Match Reports 3s – Page 8 – Merton Football Club

9 October 2015

Not a good day. A late no-show from our keeper saw Mustard step up manfully and take the gloves and John Cutts make a late dash to North East London (well, frankly Essex) to bring us to a full squad of 14.

The good:

The first half saw Merton defend robustly and keep Old Parks at bay, albeit without having too much of the ball. Ryan shielded the back 4 expertly in a holding midfield role, and Mustard effectively played sweeper-keeper in behind, making some timely interceptions. Joel and Vin were contained the Parks strikers well. Going forward, Nick P looked dangerous when on the ball in space, and was having some joy down the right flank. Seb had a chance from the corner of the box after nice work from a throw in but his cross-eluded both the bottom corner and the onrushing Nick. Denys was battling hard for knockdowns and had a couple of half chances. Dan flicked on a free kick past the far post, again neither quite a cross or a shot. Approaching half time, Merton took the lead, rolling substitute Chris P nudging the goalkeeper (who had run miles out of goal for some reason) off the ball, which fell to Nick to lift over the stranded keeper from fully 35-40 yards with a delightful finish. Merton withstood a late first half rally to go in at half time 1-0 up and were feeling pretty good about things.

The bad:

Merton could have got a dream start when Dan intercepted a pass from the keeper to the fullback just a few minutes, but in two minds whether to shoot or pass to the screaming Darcy, instead passed to an opposition defender. Fail.

The second half saw Merton under increasing pressure. With the team reshuffled with Ryan off injured, we lost our shape somewhat and were guilty of having too many men piling forward and not tracking back. On top of this the ref, who to be fair had a decent first half, suddenly decided after one too many robust Denys tackles, that “enough was enough” and the game became non-contact, which served to frustrate Merton further. As the pressure built, Joel and Vin were increasingly exposed, and the pressure told with Merton giving away a soft penalty near the touchline. Mustard very nearly made a fantastic save but couldn’t quite do enough. 1-1. Very quickly, it was 2-1 as a cross from a (short?) corner found its way along the floor almost along the goal line without meeting a clearance, and was smashed in at the back post. Merton made some changes to try and get back in the game, but unfortunately a miskicked goal kick saw Old Parks one on one and resulted in another goal. 1-0 to 1-3 in less than 10 minutes.

The ugly

At 3-1, it looked like an uphill battle. Things quickly got worse. Riccardo reacted to a ridiculous challenge (studs around his shoulder/face) with a couple of jabs to the opposition player and was sent off, no complaints there. However, in switching to a 3-5-1 to chase the game, Merton unravelled and turned a 3-1 defeat into a 5-1 hammering. Poor passing, lack of fitness combined with not showing for the ball all led to a horribly exposed back 3, and Old Parks took full advantage, scoring a couple of goals that to be honest were rather embarrassing to concede.

The Verdict.

It was a very disappointing end to a game that had such promise in the first half, but hopefully will be remembered by all concerned to ensure it does not happen again this season. We need to build on the positives from the first half, continue work on our fitness, and fight to the end. If we can do this, we can do well this season.

MoM: Nick, with honourable mentions to Ryan (we rather fell apart without him) and Mustard for stepping up and taking the gloves.

Posted in Match Reports 3s

Matt Haswell

29 September 2015

It felt like Groundhog Day at The Hood as Merton 3s lined up against the hoodlums of Crouch End for the third time in 4 games (ok, one was a 2s game but there were lots of familiar faces), looking to make it 3 from 3 and progress in the big ISEH cup. It’s a cup that’s often labelled “the one they all want to win”, as opposed to the AFA “we wouldn’t have won it anyway” cup that we crashed out of last week, so despite the usual squad-juggling that is part and parcel of 3rd XI football these days we lined up motivated and confident. Spirits were further stirred by rumours that 3s manager Paul “Walshy” Welch, hitherto unseen in season 2015/16, would be making an appearance. They proved unfounded, but we started like we meant business anyway, winning first and second balls and looking the better side until a long hoof forward led to a… ahem… misunderstanding between the new centre back pairing of Joel and Vinny and keeper Kieran which allowed a sneaky little Vampire to nip in and set up his mate for a tap in from a yard out. A classic amateur football moment, and this historic cup has certainly seen its fair share of those.

