Forty two long days had passed for the mighty Merton 4s since they had last trudged onto the field together. The Christmas break,  combined with the ongoing problems with waterlogged pitches had scuppered the momentum of morale-boosting, back-to-back wins in early December, so the task of toppling the table-topping Alleyn Old Boys on a dreadfully boggy Wimbledon Common Extensions pitch was a stiff one.

Nevertheless, with a near full-strength squad, the Yellows had no reason to fear, and made a steady, albeit defensive start to the match. Getting out of their own half was proving difficult against a visibly superior Alleyn outfit, who showed impressive quality passing the ball around on a woeful surface. It didn’t lead to any goals for the first 25 minutes though, as Merton dug in gamely.

But the breakthrough had an air of inevitability about it, as one of their pacey strikers beat the offside trap and slotted home clinically to make it 1-0. The second came 10 minutes later; again some good interplay that proved very difficult to deal with. The finish was clinical too, Sam had no chance, and 2-0 it was.

Yet while it wasn’t exactly an unfair score line, it was a little tough on the hosts, who had done well to carve out some decent chances of their own through direct football. Dulanie got on the end of a fine cross from Mikey, and was unlucky to see his header on goal well saved.

There was also some controversy, with Dom brought down by the last man when it appeared he was clean through on goal. A free kick, but no card, and it became a bit farcical as Billy’s subsequent effort with the dead ball was deliberately handled on the outskirts of the box – again no card from the official though.

And seconds before the whistle came for half time, a delightful overhead flick found Mikey just a few yards out, but a difficult finish to execute slid agonisingly wide. Still, the heads were up at the interval. At 2-0 the game was far from gone, and with the whole team working hard and Dom and Dulanie chasing down and holding up long balls admirably, there was hope.

The first 15 minutes after the restart were decent too, with Merton putting in some good tackles and working hard. But the third goal was the straw that broke the camel’s back. A simple through ball managed to squeeze through the defensive line, and the Joleon Lescott-esque Alleyn forward simply had too much pace, and tucked it away to make it 3-0.

The heads hadn’t quite dropped at that stage, and Merton charged up the other end soon after and had half a chance to pull one back. But with that attempt foiled, Alleyn counter attacked, and with the Yellow’s caught short, the opposing striker again found himself one on one with Sam and made no mistake.

That made it 4-0, and the rest, quite frankly, was a nightmarish blur. The goals flew in from all angles. Among them was a goal where the player was clearly offside, but like the South African cricket team losing wickets, the scoreboard kept ticking over. 5. 6. 7. 8.

Mercifully, the referee may have called an end to proceedings a few minutes early, with the damage kept to single figures. A cold shower afterwards seemed like a fitting end to the dispiriting two hours of football before it.

But the lads should also keep a cool head when assessing the performance as a whole. The opponents have a 100% record in the league, and for an hour, we held them at bay and caused them a few problems of their own. Yes, the wheels came off for the final half hour, but that’s best forgotten about. There are winnable games to come – let’s consign this one to history, and continue the run we started at the end of last year.

FINAL SCORE: Merton 4s 0 – 8 Alleyn Old Boys 4s SCORER: None MOTM: Dom Plumridge

STARTING LINE-UP: Samuel Singer-Ripley (GK), John Gridley, Steve Burchell, Mike Todt, Edward Plaistow, Chris Outred, Mike Elgar, Seb Lechanoine (Arnold Collier), Billy Dowie, Dulanie Richards, Dom Plumridge.

