Month: October 2014

After a couple of testing matches in the league, Merton 3s were looking for a positive start to their cup campaign. And that’s howit ended, full of positives.

A challenging 1st half brought the best out of our goalkeeper, Tommy Saville, and a slow start as usual for our outfield players meant we knew we had to raise our game against a very good Old Minchedenians side. Both teams coming close to scoring, with the best chance of the 1st half falling to Glen Porter with a header from a Thomas Taylor corner, which the keeper pulled out a first class save to deny a lead before half time.

Half time came and the team were full of energy, we knew it was a match where the 1st goal will win the game.

So the 2nd half began, with the introduction of David O’Neill from the bench….and so it begins…

Just 10 mins into the 2nd half the Merton football that we all love to see cut open the opposition’s defence. Richard Prospere cutting the midfield and defence open with a wonderful through ball which David O’Neill ran onto, one on one with the keeper and tucked it away very neatly to get his 1st goal for the club. 1-0 Merton.

Just about 5 mins later we won a penalty, which none other than Thomas Taylor, with excellent precision placed the penalty offthe post and in. 2-0 Merton.

Then the fun began, and Merton enjoyed a lot of the ball and created a lot of chances. Dean Wilkinson was then put in on goal and he didn’t fail to improve the score further after yet another tidy finish. 3-0 Merton.

Thomas Taylor then put David O’Neill in on goal for his 2nd of the match and a lovely finish made this game won. The usual solid performances from Perry Byrne, Richard Prospere and Dan Outred meant the defence was able to keep a clean sheet and our goal was no longer at threat.

Game finished 4-0 to Merton and a great start to the cup. It is a long road, but there is no reason why we can’t compete for this cup. Lets keep this up!

Team: Tommy Saville, Glen Porter, Daniel Outred, Richard Prospere, Shaun McCullough, Perry Byrne, Dean Wilkinson, Thomas Taylor, Dulanie Richards, Chris Outred, Dean Porter. Subs: Toby Palm, Dan Hall, David O’Neill

MOM:David O’Neill

Report by:Glen Porter

After a very productive pre season and some very good results, Merton 3rd XI were looking for a positive start to the league campaign. With a couple of late drop-outs it wasn’t the most ideal start to the season, but nevertheless, made 2 late call-ups from the 4th XI and managed to field a team with 2 subs. This meant a reshuffle of the starting line up, but knew we had the quality to fill in where necessary.

The match began very well for us and we threatened the Wierside defence on many occasions but just not being able to test the keeper enough. Some great play from our midfielders enabled the Wierside game to be broken down effectively and managed to resort them tojust 1 shot which Tommy Saville was able to make a very smart save down to his left.

With about 30 mins gone David O’Neill managed to break down the play and play a great ball through the channel and Thomas Taylor worked hard to place the ball around the keeper and into the back of the net. 1-0 Merton. Some excellent tackles and work rate by the Outred brothers kept Wierside’s wingers at bay for the rest of the 1st half.

Half time felt good and lots of water taken on board. Some wise words spoken by our captain Dean Wilkinson, and everyone was readyto go for the 2nd half.

2nd half was a lot of the same, midfielders working hard for eachother and the back 4 being under control for the most part. We were getting the ball down and playing those “simple 5 yard balls” as the skipper would say. This was causing the opposition all sorts of problems and just could not handle the pace of Dulanie Richards down the right wing. Chances were being created, but some excellent goalkeeping denied Thomas Taylor of a flurry of goals. Chris Outred also coming very close. All we really needed now was that 2nd goal, but unfortunately with what I can recall as Wierside’s only real chance in the 2nd half, a wonder strike flew in the top corner. 1-1.

Both teams could have nicked the win late on, but Wierside came the closest with a shot which Daniel Outred headered off the line. The whistle went and the game had finished 1-1.

There was some disappointment at the end of the match, but still lots of positives to be taken from this game for the rest of the season.

Team: Tommy Saville, Richard Prospere, Daniel Outred, Toby Palm, Glen Porter, David O’Neill, Dean Wilkinson(c), Ricardo Iglesias, Dulanie Richards, Chris Outred, Thomas Taylor. Subs: Dean Porter, Dan Smith

MOM:Daniel Outred

Report by:Glen Porter

A great performance against decent opposition on a shocking pitch.

The first thing to mention is the (second) pitch at Finchleans. They have put in a new drainage system, and while that will hopefullyhave long term benefits for the club the immediate result is a soft, slippy, sandy pitch full of holes and poorly filled trenches which is, unsurprisingly, very difficult to play on. It could be argued that a pitch demanding nothing else but strong, no-nonsense football actually suited us down to the ground, but I don’t envy Finchleans having to play on it for the rest of the season.