Undeterred by this setback, Merton kicked up a gear. The new centre forward pairing of Dave Scott and Denys were giving the CEV back four a torrid time with the midfield diamond including debutant Seb feeding the ball into the channels and deploying the usual level of compete in the air and on the deck. Darcy typified this with a determined effort to win the ball back on the edge of their box and set up the equaliser. Some would question why he’d given it away in the first place but this author prefers to focus on the ball he subsequently whipped into the box for Denys, rampaging like a bull towards the near post, to volley emphatically into the roof of the net. Hero quickly turned to villain when another storming Merton counter-attack down the left saw the ball squirt towards goal machine Darcy’s left boot on the edge of the box, just waiting to be stroked home. In accordance with the amateur football handbook, Darcy “put his name on it” but that must have been lost in translation as the big Ukrainian intervened to slice the ball out for a throw. 60 seconds later, when he might otherwise have been completing a lap of honour soaking up the adulation of the crowd, Darcy was on his knees on the edge of the the Merton box claiming that his eyeball had popped out after the ball was smashed in his face. Frantic searching ensued, and the eyeball was located in the last place we thought of looking – his eye socket. Darcy was told to man up and we played out the half all square.

At the break it was looking pretty positive as Merton had been the better team, but we came under sustained pressure from the restart. A Vamps break down our left threatened to produce another moment for the Merton blooper reel, as Vinny poked a whipped cross towards his own net where Kieran stopped sharply. Apart from that blip, the Merton back four stood firm against the onslaught, our new CB pairing growing in confidence as the game went on, ably supported by fullbacks Ricardo and Paul Ellis. Merton attacks were limited to occasional forays up the other end, Lofty twice coming close from Delap-esque long throws and Yomi not quite able to gather a cross just behind him that would have offered a tap in. Skipper for the day Ryan then injured himself attempting to deliver a trademark cruncher and after hobbling around uselessly for 5 minutes was given the hook by former skipper Neal Davison, now running the show from the sidelines having been crocked last week. The Captain’s Curse has now accounted for Neal (hamstring), Ryan (ankle), Mustard (poached) and Welchy (missing, presumed abducted). There’ll be some nervous faces when Lofty is handing out the metaphorical armband next week.

That paved the way for Adam Trevena’s introduction, and he came within a lick of paint of sealing our place in the next round when a thumping drive came back off the post and we couldn’t manage to bundle home the rebound. With five minutes to go, another thumping drive by the same player was blocked by the backside of Darcy, still bumbling around looking for his eyeball on the penalty spot. He did recover to hack the ball limply towards goal but it was just about saved and smothered by the keeper on the second attempt. Games are won and lost on such bounces and sure enough just as extra time beckoned, a Crouch End attack saw the ball pinball around our box and fall to their substitute who fired it into the open net. There was barely time to kick off before the ref blew the final whistle which consigned us to a heartbreaking defeat.

Plenty of positives to take from the game; the quality of debutants, the effort from all 13 players, and also a good ref which I thought warranted a mention (compared to, say, last week’s. But let’s not get on to that…). In the end it all amounted to nothing and we are staring down the barrel of “concentrating on the league” just a month into the season. There’s one more chance to avert that in the league cup. Let’s not waste it.

MOM: Ryan. Not just because he’s writing this report (honest), but probably more of a sympathy vote from the lads after limping off.

Posted in Match Reports 3s

Matt Haswell

24 September 2015

Bouyed by an opening win at Crouch End, the 3s turned up full of confidence (and on time!) for an AFA cup duel with Old Paulines. Despite the well-publicised loss of some players to higher teams (thanks to Neal for a brilliant video), a strong team had high hopes of progressing and made the confident choice to take the larger top pitch, even though it meant bringing the goals in ourselves.

This may have been a mistake. A young, enterprising Paulines team took advantage of a flat start from Merton (perhaps getting there on time had upset the rhythm of some players football clocks!) to pass rings around us with some neat, if not unduly threatening, football. This changed about 20 minutes in, when after a corner was only half cleared at the near post by Paul Ellis, Paulines managed to guide it home through a crowd of players from seven or eight yards out. 1-0.

Neal then went off with a recurrence of his hamstring injury (Adam coming on in his place) and 4-3-3 reverted to 4-4-2. Perhaps due to the formation change, or equally likely, the desire to get back into the game, Merton rallied. Suddenly two or three yards sharper to the ball, they closed and harried the opposition out of their passing game and began to get on top. Dan fired over the angle of post and bar from a narrow angle, and also had a good shout for a penalty turned down after an exellent ball from Ryan. Denys was battling hard in the middle, winning headers and had a shot from distance saved. Several corners came as went as Merton put in a sustained spell of pressure, but even our pre-match corner planning failed to deliver this time. And this proved to be the story of the rest of the game, truth be told.

