yard free kick taken by Liam Bray, (who had a good game on the right side of midfield), which was misjudged by the keeper and palmed on to the bar, we weren’t sure if it went in but Ede was on hand to stick it into to the net to make sure.Witan’s central midfielder hit a deftly taken free kick onto the outside of the post, which kept Jon and the defence with a second clean sheet in 2 games.The game was played in good spirits and this win was our third in a row which sees us into the quarter final of the cup, where we now face the holders, Honourable Artillery Company FC Reserves at home on January 3rd.This coming Saturday we have another cup game, this time in the Surrey Cup - a tough fixture away against Milford & Witley 1sts.We’re on a good run, 6 wins from 8 games, and confidence is high – let’s keep it going… That’s the Merton Way! Line up – J. Beale, D. Cook, A. Morrison, D. Pearce, C. Jones, L. Bray, M. Reed (capt), S. White (K. East 87mins), M. Thomas (B. Hughes 80mins), I. Gladkow, D. Parkinson (E. Eruero 65mins).
1st November Merton 2 -1 Norseman (League) (Home) Scorers: Parkinson, Gladkow I Report: With Norsemen arriving late, the game kicked off 30 minutes later than intended, and this is after we had to persuade the ref to play an 80 minute game rather than the 70 minutes he was proposing. The rain and the wind created some interesting conditions for both sides, but the pitch was still a good surface. Merton fell behind early on when an optimistic shot from distance skidded of the surface, off Jon and into the goal. We were determined not to let this set back affect our performance, and started to press forward. With players playing out of position, Merton struggled to get to grips with Norsemen’s 3 man skilful midfield, but as the game wore on, our performance started to improve without testing the keeper. Alex Gladkow was unlucky, hitting the bar with a fierce shot, and Ivan Gladkow took a shot early which the keeper gathered easily, where we would have been better placed to advance forward before shooting. The score hadn’t changed as we went in at half time, and the team talk focused on defending more as a unit, and ensuring that we tested the keeper. The second half was a much improved performance all round, but before we scored Alex and David Parkinson both had good chances, but we’re unable to notch. The first goal came from a low corner played in by Liam Bray, Alex flicked it on, and Parky was on hand to fire it home to register his first goal for Merton reserves. The game was getting a bit niggly and physical with a couple of bookings handed out to Norsemen players and 1 to Liam. The winning goal came with 3 minutes to go, when Darren Pearce picked up a Liam Bray corner, held the ball up and played the ball back across the box, the ball ricocheted and Ivan was on hand to score his first goal for Merton, this cued ecstatic celebrations, which showed an expression of relief that we’d finally got the goal that we should have got a long time before. We held out for the victory that sends us to the top of the league as the only undefeated team in our division. Norsemen did the double over us last year, so this was another good result for us. Chris Hailstone had a good game at right back, and we broke our record of having different keepers with Jon playing successive games, and he made a number of good saves. We now have a break from the league for the next two weekends with cup fixtures occupying us. Line up – J. Beale, C. Hailstone, A. Morrison, D. Pearce, C. Jones, A. Gladkow, M. Reed (capt), L. Bray, I. Gladkow, D. Parkinson (D. Fish 75mins), C. Wood Unused sub – J. Alkana25th October Merton 1 - 0 Weirside Rangers (League) (Away) Scorer: Reed Report: With Mark Thomas and Alex Gladkow called up to the first team squad after their recent good form, and with Chris Jones also unavailable, changes were made to last week’s starting line up – Alex Morrison came in at sweeper, Dave Cook lined up alongside Darren Pearce in the centre of defence. Barry Hughes moved to his favoured left wing back role opposite Chris Hailstone on the right side, with Simon White occupying a place in midfield in front of Mike Reed and Liam Bray. After his substitute appearance last week, David Parkinson started up front alongside Ivan Gladkow. Amazingly Merton had a different goalkeeper for the seventh successive game, with Jon Beale coming in between the sticks – hopefully, this the last time we make a change in this position! After getting no real joy against Weirside in previous seasons, this was expected to be a tough game, and it certainly turned out to be that way with only 1 goal in it. Merton started the game very well with the ball barely leaving the opposition’s half for the first 5 minutes, but for all the possession they were unable to significantly test their keeper. Weirside started to come into the came more and were causing a few problems with their number 8 floating between midfield and attack, which after a few scares caused us to reorganise and give Dave Cook responsibility for marking him. Another reorganisation was required soon with Barry Hughes needing to go off with an eye injury, shortly after getting treatment from Roger for shin splints, (I assumed there was no connection between the 2 incidents) – Kieran East came in on his place, and in doing so became the 28th player used by Merton reserves this season. David Parkinson and Ivan were working hard up front, and the