We went into this game on the back of a first class performance with 10 men last week, knowing we had to put that to the back of our minds and get the job done in what is our local derby.

From the outset it was clear for all to see that with our passing and movement Old Westminster Citz were in for a tough afternoon and after the quarter of an hour mark it was Dean P outjumping the defender on the back post to give Merton 4s the lead. The finish was simple but the build up play again showed how well this team has gelled together and every player touched the ball in what was a patient but deadly attack. The final piece of the attack saw Nikko teasing the oppo before teeing up Seyumg to put in a perfect cross to the back stick.

The pace of Nikko and Seyumg on the right side was a constant threat to the Old Westminster team, cutting through and creating chances for a few shots around the box, which unfortunately were slightly off target. It wasnt long though before more distribution fromDean W and Tommy to the wings found Nikko who played in Dean P to cross into the danger area, which Alvin Dee managed to attackafter some great movement to slip the ball pastthe keeper with a delicate side foot volley. At 2-0 the confidence was forever growingand the passing became slicker and quicker to control the game going intohalf time.

Half-Time 2-0 to Merton.

A few wise words of warning not to get complacent at half time saw us start the second period where we left off and again Old Westminster were chasing their tails in an attempt to retrieve the ball from us. It wasnt too long before another great move with us passing out of defence feeding the midfield where Dean W controlled the passing moving from side to side, saw us set up the third goal. Dean W finding Richard Prospere on the left wing who put a pinpoint cross outswinging to find Dean P on the run into the 18 yard box to cooly volley into the opposite corner with the instep. Richard has now dubbed himself ‘pinpoint prospere’ after his ‘pinpoint’ crossing in recent weeks. 3-0 Merton and the points looking to be in the bag.

A bit a ball watching and a rare threatening attack from Old Westminster saw their midfielder slide in their right winger who finished nicely into the opposite corner. 3-1. Unfortunately our clean sheet was gone and it seemed that it was mainly due to lack of concentration as we seemed to try to rub the performance in their players’ faces a little rather than concentrate on adding to the goalstally.

30 mins left and the departure of Jamie Brisk saw Thomas Taylor enter play and immediately he made his presence felt moving well and feeding off of Alvin’s headers. One chance on the left came and went and another should have really killed the game completely. Nikko was still running thedefence ragged and it was from this that Dean P managed to get the ball from a deflected shot from Alvin, a little greedy in the search of the hat trick saw his shot saved by their keeper and then a complete mix up with the Old Westminster defenders saw the ball deflected in for an own goal.

Old Westminster Citz seemed deflated after seemingly starting to get back into the game but in the end despite some poor finishing the game probably could have ended a lot worse for them.

A good game played in a good spirit and only encouragement from our team when mistakes were made. Just need to keep this winning mentality and positive spirit going into our cup game next week with a quarter final place at stake.

Good all round performance, well done lads, still a long way to go to achieve our goals though!

Team:

Posted in Match Reports 4s