Wednesday 31 August 2016

Manager interview - Peter Adeniyi

Player/manager Peter Adeniyi believes he has seen a growing resolve within the squad after we suffered a first league defeat of the season this week, writes James Barrett.


Current Ryman South top goalscorer Tommy Bradford was at it again last Monday as he converted both a free kick and penalty to haul us back from 2-0 down against Chipstead, but a late spot-kick for the visitors spoiled our 100% start to the season.

But, ahead of our trip to Worthing in the FA Cup this weekend, Adeniyi was philosophical about that first loss and the squad’s reaction to it.

“We created enough chances to win two games against Chipstead and they punished us by scoring the three chances we effectively gifted them, so we’ve spoken about our need for consistency at both ends of the pitch,” he said.

“But it’s a true test of character when things don’t go your way and the boys showed great determination to get back from two down and then dominate right until the last kick.

“I can remember their reaction to the loss, they were hurt and all itching to get back out and put things right – that’s a big positive for me.”

Adeniyi also praised his charges discipline against Chipstead as the visitors ended up with six cautions while trying to halt our dominant display.

“Some of the fouls that day were blatant kicks and lashings out, someone could’ve easily got injured,” he recalled.

“During various games this season I’ve heard orders along the lines of ‘get stuck into them’ and we’ll have to deal with that, but hopefully we’ll get fairly protected by the officials too. We just want to get on and play football.”

The trip to Worthing for the FA Cup first qualifying round is on Saturday 3rd September (KO 3pm).

Monday 29 August 2016

Match report - Chipstead (h)

A late penalty condemned us to our first defeat of the season as we failed to convert a dominant second-half display into points on Saturday, writes James Barrett.

Team news: There was one change from the side which claimed victory at East Grinstead as Bobby Price replaced Richard Ismail in defence.

This thrilling overall contest began with a bang as Chipstead opened the scoring on two minutes – Ricky Korboa gave away a free kick on our left and Chris O’Flaherty curled an angled shot past Alex Kozakis.

We almost equalised straightaway as two visiting defenders contested an up and under only for Miller to get away on the loose ball but he eventually blazed over with only keeper Sheikh Ceesay to beat.

The high tempo was sustained by both sides during the opening 20 minutes but we played our usual passing game to boss possession, although it took until the 16th minute to see our next best chance.

A corner delivery was headed out but Matthew Warren couldn’t retain possession under pressure from Brendan Murphy-McVey whom cut inside with the ball and rippled the near side-netting from 18 yards.

Tommy Bradford then displayed strength and tenacity to get the ball down the right and his cutback found Sekou Kaba whose angled drive was millimetres over the bar.

We kept up the pressure but both Korboa and Bradford didn’t fully catch efforts from distance, then Ceesay parried a shot from Miller whom also hit the wall with a free kick on the edge of the box on 25 minutes.

We then had another chance from a free kick but Cessay tipped Bradford’s shot over and we were punished as Raheem Sterling-Parker tussled with Matt Males at the other end and, as our man's intended header back to Kozakis lacked pace, the forward cashed in to fire his side further into the lead.

Again we responded right away but Paris Hamilton-Downes’ piledriver was straight at Ceesay, while Kozakis got across his goal to watch a pot shot from Ben Osman drift wide.

We finally reduced the arrears three minutes before the break however as Korboa won a free kick and Bradford stepped up to hit home his fifth goal of the season.

And we almost went in level as Murphy-McVey swept a Price pass onto Ceesay’s crossbar from just inside the area and the ball was frustratingly cleared away from incoming red shirts.

HALF-TIME: 1 - 2

We came out flying after the break and we did draw ourselves level just five minutes in; Miller was clipped by Tommy Smith, who was fortunate not to receive a second yellow of the afternoon, and Bradford sent Ceesay the wrong way from the penalty spot.

That increased our confidence and we began to really control the game for the next 20 minutes and the visitors racked up more yellow cards through frustration more than anything else.

During that period Ceesay had to pat a Hamilton-Downes cross away from almost under his crossbar, Korboa flashed a shot wide and Miller, after sterling work by Kaba whom won the ball and held off three opponents before playing the through ball, fluffed his lines from 12 yards with only the keeper to beat.

That desire by Kaba ran throughout the team and it was pleasing to see our boys eager to win possession when Chipstead did threaten to get within 30 yards of our goal, but still we couldn’t turn our dominance into goals.