defence was well organised by Darren Pearce, with Jon providing a solid base behind by commanding his box by coming out to catch everything. After about 30 minutes, Mike Reed intercepted a goal kick on the left, played a one two with Kieran, advanced towards the penalty box, before cutting inside onto his right foot and dispatching the ball into the far top corner. The rest of the half passed without incident, and we regrouped at half time knowing that if we could keep a clean sheet the 3 points were ours. The second half was a very tight affair where Jon illustrated his value to the team with a number of good saves, in particular doing well to save a penalty after Alex Morrison was adjudged to have committed a foul in the box. The fact that the game was so tight created a tension which meant that a couple of players were giving unnecessary verbals to their team mates – we can do without this, and focus on constructive encouraging comments to each other. Ede Eruero, returning from 3 games away, came on as a sub. Weirside had a last gap header that flew just past the post, and pretty much after this the ref blew his final whistle. This type of fixture is one that we need to win if we want to put a title challenge, and one that historically we’ve struggled with, so we’ve done very well to claim victory – we are now second with a game in hand over Old Actonians. Next fixture is Norseman at home in the league this Saturday, before we face a break from league fixtures for 2 weekends, with 2 cup games coming up. Well done and thanks to everyone (including Anthony who came along as sub, but unfortunately didn’t get any action on the pitch) – winning these tight games is so satisfying because we knew we had to earn it. Let’s keep it up!! Line up – J. Beale, C. Hailstone, B. Hughes (K. East 20mins), A. Morrison, D. Cook, D. Pearce, M. Reed (capt), L. Bray, S. White, I. Gladkow, D. Parkinson (E. Eruero 70mins). Unused sub – A. Carey.
18th October Merton 3 - 3 Old Wilsonians (League) (Away) Scorers: Bray, A Gladkow 2 Report: Merton’s first away trip in more than 6 months resulted in an eventful game that could have seen more than the 6 goals that ended up on the scoresheet. Danny Wells came into goal which made him the sixth consecutive different goalkeeper used in the last six games. With Dave Cook back with the 1s and James Craig unavailable through injury, Barry Hughes moved into the back three, and Chris Hailstone moved to right wing back. Alex and Ivan Gladkow both came into the starting eleven up front. Merton started the game on the attack, and created a few opportunities with Alex, Ivan and Liam Bray linking up well, but still managed to fall behind after about 15 minutes – a cross came in, and it wasn’t dealt with and the striker put the ball into the net. Merton weren’t behind for long, Liam picked up the ball on the halfway line, and put Ivan through on goal, rather than take the opportunity himself he held the ball up well and resisted a defensive challenge before crossing the ball for the onrushing Liam to send a low header into the net from about 12 yards. Merton soon went ahead after a Mark Thomas corner was knocked back across the goal my Simon White, and Alex finished from close range. Wilsonians, who had been a threat with anything in the air and set pieces, had a goal disallowed and hit the post, and Merton had a few more opportunities. In the second half, Mark broke down the left and into the box, and his shot hit the inside of the post and then hot the inrushing defender but somehow the ball did not end up in the net. The next goal went to Wilsonians who scored from a the deftest flick on from a throw in that sneaked its way into the goal, and was probably a goal that should have been avoided. The frustration amongst the team was evident as we felt we were good enough to be winning this game and be further ahead, rather than on level terms. Merton pushed forward and took the lead again as Alex broke through and bearing down on the keeper, scored with a good finish at the near post. With this goal, and approx 15 minutes to go, the aim was to ensure that we got all the points, but this was undone with the dubious award of a free-kick, which was struck at goal and took the slightest of deflections and nestled low into the goal. Merton bought on David Parkinson to push for the 4th goal, but the ref who had minutes earlier indicated that were 13 minutes to go, blew the final whistle insisting that the full 90 had been played. There were positives to take from this game, as we look very good going forward with a clear ability to retain the ball and this will improve as we become more familiar as a team, but we need to ensure that we cut out needless fouls which invite pressure on us, especially against teams that are taller than us. The defence and midfield dealt with a lot of balls in the air, but inevitably not everything could be won, so limiting the opportunities to put in from dead ball will help relieve the pressure. This result keeps our unbeaten record in the league, and puts us third on goal difference, with a game in hand over Old Actonians at the top. Next game on Saturday away against Weirside Rangers, who from their first two games scored ten without reply, so will be another tough one. Line up – D. Wells, C. Hailstone, C. Jones, S. White, D. Pearce, B. Hughes, M. Reed (capt), L. Bray, M. Thomas, I. Gladkow (D. Parkinson 85mins), A. Gladkow. Unused sub – A. Morrison.
