Category: Match Reports 2s

Old Blues are a new club to the league and are in their second season and share facilities with Kew Association. Rather strangely Kew Association having redeveloped their ground with new facilities have shrunk as an adult SAL club but have a thriving junior section. Old Blues, the old boys side from the school, Christ’s Hospital. It was good to go back to Kew as we had not been there for some time and revived memories of tight first team games battles won but more often lost.

This was a very good competitive game and despite a bobbly wet pitch and terrible wind both sides played some pretty good passing football and the score did not really reflect what a close tight game this was for 75 minutes.

We started by far the better and playing uphill and against the wind which was down and across, created some good chances and pressure. Our first goal resulted from that pressure when Craig Usher swung in a good corner and Femi headed home. But then Old Blues started to find their feet and get more into the game. We had a chance to make it 2-0 just before half time but Jase having turned his man fired over from 10 yds.

After half time Old Blues settled into their task and dominated for about 20 mins of really good pressure. Their finishing and last third play let them down and we were always dangerous on the break. It was from such a break on about 70 mins that Jase headed our second goal. The third came when Will T sliced a deep cross and it went unstoppably into the far corner.  Wilgo capped his day with a fine goal from Liam As’s cross headed back to him and buried.

The game was played in a really good spirit and was well refereed but a youngish ref who kept up with play explained his decisions and got a lot of them right. It was a good game to watch and good in the bar after. Craig Usher was man of the match. Will Taylor and Jase T worked tirelessly. We looked pretty solid at the back and Sherbs made a couple of good saves and deserved his clean sheet contrary to what the local supporters thought. The boys enjoyed the post match hospitality in the bar and their usual banter. That is five league wins on the spin but away to Norsemen next week will be another rough test. This was not as easy as the scoreline suggests. Well done to Wilgo who seems to have got the boys firing and enjoying it.

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This was a very  competitive SAL Intermediate Division 2 game played at HSBC’s Beckenham ground with wonderful facilities. It was another very welcome 3pts and a second consecutive win for Merton Res. The team had changed somewhat from last week but still seemed strong enough to deal comfortably with HSBC who were bottom of the division. This was far from the caes as HSBC battled hard and played some very good football right to the end. It was in fact HSBC who went ahead after about 15 minutes with a good move and early cross from the left with a good finish. This set back galvanised Merton who played with more urgency and Will Taylor’s surging run past defenders caused their last man to concede the penalty which was probably the red card not the yellow he was given . I understand the ref, Ray Gangadeen’s reluctance to send a player off. Femi tucked the penalty away confidently. This was not an easy game to referee and Ray did well enough. Soon we were 2-1 ahead when  Will was played through and scored comfortably. Then a long Sherbs clearance was flicked on by Femi to Jason who outpaced their defence down the right and crossed for Will to  make it 3-1 with an excellent goal and that was the half time score.  The second half started with a narrow escape for Merton but then we created a number of really good chances from good attacking play but missed them all hitting the bar, post or straight at the keeper. Their culprit in the first half was lucky to not get a t least a second yellow for a nasty tackle with 20 mins to go. But energy levels were beginning to sag and HSBC were not for giving up and scored a terrific second goal with about 15 minutes to go and were dominating the game so that when a good move produced their equaliser near the end it looked very much like a point apiece. Some late pressure from us inspired by Wilgo and Will coming on and re-energising our effort produced some sustained pressure and corners and the final one was flicked on and into the net by Femi to secure the 3pts and the ire of the HSBC GK who hotly disputed the award of the corner and was fortunate not to get a red card. Sadly for HSBC the game ended on a rather sour note whilst we remained somewhat bemused but pleased with the 3pts. This was a really exciting game to watch and both sides played a lot of good football with some excellent goals. Will Taylor was outstanding injecting pace energy and enthusiasm into the game when we went 1-0 down.He was Man of the Match (pic) Femi bagged a couple again but this was a good all round team performance with a squad well managed and lead by Wilgo. Well done lads.

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This was a welcome win after a succession of defeats for ‘Team Handsome’ EBOG after a succession of good results were top of Intermediate Div 2 but were well under strength, probably as aresult of such an off putting difficult journey. In contrast our reserves welcomed back a number of players from injury and put on a particularly impressive display of passing football which in the first but for some woeful finishing should have put the game to bed. But it was only 1-0 at half time with Richard Moore’s goal driving home from 10 yds after some sustained pressure the only difference. To keep the lead Sherbs had made a particularly good save from their No 11 who was one of their 3 or 4 very good players in their team. The second half had continued much as the first with Merton even more dominant but EBOG’s quality players always dangerous on the break. The after having missed a one on one chance Femi (MOM pic) marked his return to the side with a couple of quick goals that broke EBOGs resolve. Richard Moore (Pic)added his second and the 4^th and Chris Rayner scored the 5^th to round off a satisfying day for Merton. Disappointing for EBOG and their frustration showed understandably with a late booking for their No 11. One suspects the return in Barnet will be very different.

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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

Merton Reserves Earn A Handsome Reward! A Cup Final!
AFA Surrey/ Kent Intermediate Cup Semi Final

These days, it is as likely that a Merton team will make it to a cup final as a member of Team Handsome will go on a night out and not be propositioned by a leggy blonde. It just doesn’t happen. Nevertheless, Team Handsome is full of indefatigable spirit and it brought all of it to bear (and in Sherbs case after his shower, bare) in a pulsating semi-final encounter that saw them gloriously continue their cup adventure with the defeat of first division Old Salesians at Old Schools Lane, Ewell.