Unlucky to go in a goal down at half time, Merton kept up the pressure throughout the second half, without ever quite creating a clear cut chance. Mike Reed and Mark Chappel both went close after some pinball in the box in a grandstand finish. Yomi came on and did well, as debutant Adam with some nice touches on the ball. At the back, Vin and Mike were in control, with Mike Reed also putting in a couple of surging runs from full back. Ryan Gresty put in his usual combative performance, and so impressed was the referee that he rewarded his efforts with a yellow gold star, or was it a card, for a “reckless” one footed, ball winning tackle that had MOTD pundits calling for a retrospective 3 match ban afterwards.

At this point, a new section dedicated to Paul Ellis, who was cruelly overlooked from the match report last week, despite stepping in to play an unfamiliar left back role and doing a sterling job at it. This week Paul switched to a more familiar right sided role, and in his own words (disclaimer: some of these may actually be his) “had too many good moments to mention”. More importantly, the introduction of a new section to the match report helps to distract from the disappointing final scoreline.

But, back to the game. With even goal machine Darcy failing to deliver this week, Merton resorted to piling players in the box for the final few moments, hoping to salvage something to take the game to extra time. Alas, it was not to be, and in a further cruel twist of fate, Paulines added a second in injury time on the break despite a clear offside that the ref had the good grace to admit after the game.

Next week, Crouch End return in the other cup, aka the one we can win. Although that’s perhaps a self evident statement given the result above in the AFA cup

MOTM: Mike Stone for another assured and classy display at the back, and also now permitted to join the whatsapp group as evidence of his progression. Honourable mentions to Mike Reed (despite the caption competiton photo below), Denys and Vin.

Posted in Match Reports 3s

Matt Haswell

14 September 2015

With just two survivors from the team that lost 4-3 on the same ground last season, the new look Merton 3’s kicked off their season to the steady thrum of the North Circular at Crouch End. In a surprise turn of events, the referee for the day appeared to be Jeremy “Jez” Corbyn, which was very good of him considering he’d won the Labour leadership only a few hours beforehand.

Whilst a new team (of mostly old players), it was a case of history repeating itself as traffic issues meant that Merton only succeeded in reaching the requisite 11 players a few moments before kick-off. That said, this approach removed any selection dilemas, and the trusty 4-4-2 was called upon after some brief discussion, and accompanied by a hurried team talk, complete with all the standard advice any self-respecting football club should be covering. Having duly agreed to “keep it tight”, “take no risks in our defensive third” and “put fullbacks on the posts at corners”, Merton were ready to go.

On an uneven, bobbly, and narrow pitch the game took a while to come to life, but Merton eventually found their feet first and began to exert some sustained pressure on the Vampire’s goal. After a couple of wasteful set pieces, Merton took a deserved lead after 15 minutes; following some good work to win the ball back in midfield, the ball was passed in to Dan, who turned away from one defender, before shielding the ball from another. There didn’t look to be much danger at this point, but an on-rushing Darcy cleverly shouted for the ball, took it off Dan’s toes and left the covering defenders for dead who were still trying to work out where the ball had gone. Darcy drew the keeper and slotted in (slightly bobblingly) via the far post. 1-0.

Crouch End responded well with a spell of pressure of their own, forcing Artur into a couple of relatively comfortable saves, but having soaked this up Merton went straight back up the other end and added a second. This time, after some pinball in the opposition box, the maruading Tony at right-back ran on the ball from the corner of the 18 yard box and arrowed a shot goalwards. The keeper managed to save, but Darcy was on-hand again to hook the ball home from from a very narrow angle. The opposition appealed to Jez that the ball had already gone out of play, despite the impossibility of being able to score from behind the goal, but Jez was having none of it. 2-0.

Again, Crouch End responded, and on the brink of half time created their best move of the match, with a dipping 20 yard volley brilliantly tipped over the ball by Arturs. 2-0 at half time.

With a half time team talk that consisted of agreeing to do the same again, Merton started the second half brightly. In a collector’s item moment of creative flair, Dan played Nick in with a perfectly weighted through ball off the outside of his right foot (a proper Fifa R1 through-ball move) and we looked set for 3-0 as Nick bore down on the keeper. Everyone waited for the goal to come, but unfortunately as Nick also waited for the keeper to commit, a Crouch End defender made a stunning recovery tackle to steal the ball away just as Nick was about to strike.

This looked like it could be a pivotal moment, as Crouch End took advantage of this repreive to get themselves back in it. With Neil off for Riccardo, the midfield lost their shape and Crouch End began to dominate. The goal came via a penalty; the tricky Crouch End no. 10 drawing a foul inside the box, and the resulting penalty emphatically dispatched, not once, but twice after Jez spotted some frankly blatant encroaching by 4 or 5 players. Nothing got past this man.

