16 October 2005 M&DSFL Div 9 at Wallington Sports, Roundshaw Carshalton Village 1 pen 27 DCFC 0 by Matty Aitken

 

 

 

 

 

Leroy finds it a tight squeeze in the Carshalton penalty area

Nine games unbeaten so far, but anyone who cared to look at a fixture list knew that this game would be our first real test. Scoring 20 goals in three games is some kind of warning that this team were maybe a cut above what we’ve been playing so far this season.

But any neutral watching the game would have to admit, we made them look decidedly normal. The first twenty minutes of the game were spent with Wayne taking throw-ins on the halfway line. It resembled a game of American Football with us pushing for extra yards up the left wing. Any comparisons with American Football were justified 25 minutes into the half with Dan M being chopped down by a Carshalton player in what was deemed a fair challenge by the ref. The player did get the ball but maybe unnecessary force (sounds like one of them Ross Kemp dramas) was used. Dan did gingerly get up but another five minutes into the game it was obvious he couldn’t carry on, so on came Adrian.

As the half went on Carshalton looked the most likely to score, especially when they broke through and forced a fine save from Rob in goal. The closest we came was a long range effort from Ed that took what could have been a nasty deflection, fortunately for our opponents the keeper had his eyes firmly on the ball and cradled it safely in his arms. Soon after that Leroy got himself into a dangerous position on the edge of their box and was swiftly bundled by their defender as he had a clear run on goal. Leroy though did not go down straight away, making it look suspiciously like a dive.

If the game had been robbed of a penalty the ref quickly put things right soon after with skipper Dan L taking down the Carshalton forward as he broke into our area. The penalty was awarded and coolly converted. If this had been last season our heads would have surely dropped, not this season though.

The second half saw us come out with a much more threatening performance. We now looked like scoring, thanks in part to Richie marking their big number 12, their best player, out of the second half. Carshalton only came close with a couple of long shots that fizzled either wide or just over, sending Rob into the wilderness that was behind our goal. Any other threat from Carshalton was duly watered down by some fantastic tackles from Rob M at the back.

We on the other hand looked dangerous. Gary L almost put things level when he skipped past the Carshalton defence leaving him clear through, but running at an angle made it easier for his effort to be charged down by the quick thinking keeper. Our best chance of the game though came when a fine corner was delivered right onto Rob M’s head which directed the ball directly towards goal, only to be cleared off the line. This resulted in a goal mouth scramble which could have seen the ball go anywhere; unfortunately it saw the ball fly away from danger.

Despite all our pressure Carshalton held out for the win. They were as delighted as we were gutted. Many of their players said we were the best team they’ve played so far, which maybe is some small consolation. One positive we got out of the game was our continued fighting spirit, especially as nearly half our team ended the game injured.

The unbeaten run may be over but the season isn’t. Next week we’ll be looking to get back to winning ways against AFC Links (at least they’ll smell nice). This season is far from over and now we have the advantage of knowing that Carshalton Village are not some unstoppable force. They can, and will drop points and it is vital we’re putting them under constant pressure.