2016 – Page 23 – Merton Football Club

17 April 2016

24 April 2016

Todays results. Hard to believe but the good looking bunch of guys below lost 2-1 today at BOE and even more incredible that means ‘Team Handsome’ is relegated. good to watch at a great venue with good hospitality.It was a good game and So team pic, Oli scoring our goal with a pen and Pearcey playing his 400th game at AFA/SAL level. But win or lose the boys enjoy apres footy.

Paul Pearce reaching 400 games at AFA/SAL level

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Matt Haswell

14 April 2016

Merton overcame both a hamstring-killing pitch and a series of rather dubiously disallowed goals to take all 3 points in this midweek fixture.

With an unprecedented 17 players available for a midweek 6pm away kick-off, the lucky 14 selected arrived to find a sunny, spring afternoon in Dulwich, a picnic bench next to the pitch and an open bar. Ryan and Lofty also came to spectate/manage/have a pint making it 16 boars in a strong showing.

Merton lined up in a 4-4-2 and immediately created a chance against a somewhat ponderous/elderly back 4, with Tom helping the ball on to Dan only for his snapshot to be mishit at a covering defender. Dan almost redeemed himself after being played in down the left by the retuning Pete Jennings, accelerating past two defenders and into the box and crossing to the far post. Either Tom or Denys looked certain to turn the ball home, only for a South Bank defender to appear from nowhere and somehow smuggle the ball clear. The pitch then claimed its first victim with Dan pulling up with a hamstring strain midway through the first half, with Ricky coming on in his stead and Tom moving up front.

However, on a bobbly pitch, Merton were guilty of trying to hit a ball over the top too early and were struggling to create a clear chance. Tom was finally through on goal just before half-time only for the ball to get somewhat stuck under his feet just as he would have wanted to pull the trigger. Other than that it was really a rather scrappy affair.

Half time, and Lofty made another change, with Welchy coming on for Nick, and a four-way positional swap that most notably saw Neal move from fullback to wide midfield. Even more notably, the opposition retriever decided to have Frankies gloves, taking them off his hands no less and running for the hills. Frankie was not impressed (those are £40 gloves!) and there was a short delay whilst various people chased the dog around the field. All that was missing was some Benny Hill music.

Keen to be involved as the second half began, Welchy immediately embarked on a lung busting surge down the line, followed by a misplaced pass and another pulled hamstring. He limped off to sit on the sidelines next to the similarly crocked Dan.

For the next ten minutes, South Bank had their best spell, a series of set pieces resulting a goal bound shot that Frankie did well to save and a great clearance off the line by Tony. However, Merton regrouped, and with the substitutes Ricky and Tony making a big impact and Neal having more of an influence in his midfield role, the chances began to come.

First, a quick-thinking free-kick from Darcy, passing rather than shooting from 25 yards, saw a Merton player slot home from close range after an inital miscontrol. Unfortunately, the referee ruled it out for offside. Next, Tom did excellently to win a flick-on, Ricky steamrollered through one defender before being clattered by another and then the keeper. The referee decided in his wisdom that somehow it was a home free-kick. Thirdly, some excellent play down the left involving Ricky, Nick and Tom saw Tom played in to finish with aplomb from just inside the area, but was again ruled out by the referee.

It didn’t look like it was going to be Merton day, but as the game entered the final quarter, Merton found a goal even the referee couldn’t argue with. Tom was played in once again, after some neat interplay aorund the edge of the box, and this time there was no whistle, his slightly sliced shot rising over the keeper and finding the top corner. 1-0, and well deserved.

Merton continued to press, one highlight a quite delightful blind reverse pass from Neal that saw Tony cynically chopped down as he ran into the box. Another quite brilliant moment saw one of the South Bank players scream at the referee “Don’t listen to him Ref, this man is a liar!”, as Mustard called for a header. I think it was the combination of pure outrage and politeness that really made it.

However, a second goal did come, with Ricky again bustling through tackles and lifting a goal-bound shot over the keeper that Tom made sure of by stabbing home as the defence scrambled after the ball. 2-0, and a well deserved win after a much improved second-half performance.

So, all in all a rather eventful game featuring two hamstring injuries, a dog running off with the gloves, 3 disallowed goals and the most polite/comical liar accusation ever heard on a football pitch. Oh, and don’t drink the (vanila-essenced infused?) Carling.

MOTM: Darcy upped the drama stakes in the vote, as the returning PJ was closely matched by Pete, and even a vote for Pete J, before he realised they were in fact the same person.