The Hood was pretty wet and the top pitch was the only one that was playable and that was only just. The drainage on the top pitch seems to have broken down in the three pitches on the high points which is really odd. But despite the dreadful boggy patches it was a really entertaining game with a surprising amount of good football. The wind which I had not noticed earlier in the day was now a factor blowing down the pitch and we were against it in the first half. Weirside wind assisted started really well. A good run down the left wing and an early well flighted cross was put in the net in the first minutes but was disallowed for offside. But this recipe was repeated several times down both wings and life was a little uncomfortable. Weirside missed a good chance putting a free header over the bar from a corner. Their early crossing was an issue and Woody tracked back really well to get his head to deflect one away, but annoyingly got his kit really dirty in the process. A price worth paying.  Gradually we got a foothold in the game and Vanny was troubling their full back who hauled him down a couple of times but 5 mins before he broke clear and their keeper could only half stop his shot and Charlie was at the far post to finish. Charlie made that seem quite difficult as he seemed to get caught up with it for a while. So 1-0 up at Half time and with the wind helping seemed a promising position. However that was not the case and straight from the kick off the Weirside striker seemed to waltz through our defence collide with Sherbs and somehow we cleared it off the line twice. We recovered from this scare and started to create chances. Tom Rowe was played through but fired wide and Will Low went close. But Weirside were always threatening and their skipper was always probing from midfield and they had good movement and their CF was good at holding up. So the equaliser when it came with 20 mins to play was not totally unexpected or against the run of play. Another good diagonal ball was latched on to and fired home on the turn. Pretty good stuff. The wind had dropped and it was good end to end stuff, Dave Quainton came on For Charlie and Hoppy (welcome back) came on For Woody who had put in a really good shift. DQ fresh legs immediately caused problems and with 10 mins to go broke clear down the right and crossed for Tom to fire home emphatically. We looked to hold on but Weirside were not to be denied and a hard shot from close quarters denied us the three points and delivered a fair result but disappointing as we were so close to a much needed win. I thought Weirside were good value and played better than when they beat us 1-0 at their place earlier in the season. They had some very good players well organised well lead and good movement. David Buick the ref was first class and his control was a major contribution to an what was a very enjoyable game to watch albeit a little disappointing. We put in a great effort and appoint is ok against a good side like Weirside. I thought all our players performed well and worked hard slogging thru the mud. Vanny had a really good game but Rat was outstanding yet again. We need to string a few results together in the new year and climb up the table but have every confidence in the lads and Clappers to do that.

Team; Sherbs (GK) Rat Clappers (Capt) Browner, Cookie, Woody, Al G, Will Low , Vanny , Tom R , Charlie. Subs Hoppy, Dave Q.

Another full squad of 14 boars plus cheerleader Walshy lined up for Merton 3s against the howling wind and a somewhat rag-tag St James Old Boys reserves, sporting a colourful array of shorts and socks and only ten men. Always a tasty proposition but we didn’t work the numbers particularly well in the first 20 mins, instead devoting 6 men to shut down their lone striker who really didn’t warrant such suspicion. Once we’d worked out that we could afford to push on a bit, the pattern of the game was set; namely that we needn’t have bothered with marking out the full pitch and putting both goals out as the game was only played in half of it.

The opener/nerve-settler came when Mustard evaded a challenge and bundled the ball into Ricky, who played in Tom to slot past the keeper, moments after Lofty had, in a moment of inspiration, hauled himself off and put Tom up front. Mustard is so committed to the Merton cause these days that he is actually beginning to take on the form of a boar, and this was evident as he burrowed down the left wing, head bowed, leading with the tusks. As defenders leapt out of the way presumably fearing for their own safety he suddenly found himself in the opposition box, where the boar analogies abruptly ended with an outrageous swan dive and hopeful look towards the referee. No pen; and DOTD sewn up before half time.

The second goal was a contender for goal of the season in the coveted “team goal” category. Mike and Vin started the move on the half way line, working the ball out to Mustard, who passed it in to Pete in the middle, who shifted it wide to Neal at right-back, who knocked it down the line to Reece, who threaded it through to Ryan all alone on the 6-yard line, who hacked it across goal for Denys to smash in at the far post. MOTD analysis suggests 25 completed passes in the build up, but I could just be making that up. 2-0 at half time, more of the same encouraged for the second half as Ellis picked up his deckchair, walked it down to the other goalmouth and re-opened his Mills & Boom novel.

