Archives: News

Results from a windswept dry Hood.

The 1s lost 1-0 to Actonians assoc. A poor game was won with a poor goal just before half time.

4s lost their Spring Cup opener 4-2 to west Wickham.

5s unfortunately went down 4-1 in a crucial promotion clash against Kew.

6s lost the first of the Double headers with Civil Service 4-0 but won the second 4-1. Video footage from todays game

But performance of the day is the 7s who won both their games in a double header at Bank of England 3-1 and 1-0 (Pics from the Hood)

Our U9s are having a great season in the Surrey Youth League and have been promoted yet again and now they are in the top 20 teams in their age group in the SYL along with top academy sides. This is a tremendous achievement by Garry and the boys. And well done to the supporters/parents. Like all our youth teams well worth getting down to the Hood on a Sunday morning to cheer them on!!!!!

THE LONG GOOD FRIDAY – JOSEPH HOOD – 11AM START (PROMPT)

Good Friday is good and all. But with a dearth of football on television, many shops and facilities closed for the day, and the streets deserted, it can sometimes feel like life has come to a standstill.

The good news is that you need not fall victim to this, because, at the Hood, we’ll be having our annual ‘Long Good Friday’. We’ll organise a bunch of friendlies, get some grub in, and make a good day out of it at the home of football. The sun has a knack for shining on Long Good Friday too. Do pencil this one into the calendar lads. Always a fun day out!

VETS GAME with the legends from Old West Citz.  Kick off 12pm

MERTON XI FRIENDLY – kick off 2pm 

YOUTH GAMES 
Under 9s vs Carshalton Athletic
Under 13s vs Raynes Park Vale Youth
 
Hot food + hot cross buns in the bar – with a good old drink and catch up to celebrate the start of Easter. Not one to miss!!

SATURDAY 13th MAY – 1pm to 10pm, Joseph Hood

Merton FC WORLD CUP!

Don’t fancy a trip to Russia or Doha in the next six years? The good news is that this year, the World Cup is coming to you. That’s right folks, Merton FC is staging its inaugural 5/6-a-side World Cup on Saturday 13th May at the Hood (assuming all league games are
done by then – we may have to do it a week later!!!!!).
Our plans at this stage are provisional depending on numbers, but 
the aim is to organise 8 senior teams, with squads of roughly 8 players each. Ideally, we will have seven pots, each containing names from the respective seven senior teams at the Club. We will then draw one name from each pot to compile each team, so that there is a good mix of strength from across the club. Goalkeepers will be kept separate and added in thereafter to make up the eighth member of the squad. 
The draw, should the enthusiasm warrant it, will be done on Facebook Live closer to the time, thus making for an enjoyable spectacle. We will then separate the 8 teams into two pools of four, with the four teams in each section playing against each other in a round robin (ie: 3 matches). We will then have semi finals and a final, along with a plate section for those who don’t make the playoffs.
Games will be 20 minutes’ long, with three pitches marked out. That means there will be some opportunity for rest every third game as well. We’ll also mark out a fourth pitch for the Youth section, so that they can stage a similar tournament. Would be great if we could include parents or coaches
in their event as well – the more people we can get involved, the better.
We will decide if it is 5 or 6-a-side closer to the time, depending on numbers. Start time will likely be in the region of 1pm. Price is also TBC, although we will aim to keep it to £10 each, including food.
The aim is to make this a family-friendly occasion, with a barbecue afterwards (a big thank you to Darren Avey, who has kindly offered/been roped in to cook us burgers and sausages) and also
other amenities like jumping castles and what not. There will also be Premier League football on too, which will be televised at the bar.
We’ll be doing this properly too, with a trophy and prize giving. A pretty exciting concept, and could hopefully commence a fine new Merton tradition. The idea is in its embryonic phase at this
stage, so all suggestions are welcome. We may even listen to them. Either way, it should be a wonderful day out for all of us.
ALL WE NEED FROM YOU AT THIS STAGE IS TO CONFIRM WHETHER YOU ARE KEEN TO PLAY!!!!

SATURDAY 27^th MAY, AWARDS NIGHT & FA-CUP FINAL

AWARDS DAY & NIGHT AT MERTON FC, JOSEPH HOOD – 2PM START (PROMPT).

As the season heads towards the final furlong, your favourite night of the year is almost upon us… it’s the Merton FC Awards Night! It’s been a wonderful season for our club, as we’ve expanded to seven teams, seen a number of our teams challenging for promotion, enjoyed some good Cup runs and revelled in watching our Youth section go from strength to strength once again. We hope you can join us as we recognise all the fine achievements that have rolled in across the club, and come together to celebrate another fine season. 
As ever, there will be friendlies played during the day, along with an inter-club penalty shootout. This will be followed by fish and chips/sausage and chips/halloumi and chips for dinner, while we will also be televising the FA Cup final in the bar. The Awards presentation will follow the game, and then, after that, let the mayhem begin.
Certainly not one to be missed – get it in the diary now please chaps!

Reconnecting with the past legends

Resting on our laurels is not something we do here at Merton HQ, and I’m sure you will have all enjoyed the new-look newsletter last week. This week we’ve even added in a quiz so that we can establish who the true fountain of knowledge at our club is. Credit must go to Sam who has brought wonderful enthusiasm to the Merton Way, and it really is one of the things which we believe sets us apart from other amateur football clubs.

One of the inserts I enjoyed most last week was the profile on Merton’s various Old Boys. It’s so important for us to keep the connection to those who have given so much to our club (and the pub!) over the years, and it is great to see the deep-rooted and lifelong affiliation these gents have with the mighty Yellow.

They will of course be in action on Long Good Friday against Old Westminster Citz, which will make for an entertaining spectacle. But, as those who were at the Vets’ game in October will attest to, the real entertainment was at the bar afterwards, so I’d strongly recommend that you don’t make any plans to depart the Hood too early on Long Good Friday!

Elsewhere, it was a bit of a mixed weekend of results for our promotion chasers – some of the pain self inflicted. But the 2s enjoyed a good win, while the 7s impressed yet again with a fine double triumph against Old Wilsonians. They have been a great credit to our club this season, and it is once again very pleasing that we enjoy such depth at a time when amateur football is under strain.

This weekend the 6s and 7s have double headers; the former will be looking to get their promotion charge back on track. The 5s have a massive game against rivals Kew which could determine their fate this season, while the 1s and 4s will be at home in the league and Spring Cup respectively. Here’s hoping for a positive set of results.

Onto the results from today then.

In a Weirside double, the 2s flew the flag (we actually have a flag, lending credence to said metaphor) by trouncing the oppo 5-2. DQ with a brace to continue his barnstorming season, while Dan Kelly and Manny (2) also got amongst it.
The 1s went down 2-0 alas. The 5s fought hard for a 2-2 draw, with goals from Dulanie and Rich Gibbs.
The 6s went down 1-0 to Old Salesians, a blinding, late finish from someone doing the business.
Big congrats to the 7s, who pulled off an excellent 6 points in a double header against Wilsonians. 3-0 in the first game and then 3-1 in the second. Well done lads!