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Bedfont 6-0 Merton FC
Difficult game today, in which we tried to rebuild the confidence and the morale of the team.
It has been a difficult past couple of weeks with the team spirit deminiahing as quickly as our good start to the season was.
Today was about boosting our confidence, however it was a tricky game to do so.
Bedfont are a very strong outfit, scoring 58 goals prior to this fixture in 7 games of football.
We started the game extremely sloppy, conceding 2 goals in quick succession within the first 3 minutes.
After the mad 3 minutes we found our feet and settled into the game, creating a few good chances. Which was a massive positive from today’s game.
Dan and Harrison making their debuts for the club today impressed throughout.
We had a solid remaining 30 minutes of the half and was in the game still at 2-0.
2nd half started and it was back to the walls for Merton, with Bedfont pinning us in our own half for the majority of the game. We still broke and created chances throughout.
2 further goals were scored and our heads dropped.
Bedfont ran away with it in the end, but overall we can be pleased with the better attitude and atmosphere around the team.
We move on now to look forward to a good December.
Darren and Dan are proud of the boys and what they are beginning to achieve.
It’s been a difficult few weeks, but we can see that they are turning it around.
Tough game today against the probable league winners
Good luck Bedfont, heads up Merton
We go again
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Actonians 2-1 Merton
After an unfortunate result the week before, the Merton 4s looked to get back on the wagon on Saturday to regain some of the confidence that had been built up over the weeks before. With the 3s having no fixture, the 4s got a boost courtesy of some really good players such as Dan Rist, Joe Squire, Darcy Yates, Mike Gubby and also young Emmanuel Amoakoh.
A good thing too, because the opposition on the day were the table-topping Actonians, who have been in rampant form. Their main pitch provided a lovely setting, and with a solid-looking 4-4-2 formation in place, Merton were at the ready to put in a good performance.
But as has been the case quite often this season, they failed to get going in the early exchanges, and the first 10 or 15 minutes were all Actonians. Although clear-cut chance were few and far between, there was sustained pressure, and Merton were lucky to come out of it unscathed.
But the Yellows slowly began to gain a foothold in the game, and had some dangerous-looking attacks of their own. The midfield began to click into gear, and it was for this very reason that the opening goal came as a bit of a surprise. The ball was lost in the middle of the pitch, but the counter attack from the home side was brutally quick. Kieran came out towards him, but he was rounded, and the finish – from a very tight angle – was pinpoint. 1-0 Actonians.
It was a hammer blow, but Merton showed their mettle, and really dug in. In fact, they did more than that: they played some decent football, used the width of the pitch particularly well, and really looked a goal threat. And it was to pay dividends soon after, albeit in fortuitous circumstances.
Frankie eased his way into the box and got ‘clattered’ from behind. By his own admission, it was soft to say the least, but the ref blew his whistle, and, after some angry words from an incandescent home side, he pointed to the spot. Dom stepped up, with 14 sets of eyes praying he would slot it home. He didn’t! The keeper pulled off a good save to his right. But, ever aware, Dom was there for the rebound and poked it home to make it 1-1.
Merton were determined to make it count, and the heads went straight back on. And once again, they arguably looked the more likely of the two sides. Defensively they were solid, and each time the ball went down the flanks, Actonians looked unsure.
But once again, Merton fell foul to the pace of the oppo’s devastatingly quick strikers. This time Joe wasn’t quite able to get to a long ball, and their striker got in behind. A superb through ball put their striker one on one with Kieran, and the finish was clinical. 2-1 Actonians, and it was cruel on Merton just before the break.
But if the first half was a decent showing, the second half was arguably the 4s best period of play in the season to date. Certainly given the strength of the oppo anyway. From the get-go, they were getting stuck in, and with Emmanuel’s pace upfront and Dom as a constant threat, Actonians looked rattled. Numerous free kicks were won in their half, with Dom going very close, while Mike scrambled to get to a delivery that just didn’t quite fall for him.
