Merstham 0 Maldon & Tiptree 4 (FA Trophy 1st Qual. Round – 22 Oct.2011)
Maldon & Tiptree made their first visit to Moatside and proved far too strong for their counterparts from the southern section of the Ryman League as they maintained their impressive cup form to finish easy winners in a match in which the final scoreline flattered the home side. M & T were without the injured Lee Blackburn, James Abbott and Ian Cousins while James Lawson was unavailable due to work commitments, Sos Yao was suspended and the recently re-signed Paul Shave was also not available. Adam Flanagan had recovered sufficiently from a shoulder injury and Kevin McLeod passed a fitness test before the game to allow both to be included in the starting line-up.
In ideal conditions on a good playing surface M & T kicked off attacking up the slope and immediately took the game to their opponents as Billy Burgess joined in the opening attack but his first time cross from the right went behind. Merstham had a half-chance of their own in only the second minute when the M& T defence let a long kick from keeper Michael Lidbury bounce on the edge of their penalty area and the ball broke free to the diminutive Sam Tucknott who fired well over the bar. M & T were soon on the attack and Leon Antoine was unlucky when he failed to control a ball in the area, allowing Rhys Coleman to clear the ball for a corner. Dave Collins’ kick caused havoc in the home defence who scrambled the ball away for another corner and this time Collins found the unmarked Ollie Berquez who rose unchallenged to head powerfully home with only 4 minutes on the clock. The visitors should have increased their lead only two minutes later when Leon Antoine brushed aside the challenge of Merstham’s Adam Broomhead but instead of going for goal himself, he opted to pull the ball back for Joe Pearman whose shot was blocked. M & T looked the better side in the opening stages but goalkeeper Darren Behcet had to be alert to push an effort from Omar Folkes around the post after 11 minutes and then Nathan Simpson tried a long-range effort which went narrowly wide on 18 minutes as Merstham tried to get back into the game.
M & T were having the majority of the play without creating too many clear chances but on 27 minutes Burgess headed narrowly wide from another Collins corner after the pace of Antoine had again caused problems for Merstham’s pedestrian defence. On the half-hour mark the visitors deserved to be more than a single goal ahead on the balance of play, but Merstham had their best spell as they went in search of an equaliser as first, from a quickly-taken free kick just outside M & T’s penalty area Roscoe Dsane found space but curled his shot wide and then, from their first corner of the game, the impressive Lee Townrow headed the ball behind and Behcet collected the second kick. The home side were trying to use the slope to their advantage, mainly down M& T’s right flank where Marcus Milner had to get back to assist Burgess but Lee Townrow had been outstanding in the first period to ensure M & T’s lead was maintained without too many scares.
Half-time: Merstham 0 Maldon & Tiptree 1
At the start of the second half M & T replaced the struggling Kevin McLeod with Neil Cousins but it was the home side who started the half more impressively as they won 2 corners in the opening minutes but were unable to get a meaningful effort on goal. The home defence was maintaining a very high line but they were fortunate on 52 minutes when Jack Stevenson broke from within his own half for a run on goal only to be crudely brought down by Rhys Coleman who was fortunate to escape with only a yellow card. The referee was being particularly lenient towards the home side at this stage and after 56 minutes Billy Burgess was given a yellow card for his comments after another poor challenge on Milner went unpunished. Merstham were having little joy against the M & T defence where Lee Townrow was not only winning all the aerial challenges but was picking up virtually every loose ball and they made two changes within the space of 2 minutes as, first Hayden Ankle replaced Sam Tucknott after 58 minutes and then Dean Gunner came on for Gareth Graham.
The changes did little to change the balance of play as M & T remained comfortable and, on 62 minutes, excellent work by Leon Antoine on the right ended with a cross which Lidbury punched clear ahead of the inrushing Cousins. This proved to be Antoine’s last contribution as he was replaced by Ross Wall on 66 minutes. The visitors continued to be on top and increased their lead with an unusual goal on 73 minutes when a poor kick from Lidbury found Neil Cousins just inside the Merstham half and he coolly advanced unchallenged to beat Lidbury with ease to score his first goal for the club. Only a minute later he had another virtually identical opportunity when he was through on goal with only Lidbury to beat but this time the keeper managed to block the ball with his feet. On 75 minutes M & T replaced Marcus Milner with Leon Fisher and continued to outplay their opponents who seemed to have lost all heart for the contest. They increased their lead on 77 minutes when, after his initial effort had been beaten away by the overworked Lidbury, Neil Cousins was on hand to head in Ross Wall’s cross from close range. Merstham were unable to cope with the pace of Wall and Cousins who had struck up an immediate understanding and Ross Wall should have scored on 80 minutes when he shot wide from 15 yards with the keeper beaten. The home side appeared to have lost their discipline and, after Joe Pearman had been brought down by a challenge from behind, full back Dean Hamlin was booked for dissent. On 85 minutes M & T went 4-0 up when an excellent ball inside the full back on the right by Leon Fisher allowed Jack Stevenson a free run on goal and he beat Lidbury with ease to complete a comfortable victory for the visitors.
Full-time: Merstham 0 Maldon & Tiptree 4
Attendance: 75
Maldon & Tiptree Merstham
1 Darren Behcet 1 Michael Lidbury
2 Billy Burgess 2 Dean Hamlin
3 Dave Collins 3 Nathan Simpson
4 Jack Stevenson 4 Gareth Graham
5 Adam Flanagan 5 Adam Broomhead
6 Lee Townrow 6 Rhys Coleman
7 Marcus Milner 7 Adam Moriarty
8 Ollie Berquez 8 Fabio Savaira
9 Leon Antoine 9 Omar Folkes
10 Kevin McLeod 10 Roscoe Dsane
11 Joe Pearman 11 Sam Tucknott
12 Neil Cousins (for McLeod – 46 mins) 12 Dean Gunner (for Graham – 60 mins)
13 Brad King 13
14 Leon Fisher (for Milner – 75 minutes) 14 Hayden Ankle (for Tucknott – 58 mins)
15 Connor Scurlock 15 Denzel Walters
16 Ross Wall (for Antoine – 66 mins) 16 Lewis Clarke
17 17 David Wilkinson
Maldon & Tiptree Man-of-the-Match
Lee Townrow
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