Merton Rovers moved top of the Kingston & District 5th division with a fantastic win over promotion rivals, MMB Reserves. This result, coupled with a strange and amusing 5-5 draw between Rovers' other league contenders KC Chessington and lowly Double H Reserves have given them pole position early in the season with a game in hand over both KC and MMB.

Paul Tuckey started the scoring from the spot after a fantastic through ball from livewire winger Tienne Marola had put him in the box. Tuckey drew the defender and the resulting challenge was crude, much like many MMB committed during the game.

Tuckey picked himself up and hammered the ball home from the spot emphatically. As expected, Rovers dominated the game from early on and it was only a matter of time before they scored again.

Again it was Marola who was heavily involved in the build up, and he is fast building an impressive partnership with the experienced Tony Mclean down the left flank. Marola and Mclean's interplay then saw a Mclean pass sending Marola down the left hand side of the MMB penalty area.

Marola's cross was received by Tuckey just inside the MMB box and his first touch deceived both the keeper and the defenders that had surrounded him, allowing him the space and the time to easily place it past the MMB custodian.

Rovers did not sit back on this 2 nil lead, again they came forward and spurred on by a toothless MMB attack Rovers rearguard could help the teams overall play and help build from the back.

Nathan Mclarty's run down the right stretched the MMB defence and his clever pass into the path of Ben Smart allowed him to send a high cross to Mark Ford whose sublime control deceived both MMB centre halves and as the Rovers support have seen, Ford does not miss from 8 yards!

Rovers went in to their half time team talk in buoyant mood, as it was only 7 days they had stuffed an embarrassing defeat at the hands of a poor KC Chessington and their referee.

The superb performance throughout of the back four; Ben Smart, Tony Mclean, player-manager Paul Mitchell and especially, captain Veron Antonio gave the whole team much confidence unseen in the previous week.

They set out to banish that result to distant memory and ensured that it would when after a period of sustained pressure on the MMB goal during which several corners were won, a half clearance found Pascal Chimbonda look-alike Tony Mclean on the edge of the area.

Although the ball was at waist height when it bounced out to him, Mclean expertly volleyed it into the top left corner, without a hint of shinning it at all. Mclean had deserved this goal from all his recent efforts he has had that went high and wide.

MMB tried to come back into the game but struggled to force Rovers keeper, who was largely redundant all game, to make a save. Due to a series of injuries inflicted by MMB on Rovers players the game petered out and the whistle came slightly early to put MMB out of their misery.

Man of the Match - Veron Antonio (10/10) gave absolutely everything for the team, in the process earning him a bump on the head, a real inspiring captain's performance.