Under 15s vs Whyteleafe Wanderers – 06.11.16

Whyteleafe Wanderers 8-1 Merton Fc

 

County cup weekend, and Merton were drawn against Whyteleafe Wanderers from the Tandridge League in their 2nd knockout round tie. A 2pm kick off meant that it was a slow burner of a day before time sped up in the build up before kick off.

 

A chilly day, and in the hilly backstreets of Whytleafe we were at a venue that would hopefully provide a great experience for the players to gain and take them back into the league football.

 

The message was to keep it tight and work hard against what would undoubtabely be a strong side. Playing on an immaculate 4G pitch provided a great backdrop for what would hopefully be a great game.

 

Kick off approached and the set up was evident of the game. Whyteleafe would have a lot of the ball, and Merton would need to work hard off the ball. A sloppy start handed Whyteleafe confidence and a goal within the first 3 minutes. Whyteleafe continued to play football and Merton countied to chase the ball and the players and struggled to keep up with the quick movement. The start got worse and whyteleafe extended their lead quickly, and sped into a 5-0 lead within 20 minutes.

 

Frustrations grew, but Merton’s spirit did not drop. And we worked hard off the ball. We managed to stifle Whyteleafe and began to become confident on the ball. We scored a goal, with a well taken finish from Felix. And that was no less than we deserved in this passage of play. Whyteleafe extended their lead to 6-1 just before half time.

Half time came around and the message was to continue the hard work that the players had put in from the 20th minute. It was important that we done this as we had managed to make Whyteleafe work for what they had.

 

Whyteleafe scored 2 further goals in the second half, in what was a respectable scoreline in the end. It didn’t look that way in the first 20 minutes!

 

Well done to Whyteleafe, good luck in the next round

 

Heads up  and we now go again in the league. Your spirit and desire was evident in bucket loads throughout the second half. Next game Met Police in the league, we can now be positive in the league this season.