11th October Merton 5 - 0 Old Finchleians (League) (Home) Scorers: Hailstone, Hughes, Thomas 2, White Report: After last weeks reverse, 5 changes were made to the starting line up with Steve Keenan making his reserves debut in goal; Darren Pearce and David Cook coming into the centre of defence, Liam Bray making his first start, in central midfield and Chris Wood starting up front alongside Chris Hailstone. Positional changes also saw Barry Hughes moving to right wing back, and Mark Thomas moving into a more attacking role between the midfield and strikers. The changes and the approach to the game paid clear dividends with a performance that was everything that the previous performance wasn’t – we were clinical in front of goal, were confident at the back, played some good football, and in particular made full attacking use of our wing backs. The first half saw us start very well, and we attacked straight from the kick off, having our first shot within 15 seconds, but after this good start Old Finchleians started to come into the game a bit more, and it turned into a very even contest with their midfield looking to release early through balls at every opportunity to their skilful striker, who was well marshalled by the Merton defence. From a Mark Thomas corner, Darren Pearce hit the post, and David Cook also had a shot cleared off the line. The game changed in a 10 minute purple patch after 25 minutes through the half, with 3 goals coming quick succession. The first goal was very pleasing as it is exactly what we want from our wing backs – Chris Jones put the ball in from the left with a cross that he described as having a lot of top spin on it (mis-hit? Probably not…) and it found its way to the other wing back, Barry, to rifle a low shot into the corner of the net. The second was from more good work from Barry, who drew one of their defenders into a challenge in the box, and was taken down for a clear penalty, which Mark despatched with his usual precision into the corner and the keeper’s left. Very quickly after this, a move that started with a throw out from Steve in goal and ended up on the left side with Mark, who put in a fantastic cross for Chris Hailstone to head in at the far post. We kept it tight until half time, and the team talk focused us on ensuring that not thinking that this game was already won. The first part of the second half passed without much significant incident until Old Finchleians number 10 had quite a long “chat” with the referee which resulted in a red card for him. Having to play against ten men caused a bit of confusion as a number of their players were playing all over the place, and marking became difficult at times, and they were awarded a penalty for a handball that was presumably deemed deliberate but was definitely accidental – Steve ensured that justice was done with a good save to his right, and Barry headed away to prevent anything coming from the rebound. After this, the game swung back Merton’s way, and another 2 goals were scored, but in truth it could have been 7 more. The fourth was a very good finish from Mark who saw the keeper off his line, and despite his desperate efforts to retreat back to his goal-line, had the ball lofted over him and into the net. The fifth was a Simon White far post header™ from another corner from Mark. The Gladkow brothers, and in particular Ivan, came on and made “an impression” at the top end of pitch. Chris Hailstone also hit the bar with a header that if we had goal-line technology at The Hood, could have been given as a goal. Liam Bray had a very solid game and performed well with Mike Reed in central midfield. Steve Keenan’s positional sense and vocals gave a lot of confidence to the team. Chris Wood, after a few weeks lay off, had a lively game up front, and despite only getting 10 minutes, James Craig had an assured game when he came on in midfield. Well played everyone – next match this coming Saturday, a tough game away to Old Wilsonians. 2 games, 2 wins in the league – the effort and performance displayed in this match are now the benchmark that we must aspire to from now on. Line up – S. Keenan, B. Hughes, C. Jones, S. White, D. Pearce, D. Cook, M. Reed (capt), L. Bray (J. Craig 80mins), C. Wood (I. Gladkow 75mins), M. Thomas, C. Hailstone (A. Gladkow 70mins).
4th October Merton 0 - 4 Wandsworth Borough AFC (AFA Intermediate Cup) (Home) Report: The Reserves’ 100% start to the season came to an abrupt end, and was certainly a result that could and should have been avoided. Unlike the previous 2 games, Merton started the better side and for the first 25 minutes, it looked inevitable that a goal would follow. A number of set pieces were well delivered by Mark Thomas but although we had a number of opportunities from headers we were only to hit the target once through Simon White, and his effort was well cleared off the line by a defender. The first half was a competitive one, and although we were not making the right decisions at times, we were confident that we’d put at least one of our chances away and get the result we deserved at that time. In the second half we forced a few more opportunities but then the turning point of the game saw us fall behind; Paul Cardazzone rose to catch the ball, but under pressure from a challenge, controversially deemed legal, from their forward was unable to keep possession and the striker slotted home into an unguarded net. We continued to push forward, but after about 10 more minutes an individual error led to the second goal, and 2 minutes later the 3rd goal was scored, which, again, was a goal that could have been avoided. At 3-0 down, we were really pushing forward and had a number of opportunities to score, Barry Hughes was unlucky with a good run, Chris Jones hit the post, Liam Bray had a close range shot blocked and a number of clear headers were put wide of the target. With 2 minutes to go, a moment of indecision led to the ball breaking to their striker whose shot sneaked into the goal. Ivan Gladkow had a decent game up front and held the ball up well, Chris Jones and Barry Hughes gave very solid contributions, and Liam Bray made a promising debut after coming on as sub in attacking midfield. The result looks and is horrendous, but it really was not reflective of the game, something the opposition were quick to tell us, however what ultimately matters is the score line. This game has reinforced that we’ve got to take our chances when we are top, and keep any mistakes to a minimum and in an area where we can’t be hurt. Due to player availability we had to make 6 positional / personnel changes and this can’t have helped matters especially when it came to keeping our shape. We need to put this down to bad day at the office, learn from this experience and put the hours in at Wednesday night training. Tough game this Saturday in the league at home against Old Finchleians, let’s go out and show that this result was a one off, by getting back on track with a win and the 3 points. Team: P. Cardazzone, C. Hailstone (L. Bray 60 mins), B. Hughes, S. White, J. Craig, C. Jones, M. Reed (Capt), L. Cosgrove, A. Millen (C. Cosgrove 75 mins), M. Thomas, I. Gladkow.
