Merstham       2  (Alexiou 90+2'; Zepo 90+3')
Guernsey         2  (Loaring 24'; Fazakerley 81') 

Football can be cruel.

Having lost in the 93^rd minute against Ashford Town on Saturday, this time a double late blow left Guernsey stunned as a confidence-boosting win was cancelled out with two quickfire goals in stoppage-time.

The Green Lions had led through Matt Loaring’s header after a strong start and, after riding their luck for much of the second half, looked to have put the game to bed as Will Fazakerley finished off a superb team move to put them on the way to a huge leap to 13^th in the table.

Two goals, a clean sheet, and a move into midtable? It looked that way. Then, two mad minutes in stoppage time and suddenly it was right back to 19^th, where the Sarnians had started the evening.

When the dust settles, there will plenty of positives drawn after some gallant defensive displays, relentless running and a goal that will go right up there as one of the best team goals in GFC history - not to mention that they doubled their goal tally for the season. But there is no doubt that the ending leaves a bitter taste in the mouth, with three points having been dropped in two games thanks to stoppage-time heartbreak.

The management team named an unchanged starting 11 from Saturday’s game, the first time they have done so this season, but any suggestions of sluggishness after only one recovery day were quickly wiped away after Guernsey started brightly.

Loaring should have put the visitors in front with the first chance of the game on eight minutes as a careless pass across the Merstham defence rolled straight to him just outside the area with goalkeeper Mo Otuyo out of position. But Loaring was too precise in trying to place his shot into the corner first time and pulled it just wide.

Captain Jamie Dodd was called upon to protect his goal as Luke Read headed down, launching the ball off the goal line. On the whole, the Guernsey defence stood strong in the first half.

Danny Hale’s free-kick on the quarter-hour was blocked by Michael Aziaya, while Fazakerley underhit a low shot after a good turn and drive towards the area midway through the half, allowing Otuyo to field it.

When GFC did take the lead, it was no less than they deserved. A driving run down the right from Keanu Marsh forced a corner. Joe Alvarez delivered an inswinger and Loaring atoned for his earlier miss by meeting it with his head in the six-yard box and guiding it past Otuyo.

Falling behind roused the Moatsiders into action, and all the remaining chances of the half came their way, but few of these gave Jason Martin cause for concern.

Lorenzo Lewis was given the ball square from a free-kick that he struck low with venom, but a deflection sent it wide. Player-manager Peter Adeniyi, by far his side’s best player, then forced his way past two Guernsey defenders on the byline and hit the ball across goal, but captain Dodd was patrolling his line once again cleared. A minute later, a wild strike from Lewis sailed well over the top.

Charlie Greenwood was next in the queue, shooting low from the edge of the area, but Guernsey threw bodies in the way to block. Perhaps the biggest scare of the half came a minute before the break as Charlie Alexiou found himself with a rare pocket of space to meet a cross with his head. But, with Martin routed to the spot, it drifted just wide.

Guernsey were furious when the half-time whistle went as they felt they were in a dangerous attacking position, but they could be well satisfied with their half’s work. It was about keeping it tight now and maybe nicking something on the break, which went exactly to plan until stoppage-time.

However, that plan was almost out the window less than two minutes into the second half. Fallaize showed impressive acrobatics to somehow stretch just enough to hook the ball off the line after Lewis was found in space and shot across goal, with Marsh almost turning it into his own net were it not from his team-mate. There were loud protests from Merstham but there was no way the officials could have seen if it had crossed the line, and the visitors breathed a huge sigh of relief.

Liam Mahon had already had a less convincing effort from 30 yards out, but his second attempt on 52 minutes at least made Otuyo work, with the stopper sprawling to his right to block and then hold.

Fallaize's heroics were just the start of a nervy 25 minutes or so. The Moatsiders kept turning up the heat and a double block in the box kept out two shots just inside the area, before another important block on the line kept out Blackwood’s effort.