Substitute Sean O’Toole was the next to try his luck and his deflected effort almost embarrassed Ceesay but it rolled just the wrong side of the far post, then Kaba picked out Price in their box but our full back scuffed his cross out of play.

And we were made to pay for our profligancy in front of goal as an aimless ball into our box on 81 minutes saw Males and Louis Blake grapple by the penalty spot and the referee gave a foul to the visitors; Sterling-Parker impudently chipped it down the middle.

We created a couple of chances at the death but Miller fired wide when perhaps a square ball to Aikhionbare was a better option, whom himself then hit a shot into the midriff of Ceesay during added time.

More photos from the game can be viewed here.

Next up: We travel to Worthing for the next round of the FA Cup on Saturday 3rd September, then we are at home against Walton Casuals on Monday 5th September.

Carshalton Athletic: Kozakis; Price, King, Males (Aikhionbare – 83), Hamilton-Downes (c); Bradford, Kaba, Murphy-McVey (O’Toole – 69), Adeniyi, Korboa; Miller
Unused subs: Ismail, Salgado
Goals: Bradford (42 and 50 pen)
Booked: Hamilton-Downes, Kaba

Chipstead: Ceesay, Smith (c), Fleix, Aldous, Betancourt, Warren, Freeman (Belo-Balogun – 62), Osman (Blake – 75), Sterling-Parker, Nelson, O’Flaherty
Unused subs: Qulassara, O’Rourke
Goals: O’Flaherty (2), Sterling-Parker (35 and 82 pen)
Booked: Betancourt, Smith, Ceesay, O’Flaherty, Osman, Warren

Sunday 28 August 2016

Player interview - Tommy Bradford

We recorded a fourth straight win since the start of the season and the latest came at a happy hunting ground for one of our forwards.

Tommy Bradford scored in each half of our 3-0 win at East Grinstead Town on Saturday and that made it five goals in three appearances for him at the GAC Stadium.

But he saluted our backline as we came through arguably our sternest test to date this season.

“It took us a while to get going and break them down but our first goal came after a good move, involving about 15 passes I think, and we kept a lot of possession after that,” said Bradford.

“I’ll always back us to score goals so keeping clean sheets is important but Alex did well when called upon, although I think we protected him well, particularly through Matty and Jahmahl.”

That first goal was grabbed by Brendan Murphy-McVey, which was the midfielder’s first of the season, while Bradford moved onto four to become current joint top scorer with Mickel Miller.

We next face Chipstead on Monday 29th August (KO 3pm).

Saturday 27 August 2016

Match report - East Grinstead Town (a)

We stung the Wasps at the GAC Stadium as we recorded a third straight league win league on the spin.



Team news
: We started with the same first eleven which began the FA Cup victory last Saturday, with Bobby Price returning on the bench.

The game started with both teams displaying high energy and keepers sweeping up dangerous looking balls within the first five minutes, while Town’s Reece Batchelor put in a couple of good crosses which we managed to deal with.

We weathered the hosts’ strong start and put together a couple of good attacks, one of which led to us opening the scoring on 19 minutes.

Tommy Bradford, Brendan Murphy-McVey and Mickel Miller swapped passes through Town’s midfield before Miller tried to play Ricky Korboa in on goal. He got a second chance as he gathered the half clearance to find the subsequent run of Murphy-McVey and the midfielder grabbed his first of the season with a low left-footed finish across Hafed Al-Droubi.

That settled us down and we began to dictate the play; Murphy-McVey struck an 18 yard free kick wide of the target, while Sekou Kaba burst through on a fine Bradford pass but Al-Droubi rushed out and took the pace off the midfielder’s shot so that Callum Emptage could clear from in front of an empty goal.

Alex Kozakis comfortably held a Marcus Elliott shot from distance just after that, before the striker had a chance from inside the area on 36 minutes which he blazed over the crossbar.

Murphy-McVey’s pinpoint 45 yard pass on 36 minutes got Miller away but our forward got caught up in whether to shot or square to the unmarked Korboa and in the end he was crowded out by recovering defenders.

Miller had another great chance to score after we broke from a Town attack; Bradford ran into acres of space on the right before flashing the ball into his path but our top scorer couldn’t guide the ball on target from inside the six yard area.