The subs did a great job too, with Joe and Mike Gubby having a positive impact, while Ryan was as solid as ever, albeit in a left-back role as the manager took a breather. Merton were pinging passes around, and putting on a display that was even quietly described as ‘tika-taka’ by some. It really was good to see.
In a half that Merton dominated, Actonians had the best chance courtesy of a highly dubious penalty – Frankie was judged to have handled the ball, despite there being barely any appeals from the oppo. But their striker who stepped up to take the spot kick never looked confident, and Kieran did brilliantly to palm his strike clear. 2-1, it stayed. Could Merton snaffle an equaliser?
Unfortunately not. They threw men forward, and had a number of half chances. But the ball just never quite fell for them when they needed it to, and eventually the ref called time on what had been a tremendous game.
Narrow defeats have sadly become a bit of a feature of this league campaign. But none were as courageous as this one, and the lads walked off the park with their heads held high. If this sort of performance can be replicated against other teams, the points will fly in thick and fast.
Goal: Dom Plumridge
MOTM: Dan Rist
DOTD: N/A
Team: Kieran Lee (GK), Ed Plaistow, Mike Todt, Joe Plumridge, Dan Rist, Will Harrison, Darcy Yates, Chris Outred, Emmanuel Amoakoh, Frankie Kaligorou, Dom Plumridge
Subs: Joe Squire, Michael Gubby, Ryan Burchell
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Kew Association 1-1 Merton
When the last of the Merton squad rolled into Ham to face bottom of the league Kew Association last Saturday it was with just thirty minutes to spare (some advice: don’t try to travel to Twickenham by train at noon on a Rugby match day). Upon arrival we were informed that we were a bare eleven with our substitute James Laughton currently playing for the 1s on the adjacent pitch. Safe to say the team picked itself.
Following a somewhat truncated warm-up the game got underway and Merton quickly were in the ascendency. Finding a fair amount of joy down the wings (with Ben Victory in particularly swashbuckling form) the Boars carved out a number of promising attacks in the first twenty minutes while Kew were seemingly happy to sit back and counter when the opportunity arose.
It was surprising therefore that Merton’s first big chance of the game came as a result of their own counter-attack when Dan Kelly was played through on the left-hand side of the area after a lovely build up move. Unfortunately his shot lacked the bend to beat the keeper who made a good save, but the signs for Merton seemed nothing but promising.
Kew rarely threatened, except for at set pieces – most notably the occasion when Alex Herbert in goal was particularly bamboozled by the flight of the ball and flapped somewhat, under pressure from the strikers closing in on him. His appeals that he had been impeded in the air were remarkably tenuous, and they rather entertainingly earned him no joy save the referee advising him to “man up”. Not sure whether that is an official method for dealing with dissent endorsed by the FA…
At the other end the breakthrough should have come just before half-time when a textbook training ground throw-in routine saw Tom Benham spurn a golden chance six feet out with the goal gaping. Unfortunately his volleyed effort soared over the bar and Merton went in at half-time level but with their tails up and a goal seemingly only a matter of time.
As it was they somewhat struggled to get going in the second half, and the game became very scrappy – lots of long balls and headers rather than Merton’s heretofore “keep it on the turf” passing game. In fact, it was a style very much suited to the hosts who visibly grew in confidence the longer the game remained goalless, and as such they started to carve out chances of their own, even hitting the bar twice.
Then after approximately an hour played, Tom Benham was played into the box and rounded the keeper only to be taken out. Never one to be denied a goal-scoring opportunity, Dan Kelly seized the advantage and attempted a shot at the open goal, only to see his effort rattle off the inside of the woodwork. In the post-match debrief in the bar, Dan would insist that the angle made it nigh on impossible, but this reporter still requires convincing. Despite this, the referee called play back and awarded Merton a penalty, much to the chagrin of the opposition who claimed the advantage had been well and truly played (and squandered). Surely now Merton would break the deadlock?
