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Merton opened their league campaign with a hard-fought victory over Sheen Lions, a team who were relegated from the Premier Division last season.  The visitors went ahead after only 20 seconds when Lewis West's mistake let in a forward who streaked clear to score with a rising shot that Warren McCourt almost saved.  Thereafter, Merton enjoyed the bulk of the possession, although Sheen always looked very dangerous going forward.  Jamie Streat and Daniel Johnson largely ran the midfield and were well supported on the right by Eddie Lyne, who showed some clever footwork.  The Merton midfield soon engineered two great chances for Craig Stanley, but he was denied by the impressive Sheen keeper.  Jack Malin then set up Craig Stanley who showed his pursuers a clean pair of heels, but once again the Sheen keeper prevailed.  After 15 minutes Sheen had the ball in the net after the Merton defence was outpaced, but the linesman had flagged for offside and Merton were off the hook.  Four minutes later Merton equalised when Craig Stanley cut in from the right on a blistering run to the goal line, and then netted with a tremendous angled shot.  Merton continued to create the most chances, and the Sheen keeper pulled off another great save from Craig Stanley.  The result was a goalmouth scramble in which Jamie Streat had a shot blocked in the goal area.  Soon after, a collision involving several players ended with Spud Bradley retiring to hospital with a facial injury.  This sad incident was followed by more heroics from the Sheen keeper, most notably from Jack Malin when the ball was somehow deflected over the bar from close range.  The half ended with Sheen breaking upfield and scoring a second.  Once more the Merton defence was outpaced when a Sheen forward completed a successful one-on-one with the keeper.

Merton came out and equalised within three minutes when Daniel Johnson played in Craig Stanley who sprinted forward and finished cleanly from inside the area.  Jack Malin then broke through on the left, but squandered the chance by shooting wide of the advancing keeper. On 40 minutes Craig Stanley completed his hat-trick by scoring a spectacular goal that was memorable for an electrifying run through the Sheen defence. Sheen tried to fight their way back for an equaliser and the Merton defence had some anxious moments, especially when a Sheen forward broke clean through only to shoot wide of the target. This was soon followed by a scramble in Merton goalmouth, but the hosts escaped when Adam Marie managed to clear the ball. The game was now being played at a furious pace as the play went from end to end. Craig Stanley had a goal disallowed for offside, and then as the game drew to a close, Craig Stanley, Eddie Lyne and Jack Malin added to the long list of missed chances.

Reporter's man of the match: Craig Stanley

Team: Warren McCourt; Adam Marie, Jonathan Kehoe, Lewis West, Spud Bradley; Eddie Lyne, Jamie Streat, Daniel Johnson, George King; Craig Stanley, Jack Malin. Subs: Billy Kelly.