The same combination, albeit reversed, did give us some breathing space just before half-time however – Miller took a Paris Hamilton-Downes pass down the left before picking out Bradford at the back post and he angled the ball back across Al-Droubi and inside the far post.

HALF-TIME: 2 – 0

As with the first-half, Town came out determined to put us on the back foot but we held firm and took the wind out of their sails again with another goal.

After a nice spell of possession down the left, Bradford eventually won a free kick 20 yards from goal and he stepped up to drive the ball in off the crossbar for his fourth of the season and our third of the afternoon.

The home side responded by making two substitutions before Will Thomas took aim from around 35 yards and the shot had Kozakis sprawling at full length, while King and Males both made good blocks inside our box to keep our clean sheet intact.

Bradford had a good chance to claim a hat-trick on 63 minutes after Kaba swapped passes with Korboa and picked out the forward from the left, but his half-volley went straight into the arms of Al-Droubi.

Into the last 20 minutes and Kinglsey Aikhionbare came on before Kozakis kept out two Town headers which both came on the end of deep crosses.

But Town’s miserable afternoon was compounded by a late lunge by Laste Dombaxe on Richard Ismail and the referee showed no hesitation in brandishing a straight red card.

Jarrell Gray and Bobby Price got late run outs and Aikhionbare bullied his way past two opponents right at the end of normal time but Al-Droubi got down smartly to smother his low effort.

Match photos are on our facebook page

Next up: We host Chipstead on Monday 29th August before travelling to Worthing for the next round of the FA Cup on Saturday 3rd September.

Carshalton Athletic: Kozakis; Ismail (Price – 85), King (Gray – 85), Males, Hamilton-Downes (c); Bradford, Kaba, Murphy-McVey (Aikhionbare – 67), Adeniyi, Korboa; Miller
Unused sub: O’Toole
Goals: Murphy-McVey (19), Bradford (42 & 53)
Booked: Miller

East Grinstead Town: Al-Droubi, Emptage (c), Dixon, Thomas, Bangura, Fitchett (Joseph – 55), Dombaxe, Gaggin (Mazzone – 67), Elliott, Arif (Peauroux – 55), Batchelor
Unused subs: Benner, McIntyre
Booked: Dombaxe
Sent off: Dombaxe

Monday 22 August 2016

Player interview - Matt Males

We progressed in the FA Cup on Saturday after a comfortable victory against visiting Farnham Town.

Mickel Miller and Ricky Korboa continued their good goalscoring form by sharing the goals in our 3-0 win and cement a first qualifying round tie away at Ryman Premier outfit Worthing.
But Matt Males believes we shouldn’t start getting complacent after winning all three games of the season to date.
“We were fairly comfortable out there and, with no disrespect to Farnham, should’ve scored more goals – we had two disallowed and hit the crossbar twice,” said Males.
“But they put us under pressure a bit in the second-half and I think that’s because we became too relaxed. It is easy to take your foot off the gas when on top but that’s when things can slip.
“Had they nicked one at only one or two-nil then the game could've potentially change, so Mickel’s second straight after half-time was important and we just need to maintain focus moving forwards.”
Males did salute our young forward line however since Miller, Korboa and Tommy Bradford have shared all nine goals we've scored so far between them.
"There’s been some banter on social media about me being a contender for golden boot, but I’m not even allowed up for corners!" he laughed.
"But those three have started the season so well and they can provide us a goal threat at any moment of a game, plus with have the likes of Brendan and Kingsley to start chipping in too."
Males is relishing the chance to play against higher league opposition in the next round of the cup and he is confident we can give Worthing a stern test.
“They were in our division last season and we got a draw at theirs with a good performance,” he added.
“Although we’ll be underdogs for that one, we have a strong mentality here and are going into every game at the moment believing we can win.”
We return to league business on Saturday 27th August with a trip to East Grinstead Town (KO 3pm).

Sunday 21 August 2016

Match report - Farnham Town (h)

We booked a first qualifying round tie at Worthing after seeing off Farnham Town in the FA Cup.

Team news: Richard Ismail and Paris Hamilton-Downes were handed their first starts of the season, while Peter Adeniyi came in for the injured Kalvin Morath-Gibbs.

It was the visitors that carved out the first opening of the game; Mark Corbett showed a neat touch on a long ball before wriggling between two defenders, but Alex Kozakis did just enough to make the forward poke the ball wide of the far post.