It was an excellent, committed performance, apart from the first five minutes when I was largely responsible for Finchley taking the lead. Set-piece delivery was a challenge for everyone all afternoon because your standing foot would just go, and a goal kick taken by me, up the hill, was hit hard enough but too low – straight onto the head of Finchleans centre forward who nodded it over our defence for their nippy young left winger to run on to and bear down on me and John in the area at pace. My only defence for being caught very flat footed was not having played for 4 weeks (which is not an insignificant issue when you’re nearly 40), but it’s no excuse really. After going past me with ease his low shot was pushed out by John but the rebound was tucked in by an onrushing attacker. 1-0 down, and a very bad start.

Undaunted, and demonstrating a burgeoning team spirit and confidence, Merton pushed forward seeking an immediate equaliser. A couple of half chances came and went before, on 10 minutes, Darren Pearce won one of many, many headers in their box from a set-piece; the ball broke to Paul Riches who looked to have been pushed too wide but his clever, delicately chipped ball from the bye-line back across goal was nodded in at close range by Dan Smith.

We didn’t have to wait too long before taking the lead. After 18 minutes, a through ball from Ryan at right back released Dan Smith through a Finchley defence caught square, and he clinically poked it under the keeper.

Old Finchleans, who played some decent stuff at times, came back strongly and caused us significant problems for a couple of sustained periods in the first half. Only a stunning one-fisted save by John prevented a great volley from 25 yards dipping under the bar,and kept the scoreline in our favour. As the game edged closer to the break Merton started to get a much stronger grip on the game. The midfield battle was being won and we could have scored one or two more. Dan Smith put a close range header over the bar which should have been taken to complete another hat trick, and we caused them havoc from a series of set-pieces, a theme which was set to continue. 2-1 at half-time.

We came out all guns blazing in the second half and a crucial goal in the first minute, a tidy left foot finish from a tricky angle by Tiddy, after a throw was flicked on by Pearcey at the near post. It was arguably the decisive goal because we went from strength to strength after that. The work rate and determination from everyone was brilliant and Finchleans were not in any way allowed back into the game. They had their chances, notably a great shot which produced an even better save from (MOM) John, and a header froma corner which was brilliantly headed from under the bar by Ricardo, but it was largely one way traffic.

On 58 minutes Ricardo put the game to bed with a cracking volley from 20 yards after Finchleans, yet again, failed to deal with the Essex throw and Pearcey flick on combination. Every time we got in the box, all game, we looked like we were going to score, and were nearly always first to the second ball.

On 75 minutes Luke Freestone who looked lively when he came on, punished Finchleans for their continuing problems from set pieces with a blasted snap-shot from 6 yards after – you guessed it – another throw was won in the air by Pearcey. While it’s true we scored4 out of 5 goals from set-pieces we had many other good openings from open play. Merton played some incisive football going forward, particularly in the second half, and we could have scored a few more on another day. Dan Smith couldn’t quite grab his 3rd hat-trick ofthe season and Dan Kelly, who worked his socks off again, probably should have had a couple himself.

It was one of those games when it was difficult to make substitutions because everyone had played so well. The midfield, to a man,were brilliant but in particular I want to mention Ricardo Iglesias who, for the first time this season, turned up on time. For good measure he scored a stunner, saved a certain goal and hit several tackles that Javier Mascherano would have been proud of. We want more of this.

The Dans up front work exceptionally hard for the team and it feels like we have a genuine cutting edge in the team at present. We were solid and organised across the back and Darren Pearce had one of those games when he won pretty much every header, out of lots of headers. John Himsworth won man of the match because of his brilliant saves but quite a few players were in contention for the award.

Essex is reading this now and is just about to realise that I haven’t forgotten to mention that he nearly scored the goal of the season from near the half way line, late on in the game. He couldn’t have hit his (slightly speculative) shot any better and it lookedto be heading, bullet-like, for the top corner while the keeper could only watch helplessly, but it went wide by a gnat’s whisker. Maybe it’s a good thing that it didn’t go in, because we would NEVER, EVER have heard the last of that one.

This was an excellent performance all round, but it won’t mean that much unless we go out next week and do it again at Kew. We will be missing a few players for various reasons but we now have the squad to cope with this and get a result. Let’s keep this momentumgoing.

Team: John Himsworth, Shaun Jones, Darren Pearce, Ryan Perry, Paul Riches (Simon Murphy 65), Kieran Tiddy, MarcCottrell(c), Ricardo Iglesias, Mark Wrigley (Luke Freestone, 60), Dan Smith, Dan Kelly.

MOM:John Himsworth

by:Shaun Jones

Following last week’s disappointing result at Norsemen we arrived in Carshalton with a full squad, although still without Shaun Jones and a host of others. This meant three players making their Merton 3rd team debut for the season from the bench, Mark Wrigley, Luke Freestone and Tony Postleweight.

We were quietly confident heading into the match with what we thought was an improving Carshalton side with three wins on the trot. From the warm up though it was clear they were missing a few players. With this is mind, we set out in a 3-5-2 formation with Simon Murphy and Chris Callus given the tough wing back duties.

From the kick off we were in the ascendancy, although were nearly caught out once or twice early on from Carshalton breaks. After 15 minutes we took the lead, with good built up play leading to Dan Smith being brought down in the box. He stepped up and clinically put the penalty away.