2-1 quickly became 2-2, via another set piece. This time a free kick; curled around the wall and into the bottom corner from 20 yards. Crouch End sensed victory.
Almost of nowhere however, Merton rallied. Without a lead to protect any longer, Merton came back into the game somewhat, and it was Darcy this time that turned creator, running on to a channel ball towards the corner flag, and tricking his way past the covering defender on the by-line. He got his head up and picked out Denys at the back post for an easy tap-in. Crouch End screamed in vain for offside, but once again Jez was not to be swayed, even ruling out an offside Crouch End “equaliser” a few minutes later for good measure.

That proved to be the only further alarm though, as Merton successfully saw out the remainder of the game. “World-class” was even mentioned as Mike Reed expertly headed clear a long ball for the umpteenth time during this period.

So, three points a deserved reward for a gritty performance on a tough, narrow pitch. Darcy Yates was man of the match for his two goals and an assist, but special mention should also go to Arturs who made a couple of fantastic saves, and also the centre-back pairing of Mike Reed and John Stones who by and large dealt with everything thrown, kicked, or indeed hoofed their way.

Posted in Match Reports 3s

Matt Haswell

8 May 2015

10 May 2015

The 3s last game of the season was against the division champions Old Garchonians. Right fom the start they looked a good well organised side. Both sides took a little time to settle down. We had a scratch side drawn from all parts of the club and so were a little disjointed. It was a fairly even contest but with OGs definitely on top and creating the more chances. An unlikely centre back pairing of Snooks and Ricardo operated well to hold some lively forwards. A good move and finish saw OGs go one up and they had chances to make it 2-0. One of the highlights of the game, apart from our goal, was their forward clearly in an offside position being unable to resist tapping a goal bound shot into the empty net and so making sure it did not count to make it 2-0. He was so far offside even he did not argue and he had argued about everything else. Shortly after that we equalised with a good move out of defence and great finish from Darcy. Both sides had chances to make it 3pts, OGs rather more than us. They were a good strong side who should do well in the higher division. It has been a struggle this season for our 3s but the club is very grateful to some of the stalwarts who have stuck with it through thin and thin. So thanks to Tony P, Darcy, Jamie Scott, Ryan Gresty , all of whom have helped in organising aswell and our keepers Arturs/Ryan. It will be better next season but thanks for the commitment.

[Show slideshow]

Posted in Match Reports 3s

Matt Haswell

20 March 2015

Once the players assembled in the changing room from the 3s, 4s, 5s & 6th teams, we had the bare 11 players, with plenty of experience and good spirits after some good results but a different line up.

The game itself was a very scrappy affair on a hard & uneven pitch with an opposition who liked appealing for everything and haven’t changed in all years I played against them. In addition the referee who gave some odd (being polite) decisions including a penalty against us. That woke us up abit Patrick score from 40 yards after a clearance following the referee stopping the game for an injury in there box, which was where the game finished at half time.

The second half was much the same scrappy because of the conditions plus. CEV scored first again before Dan equalised from a good cross by Ed, however late on we were hit by two quick goals as we started to suffer with a lack on subs having picked up a couple of minor injuries and a few tired legs. Patrick score another screamer as we kept on pushing to achieve a result, however this wasn’t help with Josh having to go off.

Arturs made some were good saves which kept as in with a chance but in the end it was all in vain.

Well done to the team on a fine effort after a long journey.

TEAM: Arturs, Ed, Chris, Martin, Clive, Josh, Ryan, Patrick, Dulaine, Peter, Dan

Martin Quinlan

Following the text messages with Kevin, it looks if I be back in the 6th in goal as they’re missing me.

Posted in Match Reports 3s

Matt Haswell

12 March 2015

It was a beautiful Spring afternoon in early March. The sun was beaming down on the ‘the Hood’.

Merton’s 3^rd team were due to play Old Wilsonians 3rds.

Another Merton 3^rd team game meant a lucky dip of players.

Thankfully the Merton boys all arrived in good spirt and on time, which is a rarity! This was more than could be said about the Ref.

3pm came and both teams are basking in the glorious sunshine, awaiting the arrival of the Ref. A few phone calls later, we were advised that there was no referee L (Not sure what happened there Chapel!). Thankful, Lee stepped up (or was rather per pressured into) and agreed to Ref the game.

Merton went 0-2 down after 2 identical goals from set pieces. 40min into the 1^st half and Merton started to knock the ball around nicely and scored (1-2). 2minutes later, seconds before the first half whistle went, Merton scored again, making it 2-2 at half time.

After a strong team talk, the Merton boys were back out smelling blood… however, it was Old Wilsonians who made the first move and scored another identical goal, making it 2-3.