The pace of Mickel Miller was a constant threat throughout this one and he first got away from the Town defence on five minutes, but his cross towards Ricky Korboa was cut out. He then fired a shot in on goal shortly afterwards which didn't dip quick enough to test goalkeeper Matt Pietts.

We appealed for a penalty on 10 minutes after Miller and Tommy Bradford combined to get Ismail away down the right and his cross appeared to be handled by a body in blue, but the referee waved away the calls.

At the other end, our backline kept the visiting forwards quiet - Matt Males kept calm under pressure to collect and protect a long searching ball and his pass to Hamilton-Downes set us off on a counter attack. The ball was eventually shifted out to the right and Bradford beat his marker only for Miller to stab his low cross just wide from close range.

Sekou Kaba then burst through on an Adeniyi through ball but Pietts came out and blocked his effort, only for our boss to take the loose ball round the prone keeper but then get crowded out by several defensive bodies.

But we eventually broke the deadlock on 18 minutes as Korboa knocked Ismail's deep cross back first-time and Miller swept home from close range.

Town almost curtailed the home cheers straightaway however but a linesman's flag denied Corbett's headed goal from a right wing delivery.

We continued to boss possession but were grateful to Jahmahl King for stopping a Town attack inside our box and we went up the other end before winning a corner which was played short. Korboa eventually found Bradford whom spun and forced a good save from Pietts and Miller reacted by turning the ball goalwards but it smashed back off the crossbar.

Kozakis was alive to the danger as Town played a quickly won free kick on 34 minutes and he denied Chris Poole from 12 yards, while Pietts saved brilliantly from his own defender as Ben Williams conspired to power a Miller cross towards his own goal.

It was our turn to suffer under a lineman's call on 39 minutes as Korkoa tapped in a pass from Miller, whom was given offside during the build up, but the same combination gave us some breathing space before the break as Miller took Adeniyi's through ball before drawing Pietts and giving Korboa the simplest of tasks for his third of the season.

HALF-TIME: 2 - 0

We stung the visitors within one minute of the restart as Adeniyi ignored the run of Bradford to play Miller in one-on-one with Pietts and our forward dinked home his second of the game to make it 3-0.

Then, a couple of minutes later, he took and turned on a Kaba pass before unleashing an angled 20 yard rocket which hit the underside of the crossbar and bounced away to safety.

Korboa had another goal chalked off for offside as we attacked Town at will and one move, on 55 minutes, started with Kozakis and ended, via six passes, with Korboa helping on an Ismail cross before Bradford eventually shot into the arms of Pietts.

Our visitors rallied somewhat around the hour mark and forced a couple of corners, while Jack Dillon curled weakly into Kozakis from 18 yards and Elliot Cardona headed a cross down into our six yard box only for Kaba to clear.

Jarrell Gray and Kingsley Aikhionbare were both introduced as the clock ticked on and Brendan Murphy-McVey forced a flying save from Pietts before also ruffling the top of his net with a 20 yard free kick.

Bradford had to come off late on after sustaining an ankle injury but we saw the game out with both Aikhionbare and Hamilton-Downes hitting shots that Pietts dealt with comfortably.

Next up: We visit East Grinstead Town on Saturday 27th August before Chipstead arrive at Colston Avenue on Monday 29th August.

Carshalton Athletic: Kozakis; Ismail, King (Gray - 67), Males, Hamilton-Downes (c); Bradford (Salgado -78), Kaba, Murphy-McVey, Adeniyi, Korboa; Miller (Aikhionbare -72)
Unused subs: Minchin, O'Toole
Goals: Miller (18 and 46), Korboa (45)

Farnham Town: Pietts, Meaton, Spurr (Smith - 33), Williams, Ford, Staines (Clarke - 61), Dillon, St. de Corix, Corbett, Ramsden (Poole - 25), Cardona
Unused subs: Ossia, Wilson

Saturday 20 August 2016

Interview - Peter Adeniyi

The FA Cup arrives at Colston Avenue this week and player/manager Peter Adeniyi said he would make sure the troops are ready for battle.


We have begun the new season by winning our first two league games, scoring six goals and only conceding one along the way, and we are preparing to face Farnham Town of the Combined Counties League on Saturday.

And Adeniyi wants our good start to continue against the lower league opposition.

“Everyone at our level of the game dreams of progressing far in the FA Cup, reaching the first round proper and drawing league opposition,” he said.