More of the same in the second half as Joel “Skippy” Van Oosten was introduced and boars of war Pete and Ryan pushed on in midfield in search of someone to tackle. Merton could sniff a goal-fest, and opportunities were being generated aplenty with nice triangles down the right between Neal, Reece and Ryan, running in behind from Tom and Ricky, and Denys, more bear than boar, leading the line out-muscling defenders and creating space. The third goal came when one of said defenders scythed the big Ukranian down just outside the box, and was then sent to the touchline to remove his earrings and think about what he’d done. That left SJOB with nine men, so the ref graciously said we’d wait for him to return before re-starting play. Except nobody told Pete, who curled in a delightful chip for Denys to head back across goal where Tom arrived, charging in at full pace to poke the ball past the keeper. 3-0, and the hat-trick beckoned for Tom when Ricky tricked his way along the touch line and squared for Tom, 3 yards out, to blast straight at the keeper’s chest. He’d have to wait for the third, but in the meantime Merton poured forward, wasting a succession of corners, crosses and goalmouth scrambles. At one point, Chris “Big Papa” Papanastatiou was so dismayed to see Ryan’s left-foot swinging for a ball just in front of him in the 6-yard box that he yelled “NOOOOOOOOOO” as if auditioning for a role in a Hollywood B-movie.

The hat-trick was completed with a goal Tom had been threatening to score all game, running off the shoulder of the centre-back onto a lofted through ball from Pete (after he’d won the ball and flattened his man, naturally) and slotting into the corner past the admittedly excellent keeper, without whom Tom could have had 6 and Merton 16. No sooner than the ball had hit the back of the net, and before he’d even had time to celebrate his achievement, Tom was hauled off as a reminder that no one player is bigger than the team. At this point there was still plenty of time left to run up a score, or at least there would have been had we been playing 90 minutes. Alarm bells should have been raised by the ref mentioning at kick-off that he had to shoot off straight after the game, and the fact that at one point he looked to the sky rather than his watch when asked how long was left. There were still chances to be had; Denys launched a thunderbolt from the edge of the box that hit the bar and fired straight upwards like a ground-to-air missile, then set up Chris P for a spectacular air-shot with the goal at his mercy. Meanwhile, Pete broke up a rare foray into the Merton half and dribbled back and forth past the bamboozled attacker who reacted by brutally hacking him down. Voices were raised, tempers about to flare as Pete got up, walked over the the offender and said “sorry for doing you there mate”.

The final whistle sounded shortly after on a convincing win, built on the solidity of Joel, Vin and Mike at the back (we’ve now conceded just 1 goal in 3 games) and the pace of Tom up front, who scooped a deserved MOM award. Also worth recording that the referee was actually very good and the opposition were good sports in difficult circumstances for them. Less than a season ago, it was Merton 3s who were turning up for away games with 10 men and now here we are with a full squad every week, great team spirit and difficult selection decisions to make. There will be tougher challenges ahead, starting with 2nd versus 3rd in the league next week. Bring it on.

MOM: Tom Benham
DOTM: Mike Reed

Lineup:
Paul Ellis
Neal Davison
Vincenzo Di Matteo
Mike Stone
Mike Reed
Tom Benham
Ryan Gresty
Pete Jennings
Ricardo Inglesias
Denys Zhurbiy
Simon White

Subs:
Joel Van Oosten
Chris Papanastatiou
Reece Smith

Spectators:
Paul Welch

There was a certain swagger about Merton 4s as they arrived at Old Wilsonians, and understandably so after a first win of the league campaign the week before. And while Saturday’s opponents had hammered them 5-0 only a fortnight ago, the belief was there that a different outcome would be in the offing.

Relegated to the windswept, secondary pitches away from the clubhouse, it became clear that it would be a game of two very different halves. A huge slope, backed up by a stiff breeze meant that the team with the elements at their back had 45 minutes to make it count.

Lining up for Merton was Sam in goal, Mike and Steve Burchell at centre back and with John Gridley and Scholesy at fullback. Dan Gridley and Aaron were to occupy the centre of the park (although Aaron was replaced by Mike Elgar early on after an unfortunate injury), with Billy and Chris on the flanks. And it was left to Dulanie and Jake to provide the goals upfront.

After the coin toss, Merton were into the wind first half. Very quickly it became clear that this 45 minutes would be purely about damage limitation, and a lot of hard work. But the Yellows started very well, keeping their shape impressively, dealing with the enormous goal kicks, and largely restricting Old Wilsonians to passing it around in front of them, failed through-balls and hopeful long-range efforts.

