Woking 2 Merstham 0
Surrey Senior Cup
15th November 2011

This match being the first of five over two weeks will probably not be seen as important by many. With Garry Hill already stating that promotion is the priority, he surprised us with the strong team selected. Only Mark Ricketts, Adam Doyle and Aaron Howe were missing from the regular First Team squad. With Merstham 59 places lower than the Cards in the pyramid, they were not helped by having a player sent off in the first half as a result of a poor decision by the referee. This did not help matters in terms of making this a truly competitive match.

It was a clear cold night: a bonfire was needed to keep the hardy spectators warm. There was nowhere to snuggle up in a crowd of 240 and there were certainly no fireworks on the pitch to keep the Kingfield faithful occupied.

Most of the match was played in the visitors' half of the pitch. Woking produced some good passing in the middle of the field, but the final pass was too often misdirected. Crosses from either flank generally eluded the front men.

However, this pattern was broken after eight minutes, when a high ball into the area caught the Merstham defence out, leaving Paris Cowan-Hall with the simple task of putting the ball into the net from close range.

For Merstham Roscoe D'Sane was a lone striker but lacked the support needed to get behind Inns and McNerney and the Cards’ defence. For once D'Sane managed to pick out Wright but the Merstham forward’s shot was too weak to trouble Little

Jay Davies was busy in midfield and always had plenty of time to pick a pass. White, however, in the Merstham goal was not called upon too often as his defenders did a good job in cutting out Woking’s final pass.

On twenty-nine minutes Binns played the ball inside to King, who found Wayne Gray twelve yards out. The Cards’ front man turned and squeezed his shot just inside the left-hand post to double the lead. Shortly after this, as the ball ran away from Folkes, the Merstham defender stretched and caught Newton who was advancing on goal at speed. A soft red card was issued.

The pattern of the second half was much the same as the first with the visitors struggling to get the ball, let alone do anything with it. Woking, now in cruise control, were unable to turn all the possession they enjoyed into more goals.

Woking go on to play Ash United or Crystal Palace in the next round of the County Cup. In truth this was a stroll in the park, just what was needed with tougher games round the corner.


Woking: Little, Newton, Duncan, Davies, Inns, McNerney, Cowan-Hall (Koranteng 64), King, Ademola, Gray (Hammond 64), Binns (Sole 64)

Subs: Sogbanmu, Howe

Cautions: Duncan 56

Merstham: White, Clark, Simpson, Moriarty (Holland 84), Broomhead, Hamlin, Folkes, Saravia, Ottaway, D'Sane (Rubana 81), Wright (Morgan 64)

Subs: Walters

Cautions:
Broomhead 39, Moriarty 71, Hamlin 71
Sent off: Folkes 39

MOTM: Jay Davies - involved in nearly all the good work from Woking

Attendance: 240