Before we get to that, some caveats: Firstly, the penalty spot was in truly an horrendous state and even to get the ball off the ground in such circumstances should be considered a feat worthy of applause. Secondly, with the cries and recriminations of the opposition ringing in the air it is understandable that a penalty taker could be wholeheartedly put-off. Thirdly, there were not exactly an abundance of volunteers to take the penalty, and responsibility was very much thrust upon the shoulders of yours truly. Despite these factors, I stepped up very confidently and with the skill and accuracy of Owen Farrell (doing the very same thing just a few miles away in Twickenham) sent the ball soaring high over the posts…0-0 it remained (and if we are being honest, justice was probably served…it was a very very very ropey advantage call by the referee).
So the game continued and Merton’s depleted squad soon suffered a few niggles, none more notable than Ben Victory who received a big whack to the knee and had to hobble off to be replaced by an already injured substitute. Ben returned to the fray five minutes later with just under ten minutes to go, visibly limping and saying a quick hail Mary. Whether it was divine intervention or not, as the ball was cleared from a corner it fell to him to start a counter attack. He then set off like a greyhound up field, seemingly free of all pain, and was able to finally bundle the ball past the dumbfounded keeper. Cue wild celebrations. It is unclear whether Ben was crying with joy or agony…
The celebrations were short-lived unfortunately, as with the last action of the game, Kew managed to find a – probably deserved – equaliser and round off a very frustrating game from Merton’s perspective.
Still, we choose to see it as an away point gained, and have the chance to finally put a few past the same opposition this weekend as we host them at the Hood.
Man of the match: Paul Pearce – captain for the day and a veritable rock at the heart of the Merton defence which performed very steadily all game
Dick of the day: Andrew Holder Ross – the fall guy, cruelly and harshly punished for his penalty miss
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Polytechnic 5s: 5
Merton 5s: 0
Chiswick is very quickly becoming known as the 5th teams 2nd home pitch due to our seemingly constant run of matches being held away from our beloved hood. Another venture away, wading through the onslaught of egg-chasers commuting to nearby Twickenham – one would be mistaken to think that surely a little bit of luck was due to come our way. Unfortunately- you would be mistaken. This week saw a heavily depleted 5s take on a mid-tabled Polytechnic team 3 leagues aloft. With the news of man-flu flooding the ranks, a few new faces stepped up to the challenge of continuing our recent successful form. New faces included Noor, Billy Golding, Dave Golding and Alex Quinn who we are grateful for assisting this week.
After a quick warm-up we were game on with heavy pressure being applied by the lean opposition donning the usual red kit. Within a matter of minutes our defence was tested with Sam continuing his recent superman impressions, flying from one side of the goal to the other, keeping attackers at bay. With only 15 minutes played, disaster struck with the Poly winger running through to the side of goal. Realising he was going into a dead-end he felt a sneeze from our bounding Delman and took a tumble in the box, the whistle blew but not to bring back a review of the dramatics witnessed but to give a penalty. First goal conceded. Not to be disheartened Merton started again but a mistake in midfield led to a quick counter attack to goal number 2. This was swiftly followed by a substitution for Merton as Alex Quinn came off with a strain. Another goal followed to end an unfortunate half. The second half saw the team come out looking to reduce the deficit but the makeshift team for the week was telling as a fourth was conceded, despite Sam’s efforts. Further injuries at the back provided a rare opportunity for Dulanje and Ackers to be partnered as our centre-half pairing with the former forgetting his position and scoring from a set piece. A goal, which had it been at the correct side of the pitch, I’m sure Dulanje would have been proud of. This summarised an unfortunate performance, but we look forward now to making amends as we take on their 8th team this week.
Team: Sam Singer-Ripley, Delman Babaker, Josh Fitzgerald Smith, Alex Quinn, Dave Golding, Noor Emad, Richard Gibbs, Aaron Ackerman (c), Dwayne Bedford, Aaron Byrne, Dulanje Richards.
Subs: Kevon Bedford, Billy Golding & Anam Hassan.