“We are no different here but we aren’t taking the visit of Farnham lightly. We’ll need to put in another good performance to ensure we make the next round.”

We beat Horsham 3-1 last Saturday before they turning over Molesey 3-0 on Monday evening, but Adeniyi still wants more consistency across a full 90 minutes.

“It was disappointing to concede with the last kick of the game at Horsham and we started slowly against Molesey before we took the lead, but then we denied them any real chances in the second-half,” he added.

“But we’ve had the ideal start to the season and I’m confident we can keep it up.”

The FA Cup tie between us and Farnham Town is on Saturday 20th August (KO 3pm).

Wednesday 17 August 2016

Match report - Molesey (h)

We recorded a consummate 3-0 win over Molesey as our good start to the season continued.


Team news: Matt Males started ahead of Peter Adeniyi in the only change from the starting eleven from last Saturday, while forward Joe Nwoko returned to Colston Avenue with the visitors.

We didn’t have it all our own way to begin with however; Alex Kozakis got down well to save a Connor French shot and Nwoko fired wide from a good position inside our area.

Our first glimpse of Molesey’s goal came as Brendan Murphy-McVey picked out the run of Ricky Korboa but goalkeeper Liam Allen was alert enough to smother the ball at his feet.

We lost Kalvin Morath-Gibbs to injury on 11 minutes, with Adeniyi coming on in his place, before Sekou Kaba nodded down a corner into the visitors’ six yard box, but Tommy Bradford couldn’t force the ball home through the resultant melee.

We created two good chances within a minute shortly after - firstly Korboa ended a long spell of possession by flicking a neat pass into the run of Kaba, but Allen did enough to take the power off his shot for Conor Russell to mop up in front of the open goal.

Then Adeniyi and Bradford combined to get Bobby Price away down the right but Korboa couldn’t guide the full back’s firmly driven cross on target by the near post.

Molesey continued to look threatening on the break and Ross Chalke put a free shot on goal wide from 18 yards before Jahmahl King bravely made two blocks in quick succession within our area.

But we continued to dominate possession and could’ve had a penalty on 34 minutes as Allen appeared to clatter Korboa just inside his box, but the referee waved play on.

However, we kept pressing, and we did get a spot-kick just five minutes later – Mickel Miller was pushed as he protected an Adeniyi ball over the top and Bradford stepped up to smash home his first goal of the season.

HALF-TIME: 1 – 0

We extended our lead three minutes in the second-half; Miller showed great determination to hold off his marker as the pair chased a ball over the top and then composure to lob the oncoming Allen from 18 yards.

Molesey found it difficult to get a foothold in the match as we continued to retain possession at will, but an offside flag stopped Korboa from taking on Allen one-on-one and Murphy-McVey needed a lower cross from Miller on 59 minutes which he probably could’ve steered home first time.

King made another good block in our area just after the hour and we broke quickly as Murphy-McVey’s long diagonal pass got Korboa away over halfway. A defender blocked his path to goal so he laid a pass into Miller whose curling first-time effort from 20 yards crashed against the crossbar.

Sean O’Toole came on for Ricardo Panton just before we scored our third – Miller brushed past Russell and knocked in a cross from the left for Bradford to guide back across Allen for his second of the game.

Miller made way for Kingsley Aikhionbare on 73 minutes and we continued to frustrate our visitors by keeping the ball for long periods, but we displayed great steel throughout the whole team when we needed to win possession back at times.

The closest we came to adding to the scoreline came with 10 minutes to go as Murphy-McVey slalomed into their box but his shot cannoned back off the near post, while a 20 yard free kick for Molesey late on was blazed over, summing up their frustrating evening.

Next up: It’s the FA Cup and we welcome Farnham Town on Saturday 20th August before we resume league duties with a visit to East Grinstead Town on Saturday 27th August.

Carshalton Athletic: Kozakis; Price (c), King, Morath-Gibbs (Adeniyi – 11), Panton (O’Toole – 64); Bradford, Kaba, Murphy-McVey, Males, Korboa; Miller (Aikhionbare – 73)
Unused subs: Gray, Ismail
Goals: Bradford (39 p and 66), Miller (48)

Molesey: Allen, Akuruka, King, Grobler (Nsubuga – 31), Russell (Grant – 73), Frost, Windsor, Chalke (c), French, Hoadley (Charles – 56), Nwoko
Unused subs: None
Booked: Nsubuga, Windsor

Sunday 14 August 2016

Match report - Horsham (a)

We opened the new league campaign with a comfortable victory away at Horsham.