Unfortunately, on 25 minutes, it was one of those hopeful long-range efforts that provided the opener. The hosts’ striker made great contact from 25 yards, and despite Sam getting a good hand on it, the awkward bouncing ball snuck into the bottom-left corner.

1-0, but no cause for panic. Certainly a single goal had been bargained for in these conditions, and the 4s thus kept their heads up, and stuck to their tasks manfully. There were even some handy moments upfront, reminding Old Wilsonians that there was still a goal threat to consider.

But it was at the back where much of the good work was being done, and for all of the home side’s dominance, clear-cut chances were actually few and far between. John in particular was outstanding in cleaning up loose balls, and keeping the left winger in check. 

It’s what made the circumstances for the second goal all the more unfortunate though. With just two minutes to go until the break, Sam played a goal kick short to John, who was immediately under huge pressure. He tried a dummy stopover, but unfortunately the Wilsonians striker read it, intercepted, and calmly slotted the one-on-one past Sam. 

2-0, and a crushing blow. 1-0 at half time would have felt like a lead, but a two goal deficit felt no better than par. The chat was good at the break, and Merton knew that with the wind at their backs, the chances would come. But, in truth, they were a little flat when the game resumed. By no means poor, but for 20 minutes there just didn’t seem to be much happening. No sustained possession, no real opportunities. In fact, about 10 minutes in, the ball fell kindly to a Wilsonians striker at the other end, and he ought to have done better with his shot from close range. 

With the clock ticking, something inspirational was needed. Or so we thought. Dan did ever so well to win a free kick on the edge of their box, and after a bit of conjecture, it was decided that Jake would be the man to take it. He’d probably admit it wasn’t his career-best strike, but somehow it bounced and bobbled it’s way past the keeper and into the net. 2-1, and Merton had a lifeline.

But if the first was fortunate, the equaliser was pure class. The ball was scrambling around in midfield, and 25 yards out Dulanie did ever so well to control the ball. What followed was sensational, as he smashed it with his left foot into the right corner of the net. One of those strikes where it’s in from the second it leaves his boot, and no keeper in the world had a chance, let alone the host’s average one.

2-2 it was, and Merton were jubilant. They had all the momentum, and could smell victory. Yet with 10 minutes to go, disaster nearly struck at the other end, as, from open play, the ball ended up loose in the Yellows’ box. Fortunately, their two strikers rather got in the way of each other, and when the trigger was eventually pulled, Sam was able to make a good save.

Moments like that confirmed in the lads’ minds that maybe, just maybe, this was to be their day, and with five minutes to go, that magic moment arrived. Wilsonians were becoming increasingly troubled by long balls, and one found its way to Jake near the edge of the box. He controlled, he stopped. Time stood still. And then he dispatched it gloriously home, rattling the side netting, and setting off massive celebrations. 3-2, what a sensational comeback!

The home side were beaten, and they knew it. They offered nothing in reply in the final minutes, other than a nasty challenge on Chris. But he was okay in the end, and when the final whistle went, joyous scenes ensued. What a tremendous win! Two on the bounce, and evidence that, on their day, this spirited Merton side can beat anyone. One more game to go before the Christmas break. Can they make it three in a row? In this kind of form, you wouldn’t bet against it.

FINAL SCORE: Merton 4s 3 – 2 Old Wilsonians 4s
SCORERS: Jake Hewitt (2); Dulanie Richards
MOTM: Again, bloody tough. The whole team. Steve and John outstanding at the back, and Dan Gridley immense. Probably has to go to Jake though. Great effort son!

STARTING LINE-UP: Samuel Singer-Ripley (GK), John Gridley (Ryan Burchell), Steve Burchell, Mike Todt, Edward Plaistow, Billy Dowie, Aaron Ackerman (Mike Elgar), Danny Gridley, Chris Outred, Dulanie Richards, Jake Hewitt.

Dreadful, blustery conditions greeted the 4s as they arrived at the Hood on Saturday, with Storm Desmond (the quality of names of these storms seemingly deteriorating) baring its teeth. The grey skies summed up the mood for a side still looking for its first league win of the season, and coming off the back of a 5-0 reverse the previous week.

