Category: Match Reports 3s

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.

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.