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Actonians 3-1 Merton
It was a rather cloudy dreary day for Merton as they travelled to Acton for a cup game against a side a league below with a solitary win all season. Merton started the game with a 5-3-2 system utilising two wing backs and three central defenders in a more attacking system than normal. As the game kicked off Merton came under immediate pressure and had conceded within a few minutes of kick off after a long ball from the centre of midfield out to the right wing by Actonians where a low ball was fizzed into the centre and converted into the Merton net. The first half continued in the same way with a lot of pressure being withstood by Merton until an unfortunate miskick by Neal who had been solid at centre back sliced into the top corner of the net leaving Dan scrambling. Despite a few efforts Merton were unable to make any headway with Glenn testing the keeper and Frankie scooping a couple of chances wide of the goal. After half time Merton came out with a revised 4-4-2 formation reverting to a standard left and right back, the change assisted in allowing Merton to consolidate in the middle of the park and begin to create more chances at the right end of the field. Against the run of play Actonians scored again leaving Merton trailing 3-0 with around 25 minutes of the game left to play, despite a number of chances it was only with 10 minutes of the game left where after a good ball across the box Merton converted leaving the boys looking to recover 2 goals with time against us. Unfortunately despite an active last 10 minutes Merton were unable to recover and get back into the game meaning an exit in the cup after a stalwart performance in the preceding rounds and what could be described as a harsh result on the day.
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Merton 4s vs. Old Salesians 2s
ISEH Senior Novets Cup, Second Round
Saturday 19th November 2016
by Edward Plaistow
After our convincing win in the first round away to Winchmore Hill, this fixture was meant to send us on our travels again only for the opposition request a switch in venue due to unavailability of a pitch.
With a few regulars unavailable through injury (John Gridley), work (Ryan Burchell), getting called up (Mike Todt) and choosing a cricket social over football! (Will Harrison) we welcome a few new faces into the fold. Sonny brought along a couple of mates in Michael Vogt and Aaron Loftus who both made their Merton debuts and will now hopefully join the club, Steve Burchell game us some experience at the back and Akram Choudhury was also part of the squad for what would turn out to be his Merton debut too.
Not for the first time this season, Kieran seemed to vanish off the face of the earth as nobody could get hold of his. Had it not been for Malcolm Kandulu who drove to Banstead and knocked on his door to revive him from his alcohol induced coma, we would have been without our regular keeper. As he didn’t arrive in time for KO we had to settle for Chris Outred deputising between the sticks.
In all honestly we struggled to get a foothold in the game as the visitors seemed to be pinging the ball around with ease. With our midfield a little to open for my liking, and a few others for that matter, it wasn’t long before Old Salesians took the lead. Not long after conceding the first did we find ourselves two behind…..then three in the blink of an eye. Following the third going in, Kieran replaced Chris in goal so he could take his place in his usual left wing position with Carl making way.
We seemed to compose ourselves a little before going into the break but were unable to find a consolation. We did however manage to pick up a yellow card. Joe Plumridge the culprit.
The team talk was a sombre one. It was clear we was missing the presence of our captain at the back and Will in the middle of the pack.
The second half started the same as the first in the sense that we conceded an early goal. Joe got dismissed harshly for a second yellow which was not deserved. We did manage to fit the back of the net via a penalty. Aaron played a long cross field ball to Michael on the left who took it down with ease, while taking the ball into the box the right back went to ground attempting to connect with the ball however failed in the process taking Michael down. Dom stepped up and converted into the bottom left.
From the restart the visitors went on the attached again and scored their sixth. Little too late but we the last twenty minutes were actually carved out chances, good ones at that, but Sonny and Dom couldn’t find the back of the next.
Next week we travel to Acton for a tough test against Actonians Association. With seven defeats in eight league games it is a must win. With regulars back we will be going into the game with a positive mentality.
Let’s put this one behind us and concentrate on our league campaign. Come on the 4s!!!!
FINAL SCORE: Merton 4s 1 – 6 Old Salesians
SCORERS: Dom Plumridge (pen)
MOTM: Nobody
STARTING LINE-UP: Chris Outred (GK), Chris Dodd, Joe Plumridge, Steve Burchell, Edward Plaistow, Aaron Loftus, Danny Gridley, Carl Kewley, Michael Vogt, Sonny Kennedy, Dom Plumridge
SUBS: Kieran Lee (GK), Akram Choudhury
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Merton fc 2 – 7 Epsom and Ewell
Our final festival group match on yet another sunny Sunday morning at the hood. Merton fc v Epsom and Ewell, both unbeaten with the victor taking the honours of winning our group.