Our second followed shortly after, with some great play down the right hand flank. A series of passes left Dan S near the corner flag, after holding off a challenge, a simple pass inside found Chris who had run from deep unmarked. His well-placed cross found Kieran Tiddy who’s shot was blocked, but as he often is, Dan Kelly was on hand to smash home the rebound from a few yards out.

We continued to press and should have made it three with some guilt edge chances being missed. We were made to pay for this after 40 minutes, when some soft defending from a Carshalton quick free kick, allowed their centre forward to dribble 10 yards before scoring with a shot from 25 yards, that John Himsworth was not quite able to get a hand too. A quality finish, but slack on our behalf.

Whilst conceding just before half time, we remained confident at the break. We remained unchanged for the second half and while under a few brief moments of pressure at the start of the half, our back three of Paul Riches, Darren Pearce and Ryan Perry continued to look relatively comfortable with Carshalton’s forward line.

After 55 minutes we regained our two goal margin. Another piece of good build up left Dan K bearing down on goal from 8 yards out, when he was clumsily brought down from behind. Whilst no card was given, Dan S stepped up to casually put away his second penalty of the day.

A series of substitutions followed, with Tony coming on for Ricardo Iglesias, Luke on for Dan K and Mark for Chris.

15 minutes later we killed off the game, a long throw from Mark was flicked on by a Carshalton player, with the ball finding its way to Kieran Tiddy on the edge of the box, who hit a beautiful side foot volley into the far post top corner. (Clearly the goal of the day!)

With the Carshalton heads now down we continued to push forward in search a fifth. The goal came with 10 minutes to go, more positive play down the right left Marc Cottrell in space outside the box. After a touch inside, he slotted home from 20(ish) yards… and the ‘crowd went wild’… In truth, it was a quality strike, only marginally bettered by Tiddy’s volley.

With the game now waning, a Carshalton corner resulted in our 6th goal of the day. After dealing with the corner, the well played clearance down the park left Dan S one on one with the keeper, which was placed calmly into the corner of the net to complete Dan’s second hat trick in the last month.

With the game now all but over, we conceded a silly free kick in the last minute, 25 yards out. Their best player stepped up and slotted direct from the free kick, a quality strike to end a disappointing day for Carshalton.

It was a well-deserved three points, and proved valuable in ensuring we kept up with the leading pack (The top 5 sides all winning this week, including a Norsemen 10-0 win – making our loss last week all the more respectable). We will need to ensure we approach next week’s game away against Old Finchleians with the same positive approach, seeking an improved performance following the 2-2 draw with them in October.

Team – John Himsworth, Ryan Perry, Darren Pearce, Paul Riches, Simon Murphy, Ricardo Iglesias (Tony Postleweight 55), Kieran Tiddy, Marc Cottrell, Chris Callus (Mark Wrigley 70), Dan Smith, Dan Kelly (Luke Freestone 65).

MOM:Paul Riches

by:Ryan Perry

With several key players out this week and a number of others unavailable for the trip to north London, we were already in battling mode by the time we arrived in Edmonton for the match against the top of table Norsemen.

At kick off we had the bare eleven which included Alex Rhodes who made his Merton debut, and had one sub, Ricardo Iglesias still battling his way through London traffic (and one exchange of insurance details…).

Despite the difficulties, our starting eleven looked strong, and from the kick off we were certainly a match for Norsemen. After an even opening 20 minutes, we began to dominate and were rewarded after good pressure resulted in a Dan Kelly goal. Ben Bakker’s long throw was flicked on by Darren Pearce, and the ball eventually found its way to Dan who headed in via a deflection.

We continued to press well for the remainder of the half, and had a few half chances while John Himsworth in goal made some solid saves from the one or two chances Norsemen created (outside of shots from 25 yards…). The confidence created was dented on the stroke of half time, when Paul Riches retaliated to nasty challenge, resulting in a Merton free kick, but vitally a red card to Paul.

While being down to 10, we started the 2nd half looking relatively solid, with Alex dropping back to left back and Dan K /Dan Smith alternating at left midfield. Kieran Tiddy took up a deeper defensive midfield position and despite the man disadvantage our shape was good, limiting Norsemen to long range efforts.

Following the red card, the game also developed into a very physical encounter with rash tackles flying in all over the show, several Norsemen players finding their way into the book.

After 60 minutes, Norsemen found an equaliser. An impressive corner we were unable to deal with and a quality header from 8 yards leaving John with no chance. With this Norsemen increased the pressure, with Merton limited to counter attacks when able to retain possession.

Ricardo came on for Simon Murphy after 65 minutes. 10 minutes later we were all square in terms of playing numbers. Their player stupidly raising a hand to Pearcey’s face, just after being booked, leaving the ref with little choice but to send him off.

With the even numbers, we pushed forward in greater numbers, but within 5 minutes of the send-off, we were 2-1 down. While doing well to win possession in our final third, Ricardo looking for options going forward was dispossessed. The resulting cross, found its way to a Norsemen player who placed his finish well.

