Jersey met Merstham for the first time. Merstham had been promoted from the Combined Counties in 2008 and maintained their Isthmian level ever since. Last season they finished 5th and lost in the play-off semi-final. This season they have started with two wins and a loss.

Jersey made three changes with James Queree, Joe Kilshaw and Luke Coutanche replacing Frank Tobin, Jay Giles and Will Yates. Jack Lumsden moved into central defence with Queree as right back. Giles was on the bench along with Francis Lekimamati, teenager Harry Mackenzie and substitute goalkeeper Daniel Jinadu. Merstham did the same with Jude Molloy and Bradley Wilson returning, and Jamarie Brissett, signed from Beckenham Town, making his debut as they tried to plug the gap left by their injured striker Korrey Henry. Nikki Nicolle took on the medical duties for Jersey when they were playing on the mainland.

The pitch was hard and the ball consequently not easy to control. Aerial attacks were the more likely to succeed and three of the four goals were scored in that manner.

They all arrived in the second half after a goalless midfield battle in the first session.

Jersey were content to sit deep and let Merstham try and break them down. In the first half Charlie Greenwood brought a save out of Pierce Roche and Finlay Johnson hit a cross shot wide for Merstham, whilst Jersey's best efforts were a Coutanche shot that sailed well over the bar and a Rai Dos Santos curler that just needed a bit more "whip" to bring it back inside the right post.

The deadlock was broken ten minutes after the interval when a long diagonal cross from the left by Ryan Healy put Roche into the "corridor of uncertainty". He started to come, then stopped and Oliver Khinda arriving on the right astutely lobbed his header over him and into the unguarded net.

When Merstham scored a second twenty minutes later it appeared that the match was over. Substitute Louis Evans played a delightfully weighted cross from the right which cleared the tall Lumsden and fell nicely for Sam King to cushion volley it into the bottom left corner with his left foot.

Jersey received a lifeline when they "won" a penalty. Dos Santos beat Khinda and Healy on the left byline and passed inside to substitute Mackenzie. His touch was heavy which allowed the recovering Healy to launch a ferocious tackle which left the youngster in a heap. The referee gave a spot kick whilst Merstham complained lengthily that it was a hard but fair tackle as Healy had taken the ball first.

Luke Watson was relieved of penalty duties after missing his last two and skipper James Queree took on the role. He had last taken one three seasons ago but placed it in the bottom left corner, just beating Rob Tolfrey's dive.

This changed the momentum of the match and six minutes later Queree scored again, heading home from six yards a cross from the left by substitute Lekimamati. Queree had run half the length of the pitch to meet it and not having scored at all last season he was now this season's top scorer. Merstham looked for another goal in the remaining ten minutes, but Jamie Watling and his fellow defenders resisted all that was thrown at them. A point gained after the two lost forty-eight hours before.