Merrow 1 v 1 Guildford United

Guildford United won 2-1 on penalties

Saturday 29th May 2021, Kick-off 15.00

Surrey Elite Intermediate League Cup Semi-Final

Laleham Recreation Ground, Laleham

Admission and Programme: None

Attendance: 25 (approximate)

When I set out from home this morning, I was heading for a double in Metropolitan Essex. But when I noticed that the kick-off for the second game was brought forward so that the games would overlap, leaving a choice between a ground I had already visited three times (Redbridge) and last day of the season game with nothing riding on it at Sungate, I changed direction and headed for the outer fringe of south-west London instead, for a much more appealing looking fixture, and at a venue I missed out on visiting whilst it hosted Step 6 football.

This fixture took place at the home of Staines Lammas, which hosted Combined Counties League football up until 2018, when the club was inevitably demoted to the Surrey Elite Intermediate League for ground grading reasons alone. The most direct walking route from Staines station is about two miles, taking just over half an hour, the route I followed homebound, but on my way to the ground, I walked a very pleasant route mostly along the River Thames, including a walk around the uninhabited wooded island of Penton Hook. The three and a half mile walk took just over an hour in total. The Recreation Ground is located just behind the hight street of Laleham village, down a short lane which opens out into a car park. To the left of the entrance is the modern and pavilion clubhouse, the Lucan Pavilion, which is has a decent range of drinks on offer, and an outside patio and grass area with plenty of tables and chairs, and is enclosed with low wooden fencing. It made for a very pleasant place indeed to enjoy a pre-match pint. The senior football pitch is located beyond the clubhouse and is railed along three sides, with the unrailed length closely lined by trees. The end opposite the clubhouse is also lined by trees, whilst behind the remaining length is the rest of the playing fields of the recreation ground. There are no floodlights nor stands currently, hence the demotion for Staines Lammas into Step 7 football, however plans along with permission are in place for these, and Staines Lammas are now trying hard to raise the £30,000 required to unlock the necessary funding grants to proceed with the necessary upgrades.

Merrow topped the table in the Surrey Elite Intermediate League when it was curtailed, following seven wins and two defeats from their nine league games, while Guildford were down in ninth place,  after two wins and a draw from their six league games. In this competition, Merrow won 5-0 at home to AFC Spelthorne Sports, and then 6-2 against NPL,  also played at the Laleham Recreation Ground. Guildford United only entered this competition in the quarter finals, where they beat Battersea Ironsides 3-0 at home. Merrow have had the better of the encounters between the two clubs this season, winning 3-4 away in the curtailed league season in December, and in the Inter League B competition, Merrow won 1-3, also away, at the beginning of May.

Following week after week since lockdown of cold/wet/windy weather requiring several layers and/or waterproofs, it made for a lovely change that the weather was glorious today, mostly sunny and warm, with temperatures nudging into the 20's Guildford did most of the attacking in the first half, so it was something of a surprise when Merrow opened the scoring on 10 minutes with pretty much their first attack, the ball was chased down the left to the byline, was pulled back and tapped low past the keeper from close range. Their lead was to only last a couple of minutes though. A pass in the penalty area took a deflection to find a team mate, who saw his shot parried, but the loose ball was struck home from a fairly tight angle. After that quick flurry of goals, the game then settled down as the teams got tighter in their play, and the scoreline remained level at the break. 

The second half followed a similar pattern to the first, with Guildford doing the majority of the attacking, forcing the Merrow keeper into a couple of smart saves, although Merrow themselves certainly looked to have a goal in them. Yet there was no further scoring in the second half, and unusually for this Covid affected season, the game went to extra time rather than straight to penalties.

The first half passed without much threat of a goal, but the second half of extra time saw Merrow really push for a winner, and five minutes in they saw a header crash back off the bar,. Guildford did have the last decent chance in the final minute, but shortly after the referee blew the final whistle, and so penalties were required to decide who would proceed to the final.

Amazingly, not one of the first five penalties in the shoot out were converted. Guildford saw their first three penalties all saved by the keeper, whilst Merrow's first two hit the woodwork, first against the bar, and then the left post. But they did score their third, off the inside of the right hand post, to seemingly put them in pole position. Guildford scored their fourth, although the keeper came so close to pulling off his fourth consecutive save, getting a hand to the ball but not enough to keep it out. Then Merrow saw their fourth penalty saved, to create a sudden death situation on the fifth penalties. Guildford scored theirs emphatically into the roof of the net, but Guildford's keeper saved Merrow's fifth, low down to his left, to send his team into the final, which they just about deserved on the day.