We pushed forward during the last 10 minutes seeking an equaliser, but struggled to produce a clear cut chance. We were in need of some luck, yet none was forthcoming and a few minutes from time, a well-placed Marc Cottrell free kick drifted to the far post where Pearcey flung his body and arm at the ball. While the ball ended in the net, the referee adjudged (rightly) this had come via Pearcey’s arm. A second yellow was given and Pearcey was sent off.

We continued to press for a winner with 9, but were vulnerable to counter attacks, the first resulting in a clear one on one. John managed to force the centre forward wide who then looked to slot home from 15 yards, and with a goal looking a certainly, Alex (somehow…) managed to slide in to clear the ball onto the crossbar which bounced away to safety.

With the final whistle nearing, a deflected Norsemen cross deceived Alex and while pressuring their right midfielder, his shot/cross from a tight angle went in off the far post. 3-1 and game over with the final whistle blown straight after kick off.

Whilst a disappointing result, the attitude and effort was top notch in testing conditions, in particular the aggressive opposition (on and off the pitch). With a little luck and self-discipline we could and should have got something from this game. The same approach will be needed in 3-4 weeks when we meet Norsemen again in the Junior Cup.

Credit also to the referee Lee Addison, who despite the nature of the game and three red cards had a great game…

Team:John Himsworth, Ryan Perry, Ben Bakker, Darren Pearce, Paul Riches, Simon Murphy (Ricardo Iglesias), Kieran Tiddy, Marc Cottrell, Alex Rhodes, Dan Smith, Dan Kelly.

MOM:John Himsworth

by:Ryan Perry

Not much fun.

Not our best performance, and after a good start to the game we were fortunate to take a point in the end.

Against a decent Finchleans team, much changed from last season’s Div 3 runners up side, we started strongly, using the windly conditions, pushing the opposition back and placing sustained pressure on the opposition defence from the kick off. After 5 minutes we took a deserved lead when a long throw from the right was only partially cleared, the ball was crossed to Dan Smith in space in the box and his slightly mis-hit snap shot was turned in smartly by Simon Murphy – 1-0. Merton continued to press on but Finchleans also started to look dangerous, creating danger with some fluid movement down the flanks and around the edge of our box.

While our 3-5-2/5-3-2 formation from last week gave us a strong foothold in midfield, it also seemed to leave us stretched at times. We struggled to track runners from midfield and Finchleans’ young number 14 in particular caused us problems with his movement. We allowed ourselves to be pulled around too much, isolating defenders in one-on-one situations, and it was a huge disappointment when a defensive mix-up between Ben and John led to a tap in equaliser from their useful number 10 (who normally plays for Finchlean’s first team, who didn’t have a game), slightly against the run of play.

Undaunted, we kept pushing, and soon after we were back in the lead as Dan Smith grabbed his fourth goal in two games with a typically sharp finish after being released with a yard of space on the left of the box. It could have got better still if Simon Murphy’s lovely angled chip from 25 yards had not hit the underside of the bar and bounced down and out soon afterwards. We really could’ve done with that one going in.

It wasn’t too long before Finchleans caught us napping again. I was in a prime position – i.e. dead in line – to see that the Finchlean goal scorer was a clear yard and a half offside when put through, but we were guilty of being static and not tracking runners so I guess we got what we deserved. Their forward rounded John for an easy finish and we were gutted to have given away two very poor goals.

Soon afterwards we lost Shaun Monaghan following hard knock to his ankle in a badly timed tackle, which possibly involved some ligament damage as well. Tiddy came on, (his first appearance since the London riots/looting) as a straight swap. Things atayed fairly even until half time but our initial fluency and confidence had not returned.

We changed things to 4-4-2 for the second half and while that tightened things up, and arguably secured us a point, we lost control of the game – passes went astray, and it only really looked as if Finchley could win it. However, Simon Murphy was unlucky once again, heading against the bar from a corner and Chris Callus, after he had come on for Ricardo, put a shot over the bar from 10 yards, but apart from those chances we didn’t create much of note. Finchleans, playing with the strengthening wind, looked much the better team, and it was down to a combination of good defending and poor finishing which kept us level. Simon and Dan were isolated up front and poor passing in most areas meant that we spent far too much time chasing the ball, which evidently led to fatigue in the last quarter of the match, and that really showed.

I could try to offer reasons why we weren’t good enough on Saturday; about players we were missing, or about Finchleans being bolstered by their first team, but they would just be excuses, so I won’t. At the end of the day you either turn up and deliver or you don’t and on Saturday, unfortunately, we didn’t. We all need a strong, positive reaction in the cup on Saturday, so we can put this performance firmly behind us.

Team: John Himsworth, Ben Bakker, Darren Pearce, Shaun Jones(c), Ryan Perry, Paul Riches, Shaun Monaghan, Ricardo Iglesias, Neil Sullivan, Simon Murphy, Dan Smith. Subs: Chris Callus, Kieran Tiddy, Mark Chapell.

MOM: Dan Smith

Written by: Shaun Jones

Not much fun.