13th September Reserves 3 -1 Old Actonians (League) (Home) Scorers: Thomas, Eruero 2 Report: The start of the league season for the promotion hopefuls saw 3 players making their competitive debuts in the reserves starting eleven, a further 2 from the bench and the welcome return of a Merton veteran. Given that Old Actonians played in a division one last season, a tough competitive fixture was expected and was certainly what it turned out to be. Actonians started very strongly and it prompted an early reshuffle of the pack with Chris Hailstone moving to right wing back, and Lewis Cosgrove moving to midfield. After twenty minutes of backs to the wall defending, Merton finally succumbed to the pressure with a left footed snap shot from Actonians’ number 5 finding its way into the top right corner of the goal. This setback prompted Merton into action, and slowly they started to create a bit of pressure themselves which resulted in a number of corners. Merton finally drew level with a trademark dipping left foot half volley from Mark Thomas which was struck from 20-25 yards. Soon after this, a second Merton goal was scored and this time scorer turned creator, with Ede Eurero rising at the back post to head home a corner from Mark. Merton had rode their luck throughout the first half, and in all honesty did not deserve to be going in at half time, a goal ahead, but the metaphorical scoreboard doesn’t lie and a platform for going on to win the game had been built. The second half was more of an even affair, with a few chances at both ends. Chris Hailstone was having a stormer at wing back, with nothing getting down the right hand side. A Mark Thomas corner was headed back across the goal by the new player manager Simon White, and Ede was on hand to head home goal number 3 at the back post. The third goal created a bit of breathing space for Merton, and opened the game up further with Actonians pushing forward in numbers; this allowed the opportunities for a couple of breaks for Merton with Adam Millen having a very good run and Jamie Bundy having a header cleared off the line. The goal scoring opportunities for Actonians gave Oaksey the opportunity to impress the watching photographers with some absolutely incredible tip overs. The tail end of the match was broken up by a number of robust challenges across the pitch and this stemmed the flow of the game, with the final whistle being blown soon after. The positives from this game is that Merton ground at a result against a good team, the areas to work on are to get more continuity playing together as a team and establish the familiarity and confidence in each other that will enable us to play the football that we know we are capable of. We have a break next week from the league with a home game in the AFA Cup against Old Kingsburians. Line up - R. Oakes, L. Cosgrove, B. Hughes, S. White, D. Pearce, C. Jones, M. Reed (capt), C. Cosgrove (J. Bundy 65 mins), E. Eurero (A. Millen 80 mins), M. Thomas, C. Hailstone. Unused sub: A. Morrison.
