Ryman Division One South

Merstham 2

Godalming Town 4

GRAEME Banyard revealed Merstham's players "had a pop at each other" in the dressing room after their capitulation to Godalming last Saturday.

The hosts were left frustrated as they dissected the series of errors which saw them swiftly lose their grip on the game after going 1-0 up and losing 4-2.

Banyard said: "THey are all good players but sometimes they make the wrong decisions. They do things right for 10-15 minutes, then they think 'we're Ronaldo'.

"I can't fault the first half, apart from the fact we didn't put away out chances.

"I knew we were going to get the run around from [Godalming player] Graeme Purdy. I told the lads not to fight him, to let him have the ball and force him to play it backwards. They didn't and mistakes have cost us."

After one of the best performances of their season in the first half, Merstham took the lead in the early part of the second.

Cedric Abraham, the target man Banyard had been seeking, swivelled just inside the box to strike home a lovely goal on his debut on 48 minutes.

Within a minute, Godalming levelled with a fortuitous penalty. The ball was struck across the box and Neil Lampton was adjudged to have handled, even though the action has to be deliberate and he was on the ground sliding to tackle and could not have got his hand out of the way.

Ian Chatfield, diving to his right, could not stop Glen Stanley's spot kick, but stopped Merstham going a goal behind soon after by bravely coming out to deny Phill Williams.

After a good defensive performance led by emergency centre-back Sam Hewitt, the hosts started to look ragged on 63 minutes when Stanley received the ball wide right in plenty of space.

Adam Moriaty failed to close him down and he crossed for Williams who could not fail to score in the middle. It was slightly against the run of the game but only Tristan Frontin's tackle in the penalty area denied Williams another.

Merstham fought back, much through David Smith on the left wing. At one point it took three defenders to dispossess him, but somehow he was not awarded a corner.

Another debutant, Craig Bellamy, on loan from Charlton's reserves, played at right-back but often gave way to his winger's instincts to attack.

He almost scored in the first half, from 30 yards after one of lively Mu Maan's teasing corners hit a post. Lampton and Smith also had speculative shots from distance, while at the other end Moriaty and Bellamy blocked shots from the threatening Williams.

In the 80th minute, Ian Chatfield gave the ball away trying to do less than a simple clearance. Williams crossed, Stanley gratefully accepted the third.

Williams went through the defence for the fourth, tucking the ball in at the post.

Then Billy Marshall, a substitute some would have liked to have seen earlier, slotted in a lovely first-touch goal past the advancing Rodney Chiweshe.

Merstham: Chatfield, Bellamy, Frontin, Hewitt, Moriaty, Lampton, Maan (Males 67), Goggin, Carley, Abraham (Marshall 80), Smith.