On Saturday we were sloppy, off the pace and niggly. It was not enjoyable to manage or to play in.

Shaun Monaghan had car trouble and never made it to Ewell. Ricardo was late again and missed kick off, so we were very grateful for the late inclusion of Essex (Who had been called up to the 2s but couldn’t make their earlier kick off because of work) and a friend of his, Paul, who had agreed to help us out at the last minute. Without them we would have had to start with 9 men, which would have resulted in a bloody massacre.

Against a good Salesians side – who had several players in their ranks who clearly should be playing much higher than Junior level – we actually started reasonably well on the big, flat pitch – but it was Salesians who played most of the football throughout the game, and we faded after going 1-0 up – the ref awarded a penalty for a push in the box after 15 minutes, tucked away confidently by Essex.

There was an edge between the teams right from the start, largely stoked by their tall and physical number 6 (CM) who did not stop talking for the whole game. Everything they did, everything, was lauded by him as brilliant, every other thing that he said wound up some or all of our team. It was incessant and we, (or at least some of we), allowed it to get to us completely. Salesians had been slick on the break but we looked like we were going to get through to the break 1-0 up when, just before half time, the number 6 used his physique, but mainly his long arms, to rob the ball from me in the left back position, after we had spurned several chances to clear the ball; he dribbled into the box and drew Neil into a rash challenge. A stonewall penalty, comfortably dispatched with the last kick of the half by their goalkeeper and captain.

It was a horrible, bad tempered match to play in, characterised by two teams whining at the ref and bickering at each other, and it just got worse in the second half. The young ref had a difficult game, but it was not a game that any sane person would have chosen to try and control. While I disagreed with some of his decisions, particularly with the second penalty he gave against us, he did his best in trying circumstances.

We went 2-1 down 10 minutes into the second half, when, following a cleared corner, we were too slow to close down their centre forward (i.e. we didn’t at all) 25 yards out who scored high past John, who should have got a firmer hand on it, but he saw it late and didn’t. Ricardo came on for a strangely out of sorts Neil and did very well when he came on.

Salesians’ 3rd goal, the killer, and ultimately the main talking (and yelling and swearing) point of the match came with about 20 minutes to go. Ben challenged their number 6 for a header, contact was hip to hip, there was little or no appeal but it was given by the referee. The keeper scored again, but the ref asked for it to be retaken after more than one Salesian player encroached quite far into the area. For some reason, known only to himself, the keeper thought the Ref should “F*** off”, and told him to do so, loudly. Nevertheless, he was pretty confident he could re-take the penalty, re-spotting the ball, and telling the players near him that he was only getting a yellow card. He was pretty wrong about this and responded to his bad news by booting the ball away as far as he could, and yelling a stream of 4-lettered abuse at the referee as he stomped off. I estimate he could have earned at least 3 reds and a yellow in less than 20 seconds, which is impressive work, even in such a bad tempered match. It will be interesting to find out how long his ban is for.

While we were relatively galvanised by these events, and did create a number of chances as we pushed forward in the final quarter of the match, we were also picked off on the break more than once, and relied on John’s last ditch heroics on one particular occasion to prevent the scoreline getting even worse. During the game we actually had more clear chances than Salesians but it wasn’t our day in front of goal, and we didn’t deserve anything from it to be honest.

After an uncharacteristically coherent move, with 5 or so minutes to go, I released Simon Murphy in space in the inside left channel (look it up) who hit a decent low shot on target, it was spilled by the replacement keeper into the path of Dan Kelly who made no mistake from 6 yards. We got very close to getting an equaliser a couple of times in the dying moments of the game, but it didn’t quite happen, and the whistle went, which was almost a relief after what had gone before.

We had 3 players booked, but it could have been more. We were lucky not to have anyone sent off and the constant yelling and whingeing at the ref was embarrassing for me and a stain on the club. I spent way too much time, in the second half getting in between people, trying to calm them down, reassuring the ref, trying to defuse situations again and again and again. It clearly didn’t work, because when players reassure you they are calm and will not do anything stupid (again) and they still go and do it a few seconds later then clearly something is not right. There were a few people who did not get involved, but too many who did and let it affect them.

Everyone there on Saturday, myself included, needs to have a long hard look at themselves and try to come up with something better which will fit into an effective TEAM. I am not interested in being involved with a side that behaves in this way, and players who want to be involved in the 3s must shut up and listen when it’s time to listen, and stop moaning at the ref and the opposition and each other when I tell you to. This is non-negotiable.

We have looked good in a couple of games this season, but that team spirit and cohesion was missing on Saturday. Broomfield at home this week is now a massive game for us, and I see it as a major crossroads in theseason. We must pull together, get smarter and be a team who enjoys playing football together again. I said it a lot on Saturday (not that anyone seemed to be listening much) but we have to calm down, and start thinking, otherwise we won’t achieve anything. We have the squad to be successful, but it means absolutely nothing without the focus and discipline needed to make good things happen.