Epsom kicked off and started like a rocket scoring the opener within a couple of minutes, we kept our heads and with some great pressure soon equalised. The match turned into a great battle and as the 3rd quarter ended the teams came off 2-2 and a draw at that point looked the likely and fair result. Fantastic game.
However the match was taking its toll on our boys, a number of crunching tackles, a couple of minor injuries and general tiredness forced us to make a number of changes going into the final 12 minutes which proved to big an ask on the day against such a good team.
We have played and beaten some very good teams this season, Epsom and Ewell are amongst the best we have played and in our weakened state they took there chances and smashed 5 goals past us in that last quarter to beat us 7-2.
A tough end to an otherwise fantastic match but plenty of positives to come out of the game including our new signing Tommie in his first start for us scoring both goals with a really determined display and Kalyan once again winning man of the match for a cracking performance in defence.
Next week we are away to spelthorne in the new league we have been placed in, another new experience for us (have to get the map book out!) Onwards and upwards U9s.
Gary
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Merton 8 – 3 Alleyn Old Boys
Striding out onto the spacious 1s pitch for what will probably be the only time, the Merton 7s were ready to face Alleyns Old Boys. News had filtered to us that that Alleyns had only manged to get 9 players down to face the mighty 7s, as such the 7s were feeling confident about the prospect of getting a first league win of the season.
Starting out in a classic 4-4-2, Merton took a few minutes to adjust to the understandably strange 4-3-1 (or was it 3-4-1!) of Alleyns. Getting the ball out to the wings where Merton could stretch the 9 man Alleyns seemed to be the go to move. One early move saw Glory collect the ball and play it across to Dobson who slid it into the feet of Malcolm; he kept his composure and fired home low past the keeper. 1-0 Merton.
Buoyed by this early goal Merton began to the press the opposition, knowing their options were limited. After some further pressure, Glory collected the ball on the left wing, spinning past the right back, he quickly ran across the back-line before firing past the keeper low into the corner a brilliant solo effort, Merton had doubled their lead! Two quickly became three when Dobson collected a simple ball through the middle, beating the keeper at the second attempt. Merton were 3 up and making their numerical advantage count.
At this point Merton were nonchalantly passing the ball about, sensing an easy afternoon. However a simple ball over the top, leading the injured Lenners to shout for the ball only to get into a mix up with the centre back and striker for Alleyns. The striker profiting from this mix up to slot home. 3-1.
Merton were then again caught cold when the Alleyns big number 9 picked up the ball in between the midfield and defence running at the defences before curling the ball into the goal from outside the box with a wonder strike. 3-2. Things were now a lot more tense and soon after, another Alleyns player had turned up leading to them now boasting 10 players, surely they couldn’t let this one slip! The game becoming a lot more even before the referee blew for half-time.
A couple of changes were made to freshen up the side with Nathan and Jon replacing Tom and Dobson. Merton looked to have restarted with a renewed composure to their game, spreading the ball about and waiting for the opportunities to present themselves rather than trying force the issue. Their patience soon paid off, Glory made himself another great goal following a jinking run to restore the home side’s two goal cushion.
Again Merton managed to lose their composure and shape, finding themselves wide open to the counter on a few occasions. Alleyns capitalised after the right winger found a great cross after a run down the wing which was nodded in by the oncoming striker. 4-3 and the game was back on.
From here on in the goals flowed for Merton, in all honesty with 11 goals in this game I can’t remember them all and the order may well be wrong! For the fifth, Josh spotted the run of Glory and found him just inside the box, Glory’s cross-come-shot bobbled around the box and landed at the feet of Malcolm who doubled his tally for the game. The chance were coming thick and fast now with the 10 men of Alleyns back to 9 after an injury to one of their players, Adam managed to miss a golden opportunity with the goal at his mercy and Glory and Malcom both got their Hat-Tricks. Jack rounded things off with a lovely side footed finished low into the bottom left as the game was drawing to a close. 8-3 was the final score and there were 3 points were on the board for the fledgling 7s. Full respect must go to Alleyns for giving it a right go in difficult circumstances, but as the saying goes, you can only beat what’s in front of you and Merton managed that.