20th September Merton 3 - 0 Old Kingsburians (AFA Cup) (Home) Scorers: Thomas (pen), Gladkow A, Cosgrove C Report: After a hard fought league fixture last week, this week saw the unknown quantity of Old Kingsburians in the AFA Cup – as this was their first team, a tough game was expected. Three personnel changes were made to last week’s starting eleven with Paul Ellis returning in goal, Pete Brown coming into the centre of defence, and Alex Gladkow making his reserves debut up front. Chris Hailstone retained his right wing back berth, the inclusion of Pete Brown saw Barry Hughes moving to the left wing back, and Chris Jones moving into a midfield three with Mike Reed and Mark Thomas. As with last week, Merton didn’t get off to the best start but their goal was not particularly threatened with the back three defending well. Other than a variety of robust challenges from both sides, the first half passed without much significant incident until the last minute of the half when Chris Jones cut into the box after beating 2 players, and was blocked off which resulted in the award of a penalty. Despite some attempted sledging, Mark Thomas despatched the ball decisively into the bottom right corner, for his second in two games. At the start of the second half Merton doubled their lead, with a well worked move which saw Chris Jones, Mark Thomas and Barry Hughes combine to allow Alex Gladkow emphatically smash the ball in to the roof of the net with his left foot. The second goal gave Merton a bit more breathing space, and we started to play a bit more football. Mark Thomas was replaced by Lewis Cosgrove in the middle of midfield, and this meant that when Merton were awarded a penalty for an unfortunate handball, a confident Alex Gladkow stepped up to attempt to double his tally – a few seconds later, he probably wished that Mark’s calves had held out for a little longer, as he smashed his kick at the perfect height for the keeper to block with relative ease. After the game he admitted that he “doesn’t really take penalties”. Merton’s advantage was increased when Old King’s striker, frustrated at his inability to enetrate Darren Pearce, Simon White or Pete Brown, decided to relieve his frustration by wildly hacking at the debatably the smallest player on the pitch, Chris Jones (Chris – it’s between you and Barry, I’m sure you’ll have a way of sorting it out between the two of you), and receiving a straight red card. After this, Merton had a few more opportunities with a shot being cleared off the line, Adam Millen having a good opportunity saved. Towards the very end of the game, Craig Cosgrove showed what he can do after coming off the bench, by connecting with a Chris Hailstone corner to find the net and make it 3-0. Paul Ellis’ handling was assured throughout the game and gave confidence to his defence. The result was a satisfying one, and we are now in the second round of the cup at home on 4th October against either Old Salopians or Wandsworth Borough, but we need to improve our passing so that we retain possession for longer and play better football. No match this week, therefore especially important that we train together as a team over the coming weeks to keep our fitness up and to get used to playing with each other. Nonetheless, 2 games, 2 wins – a good start to the season – well done to all. That’s the Merton way! Line up – P. Ellis, C. Hailstone, B. Hughes, P. Brown, S. White, D. Pearce, M. Reed (capt), C. Jones (C. Cosgrove 78 mins), E. Eurero (A. Millen 78 mins), M. Thomas (L. Cosgrove 65 mins), A. Gladkow.
MATCH REPORTS 2007 - 2008
29th March Merton 4 - 3 Crouch End Vampires Scorers: Carpenter, Woods 2, Lilley Report:The Squirrels scurry up north and bring the back the nuts… I sadly can’t write too much about the pre-match build up as I was in Kieran’s car singing along to his TomTom… which is a great invention but it definitely took us on a very scenic tour 20 to 3 we got there in nearly 2 hours… anyway as we drove past the huge cemetery adjacent to the ground it dawned on me that people must be dying to come to visit the very hospitable CEV’s… It was an important game for the two’s with our position far from secured in the division… There was a gale blowing, the obligatory rain it was like Transylvania in a hurricane… the pitch was a mud bath and the best bit was the showers were ice cold… vampires are bit funny about their water apparently… A slightly makeshift team set up kicking with the wind, we didn’t capitalize enough on our early opportunities that we created with their keeper making some important stops … CEV took the lead through a neat bit of play on the edge of the box which I got my hand to but it had enough power to take it in… I think I should have saved it. We equalized… Woody laid the ball through the middle to Luke who won the battle of the giants and calmly slotted home… half time was announced by the man put in charge of the Count! And we went in all square… the second half started with the Vampires on top and Kieran managed to make it two OGs in a row… this one wasn’t a top corner finish like his last but was just as efficient with a nonchalant bum flick into the opposite corner of the goal… leaving me stranded… they stretched the lead with a well worked move which resulted in a very neat finish with 20 mins to go… I was concerned it could get messy… but we kept going… My MOM Kieron Tiddy who played out of position at centre half and was guided by Lofty who’s speed (of thought) helped Kieron mark his man out of the game like he was his Grim Reaper… Woody, Mustard, Hailstone, Will and Glenn ran and ran and got their reward when Hailstone got inside there full back and pulled it back for Woody who finished well. We then were awarded a penalty after a rash tackle… Woody stepped up and stroked it home… giving their sprawling keeper a tempting touch on its way. With second on the clock… Glenn like a flash of lightning was too quick for their keeper and was up ended and we had the chance to take all the glory back home… Glenn this time stepped up and emphatically finished… it was like a stake through the vampire’s heart’s we had robbed them we all knew it… ( nb mr ackers and gash to be honest I don’t think I would of even got near that one) we won… they looked like lost souls at the final whistle… and trudged back to the changing room without to much hand shaking like zombies… I as ever I was keen to get on the road that place is spooky… was their casserole served from a cauldron?