On Saturday let’s do things the right way. (Everyone) get there on time, prepare properly, warm up, stretch and be ready to go for it and play smart, positive football from the start. Let’s be the team we were beforeSaturday (i.e. No moaning, no bookings) and we can go back to enjoying playing football, because that’s kinda the point, isn’t it?

Team: John Himsworth, Ben Bakker, Marc Cottrell (c), Ryan Perry, paul Riches, Shaun Jones, Neil Sullivan, Chris Callus, Simon Murphy, Dan Kelly, Darren Pearce. Sub: Ricardo Iglesias.

MOM: Paul Riches

Written by: Shaun Jones

It could have been very different.

For 45 minutes Merton made the running, look stronger and should have been up at the break against a good West Wickham team containing several players from last season’s 2nd team, and who are currently top of division 1. Any neutral unaware of the difference in divisions between West Wickham and ourselves would have struggled to make much of a distinction. We hustled the opposition all over the pitch, forced errors and established many promising attacking positions. Without creating a host of clear cut chances against a strong and organised defence we had some good openings and one near post flick on by Pearcey from a long Neil Sullivan throw was gagging to be tucked away at the back post, but dan Kelly was inches away from it while succeeding to injure himself on the post. Essex had a decent volleyed half chance from a squared ball at the edge of the box following a great move but it came to him very quickly and the chance went away. We approached the second half with justified optimism.

Things did not quite work out for us in the second period, however. After another promising Merton start West Wickham upped their game and grew in confidence while we started to look vulnerable to breaks and lacked some of the oomph so evident in the first half. On 58 minutes West Wickham were awarded a highly disputed free kick on the edge of our box. From where I was (very close to the incident) it appeared that West Wickham’s centre forward backed heavily into Pearcey before chucking himself to the floor. That clearly wasn’t what the ref saw as he awarded a direct free kick to the away side, which was curled in expertly over the wall by West Wickham’s useful centre forward – I want to say he was number 9 but I can’t actually remember.

The same player scored again 3 minutes later from another free kick, a little further out this time. We failed to stand on it – after failing to learn our lesson from last week – the ball was slipped quickly sideways to him, and he (number so and so) banged it unerringly into the top corner from 25 yards. A great finish allowed by sleepy defending.

It had looked so promising for such a long time, but now our backs were to the wall. West Wickham had a couple more good chances from quick breaks and John’s wedding tackle was noticeably responsible for a brave close range blocked save, but we were able to re-assert more of a grip on our shape and the game, and after a couple of substitutions we started pushing determinedly forward again to try and get something from the cup tie.

Without carving out many clear cut chances we did exert some pressure and it was from a half cleared corner with 15 minutes to go that Essex curled a lovely 25 yard effort past the stranded keeper. 2-1 and game on. We chucked Pearcey up front and went to 3 at the back until the end of the game but we couldn’t quite create the chance which would have taken us to extra time for the second consecutive week. Pearcey had a good header from a Shaun Jones free kick clawed away by the keeper, but that was as close as we got I think.

Merton were the better team in the first half, which was probably the best we have played this season, while West Wickham were better in the second. They took their opportunities with excellent finishing, while our final ball wasn’t always as good as we’d have liked and we weren’t quite sharp enough in and around the box on the day. There is a fine margin between success and failure, and West Wickham had the necessary extra 5% and showed why they are top of Division 1. We showed that we are not too far away at all, but we still have a little bit of ground to make up yet, particularly in terms of composure and ball-retention in tight areas.

It was said after the game that West Wickham came expecting a tough game, and were impressed with how competitive we were, suggesting that we would hold our own in the top division. I have no doubt at all that Division 1 awaits us at some point in the future, but we have to concentrate now on division 2 which will provide tough games, week in, week out all season. We can(should) challenge for promotion this season but it will not happen without dogged hard work and determination, and without the essential attitude of focusing on one match, one challenge at a time.

There is game next week, but the next challenge will be Salesians away in the league the following Saturday.

Essex has asked me to let everyone know that the first 3rd Team social of the season will be after the game on Saturday 22nd October. No fixture has been announced for that date yet, but keep your evening diary free as we expect a good turn out and I have been told that excuses for non-attendance will incur spectacular forfeits.

MOM: Marc Cottrell

Report by: Shaun Jones

Team: John Himsworth, Darren Pearce, Shaun Jones, Marc Cottrell, Chris Hailstone, Neil Sullivan, Shaun Monaghan, Chris Callus, Toby Hannington, Dan Kelly, Simon Murphy. Subs: Fraser Haswell, Ricardo Iglesias, Ede Eruero.

Quote of the day: “Why would we waste time?! It’s a cup game, its 0-0. Do you think we want to spend any more time in North London than we really have to?” – Mr D. Pearce (addressing certain Vampires during the 2nd half of normal time)

It’s always tough playing at Crouch End – always – and this was very tough indeed. CEV were relegated from Division 2 last year while we leapfrogged them on the way up. On this showing I would be amazed if they are not promoted again this season. They are big, tough and organised and should be physically too much for most teams in the junior section, never mind Division 3. Coming off a comfortable 5-2 win against Old Lats last week Crouch End were evidently confident in themselves and clearly fancied their chances to roll us over in similar fashion.