Not to be downhearted, Merton started passing the ball around with precision and pace, and soon found themselves 7-3 up. Immense goals from: Darcy Yates, Dan Kelly, Dave, Ricardo x2, 1 OG (which Kelly is trying to claim) and someone else (can’t remember). Also there was a great strike by Jaime Scott who hit the bar…

Great all round performance by the Merton boys who stood up to the challenge.

Great effort from Lee to agree to Ref the match as well, and a surprisingly good referee!

Posted in Match Reports 3s

Matt Haswell

1 March 2015

Last weeks 7-goal demolition of Southgate Olympic was always going to be a tough act to follow, and the 3s duly provided a battling 1-1 draw in Ewell by way of a comedown.

All 4 of the 2014/2015 Merton 3rd XI roster turned out for this one, leaving just 10 ‘guest’ players to bring the matchday squad up to a season-high 14. Unfamiliarity was to be expected, and bearing this in mind Merton did well to weather the early storm from a fresh-faced Old Salesians team who knocked the £2 Sports Direct ball nicely across the enormous, largely grassless pitch. Crossbars were rattled, corners nodded over and chances snuffed out by some committed defending, but Smithy’s goal remained unbreached. Then Merton got hold of the ball and started to look like the side that had scored at will 7 days ago.

The pressure grew until a nice move down the right saw Adam cut into the box, skip past a couple of limp challenges and fire the ball into the net. Surely Merton would now kick on and put the game away… or not. After the first of several questionable offside calls (more on that later) denied Liam a clear run in on the keeper, a counter attack the other way ended up with a crunching tackle in the Merton box, nowhere near the ball. Penalty awarded and duly dispatched to make it 1-1 going into the break.

If the first half was largely incident-free, the second was eminently forgettable. Merton were starved of the ball and defended tightly but had the referee to thank for waving away a couple of “marginal” penalty shouts on Darcy that were later described by the player himself as “stone wall”.

No sooner had they been written, the thank you cards were ripped up by the Merton management as the referee robbed them of a late winner on a dodgy offside call. The ball was rolled into DQ up top, whose touch deserted him to such a degree that he missed it completely, leaving Adam to jog on to it unopposed from his own half and begin the long run in on goal. Just as he arrived at the box (about 5 minutes later) the whistle was blown for offside. The final whistle wasn’t far behind and both sides trudged off happy to settle for a point apiece.

That’s 4 points from 2 away games for Merton – always a welcome return. Thanks as always to those who answered the call to arms this week, notably Kev who played the Manuel Neuer sweeper-keeper role with aplomb and Chris Outred who repelled everything thrown at him down the left flank. Here’s hoping these 2 games will herald a turnaround in our season as we move away from ‘relegation dogfight’ territory towards mid-table mediocrity.

Posted in Match Reports 3s

Matt Haswell

18 February 2015

“If you have a problem, if no-one else can help, and if you can find ~~them~~ him, maybe you can hire ~~The A-Team~~ Dan Kelly”

Southgate 1 – 7 Merton 3s (Dan Kelly x5, David Quainton x2)

Saturday’s visit to Southgate will be remembered for a number of unique Merton FC records – the longest half ever played, the first time that a team’s seven goal haul was exceeded only by the number of disallowed goals and the first time there were more incorrect offsides than players on the pitch.

The 3s travelled made the long trip to Winchmore Hill, supported by the short-notice addition of The A-Team from Merton 2s. The match started quickly and soon revealed that support from The A-Team was not wanted or needed as Dan Kelly took it upon himself to single-handedly run the show with a hat-trick in the first ten minutes of the game – all three goals stemming from clever runs in behind followed by cool finishes. David Quainton showed desperation to join Dan on the score sheet by violently assaulting colleagues to rid himself of competition and nod home a couple of beautifully floated crosses from an ‘injured’ Richard Eggleston. Amidst a flurry of ‘offsides’ and disallowed goals, Dan Kelly added his fourth to take Merton into the break with an unassailable 6-0 lead – a welcome buffer after the referee played 61 minutes on an atrocious, energy-sapping pitch with inexplicable justification (“I’ve added ten minutes because the ball went on the road twice” … a sum total of about 60 seconds of disruption).

In the second half, Dan Kelly continued his relentless assault on Southgate’s goal with another strong finish. Southgate did manage a quiet response – a deflected through ball landed nicely to their striker to finish calmly past Alex Herbert, but it was an isolated move against otherwise one-way traffic. Merton remained in cruise control for the rest of the match, playing the ball around nicely to close out a very one-sided game.

MOM: Dan Kelly

Posted in Match Reports 3s

Matt Haswell

4 February 2015