Under 15s vs Croygas Yth- 26.02.17

Merton moved down to 8^th in the table after a 1-0 defeat. This was the yellows 3^rd consecutive loss. Croygas, who are unbeaten in 11 games, were away at the hood and once again, like the 2-2 draw earlier in the season, it was a close contest.

The blues right winger, josh, scored a good goal when he got on the end of a great pass, beat Felix in pace and neatly finished it past Tommy. Merton looked like they were going to get a point out of the game when they held Croygas till half time. By the break neither side had many shots and the ball was being played over the top a lot. Merton dominated in possession but failed to get a shot away in the first 50 minutes. The defensive line for Merton was very strong and dealt with everything coming over the top apart from the goal.

Croygas played some good football and damaged Merton in the air with the tall centre midfielder Eddie. However, the second placed side in the league had to bury their chances and play the ball on the floor a bit more. The league is very much to play for and Croygas will believe they can get promoted as they are only 2 points behind Bedfont.

On the other hand, Merton could potentially face the battle of staying up if they lose their next match away at Brockham. The yellows lie 8^th and only 4 points ahead of 10^th placed Brockham.

Both teams deserved points today and Merton will feel hard done by. However they had their chances and most of them came in the last 10 minutes.  When croygas keeper Tom was off his line and it seemed like he forgot where the goal was, Jake Davies ran through the defence but shot straight at the keeper. Bradley also had a chance but was off balance and scuffed the shot. However, Bradley’s pace was hard for the blues defence to cope with and Jake, Yacob and Harrison kept a steady midfield.

Injuries seem to keep coming for Dan and Darren’s side and they will have to make do without a keeper for the rest of the season. A big game for Croygas next as they face Kingstonians. Man of the match for today’s game was Merton’s Tommy Arnold, who pulled off some great saves and stepped in for the goalkeeper position.