DOTM: Mustard for persistant foul throwing and/or throws that looked like foul throws (there may have only been one foul throw).
DOTPM (dick of the post-match): Darcy for the above MOTM cock-up
DOTE: (dick of the evening): Dan for taking everyone first to a pub that was shut and then to one that didn’t show the football. Fail.

Team:

Frankie
Pete Jennings
Mike Reed
Vincenzo Di Matteo
Mike Stone
Nick P
Darcy Yates
Neal Davison
Tom Benham
Dan Kelly
Denys Zhurby

Subs:
Ricardo Inglesias
Tony Postlethwaite
Paul Welch

Posted in Match Reports 3s

Matt Haswell

10 April 2016

18 April 2016

YOUTH UPDATE and a great morning down the HOOD.
U-10s beat Roehampton Rangers 7-0
U-11s suffer rare defeat against Chertsey Juniors
U-12s – lose in a good 4-2 against CB Hounslow
U13s beat AFC Ewell 4-1 who are 2 divisions above us. A great hat trick from Jacobo but MOM goes to Jamie for a string of fantastic saves including a spectacular penalty save. …
TEAM of the day goes to U-14s they beat Met Police Reds 5-3. Unfortunately Nick couldn’t come today due to illness, big thanks to John Head for organising the team for the first half and well done Dan & Darren did the second half.
PHOTOS to follow please feel free to post them on here!

REMEMBER CUP FINAL NEXT WEEK. The U10s vs Kingston Town Kings in the Africa Cup final 11.30am at Carshalton Athletic ground, then all back to the Hood to celebrate 1.30pm till 5pm. COME & SUPPORT!

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Matt Haswell

10 April 2016

18 April 2016

Todays games!

Pictured: Clappers shakes off a hangover and leads the ones to a 0-0 point against promotion chasing CEV with centre half partner Peter Brown. Reserves lose 2-0 could have been more Sherbs MOM…5s lose 5-0 against a Feisty Carshalton 5s team and 6s lose both games in double header away against Old Salesians 0 – 1 and 5 – 1. Their goal coming from Pete returning back from injured Kidney, can he still claim the Club top goal scorer award! Andy Ross wins grand national cash on rule the world!

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Matt Haswell

4 April 2016

3s beat a really good 9 man Old Finchleans 4-2 with OFs bossing it till they ran out of steam. Denys with a match winning hat trick. Oh, hang on, that’s someone else’s match report. Let’s start again.

Old Finchleans were the visitors to the newly drained Joseph Hood, and having arguably carried a number of players in the reverse fixture a couple of weeks back, they decided to show up with just 9 this week. A bold choice, and it saw confusion in the Merton ranks as an initial 4-3-3 line up was tweaked to 4-4-2 to try and take advantage of the extra men and exploit the wide areas. Lofty did his best to hammer home the message about not being complacent, keeping the ball moving, doing the simple stuff etc, and on a bright sunny spring afternoon, all looked set fair for an easy Merton win. If only.

Merton started well, spreading the ball confidently from left to right, with Tony a particular out-ball at right fullback and the centre-backs of Paul and Vin switching the play nicely. On the other side, Ricky and Mustard were linking up well, but as has been the case with much of this season, we failed to find the right final ball, either scuffing shots from distance or simply making the wrong choice from a series of dangerous positions. Merton did finally get it right on the 15 minute mark, some sharp passing between Darcy, Denys and Neal seeing Tom played in to play a cut back across goal. On a bobbly (honest!) surface Dan made sure of a good contact but rather than net bulge instead it was the underside of the crossbar that took the punishment and the score remained 0-0.

Denys then went off following a kick to the face, and Tom moved upfront to partner Dan, with Nick coming on at right midfield. This almost saw the opening goal, as Dan robbed the Finchleans fullback following a short pass out from the keeper and teased in a cross to the back post only for the newly central Tom to poke wide of the post.

Unfortunately, this early momentum rather dissipated, and it was then Finchleans who started to look the more dangerous. With at least one quality player in each of defence, midfield and attack, they started to get some joy down their left, counter-attacks rather bafflingly leaving them 3 on 3 on a couple of occasions as Merton were caught on the ball, or giving the ball away cheaply, on more than one occasion. There were a few warning signs; a couple of corners and free-kicks, a moment where their striker was through one on one only for debutant keeper Frankie to bravely block as the striker looked to finish, before Finchleans then took the lead. Again it came from some good work down their left, after Merton couldn’t complete a clearance from a corner, the ball was worked down the left and through a few attemped tackles, and then cut back for the oppo striker to slot home from near the penalty spot. 1-0, and shockingly the 9 men were ahead.