Martin then parried at his near post just before the hour as Lewis tried his luck from the angle, and Alexiou's toe was inches away from turning in Aziz Sankoh’s wicked cross from the left, and the ball bounced across goal.

Despite being hugely under the cosh, Guernsey should have put clear daylight between the two sides midway through the half. Another turn of pace from Marsh drew a foul, and Alvarez whipped in the free-kick. It was met by Fallaize right in front of goal, but he somehow planted his header wide from point-blank range, and it remained just one.

Having survived the Merstham onslaught, GFC then nearly caught them on the break as Fazakerley burst forward and slipped the ball into the right channel for Hale. Being forced wide, Hale had to hit it first time from the angle and Otuyo made the save.

A bouncing ball sat up nicely for Adeniyi to attempt a dipping volley from 30 yards, but it had too much power and Martin saw it comfortably over.

The Green Lions were well and truly finding their feet again. Marsh hit the deck after contact in the box having burst forward for the umpteenth time, but received a yellow card instead of the hoped-for penalty with the referee deciding he had made a meal of it.

But it was another sign that Guernsey were pushing their hosts back, and when they doubled their lead on 81 minutes, it was a thing of beauty.

Marsh started the move with an interception in the right-back position, and burst forward to be part of neat one-touch interplay also involving Mahon and Sam Murray, who had recently replaced a tiring Hale. The substitute send a low pass towards the edge of the area, picking out Fazakerley, who shuffled past his man before placing the ball into the far corner – a goal that will live long in the memory and one that should have been curtains for the Moatsiders.

It looked like the wind had been taken out of Merstham’s sales and that the Sarnians had this one sewn up. A great team display of resilience had seen so many excellent defensive displays, from the back four and their protectors, Toms Dodds and Vaudin, while Loaring and Mahon buzzed around in front of them closing everything down.

There were now just four minutes of stoppage time to see out, plenty of time for drama, and not the kind Guernsey were hoping for.

Two minutes in, Alexiou turned away from Loaring to work a yard of space and zipped a shot into the corner. A neat goal that took a clean sheet away from the unlucky Martin, but it was surely too-little, too late for anything else.

Wrong. Merstham smelled blood and soon had the ball back from kick-off. The ball was knocked towards the edge of the box, and Adeniyi leapt to chest it down. Substitute Bryan Zepo caught it perfectly as it dropped, drilling it first time into the corner, and in moments, the win had been snatched from Guernsey grasp, an absolute sickener for the visitors.

Despite the positives, the players looked clearly dejected on the final whistle, which came after one last flurry in GFC’s box.

From 13^th place on 90 minutes, Guernsey were back in 19^th in Isthmian South Central after 95. Following two consecutive games of late heartbreak, hopefully they can take out their anger on Uxbridge on Sunday.

Merstham: 13 Mo Otuyo; 4 Charlie Greenwood (2 Malakai Hyman, 74’); 5 Michael Kamara; 6 Luke Read; 7 Peter Adeniyi; 8 Siao Blackwood; 9 Raheem Sterling-Parker (20 Bryan Zepo, 62’); 10 Lorenzo Lewis; 12 Michael Aziaya; 16 Charlie Alexiou; 18 Aziz Sankoh. Not used: 11 Alpha Diallo; 14 Ore Bello; 19 Lindell Stewart.

Booked: Aziaya, Sankoh.

Guernsey: 1 Jason Martin; 2 Keanu Marsh; 3 Jamie Dodd (c); 4 Thomas Dodds; 5 Jacob Fallaize; 6 Tom Vaudin; 7 Matt Loaring; 8 Liam Mahon (15 Glenn Le Tissier, 83’); 9 Will Fazakerley; 10 Danny Hale (12 Sam Murray, 74); 11 Joe Alvarez (14 Paris Pereira, 74’). Not used: 13 Josh Addison.

Booked: Marsh, Mahon, Hale.

Attendance: 161. 

Highlights will be on GFCTV later this week.