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Merton made the long trip to Aldershot with a much-weakened side, but in the end they won comfortably enough against poor opposition. Goalkeeper Warren McCourt replaced the injured Daniel Johnson in midfield, while Jack Malin (injury), Jonathan Kehoe (holiday), Louis Barron-Pell (holiday) and Craig Stanley (since released by the club) remained unavailable. The game opened with a Merton goal after only two minutes when George King quickened onto a through ball and finished with some aplomb. Merton were not playing good football, but they were clearly the better side as both George King and Nicholas Holley somehow missed the target when through on goal. On ten minutes Julian Osei-Gyimah hit the post, but the Shots then retaliated when a forward streaked clear. Fortunately, Sam Durban made a very important save to prevent a certain goal. The play remained very scrappy, but Warren McCourt was quite effective when laying off some telling passes. One such ball had George King bearing down on the opposition keeper, but the opportunity was squandered. Meanwhile the Shots made little impression on a Merton defence dominated by Spud Bradley and Adam Marie. Merton were reduced to ten men on 15 minutes when Julian Osei-Gyimah retired with breathing problems. It made little difference because Merton continued to hold the initiative. Jamie Streat broke clear after 25 minutes, but his shot was blocked by the keeper. Soon after Nicholas Holley had a shot cleared off the line. The Shots then forced two or three corners in succession, but these came to nothing. Merton then squandered a few more chances before the half closed.

Julian Osei-Gyimah returned at the start of the second half, and Merton started brightly. Tshepho Sawdon and Jamie Streat were now much more prominent, and the visitors looked more cohesive going forward. Nicholas Holley and George King missed further chances, before Julian Osei-Gyimah set up Nicholas Holley to score with a powerful shot on 35 minutes. The Shots struggled to get the ball across the half-way line, and found the Merton back four impenetrable when trying the longer ball. Midway through the second half Merton appeared to have increased their lead when Tshepho Sawdon netted with a crashing shot from the right. Unfortunately, the ball passed through the broken side netting, thereby deceiving the Referee into awarding a goal-kick. Two minutes later Jamie Streat did make it three-nil when he shot low into the bottom corner of the net from inside the area. A minute later Julian Osei-Gyimah beat the last defender before going on to beat the keeper with a superbly-flighted shot from the left side of the area. The Shots came back and applied some pressure but Sam Durban was never really tested. Merton were down to ten men again when Julian Osei-Gyimah left the field injured five minutes before the end. Then George King, Lewis West and Adam Marie all sent in powerful shots that gave the hosts some anxious moments. However, Merton failed to add to their score in the remaining time. Three points for Merton in difficult circumstances, and despite some scrappy football, good contributions all round, especially from the back four, Warren McCourt, George King and Jamie Streat.

Reporter's man of the match: Spud Bradley.

Team: Sam Durban; Billy Kelly, Adam Marie, Lewis West, Spud Bradley; Tshepho Sawdon, Warren McCourt, Jamie Streat, Nicholas Holley; George King, Julian Osei-Gyimah.