Media Watch - Chalfont St. Peter

Merthyr put their league season on back burner
South Wales Echo

MERTHYR Town’s FA Cup success means their league endeavours are going to have to take a back seat for a while, writes Steve Tucker.

On Monday night, Merthyr earned a tough FA Cup second qualifying round win at Hungerford Town via a dramatic penalty shoot-out. The game had finished 1-1 after extra time with Marcus Griffiths grabbing a leveller for the visitors.

Merthyr will travel to AFC Totton in the next round with the clash due to take place on Saturday, October 6. That means their EvoStik Southern League match against Taunton, scheduled for that day, will need to be postponed.

And with managers Garry Shephard and Danny Carter’s men in FA Trophy action this Saturday, home to Buckinghamshire outfit Chalfont St Peter, their next league outing will not be until they visit Clevedon on Tuesday, October 9.

Merthyr’s excellent start to a season comes off the back of back-to-back promotions in their last two campaigns. They have played 11 games so far this term and are still unbeaten, earning five wins and six draws. That was a record that came awfully close to being spoilt at Hungerford’s Bulpit Lane.

Merthyr had edged the 90 minutes in terms of chances with Gary Colbourne and Ryan Prosser denied by the woodwork. But Bradley Gray had given Hungerford the lead on 22 minutes, slotting past goalkeeper Giles Cutlan against the run of play. Jon Newall and Matthew Harris combined just three minutes after to set up Griffiths for the equaliser.

During the penalty shoot-out Merthyr couldn’t be faulted with Steve Williams, Ryan Newman, Joe Leahy and Jason Welsh slotting home and Cutlan stopping Hungerford’s second penalty from Scott Hamilton. That meant Griffiths just had to score to put Merthyr through and he didn’t disappoint to set off joyous scenes among the Merthyr players and fans.

Joint-manager Sheppard was left pleased with his side’s progress, saying: “For the second week in a row we were without a number of players, but the ones able to travel hardly let us down and that has been the case the whole season with this group.”

Saints march on in FA Cup
Bucks Free Press

CHALFONT St Peter are putting themselves on the footballing map again. Four seasons ago the Saints earned national recognition when they battled their way to the semi-finals of the FA Vase. Only a penalty shoot-out defeat at Glossop North End denied them a place at Wembley, but after a few quiet years in the cups the Saints are marching again.

On Saturday they won their third match in the proudest competition of them all – The FA Cup – to earn a potentially lucrative home tie with Bishop’s Stortford in the third qualifying round on October 6. Manager Danny Edwards said: “There is a nice buzz around the club again. It’s a little adventure that we haven’t had for a few years and it’s putting us back on the map. And it’s important for the club to be bringing some money in. Everyone is struggling and it’s a big hit for club like Chalfont.”

Saints will take their FA Cup prize fund up to £16,000 if they beat Bishop’s Stortford, and a victory over Merthyr Town in the FA Trophy tomorrow would take earnings in that competition up to around the £10k mark.

Edwards said: “I know some clubs rely on cup money and reaching a certain round, but that’s dangerous because you only need to have one slip up. We try to run the club the right way and whatever money we earn will go back into the club, not into players’ pockets.”

Everything depends on what happens on the field though, and Saints had already seen off Camberley and Newport Pagnell before they rocked up at Ryman Premier League outfit Carshalton, who had been expecting a comfortable afternoon. Edwards said: “There was a comment before the game, someone said, ‘I hope you enjoy the day’. We felt a bit patronised. It wasn’t a tool for motivation because the players were motivated already, but I thought, ‘we will enjoy the day, but we’re here to get a result’. I think they expected us to turn up and just roll over, but perhaps they didn’t know what we achieved a few years ago. The players are more experienced now and they weren’t as over-awed as some of the bigger clubs might expect us to be.”

Daniel Hughes was the match-winner with the only goal in a match that forced the resignation of Carshalton boss Paul Dipre, and another upset against Bishop’s Stortford is not beyond the realms.

