Following the midweek heroics against Ham Rec, Stur were on a high for this game against Merley Cobham Sports, although it was bound to be a difficult prospect considering the fact that Cobham themselves had recently booked themselves a place in the League Cup Final against Weymouth.

Unfortunately Stur were missing a few players for this game, with Gage, Neville and Littler all out from the midweek game, and Goodwin still suspended. Brett Walker made his debut off the bench.

Merley started the quicker of the two teams and attacked with purpose. Early on an advancing striker bore down on the Stur goal, before being pulled back by Griffiths. The Marshall centre half was lucky to see himself only receive yellow, but a penalty was awarded, which the Merley forward duly dispatched, sending Shear the wrong way. 1-0.

Following this the game settled down and there was little in the way of clear-cut chances and the tempo resisted. Half time saw an opportunity for the some choice words to be said in order to stir the home team into action.

This seemed to work, with passion evident after a lacklustre first period. Stur began to attack the away goal with more pace and determination in a hope of finding a way back into the game. During one of these attacks, Manuel did what he does best and found the far right corner with a sweetly struck shot. 1-1.

Despite this improvement, the scores were not to remain level for long. Shear came out of his area to control the ball and disastrously slipped, allowing an onrushing attacker to take the ball from his feet and fire into the box. A receiving forward struck the ball and a cruel deflection took it over Shear who was rushing back to his goal. 2-1.

At this point it seems that the home side lost a bit of discipline, perhaps frustrated at their performance thus far in light of recent results. The referee acted in a heavy-handed manner, without allowing the opportunity for explanation of some of his decisions. Reynolds was sent off when enquiring about a free-kick given against him.

When it seemed that things could not get much worse for Marshall, the captain Darrell Williams was unable to control his temper when he was not given the correct decision for a foul on the edge of the Merley box. After being heard swearing at the decision, he was also sent from the field of play.

In the final part of the game, the home side and all of its 9 men attempted to get back into the game. After a Brett Williams clearance on the goal-line, the same man put a header wide and Manuel put one a few inches over. The score remained as it was at 2-1.

In summary Stur were far off their best today but Merley can be given credit for their performance. It was a difficult day for the team with men missing and tiredness evident in hot conditions, although this was the same for both teams. Another thing to take into next week's game against Chickerell is discipline; regardless of the decisions made or lack thereof, it would be hoped that Stur can keep 11 players on the field of play if they are to get back to winning ways.