Merton 1s v Dorkinians – 28th November 2013

Merton made it in to the second round of the AFA Senior cup after a real ding dong battle against a young and spirited Dorkinians side. The home side looked dangerous on the break all afternoon and it was no surprise when they went one up after 15 minutes. Merton hit back straight away after a well delivered corner from Dan Whiteman was met at the far post by Tilley to head in off the post before the Surrey men again took the lead in to the half time break with a well executed over head kick inside the box. The second half started well for Merton and after an exquisite passing move from back to front involving most of the team, Tom Rowe cooly passed the ball in to the corner of the net to level things up. Things got even better for the men in yellow after Jason Marsh came on from the bench to almost instantly lift the ball over the keepers head to send Merton ahead. With five minutes of normal time to go Dorkinians levelled things up with a well taken strike on the break after Ackers had missed the chance to put the game to bed. With everyone preparing themselves for extra time, Framer popped up in the area to rifle home a left footed strike in to the near corner of the net to send Merton through. The win was made all the more enjoyable in the bar afterwards with some excellent food and hospitality plus a couple of Merton stories from old from Terry and Dodge!

MOM:

Team: Angus, Framer, Graves, Clappers, Manton, Snook, Woods, Tilley, Whiteman (Marsh 60), Ackers, Rowe (Whiteman 80)

Written by: James Tilley