League

Hurst Rec Stadium
Spectators: 8591 (Terracing: 6444, Seating: 1976, VIP seats: 171) It was fairly windy and cold on the field when John-Paul Whittingham kicked off to start the match. In the 3rd minute, John-Einar Olaussen made a precise shot to the right of Laurence Barraclough. Merton Albion FC's defense was at fault, and the scoreboard reflected the new score, 0-1. In the 6th minute, John-Einar Olaussen got an opportunity to score, but he didn't get a solid hit on the ball and ended up kicking it wide of the goal. Dean Ashton came free with the goalkeeper in the 16th minute of the match, and shot straight on target. The shot was a little too simple and Carl Burley could save by the left post. An unexpectedly hard shot by John-Einar Olaussen in the 19th minute of play forced Merton Albion FC's goalkeeper Laurence Barraclough to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. 24 minutes into the match, John-Einar Olaussen notched a goal, 0-2, to the right of Merton Albion FC's Laurence Barraclough. Laurence Barraclough was clearly disgusted with the effort of the defense and let the defenders know about it. With a couple of smart ball manuevers John-Einar Olaussen in the 27th managed to get into a good position. With a left leg Laurence Barraclough saved Merton Albion FC from getting behind. A collision led to Twyford United getting a freekick after 28 minutes play. Verne Lane hit a great ball. Carl Burley was in exellent shape and made a fantastic save when he, in the 29th minute of the match, managed to get hold of the ball after a long shot from John-Paul Whittingham. After some fancy dribbling in the 32nd minute, Ron Pina managed to get in a good position for a shot. Merton Albion FC's supporters rose to their feet, but Ron Pina was a bit off balance and shot the ball just wide of the left post. Carl Burley breathed a sigh of relief and went to take the goal kick. 34 minutes into the match, John-Einar Olaussen had an open shot that he just couldn't miss and scored to the right of Laurence Barraclough. Merton Albion FC's manager could be seen yelling to the referee that John-Einar Olaussen was offside, but the referee ignored the protest. 0-3. Calum Towler kicked well hit freekick during the 36th minute of the match. John-Paul Whittingham took a chance and fired a shot far from the goal in the 37th minute, but it turned out to be a dangerous situation for Carl Burley. Twyford United's goalkeeper really had to stretch himself to stop the ball from crossing the goal line. 43 minutes into the game, Saško Chan was given a yellow card after he appeared to trip an opposing player. Merton Albion FC's manager was livid on the sidelines, but the referee was unmoved and gave Twyford United the free kick. After a rather tough play, Merton Albion FC's Saško Chan got a free kick in the 43rd minute. The referee blew the whistle for a penalty in the 44th minute of the game. One of Merton Albion FC:s players had nearly got his shirt torn off by an opponent while getting free in front of Twyford United:s goal. In the 46th minute there was a penalty for Twyford United. Calum Towler stepped forward and shot the ball to the right of a diving Laurence Barraclough. 0-4. Even after changing tactics the home team jogged off the field with a 0-4 deficit. They would have to work harder if they wanted to turn things around in the second half.

A sloppy throw-in by Barney Jennings in the 58th minute of the game went astray and was snapped up by Merton Albion FC's Saško Chan. Carl Burley made a wonderful reflex save on a shot from Dean Ashton in the 59th minute of play. When Dean Ashton came up free with the goalie in the 63rd minute, the Merton Albion FC fans jumped to their feet. But the shot missed the goal by a fraction of an inch, and the fans sat back down disappointed that Dean Ashton couldn't finish the play. Calum Towler's late challenge caught a Merton Albion FC's player on the shin and left him crawling around in pain. The referee blew his whistle and produced the yellow card. Calum Towler helped the player get up and apologised. The referee blew the whistle for a penalty in the 68th minute of the game. One of Twyford United:s players had nearly got his shirt torn off by an opponent while getting free in front of Merton Albion FC:s goal. In the 70th minute there was a penalty for Merton Albion FC. John-Paul Whittingham stepped forward and shot the ball to the right of a diving Carl Burley. 1-5. Carl Burley took care of the ball after a well-directed shot from Dean Ashton, even though the ball almost passed him on his left side. Laurence Barraclough made a wonderful reflex save on a shot from John-Einar Olaussen in the 82nd minute of play. Barney Jennings made in the 96th minute of the game a throw-in that took a bad bounce and was taken care of by Merton Albion FC's Saško Chan. Sebastien Connery hit a great freekick 97 minutes into the match. In the 99th minute of the match John-Paul Whittingham sent off a long shot with destination to the right of the goalkeeper, but Carl Burley skillfully saved the ball. The Twyford United supporters could be heard counting down the last seconds of the match. They errupted in celebration when the whistle blew, knowing Twyford United would go home with victory in their luggage after a match that easily could have ended differently.