It started badly; indeed, it started really badly. Straight from the kick-off a ball lost up front saw Old Salesians break forward, and a three-on-two situation translated into a neat finish and a lead after only 27 seconds. The hosts, buoyed by their early goal, then spent the next fifteen minutes making Merton look pretty ordinary. But feint heart never won fair maiden, and unattractive faces do not win semi-finals. It was thedecidedly handsome forehead of Femi Arogundade that put the away side back on level terms. In an early tribute to the retiring Michael Owen, Arogundade deftly lifted the ball over the advancing keeper and Merton began to dream, cheered on by an awesome travelling support that dwarfed the home fans by around five to one. Merton roared. Old Salesians had the temerity to score again, and Merton roared even louder, resulting in Ivan Gladkow sliding-in at the far post for an important second goal that meant the teams went in all-square atthe interval.

A rousing talk during the break sent the Merton boys out with their tails up. Chris Rayner, heretofore unusually quiet, seemed pumped more than most by half time’s combination of H2O, vitamin C and encouragement. He rose from his slumber like Mount Etna, erupting talent all over the pitch. With 15 minutes remaining he found himself at the by-line. Paul Pearce, hobbled, but straining every sinew, made his way into the area. Merton’s travelling throng drew a breath. Rayner’s trusty left peg found leather. Leather found Pearce. Pearce found the net. Merton found the final.

West Wickham, conquerors of John Fisher Old Boys in the other semi-final will be Merton’s opponents in the final, which will be played on Saturday, 6th April at the Old Wilsonians Association Sports Ground.

Report by:David Quainton

Another week in the life of team handsome and another double header. Confidence was high after an apparently record breaking six point haul in High Barnet last Saturday and things started well. A pumped up Davey Q delicately headed home from a sumptuous Oli Ross freekick. Inevitably though Ivan got injured after 15 mins and less inevitably the referee, a particularly unhandsome man, decided that Lloyds needed a helping hand and duly decided to award them an indirect free kick in the Merton box. Sherbs had picked up a loose ball in his area which is disgraceful behaviour from a goalkeeper. Big Lloyds chap kicks ball very hard. 1-1. The visitors then went 2-1 up before half time. In the second half Quainton completed his brace with another header from a Ross cross. Femi and Rayner then missed good opportunities to win all 3 points and Sherbs got a huge fist on a dangerous corner getting a black eye in the process. A disappointing draw.

The third and fourth quarters of this tie were more straight forward the Handsomes. Femi slotted superbly from a delicious Mustard coated through ball and Pearcey thundered home from 2 yards. Classic Pearcey. At the back Toby, Daymo and Curly Dave headed and kicked everything that moved and in the middle Cook and Clayton controlled the game. Lloyds never stood a chance.

The Man most handsome award goes to Quainton and the Oli Ross award for most assists goes to Oli Ross. Official player ratings below.

Team:Sherbs: handsome, Toby: handsome, Oli Ross: handsome, Dave: handsome, Liam: handsome, Cook: handsome, Vanny: vandsome, Rayner: handsome, Quainton: most handsome, Mustard: handsome, Clayton: handsome, Femi: handsome, Pearcey: handsome

Report by:Alex Herbert

It was minutes before the first match against Old Stationers that manager Ian Lewis mentioned back-to-back wins in Double-Headers were as rare as Ivan Gladkow wearing an outfit you couldn’t ridicule.

So, ten minutes in, watching Chris Rayner dispossess an opponent, play three one-twos and ultimately create a goal for Femi Arogundade, he must have known something was in the air. Old Stationers soon equalised, but Team Handsome always looked like winning it. Oliver Ross tucked away a penalty deliciously after a rather soft handball, Arogundade increased the lead further and, in what proved to be the goal of the day, Ross released Gladkow who found Paul Pearce with a pinpoint cross. Pearce’s forehead did the rest.

What of match two? Could Merton, in cold High Barnet, actually do the business twice? Yes they could, and yes Chris Rayner could, capping an incredible 90 minutes (let’s be fair, he did wane somewhat in the last 30 minutes after his earlier Herculean, season-defining efforts) with a goal after 22 minutes. It brought the scores level. Thereafter, Graham Willgoss, reborn this year as a tough-tackling mercurial midfield menace, was forced to join the Merton injury list following another ball-winning challenge. Luckily, another bruising performance by David Quainton in midfield helped ease the pain and, on the right, Gladkow was beginning to purr like the fat girl who thought she could pull Ross later that night in the Captain Cook. Gladkow scored, and then an effort so poached Humpty Dumpty would’ve been proud of it saw Pearce end the day’s finishing.

Has a team so good looking ever performed so well for two solid hours? 4-1 and 3-1; Team Handsome just became Team Irresistible.

Report by:David Quainton

A deeply disappointing afternoon against a team almost completely unrecognisable from that we had played in the cup just a month ago. Playing a Double-Header in the middle of February makes for a very strange atmosphere, but despite the new faces among the ranks of the opposition, it’s no excuse for not having scored in two hours of football.

The first hour was the more positive – Merton dominated long periods of possession, with Ben Cook and Graham Willgoss ruling the roost over the three 19/20-year-olds BOE had in the middle of the park. Cook came closest to opening the scoring, hitting the bar from 30-yards in the first half of the first ‘quarter’. Michael Lynch was effective down the right, and was often our most creative force. We just didn’t have the optionsup front to finish them, for all of Ivan Gladkow’s strength and desire. Liam Palmer had an outstanding game at the back, keeping their big man in his pocket for all but one devastating attack. Once that goal had gon in, Merton heads dropped. Game over.

Turning up with 12-man squad for two games isn’t ideal, and we paid the price in the second and third ‘quarters’ for our lack of depth.

Report by:Graham Willgoss