15th March Merton 2 - 2 Bank of England (League) (Home) Scorers: Hailstone, Jones Report:
8th March Merton 0 - 1 Old Salesians Report:
1st March Merton 1 - 2 BB Eagles (league) (Away) Scorer: Martinez Report:
23rd February Merton 2 - 3 Norseman (League) (Home) Scorers: Cook 2 Report:
16th February Merton 2 - 1 Crounch End Vampires (League) (Home) Scorers: Hurl, Pearce Report: I’ve heard it said a referee you barely notice has had a good game; our referee has got first two paragraphs of my match report. In the upper reaches of football the refereeing team consists of a 4 man team who work together to minimise inconsistency and they even allow decisions to be looked at after the game in certain circumstances. Sadly in the SAL our referees are made to do the jobs of those 4 men on their own which can be very difficult times and have to use common sense and discretion. The referee has potential to be a good referee and his decision for our first goal to allow play to carry on for a returning non active player was spot on, but sadly at our level playing to the letter of the law based on just one person’s view can breed both inconsistency and frustration. The first goal came mid way through the half Dan Hurl finished well chipping the keeper from close range and our celebrations were muted as we came to terms with the goal being given. We battled through the rest of the half Gash riding a very heavy tackle and Paul Ansell getting scratched all over his torso by their big butch and obviously well manicured centre forward… weird. Barry NOTW went off with sore shins. We extended the lead in the second half Pearcey rising at the back post to head home a well flighted in swinging corner from Dan Hurl “I could score every week from there with that delivery”. They scored to make the closing stages a tense affair… in my final hour or should that be my final howler before handing over the gloves whilst on holiday their keepers long punt went over the top of the defence and I was left one on one with there player… I hesitated and made it too easy for him to dance round me… come or do something Wellsey!!! I was gutted, I felt I let the back four down; East, Pearce, Ansell and Gash played very well and I should have had my first clean sheet. We held on Shaun and Lofty kept us organised, Glenn, Mustard and Martinez worked tirelessly harassing their back four. Zoo was dismissed for a second book able for charging a free kick the ref claimed he went before the ball was kicked. Pearcey then got sent off straight red for a clumsy tackle not high and in the left back area outside the box with plenty of cover in the middle; this after Paul Ansell was grounded by what seemed like an elbow to the face. We won our fourth game on the spin undefeated in 5 a good habit… and I can’t tell you how big next weeks game against Norseman is 8 games left 2nd place is more than do-able, Paul put some dettol on those scratches you never know what those vampires have under there nails. The internal handbags towards the end were disappointing, but I the fact is I’ve gone for a 'who?' to Captain in 4 games… NOTW didn’t even know my name till last week, to keep my place and be handed the captaincy… was brilliant. See you a week on Saturday if selected. Wellsey.
9th February Merton 2 - 1 Old Latymerians (League) (Away) Scorers: Own Goal, Carpenter Report: The big Pre-match team news announced the return from self imposed “retirement” of Zoohaire and it was quite clear to see what he’d being doing with his time out of the game salad dodging!… his ball control was still there not quite so sure about his portion control. A strange match… The referee really wanted to play a part; I felt his approach was very rigid; he set his stool out before the game with him telling us what he wouldn’t tolerate… Our very early first goal… what I have appreciated over the years is Mike Mustard Reed’s art of getting hacked down he looks like he looks like he’s cleverly losing control of the ball then just manages to nick it away just as the defender comes in and “waller-a” free kick… the first one was a well worked free kick from Thommo rolling it into the stride of an overlapping Shauno… who’s shot was deflected in off their defender… Our second goal was again down to a Mustard chopping mid-way in their half, Shauno flighted it in from the left hand side Pearcey’s left volley nearly bent the cross bar and Ant Carpenter jumped …well stood straight and emphatically buried it with his head… 2 – 0… and cruising… I’m not used to so much press the trouble with goalkeeping is your always involved in the opposition’s goal so taking you back to 2002 Ronaldinho’s over hit free kick in the 2002 World Cup which left David Seaman flailing was the beginning of the end of his international career and as their right back’s back post flighted free kick was in the air heading towards the goal I was glancing at our defensive line a glance back and it was to late my fingers glanced the ball and next thing I was in the net with the ball… I threw a dramatic yelp but was embarrassed but got back up and started again… the clean sheet is coming gents… I like Tiddy’s tip on the next free kick “get the flight of the ball early” ha-ha yeah I dealt with the rest! The remainder of the game was a bit of a non-event in the footballing sense I was impressed with how we defended throughout… NOTW, Pearcey, Ant and Ansell made the rest of my afternoon easy, we did give away a few cheap free kicks, diving in instead of standing up… but we played the ball around well going forward… I thought Dan Hurl did well on the left when he came on and Lofty Mustard Tiddy and Shauno won the battle in the middle and Hailstone and Thommo got to the chances produced and with a bit more composure and on a different day would have taken. The referee tried his best to spoil the game flashing cards like they were going out of fashion, some pretty poor decisions in my eyes and strangely enough only aimed at us, Thommo was removed from proceedings for trying to discuss as only Thommo can, a booking given to Zoohaire for the ball hitting his hand as he looked the other way. I won’t let him spoil it we are now 4 games undefeated 10 points from 12 and within 3 points of second… a bit of focus keeping our organization and keep our positive team ethic going taking each game as it comes I can’t see us losing our rhythm…
