Surrey County Intermediate League (Western)

Premier Division

Saturday 8th October 2022

Kick Off 14.00 Actual 14.05

Merrow 1 Worplesdon Phoenix 1, attendance 35

42’ 0-1

90’ + 5, 1-1

@ Albury Sports Club

Sandy Lane

Albury Heath

GU5 9DB

No Admission or Programme.

I last saw a Merrow home game back on 29th August 2005, played at The Urnfield, when they lost 1-5 to A.F.C. Wallingford in a Combined Counties League Division 1 match, during a five year spell playing at Step 6 and where the crowd was just 13. They have since moved to Albury Sports Club and are now playing two levels lower again, at Step 8, having spent life at Step 7 (Surrey Elite Intermediate League) from 2013-2021.

They came into this game bottom of the league table (previous incumbents Wrecclesham pulled out of the league yesterday), having lost their opening four games, whilst the visitors were sitting fifth, having won 2 and lost 2 of their four matches. It was a scrappy game, with very few clear cut chances. The visitors went ahead just before halftime, when a long throw was flicked on at the near post and possibly put across the line by a defender trying to clear, although it was hard to tell who got the final touch. The equaliser came five minutes into stoppage time at the end of the game, when the ball was played back in from the right and finished from close range.

Perhaps a sign of how Merrow have struggled this season, was the fact that one of their Centre Backs played in an old Tottenham Hotspur away shirt, minus a number, as there wasn’t a proper shirt to fit him, although to be fair, he didn’t perform as bad as he looked!

Apart from the football, there are a couple of interesting features within yards of the pitch. A WW2 plaque and a totem pole!