Edwards said: “They’re two leagues above us so we’ve got nothing to lose. We’re underdogs going into the game so even if we lose we’ll have done well to have got that far. But we’re at home, which is a big plus for us.”

First though, Chalfont must go west to meet Merthyr on Saturday.

Wandering wrote:Saints will take their FA Cup prize fund up to £16,000 if they beat Bishop’s Stortford, and a victory over Merthyr Town in the FA Trophy tomorrow would take earnings in that competition up to around the £10k mark.

Chalfont had a bye in the previous round and the game against us will be their first in the competition this season. To date they have not accumulated any prize money in the competition.

The winners on Saturday will receive £2,550. Not sure where the journalist had his information from.

Is the Clevedon game still on Tues Oct 9th? (if there's no replay!) had a text earlier saying it's been moved to the 10th !!

Cliff. I checked on the league site and it is on the fixtures list as being played on the 10th instead of the 9th.

Merthyr continue on their knockout run as cup takes precedence again
Ian Caleb, Celtic Sport

FOR the fourth successive Saturday Merthyr Town will put their league challenge on hold by featuring in a cup clash. It’s the first qualifying round of The FA Trophy, with Buckinghamshire outfit Chalfont St Peter the visitors at 3pm.

The Martyrs will heed the warning that they face a tough defensive combination now that John Carroll is back in the Chalfont side to team up with Gareth Paxton. They both performed well as their side had a shock win by 1-0 at Ryman League team Carshalton.

It proved the final straw for the home team’s owner and manager Paul Dipre who promptly resigned after the game.

Saturday’s goalless draw for Merthyr’s own FA Cup game with Hungerford Town attracted the biggest gate at Penydarren Park so far this season. So the club’s board will be looking for another bumper attendance to urge on the players against Chalfont.

Central defender Jamie Rewbury will still be sidelined through suspension. But Shephard and co-boss Danny Carter will be hoping to be able to select a strong Merthyr squad for another game, which is important regarding the prize money it brings in.

The Saints, as they are nicknamed, play in the Central first division of the Southern League.

Merthyr Town are now to seek funding for their ambitious plans for the stadium after the fans have given the go-ahead for a 3G (third generation) pitch. The whole scheme is likely to include a training pitch, new much-needed floodlights, and a function hall to replace the derelict Strikers club which will be demolished, making way for more car parking.

Loopymagz wrote:Cliff. I checked on the league site and it is on the fixtures list as being played on the 10th instead of the 9th.

It's been confirmed that the away game at Clevedon will now be on Wednesday 10th October (provided there's not another cup replay for us on the 9th!). This is due to Clevedon having changed their midweek game night to Wednesdays.

Merthyr looking to cash in against St Peter
Terry Phillips, South Wales Echo

MERTHYR Town take on Buckinghamshire club Chalfont St Peter in an FA Trophy tie at Penydarren Park tomorrow (3pm). The Martyrs can take their FA Trophy prize money total to £3,000-plus with a home win against former FA Vase semi-finalists St Peter, who play in EvoStik Southern League Central. Both clubs are also still in the FA Cup and stand two wins away from the first round.

Merthyr travel to AFC Totton in Hampshire on Saturday, October 6, while Chalfont entertain Blue Square North Bishop Stortford in third qualifying round ties.

Daniel Hughes scored Chalfont’s winner in a 1-0 victory against Carshalton in their last match, while they have added two new signings in former Wealdstone striker Scott Fitzgerald and Hendon midfield player Michael Lewis on loan.

Merthyr Town are unbeaten in 12 matches this season, having won their FA Cup replay against Hungerford Town away in midweek after extra time and penalties. They have already played seven cup ties and have had to postponed their scheduled home match against Taunton Town tomorrow week. That's the day they travel to Totton in the FA Cup. Merthyr’s next League game is at Clevedon Town on Tuesday, October 9.

Joint managers Garry Shephard and Danny Carter (pictured) have a Martyrs team willing to battle for each other and they have come through three cup replays as winners this season.