26th January Merton 2 - 1 Alleyn Old Boys (League) (Away) Scorers: Hailstone, Tiddy Report:Quoting Havant and Waterlooville skipper Jamie Collins “I was marking Steven Gerrard on a corner singing you’ll never walk alone to him… he was just looked at me like I was an Alien” The art of distraction boys in it’s purest form… throwing an idea in the box, I reckon we should all go and see Barry’s tattooist… because it definitely distracted them on Sat… It looked too easy for Barry “NOTW” Hughes, he just shaded the man of the match and his display epitomized the team ethic on Sat… Now I love positivity… “why be negative” and it was racing through our TEAM on Saturday… working for each other and that togetherness got us the result… we had to dig in for periods and we worked very hard for each other and never stopped running, putting in our foot in where it was necessary and we dug out a result. With Pearcey out and Clowes away on his travels trying to find inner self we had to re-shuffle our defense… and as a keeper I was concerned… but Hughes, Ansell, Day, and Brooker were like a bank safe door in front of me… With an element of smash and grab about it with some robust tackles but we played a bit as well, Shauno’s Guile in the centre of the park was a perfect contrast for the hustle and bustle of Tiddy and Mustard, and Our goal came mid way through the half with a lethal counter attack Wellsey’s quick distribution out of his hands(one of his only straight ones) to Thommo who laid it on to Martinez who’s well flighted back post cross was met clinically in the air by “….H-H-H-HAAAILLLSTONE, GOAL.” A couple of good saves in the first half and we went in half time 1 up and were confident… Alleyn, equalized and even if it was somewhat dubiously… with the ball being taken off of Wellsey’s fist by a hand as he tried to punch clear, Neil Day swore blind it was a hand. GK Comment - “I didn’t see the hand but as the ball dropped in the net I felt like I’d approached the punch a bit John Inman I’m free-esque, but that was my only negative from my performance there keeper even said “I kept us in it” I’m loving the learning curve! I’m studying keeper behavior like a zoologist” We nicked the winner with 10mins to go + the 10mins injury time the ref added… a well flighted free kick was flicked on and 2 in 2 Tiddy was at the back post to volley home into the roof of the net left footed... JOB DONE! We’ve got to be excited and buzzing about things… and we can get better. 3 games undefeated… DWW, 3 points behind second place if we win our game in hand… nothing is impossible if we keep positive and hate losing…
5th January Merton 6 - 4 Old Finchleians (League) (Home) Scorers: Thomas 2, Day, Hailstone, Martinez, Tiddy Report: Merton seemed to shake off their lurking turkey the quicker with the deadlock broken in the first 5 minutes Mark Thomas’s well flighted corner was converted with a commanding header from Neil Day, Thomas himself then finished neatly from the edge of their box after 15 mins, leaving us feeling warm and content and with everyone cruising. Finchelians then came alive and it was a real baptism of fire for the reserves debutant goalkeeper Dan Wells fresh off the plane after signing on a game to game contract… Their nippy right winger latched on to a good pass after a bursting run from the centre of the park to finish (GK comment: “I went to ground to earlier, be big Wellsey”) 2 corners which we defended poorly were converted in similar fashion from point blank range(GK comment: “should I have come for the crosses? I’m not a vampire“) then a looping toe punt from outside the box left the debutant goalkeeper Wellsey trying to understand where the beauty/merits of being a goalkeeper were after conceding 4 in the first 30 mins… We then addressed the problem of them out numbering us in the centre of the park buy putting Barry “News of the World” Hughes in the centre of the park changing from a 4-4-2 to a 4-3-3/4-5-1 system… with it instantly changing things and we nicked a 3rd just before the break through Hailstone stealing in from the right to finish well. We then kept it the same and went into the second half behind 4-3… we then were awarded a pen by the referee after the impressive Will Martinez was hacked down after being through one on one Thommo which was duely dispatched… their defence then went missing and chances were free flowing… and Will then got our noses in front after rounding there keeper and finishing from an acute angle…. We then made some changes… Barry “NOTW” Hughes off Loft on… Neil Day off Paul Ansell on… Hailstone off Kieron Tiddy on… Kieron Tiddy who mid way through the first half and had said we’ll win 6-4… was as you can imagine very keen to get on make sure it happen… after possibly our best move of the match Kieron finished coolly to give us a 2 goal edge… Wellsey (GK Comment: I will work on my kicking) then made a couple of saves to keep the advantage (GK comment: “must learn not to celebrate saves, it’s what you do”) and we held on. Finchelian’s were not the best we’ll face in the run in, but taking the positives we kept a clean sheet for 60mins defended well and could of scored many more, the beginning of a run… Love Big Nev.