Merton tried to respond; Ricky and Nick in wide positions were having some joy but again we couldn’t find a final pass, Darcy hit the post from 15 yards after a nicely constructed move, Chris and Tom almost combined to play in Dan, but in truth it was still Finchleans that looked more dangerous on the few occasions they had the ball and it was a somewhat dispirted Merton team that reached half time 1-0 down.

Lofty had some harsh words for the team at half-time, deservedly so, and Merton ran out to start the second half suitably chastised and fired up to make amends. Almost immediately they found an equaliser, Tom driving at the defence before playing Dan in to shoot across goal. His shot was parried by the keeper and the rebound looked to be about to be buried by Denys (back on at half time after stemming the bleeding from the earlier kick), or Ricky, but some desperate defending from Finchleans made sure they kept their lead. More chances followed as Merton really dominated now – Denys unable to convert at the far post on a couple of occasions, Darcy and Ricky firing over from distance, and Tom getting in behind on a couple of occasions only to fail to find a Merton player with a cross, and then on one occasion forcing a good save from the keeper.

As the game entered its final quarter Lofty shifted the formation to 3 up top, with Tom joining Denys and Dan up front, and, not for the first time this season, the change brought a goal. Some nice passing between Neal, Nick and Tom saw a cross reach Denys in acres of space at the far post, and, ignoring Mustard’s desperate plea that he take a touch, Denys swept the ball first time into the far corner. 1-1, deadlock broken, and still 22 minutes to go to find the winner.

Normally, you would expect a team that had held out so long to crumble after that first goal goes in. Instead, Finchleans responded magnificently to conceding by retaking the lead. Unbelievable Jeff! After Ricky (now at LB) gave away a free kick just inside the Merton half, some disorganisation (Neal and Mustard were arguing about something, Lofty was desperately trying to get a message across) and the expectation that the ball would be pumped in long saw Merton caught unawares by a quick, short free kick. Two passes later, the Finchleans player takes aim from 30 yards unchallenged and puts it in the top corner. Great finish, great response from the oppo in what was pretty much their only shot on goal in the entire half, and within 2 minutes of equalising, Merton were behind again.

Merton were back to needing 2 goals, but undeterred, they continued to press and resumed their dominance of the game. Spaces were opening up wide now as legs tired, and as Merton passed the ball out from the back via Vin, Nick and Neal (now a rwb), Tom was let loose to run at the opposition defence. Driving to the edge of the area, he then played a through ball for Dan to hit, only for the ball to get somewhat stuck under his feet. Instead, Dan got his head up and squared to Ricky, whose shot was half blocked and instead turned in by the lurking Denys from close range. 2-2.

Merton continued to press an increasingly exhausted Finchleans and with still more than 10 minutes on the clock, Merton finally took the lead. This time Darcy and Denys combined to play Tom in, and he cooly slipped the ball under the keeper as he ran in on goal. 3-2.

There was still time for more drama, and to be fair Finchleans tried to stir themselves for a final effort, pushing men forward in search of another goal. Some tussles on and in the box between Mustard and the oppo striker frayed the nerves a little, but Merton stood firm, and instead found a fourth to seal the game. This time Ricky (who never stopped running all game) intercepted and brought the ball out from fullback, leading a 4 on 2 counter attack. Merton did their best to mess it up, a slightly overhit pass as the ball was squared to Denys and then Tom giving the keeper a chance to block. However, Merton reacted first to the ball and Denys was able to claim his hatrick by slotting the ball home once again from close range. 4-2, and after the all the dramas, Merton were finally able to close the game out and take the 3 points.

Not a classic performance, if certainly a lot more interesting than an easy stroll to victory. MOTM went to Ricky for his ceaseless running, both at LM and LB/LWB, with Denys a very close second for his first ever (hard to believe!) hatrick. Honourable mentions for Vin and Dan also. DOTM was Tony, ahead of Tom – presumably for a classic moment where an attempted tackle/kick saw him kick the oppo and then go down holding his leg.

Finally, a note of acknowledgement for the 9 Finchlean players who represented their club superbly and made for a thrilling game.

Team (4-4-2)

Frankie (GK)
Mike Reed
Paul Welch
Vincenzo Di Matteo
Tony Postlethwaite
Neal Davison
Darcy Yates
Ricardo
Tom Benham
Dan Kelly
Denys Zhurby

Sub

Chris P
Nick P

Posted in Match Reports 3s

Matt Haswell

4 April 2016

10 April 2016

Only One Youth game today. Our U12s who have been playing really well lately lost 3-1 to Shene Lions. A good performance from a determined bunch of lads. They have suffered badly with the Hood being out of commission but thanks to the parents and management team have kept going really strongly. Good stuff.