But this was a gilt-edged chance to put things right given that they were up against fellow strugglers Actonians Association 6s. Sam starting in goal as ever, with a back four of Scholesy, Glen, Mike and John Gridley in front of him. Dan made a welcome return to central midfield alongside Jake, with Aaron and Chris Outred manning the flanks. Dulanie and Billy were all set to do the business upfront. But as the game kicked off, a Merton team low on confidence were tentative, and it showed. Actonians were much the better side in the opening quarter, and nearly went ahead but for a fine save from Sam. The goal was to arrive soon after though, as a pass somehow found its way through a sea of yellow, and the Actonian striker who picked it up made no mistake in dispatching his finish in the one-on-one with Sam. 1-0, and a crushing blow. But heads stayed up, and so did the spirits. And it showed in the play too, with Merton offering a palpable response. Jake was tireless in midfield, and Billy’s relentless running eventually won a corner. The cavalry went forward, and after a delightful ball in from the skipper Chris, Mike managed to nod home; the keeper and the man on the post offering a lame attempt to keep it out. Either way, it was a much-needed equaliser, and the Yellows were right back in it at 1-1. The rest of the half offered few chances, with the home side showing tremendous discipline and shape. One opportunity did come later on via a goalmouth scramble, with the wind causing havoc. Unfortunately Billy wasn’t quite able to get enough on the loose ball, but when the whistle went for the interval, the chat was good. The 4s could sense that this one was there for the taking, and they were buoyant as they strode back onto the pitch. It was about to get a whole lot better though, as a dream start to the second period was to follow. It was all Merton from the kick off, and five minutes in, Jake made a menacing run through the middle. With him all but through on goal, the hapless defender had little choice but to trip him up. In turn, the referee had little choice but to point to the spot, and this was their chance. The captain bravely stepped up to the plate, and clinically – nay, emphatically – hammered the penalty into the bottom right corner. 2-1, and Merton were soaring. Barely three minutes later, a third was to come. Dulanie won a throw in on the right side in the opposing territory, and Dan spiralled in a beast of throw. The defender miscued his clearing header, and it sailed tormentingly over the keeper and nestled into the side of the net. A bonus indeed, but at 3-1, the home side cared little and had some much-needed breathing space.

There were a lot of factors that conspired to try and spoil Saturday for me. First of all it was away at Old Stationers a trip from Merton that fills me with as much gloom as it probably does  for them coming to us. So that meant a trip round the M25. We left early, glad we did as there was an accident firstly on the A3 and then a 45 minute standstill on the M25 at Heathrow. So we arrived late with all the kit balls etc after everyone else. Then there was the weather. A real gusting blustery wind that was blowing straight down the pitch to make it a game of two halves. Then there was the Oppo who adjusted to the conditions better than us. We won the toss and had the wind in the first half. But we did not make enough of it and at half time a one goal advantage never seemed enough. We only had a really good goal from Femi to show for a lot of possession. He picked up a good pass on the left wing took it the by line and beat the defender and slid it past the keeper. In fairness they played pretty well in the first half against the wind and adapted to the conditions better. They equalised 10 mins into the second half and went ahead soon after when the Ref gave them a penalty. The Ref also contributed to spoiling the day. It was not an easy game for him to referee but I doubt if even he thought he did OK. Whilst he got the two big decisions wrong that happens. It is why he got them wrong he needs to think about. He was a young man with a long career ahead of him, who needs to learn from this experience that he that he must enforce the rules of the game. If he doesn’t then he makes a rod for his own back and will disappoint a lot of honest teams on Saturdays in the future and wont enjoy himself. He failed to award a goal when we equalised in the last seconds of the game. He was the only person who did not think the ball had crossed the line. He apologised after but that does not really get you there does it. What was really good and sustained me was the way our lads took it. Great spirit and  camaraderie in the bar after when Connor was deservedly man most handsome. But honourable mentions for some good looking boys, Joe Griffin, Femi and Clowesy. So we left with no points a slight feeling of injustice but our heads held high as we had shown respect and upheld the spirit of the SAL.

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