1st December Merton 1 - 1 Old Latymerians Scorer: Own Goal Report:
24th November Merton 0 - 2 Old Salesians Report:
17th November Merton 1 - 3 Old Latymerians (League) (Home) Scorers: Report: Martinez
10th November Merton 2 - 2 South Bank Cuaco Scorers: Reed, Ward Report:
3rd November Meron 2 - 4 Continental Stars (Surrey Inter Cup) (Home) Scorers: Hurle, Martinez Report:
27th October Merton 4 - 0 Bank of England (League) (Away) Scorers: Pearce 2, Martinez, Reed Report:Merton travelled the relatively short distance to the Bank of England, and were hoping to transfer the form of the Alleyn Old Boys match into this game.In the pre match team talk, a lot of time was invested into ensuring that we focused on keeping the ball and playing football.Merton started the game very well and put the home side under a lot of pressure, forcing a number of corners and free kicks that caused all sorts of problems.Darren Pearce created a good opportunity for Will Martinez but he was unable to deposit the ball into the net.It didn’t take long for Merton to take the lead with a Darren finish at the far post, credit to Chris Hailstone for a great corner.There were no further changes to the score line as we reached half time.In the second half, Will knocked the ball into the net with interest following another good cross from Chris.This goal gave us the insurance we needed, and we were able to stroke the ball around with a lot of freedom.The way we were playing, betting your mortgage on Merton taking all the points would have been a sensible bet.Darren notched himself another goal from another corner.Will played Mike Reed through and he lobbed the ball over the keeper to open his account for the season, but considering he will be 30 by the time he plays his next game, it could also be his last ever goal.The game finished 4-0 and there were some very good performances all round the pitch, the defence played very well, with Kieran East returning to the side after his loan spell with the 3s.The common phrase when dealing with investments is that past performance is no guarantee of future performance, and this has been very true of Merton recently, but if we can continue to perform this way for the remainder of the season, we should be able to give a good account of ourselves in the league and cup. Mike Reed
20th October Merton 0 - 4 Norseman (League) (Away) Report:
13th October Merton 1 - 0 Alleyn Old Boys (League) (Home) Scorers: Ward Report:
6th October Merton 3 - 5 Old Stationers (AFA Intermediate Cup) (Away) Scorers: Jones 2, martinez Report:
29th September Merton 1 - 4 Polytechnic (League) (Away) Scorer: Report:
22nd September Merton 1 - 1 BB Eagles (League) (Home) Scorer: Ward (pen) Report:
15th September Merton 2 - 1 (AET) H.A.C (Away) (AFA Cup) Scorers: Martinez, Pearce Report: ‘Arma Pacis Fulcra’ or ‘Armed strength for peace’ is the motto of the Honourable Artillery company. However it was Merton reserves that finished 120 minutes of football the stronger with the opposition reduced to peaceful surrender. A hot day and a ‘concrete’ pitch provided tough conditions for what was always going to be a tricky tie. The opening period confirmed this as HAC started positively taking the game to Merton. As the half wore on Merton’s midfield stamped their influence on the game playing smart possession football. Geordie and Shaun setting the platform that ultimately led to complete domination in this area. On 35 minutes Merton deservedly took the lead, Will Martinez heading bravely from 6 yards. Merton continued to press after the break keeping the opposition to a couple of half chances. It was then a surprise that HAC equalised from a corner, their left midfield substitute finishing well from a near post flick. After the goal the game became tight with few chances; conditions dictating an‘Azteca walking football’ approach to the game. Extra time saw more of the same but it was Merton who found the edge to take the lead on 100 minutes. Hailstones delivered a quality ball met strongly by a trademark Pearce header to effectively finish the game as a contest. Overall this was a disciplined and committed performance from the reserves against solid opposition. On the back of this victory the reserves should approach the 1st league outing full of confidence. Kieron Tiddy
Quoting Havant and Waterlooville skipper Jamie Collins “I was marking Steven Gerrard on a corner singing you’ll never walk alone to him… he was just looked at me like I was an Alien” The art of distraction boys in it’s purest form… throwing an idea in the box, I reckon we should all go and see Barry’s tattooist… because it definitely distracted them on Sat…