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Matt Haswell

4 April 2016

10 April 2016

Todays Results.
1s lose 2-1 to EBOG to a great injury time set piece header. Enjoyable well refed game. 2s lost 2-0 at CEV and drop into relegation zone. 3s beat a really good 9 man Old Finchleians 4-2 with OFs bossing it till they ran out of steam. Denys with a match winning hat trick. 5s win double header against Old Wilsons 3-1 and 2-0. The 6s lost 3 – 0 away to Alleyn Old Boys. Our Youth Refs step up and ref the game. Thanks Great job boys. Thanks to Steve and his helpers for sorting the bar which was buzzzing !!

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Matt Haswell

25 March 2016

19 May 2016

Avery Good Long Good Friday Started with A Round Robin Vets Competition won by Epsom Athletic. But Merton beat OWCs Vets who were drowning their sorrows in the bar (What sorrows?). Merton Select beat Argentinos 5-2 in a very good game on a beautiful day. The U13s beat Mitcham Park and the U10s beat Wallington Wanderers in two good games. Thanks to everyone who turned up to support this event and to Peter Kemp, Jasper, Sherbs, Steve and Dave Laughton who helped with organisation, reffing bar food etc etc.

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Matt Haswell

21 March 2016

So our final league game was upon us and it resulted in a trip to Beckenham for a showcase against HSBC 4s. Having narrowly lost 3-2 in the reverse fixture a few weeks ago, we knew that they were there for the taking if he played the football we knew that we were capable of.

With our usual skipper side-lined due to a freak salad chopping incident, Dulanie wore the armband., and with a number or regulars opting for a stopover at Cheltenham Races, we drafted in the likes of Vin De Matteo, David Donovan, Darcy Yates and Tony Postlethwaite to deputise.

The game started well with both team using the unusually good surface to their advantage however no real chances were created. The breakthrough did however come 10 minutes in. Sam was unable to keep hold of a direct free-kick that somehow found its way in between his legs. 1 – 0 to the hosts.

We were downbeat a little by going behind as we were the better team. We started to create chances however we unable to find the back of the next with Dave Donovan shooting agonisingly wide and Dulanie blasting an effort over the bar.

Something that we failed to do, the opposition managed. That was to find the back of the net.

Sam did well to stop a shot following a break on the right from the pacey number 3 (minute version of Asamoah Gyan) however his parry rebounded off of their strikers knee and into the back of the net. Fortunate however still a goal.

Things got worse after half an hour. Tony reacted the wrong way following an aerial challenge and retaliated. Straight red card and Merton were down to 10 men with a mountain to climb. We conceded another before the break. An effort from 25 years to went in off of the far post.

The team talk at the break was a positive one. Even being a man down we knew that we could potentially get back in the game.

We started the second period well and with 25 minutes to do managed to reduce the deficit. Darcy was quick to find Dom with a quick free-kick who slotted home with ease. Five minutes later we found another. Dave Donovan managed to squeeze an effort under the keeper to make it 3-2. We were doing all we could to get back in the game and we had the hosts on the ropes. Until the 80^th minute that is. Sam attempted a clearance on the edge of his box however the ball fell straight to their left football playmaker who found the back of the net from all of 40 yards. 4 – 2 HSBC.

The 5^th goal Merton conceded was unfortunate. Sam thought he had judged the ball going out of play from a cross however following his step over, the ball hit the post and feel kindly to their striker for him to complete his hat trick.

Not the best way to end your season however we know what we need to do and what to work on if we are to challenge next season. All I can say is bring on the 2016/17 season!

I want to take this opportunity to thank all those that have been part of the 4s this season and look forward to next season already.

FINAL SCORE: HSBC 4s 5 – 2 Merton 4s SCORERS: Dom Plumridge, Dave Donovan MOTM: Darcy Yates

STARTING LINE-UP: Samuel Singer-Ripley (GK), Tony Postlethwaite, Vin De Matteo, Joe Plumrudge, Edward Plaistow, Sevan Mutafyan (Billy Dowie),Danny Gridley, Darcy Yates, Dave Donavan, Dulanie Richards, Dom Plumridge

Posted in Match Reports 4s

Matt Haswell

21 March 2016

4 April 2016

Excellent results at the Hood – The U11s beat West Side 9-2 and the U12s beat Esher Lions 4-1, the U13s beat a very good Kew Park Rangers 5-3. Mason and Niqoy operating as stand in keeper as Jamie was ill. Also next years U9s started their training for next season. Then all in the bar for a spot of lunch to celebrate the homecoming. Well done to all the managers and Steve for organising the event.