Nope. Counting the last two pre-season friendlies this is the fourth consecutive game when we’ve deservedly come from behind to get a result, which says as much about our team spirit as it does about fitness and sharpness. It is very early in the season, of course, but the signs are not too bad.

We simply refused to be bullied out of the game on a very narrow pitch where no one had any time on the ball from the 1st minute to the last minute of extra time. Despite the fact that Merton must have given away a stone in weight a man to Vamps on average, it was a properly contested battle throughout, with no quarter asked or given. While the game was mostly played in good spirits, the referee either (missed or) let a lot of stuff go / kept the game flowing, depending on your point of view.

Muswell Hill’s representatives of the undead certainly started the stronger and made good use of their oh-so-fashionable 4-2-3-1 formation to cause us logistical problems in the early stages of the contest until we got used to the shape and the speed of the game. As the half wore on, we slowly gained a firmer grip on the match, and really began to trouble Crouch End, mainly from some excellent set-piece delivery. Only bad luck and some desperate defending kept us from taking the lead in what turned out to be a tight and even first half.

During one incident in particular it was remarkable that the scoreline remained 0-0: Shauno picked out Pearcey at the far post from a free kick on the touchline. Pearcey, playing up front this week, directed a clean header towards goal but it struck a defender’s body and stopped dead, practically on the goal line (well maybe 12 inches) – right at Shaun Monaghan’s feet with nothing surely to stop him scoring…Alas! somehow he seemed to get the ball trapped between his feet and the scrambling keeper was able to snaffle the golden chance. A lucky escape indeed for the chums of Nosferatu and they knew it. Half time arrived with all to play for.

We played very well, much better, in the second half and really should have buried the Vampires. A number of good chances were created by Merton and Dan Kelly in particular could have scored at least 4 from one-on-ones and quick breaks. Not many teams can deal with his pace but unfortunately his finishing didn’t quite come off on Saturday, as he would be the first to admit. Pearcey also had a very good chance late on but put it over the bar from 8 yards under pressure. Crouch End were again restricted mainly to speculative long range efforts, only one of which really troubled John, but he spectacularly tipped over the rasping drive with his finger tips. The game got a bit tetchy at times but thankfully never quite boiled over. Merton had one lucky escape when Ben Bakker needlessly caught their big number 4 just inside the box, long after the ball had gone, but the ball was being dealt with by John at the time and the ref thankfully waved play on. We’ve all seen them given. One other incident from a set piece, in front of our goal, produced a stunning close range double save from John, but it was brought back for offside. Full time.

The first 10 minutes of extra time was when we could have thrown it all away. The game was very open by this stage, and we were caught from a quick free kick in the middle of Vamps territory. We should have stood on it but didn’t and the resulting long diagonal ball over the top undid us with too many men up the pitch. A low, slightly scuffed cross from the left went across our box, it wasn’t cleared and their in-rushing number 7 was left with a straightforward finish into the corner from 6 yards.

We naturally pushed on from that set back, once the predictable recriminations had stopped, of course, and that eagerness to equalise almost undid us again straight away as we were caught on the break as Large Vampire No.4 waltzed through our stretched defence at the half way line, and bore down on goal with only one result likely. Desperate last ditch defending and brave goalkeeping saved the day but it should have been 2-0. That was Vamps’ best period of the game and the only time they created anything of note. We had settled things down again by half time, extra-time, still felt we could get something from the game, and felt wronged by an unfair score line.

During the last 15 minutes we pushed and pushed with renewed effort and belief. A series of set-pieces and sustained pressure kept Crouch End pinned in their own half, but it looked for a long while like it wasn’t going to be our day…until…2 minutes to go in extra time, another long throw from Ben into the box was not cleared properly. The ball ricocheted to Darren Pearce 8 yards out in front of goal seemingly – at least on the face of it – well offside, and he made no mistake – slamming it into the bottom corner – and the goal was given. The Vampires naturally went bats**t (sorry ). The ref, Mr Vernon Helsing (sadly not really), pointed out to everybody that the ball had actually rebounded to Pearcey off a Crouch End defender, so the goal stood. I was close to it and couldn’t work out what had actually happened, so I don’t blame Crouch End for being a tad upset, but the ref seemed to be the only person sure about what occurred, so there you go.

After a couple of minutes of people shouting at the ref and widespread acute unhappiness in the home team the game kicked off with a short amount of time to the end. While we obviously wanted to go and get a winner, we ended up defending our goal for the last few minutes. For the first time in nearly 120 minutes Crouch end put serious sustained pressure on our goal, which we defended resolutely, and it was a genuine relief when the whistle blew for full time and penalties.