They underlined their mental strength and commitment to the cause in a penalty shoot-out win against Hungerford, scoring all five spot-kicks to win the tie 5-4, and lifting their FA Cup prize money to £7,500. Steve Williams, Ryan Newman, Joe Leahy, Jason Welsh and Marcus Griffiths were the scorers.

Team selection this weekend will certainly be interesting!

Last Saturday we started with Kris Leek, Matthew Harris and Ryan Newman all on the bench, because of the performance and commitment from the squad in the replay at Fleet. Jamie Rewbury was missing because of suspension and Nathan Davies & Alan Griffiths due to injury.

On Monday evening we started without Tubbs, Nathan Davies, Jamie Rewbury, Kris Leek and Alan Griffiths due to a combination of work commitments, suspension and injuries.

With Jack Howe and Jason Welsh stepping in the squad is able to demonstrate just how strong they are. Badger has been doing a fantastic job since the opening game of the season and Luke Jones has shown that his pedigree will be an asset for the future.

Some of the 'fringe’ players are certainly putting pressure on the ‘established’ first choice guys.

The pressure is probably off Marcus, who is now joint top scorer with 4 goals, and his confidence will be sky high after beating the Hungerford ‘keeper to score both the equaliser in normal time and the winning penalty in the shoot-out on Monday night.

Gary Colbourne, who has been excellent since joining the club in the close season, Giles Cutlan and Ian Traylor are the only players who have started in every game to date – with Rewbury still suspended it’s very unlikely that Colbourne will be rested but will Traylor have recovered from the physical demands of the last few weeks to take his place in the team?

We have developed a different formula this season and the players appear to be able to adapt to a range of formations. At the moment as supporters we have to be patient with the team at Penydarren Park. The season is long, we’ll need all of our squad, and it won’t do anyone any harm to be left out at this stage as the games continue to come thick and fast.

The return of Nathan Davies and Alan Griffiths to fitness will make the pecking order for midfield very interesting, where we seem to be blessed with quality. The bottom line is that over the course of the season the more options we have to choose from the better.

So who do they include on Saturday and who will be unfortunate to be left out?

Carroll: 'Saints can continue cup run'
Bucks Advertiser

CHALFONT St Peter’s John Carroll says the side have more cup giant-killing performances left in them. The centre back made a dramatic, unexpected return in the FA Cup on Saturday as the Saints beat Ryman Premier Carshalton Athletic 1-0.

Carroll, whose 2011/12 season ended in February when he was diagnosed with diabetes, suffered a setback on the comeback trail too, when he damaged knee ligaments in a pre-season friendly. Although back in training, he expected to wait a few more weeks to get back to full fitness but with team-mate Ray Walsh suffering a back injury, he was needed ahead of schedule and responded superbly.

“I was a bit apprehensive, because I hadn’t played for such a long time,” he told the Advertiser. “I played one game at the end of last season to test the water, but this was a big FA Cup tie. We needed someone at the back with Ray getting injured and I really enjoyed it. It wasn’t easy but we played well and I think we deserved it. They didn’t look like scoring and it was great to get a clean sheet on my return.”

Victory has taken the Saints to within two games of a potential first round tie against league opposition, for the first time since 1998. That would bring a windfall of £7,500; £3,500 is already guaranteed for getting past Carshalton. Blue Square North side Bishop’s Stortford travel to Mill Meadow on October 6 for the third qualifying round.

“A couple of years back, we got to the second qualifying round and it gave everyone a lift – we went on to get promotion,” Carroll said. “Hopefully Saturday’s result can have the same effect and I’d say we’ve got a chance of pulling off another shock. Playing teams higher up the league seems to bring the best out of us. They won’t enjoy coming down to our level and we’ve started to make our home a bit of a fortress, which hasn’t always been the case. We will make it as difficult as we can for them.”

The Saints travel to Merthyr Town on Saturday for the FA Trophy first qualifying round, then face Northwood in the league on Tuesday.