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Merton crashed out of the League Cup in a bad-tempered and physical game on a heavy pitch at Meadow Sports in Woking.  Merton dominated the early exchanges and should have scored after two minutes through Craig Stanley, but he shot wide of the target.  Merton were exerting all the pressure and both Craig Stanley and Louis Barron-Pell missed chances after creative play by Daniel Johnson, Jamie Streat and George King.  After 10 minutes Meadow broke quickly and with the Merton defence in disarray a forward went clear but shot wide.  Merton responded when Jack Malin put in a very strong run down the left that took him well inside the area, but his shot was well saved by the keeper.  Merton continued to dominate, but went a goal down on 16 minutes when Meadow sprung the offside trap in a breakaway that sent a forward through on goal to score with a low ground shot.  Merton came back with a series of dangerous attacks, but some good defending prevented the Merton strikers from capitalising on the creativity of Jamie Streat and Daniel Johnson.  After 21 minutes Craig Stanley was brought down after rounding the keeper.  Jamie Streat's spot kick was turned onto the inside of the post with an excellent finger-tip save, and then the ball stuck in the mud on the goal line before it was cleared to safety.  Three minutes later the hosts were awarded a penalty and this was converted without any difficulty.  Merton now found themselves two down against the run of play.  The half ended with Jack Malin riding through several challenges down the left before losing possession deep inside the penalty area with no one in support.

After the break Meadow started well and a forward went through in a one-on-one with Warren McCourt, but the keeper made an excellent save.  Merton were still playing well, but were under threat from rapid counterattacks and Warren McCourt was forced to pull off several good saves in the opening ten minutes.  Another strong run from Jack Malin saw the shot delayed long enough for the keeper to make a fine save with his legs.  The midfield was evenly contested with Daniel Johnson performing very well for Merton, but it was Meadow who created the most chances this half.  Lewis West and Jonathan Kehoe were given plenty of work to do as most of the Meadow thrusts came down the middle.  After 45 minutes Billy Kelly was carried off the pitch after sustaining a nasty knee injury from a bad challenge.  This was the signal for furious protests from some of the visiting spectators, and the game was stopped for several minutes.  Further lengthy stoppages occurred after Craig Stanley was hacked down with an ugly tackle from behind, and also when Daniel Johnson got involved with a Meadow midfielder.  Merton had difficulty creating chances against a well-organised Meadow defence, and the main threats came from several powerful charges down the left by Jack Malin.  The best of these saw Daniel Johnson unhinge the home defence with a great through ball that sent the winger hurtling down on the Meadow goal, but a great last-ditch tackle averted the danger.  In the closing stages Meadow broke through, but a forward fired over when it was easier to score.  The remaining five minutes saw both teams locked in a very physical midfield battle peppered with robust challenges and the referee working overtime with the whistle.

Reporter's man of the match: Daniel Johnson.

Team: Warren McCourt; Adam Marie, Jonathan Kehoe, Lewis West, Spud Bradley; George King, Jamie Streat, Daniel Johnson, Jack Malin; Louis Barron-Pell, Craig Stanley, Sub: Billy Kelly.