Pens: 1 Vamps No.7 missed horribly left (0 out of 1) the ball went so wide it was lost in the bushes, possibly forever. 2 Essex sent keeper the wrong way (1 out of 1) 3 Vamps scored. Good penalty in the bottom left corner. (1 out of 2) 4 Shaun Monaghan put it in top right corner. Beautiful penalty (2 out of 2) 5 Large Vampire No.4 hit the bar – as predicted by me (1 out of 3) 6 Pearcey went top right. Keeper read it, got a palm to it, but couldn’t stop it (3 out of 3) 7 Vamps last penalty was very poor and too close to John who happily blocked it with his body.

And that was that, happy days. You don’t often have famous victories in the first round of the cup, and nor should you probably, but Crouch End is a tough place to get any kind of result and this gritty team performance genuinely deserved to get one on Saturday.

The lads voted Ben Bakker MOM on Saturday, and rightly so, but only one vote behind was John Himsworth and he deserves acknowledgement for a resolute display, and his best yet in a Merton shirt.

Well done to everyone. West Wickham (Div 1) at home in the AFA Cup on Saturday, which will inevitably be even tougher. Keep it going lads.

MOM: Ben Bakker

Report by: Shaun Jones

Team: John Himsworth, Mark Cottrell(c) Ben Bakker, Aidan Hogan, Ryan Perry, Shaun Monaghan, Shaun Jones, Ricardo Iglesias, Simon Murphy, Darren Pearce, Dan Kelly

A good start, after a really bad start.

It’s a cliche, as ever, but this was very much a game of two halves. After a strong team performance the previous Saturday at Wilsonians we were unprepared for an awful first half display against a determined Citz side. Confidence, composure and cohesion were disappointingly absent from the first minute of the game. Frustration mounted, tempers started to fray and we didn’t deserve to be any better placed than 1-0 down at half time, even though that goal was the last kick of the half. We couldn’t retain the ball for more than a pass, or two at best, and only some valiant and at times desperate defending kept us in the game. Panic unfortunately set in at times and some frank words were shared during the break. Hopefully this will be recognised in hindsight as the worst 45 minutes of football we play this season, and it will be onwards and upwards from now on. We had a strong, attacking bench and we made two substitutions for the start of the second, a decision which ultimately turned things right around and won us the game. We had to do something drastic because it wasn’t working at all.

The game restarted with Dan Kelly and Simon Murphy up front, CC7 switched from RM to LM and Hailstone dropped deeper to RM having started up front with Ricardo. (Dan Kelly had been injured the previous week and was unlucky to have missed a good performance, which is why he was on the bench. Mr. Murphy was unlucky to have not missed a house party in Coulsdon the previous week, but he has apologised to the lads and has managed to buy a mobile phone at last).

It was a tough game throughout against decent opposition but in the second half we pressed OWC much higher up the pitch, all over the pitch in fact, and started cranking up the pressure on their goal with a succession of useful crosses and set pieces, particularly Neil Sullivan’s dangerous long throws. Confidence returned, and despite the windy conditions we were able to play some positive football going forwards, and looked much more secure at the back. The deserved equaliser came after an hour when Dan Kelly sped on to a through ball from the manager, rounded the keeper and slid it in from close range. 5 minutes later it should have been 2-1 to Merton when a right wing corner from Essex looked destined to be headed home by a leaping, unmarked Shaun Jones (yes me) but it was glanced horribly wide from 6 yards out when it looked easier to score. Gutted.

Thankfully the 3s positive play continued, chances came and went, and OWC posed very little threat apart from a few corners and a couple of breaks which fizzled out. Citz’ main striker, who had been a physical presence in the first half, cut an isolated, frustrated figure in the second half and started conceding free kicks as Merton’s defence dealt with everything he and they tried. Essex was highly fortunate at one stage when caught in possession trying to dribble out of defence but the resulting low cross was glanced narrowly wide, and that was arguably Citz last real chance to get something from the game.

The winner came with 15 minutes to go as Chris Callus took one touch to collect a high bouncing ball, 22 yards out near the left corner of the box, and volleyed a stunning, dipping volley over the vainly diving keeper and under the crossbar. Boom. Citz huffed and puffed to the end but never looked like getting an equaliser. Team spirit had returned in spades and we were never going to let the 3 points go.

Pearcey’s knee was on the verge of forcing him off for much of the second half, but he kept going to the end with regular use of cold spray and because he was taking great pleasure in dominating the OWC centre forward. This fact, and the closeness of the game, meant that unfortunately we were unable to bring Craig Cosgrove on as our 3rd sub, but he will get his chance.

I think we probably shaded it, even after the 1st half horror show, but it was a hard, competitive game throughout and we can look forward to a tough rematch in Mitcham later in the season.

We have a strong squad this season and there is no reason at all why we can’t be a force in division 2 this season. We expect every game to be tough, but we will be a tough team for anyone to play against.

MOM: Shaun Jones

Report by: Shaun Jones

Team: John Himsworth, Pearcey, Shaun J, Essex, Ryan, Shaun M, Neil Sullivan, Darren Wilson, Chris Callus, Ricardo, Hailstone. Subs: Dan Kelly (45), Simon Murphy(45), Craig.