Merton 5s v Lloyds TSB 5s – 12th November 2011

This week we travelled to Beckenham to entertain Lloyds at the Kent County Cricket Club. Having possibly our strongest squad to select from we were optimistic of going back to Joseph Hood still top of the table. Chris Outred stepped in to partner Darren at the back due to Lee’s absence and also skippered the side, a position he will retain going into next weekend’s game following this performance.

We started brightly and took advantage of the possession that was gifted to us by the hosts and it wasn’t long until we dished out the punishment that was on the cards. Chris Dodd unleashed a right footed half volley following a decent run of play down the left that seemed to change a number of directions before finding the back of the net. A rare goal from open play by our ex skipper but one that would be hard to match. Not long after the restart did we double our advantage, again from a corner. Dulanie connecting with Aaron’s corner on the volley, beating the keeper via a deflection. The only other highlight to mention from the first period was when Patrick hit the bar with a 30 yard shot. We ended the half with 10 men as Ben’s right boot needed assistance (taping up).

Going into the break there wasn’t much of a team talk, all we needed to do was continue to play the football we was and try to add toour tally. Being the highest scorers in our league, as well as in Merton, we were confident this could be done.

The second half was pretty much a carbon copy of the first. Lloyds never seemed to be able to get in the game and with Josh being our last line of defence and pulling off a couple of decent saves, a consolation never seemed on the cards. We did however manage to add another 2 goals to our tally. Tee came on for his first appearance in 4 weeks replacing Dan Hall. His appearance didn’t last longhowever due to a recurrence of the injury that side-lined him in the first place. He did manage a goal before leaving the field. A left footed half-volley from 25 yards that dipped over the substitute keeper. Patrick added prior. Those two goals combined with the two we managed in the first 45 minutes gave us a comfortable 4-0 win.

Next up we face a trip to Harrow to take on Old Lyonians. A team that will be looking for revenge following our 6-2 win in October. Let’s hope that the winning run continues……

Team: Josh Brown (GK), Dan Outred, Chris Outred (Capt.), Darren Avey, Edward Plaistow, Dulanie Richards (Arthur Lewis), Ben Lawrence (Sevan Mutafyan), Chris Dodd, Aaron Ackerman, Dan Hall (Tee Nash Bizayi), Patrick Mhondiwa

MOM:Patrick Mhondiwa

Written by: Edward Plaistow