Starting XI: Lenners (GK), Josh K-H, Dan A (C), Tom, Martin, Adam, Jack, Dobson, Glory, Malcom, Tom
Subs: Nathan and Jon
Man Of The Match: A tough one but it’s a tie between Glory and Malcolm who both scored a hat-full of goals.
Dick Of The Day: No one deserves to be dick of the day after such a good performance.
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Another match report written by the gaffer can only mean one thing! More of that later!!
Anyway, with selection being a headache this week it meant the mighty Merton sixes went into this home game with the 13 hardy soles! Well I say 13, prior to game John was sent to the stands by the ref for wearing his “light” half plaster cast, when John explained that Montero was allowed to wear one and tried to argue that he could elbow someone and cause the same damage the whole team sighed and knew that was the end of that argument!
So this left us with 12 and with all the confusion going on and sending the sevens players to the right pitch a lack of warm up and team talk went un-noticed!
On to the game then, Merton have started to build a friendly rivalry with Old Blues. We are two teams evenly matched and over the years we have had many a great game against them and they are a great bunch of lads!
Merton started slowly and the lack of warm up was beginning to show. Everyone’s touch was letting them down and passing was pretty much non-existent! Old Blues were looking threatening and putting in dangerous crosses which we struggled to clear.
About 20 mins in, Old Blues finally took the lead with a bit of mix up between keeper and defender ending up with Michael punching the ball 5 feet to an attacker who put the ball in the empty net. Merton were struggling and some last ditch tackles from Chris and the skipper prevented further damage.
After the skipper barked instructions very angrily, Merton seemed to wake up and finally got a foot hold in the game. Paul missed a glorious chance from some great work by Pete and everyone thought maybe this wasn’t going to be our day.
Another couple of close long range shots from Chris (getting closer and one day will hit the target!) meant that Merton kept up the pressure.
Approx 30 mins in Merton equalised. After some great work by Callum then Trey to square the ball to Ty, he calmly shinned it in to the bottom corner (only joking it was a great curling finish!!).
Old Blues then rallied and had some more great chances but was denied in particular by a superb save from Michael, unfortunately he dislocated his thumb in the process and was in pain but held out to half time.
Merton went into half time 1-1 and we could count ourselves very lucky as we knew we weren’t playing up to our normal greatness. During half time the gaffer desperately tried to sneak on Swanny but realised he wasn’t on the team sheet, so that was ruled out, but with Chris injuring his dodgy hamstring, he volunteered to put on the gloves for the second half.
The second half started slowly but Merton were the better team and started to create some great chances with Paul, Pete and Trey all coming close.
Merton’s defence looked a bit more solid and withheld the physical play of Old Blues. That was until a counter attack caught Merton out down our right and after their skipper put in a dangerous cross in the corridor of uncertainty, the gaffer tried to desperately to divert it from danger, but manged to divert in onto the far post and with the ball creeping along the line their striker smashed it in. It wasn’t an OG at all!! (ok, maybe it was!).
Merton then went on the attack and managed to create yet more chances and this definitely had the feeling of one them days. George went off injured as he couldn’t see properly and then with our only substitute coming on (our original GK) at right back, the gaffer was met with discontent from the crowd (Matt) as that wasn’t his position (if I hear that phrase again I will shoot someone!), but Michael didn’t complain and got on with it!
Callum was causing all sorts of problems against a tiring Old Blues and kept driving at the defence, eventually his talent prevailed and he skipped past a few challenges and smashed the ball in the net – 2-2!
Merton with the wind in their sails, went for a winner and again created numerous good chances! However, we fell behind again to a brilliant header from a great Old Blues corner. We were left reeling and wondered what we had to do to beat Old Blues!
Anyway, with time ticking away Merton went to a 4-3-3 to try and snatch a draw. Now as mentioned at the top of this brilliantly written article, there is a reason Mr Skipper/Captain/Organiser and general dogs body chose to write this match report. In the dying moments of the game the skipper ventured forward for a corner, with a first poor ball in by Ty, he made amends by drawing out the defenders to put a whipping ball in for the skipper who scooped low, like he was picking up dropped kebab meat after a night out and powerfully worked them neck muscles to glance a header into the bottom corner – it was superb header and the best so far of his 3 – yes 3 goals (strikers take note!) this season!
Moments later the full-time whistle went and Merton fault to the end for a hard-earned draw.
Now man of the match, it wasn’t the best week for Merton, but like the Arsenal managed to get a draw when playing bad! There was no doubt about the best player on the pitch though and that was Callum, so well played!
Dick of the Day was a harder choice, it could have gone to a number of players – Paul for missing numerous good chances (he was ill though, so definitely get lets off!). John for plastercast gate. Dan P for kicking the ball miles out of play at every opportunity (can’t give it to him though for playing out of position!). But this week I am giving this to a forgotten face who used to be play in the centre of midfield for Merton – Matt, this is for having a go at the gaffer for a substitution he had no choice to make as we had nobody else. It was truly out of order and maybe the frustration of those knees not healing is getting to him – we miss you Matt!!
Let’s get another win next week!
Line up: Michael, Ram, Dan P, Locke, George, Paul, Ty, Chris, Callum, Trey, Pete
Subs: Dylan
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Old Blues 0 – 4 Merton FC
Saturday saw the Merton 1s travel to Kew for a cup tie against Old Blues. Normal order was resumed as Jonny, Sam and Chaz all turned up late.
The game got underway on a well kept pitch in good conditions and Merton instantly looked the more comfortable team. A lofted cross from Jonny resulted in a textbook header into the bottom corner by Nick ‘the engine’ van Wensveen for his first goal of the season. The team looked well balanced, playing out from the back with Rat and the newfound, ball playing, left back Browner. A well worked move led to the ball being laid back to Sam who managed to strike the ball not only over the bar, but over the club house too.
Rat continued to look menacing down the right, linking up well with man of the match James and when the ball sat up to be volleyed on the edge of the area his eyes lit up but the result was the same; over the clubhouse once more.
As it became apparent that Merton were the stronger team, standards began to slip and mid-way into the first half passes were going astray and players began getting on each other’s backs. The half time team talk highlighted this (Chaz teaching Clappers to play 10 yard passes) as well as an unintentional, but scathing reflection of Browners illustrious career at Merton FC (‘he is not a ball player – you lads may have only played a few games with him but I’ve played with him for over 5 years’).
The second half began with Old Blues nearly nicking a goal; the strong centre forward’s quick-fire shot deflecting off Chaz’s shin and hitting the post.
Merton began to take control again and after missing a good chance in the first half, Jonny latched onto a through ball to coolly chip it over the goalkeeper for 2-0. Another shocking 30 yard strike from Sam shortly followed, this time sailing 5 yards over the cross bar. Merton continued to create chances with James looking menacing on the right wing, turning their fullback and looking confident on the ball. When he found himself in 10 yards of space, Woody chose to shoot rather than squaring it across which resulted in a tame effort, collected by the goalkeeper. A surging run from Rat down the right led to the third goal. After an exchange on the edge of the area, the ball bounced off a defender and into the path of a sliding Rat who guided it into the far corner for a rare, but well earned Merton goal.
The final Merton goal came from a nicely weighted corner, hung up at the back post where a back-peddling Chaz managed to direct a great header into the corner. In the closing moments Merton were awarded a free kick around 25 yards out. Both Nick and Woody stood over the ball but despite a torrid shooting display, Sam decided he would step up. Curling the ball 5 yards over the bar again, he quite rightly was labelled the DOD and will no doubt be stripped of set piece duties for future games.
A special mention to man of the match James who looked dangerous down the right all game and then went on and played for the 2’s after already playing 90 minutes.