Team news: Boss Peter Adeniyi handed full debuts to Alex Kozakis, Jahmahl King, Kalvin Morath-Gibbs and Sekou Kaba, while Paris Hamilton-Downes was missing as he completed a suspension picked up from the end of last season.

Both sides traded attacks during the first 10 minutes; Mickel Miller's free kick only hit the defensive wall from 25 yards on two minutes, while Kozakis fumbled a whipped cross into our box under pressure but we managed to clear our lines.

We continued to be patient and kept the ball for long periods but neither keeper was called into serious action until we should’ve taken the lead on 17 minutes.

Ricky Korboa sprung the home offside trap and rounded the oncoming Anthony Ender but he merely rolled the ball towards the empty net which allowed Lewis Hyde the chance to recover and deny a cert goal.

Horsham went down the other end and Terry Dodd capitalised on a poor pass to tee up Darren Boswell inside our area. Kozakis stayed big and the winger lofted his shot wide of the left-hand post.

We took the lead shortly after that as Korboa played a one-two with Tommy Bradford but his cross was cleared back out to Miller whom, from the edge of the box, struck an angled thunderbolt which seemingly flew through Ender and bulged the back of the net.

Bradford himself then put a free shot from 15 yards wide and almost saw a deflected shot beat Ender after he nicely took down a Kaba pass, both of which sandwiched a comfortable save by Kozakis on a back post header.

Our debut goalkeeper then got behind a pot shot from Dodd to preserve our lead before Korboa had another golden chance to open his account on 41 minutes. He timed his run on an Adeniyi through ball again to perfection but he shot straight at the exposed Ender.

But it was third times a charm on the stroke of half-time as Adeniyi found Kaba inside the Horsham area. The midfielder made space for an angled shot that Ender just took the pace off of, but Korboa was on hand to smash the ball home from about two yards.

HALF-TIME: 0 – 2

Our hosts started on the front foot after the break and Kozakis got behind Dodd’s 18 yard free kick, while sub Charlie Pitcher couldn’t guide a flicked header on a cross on target.

But, again, we slowly started to boss possession and we created another great opening on 56 minutes; Adenyi’s scooped pass got Korboa in yet again but the young forward allowed the ball to bounce one to many times and Ender just beat him to it inside the area.

Ricardo Panton ventured forward on the hour and he beat his marker and the drawn Ender before cutting the ball back from the byline. Miller had to take a touch which slowed his momentum and allowed Ender to race back and save the resultant shot with his legs.

Horsham continued to huff and puff but we were always dangerous on the break and we added our third in the 70th minute. Adeniyi wowed the 251-strong crowd with a barnstorming 65 yard run down the right, holding off three stern challenges, before squaring to the lurking Korboa who turn the ball in from close range.

Sean O’Toole was then introduced for his first taste of league action since last November and he showed good pace to get into the home box on 78 minutes. He unselfishly squared to fellow sub Kingsley Aikhionbare but he was cruelly denied an opening day goal as the merest nick off his marker took his shot just the wrong side of the far post.

The only blot on our day was conceding a goal with the last kick of the game; George Branford took advantage of a slack pass in our backline to thrash a low swerving shot past Kozakis and in off the far post.

Next up: We host Molesey on Monday 15th August before we play an FA Cup tie against Farnham Town on Saturday 20th August. We then travel to East Grinstead Town on Saturday 27th August.

Carshalton Athletic: Kozakis; Price (c), King, Morath-Gibbs, Panton; Bradford, Adeniyi (Males – 75), Murphy-McVey, Kaba, Korboa (O’Toole – 71); Miller (Aikhionbare – 75)
Unused subs: Ismail, Gray
Goals: Miller (22), Korboa (45, 70)
Booked: Miller, Kaba, Aikhionbare

Horsham: Ender, Hyde, Whitehead (de Andrade – 81), Branford, Jones, Farmer, Shelley (c), Harris (Pitcher – 46), Dodd (Cousins – 71), Carney, Boswell
Unused subs: Lewis, Atkinson
Goal: Branford (90)
Booked: Shelley, Farmer

Sunday 7 August 2016

Player interview - Sean O'Toole

Midfielder Sean O’Toole has returned from a lengthy lay-off in time for the new football season and he cannot wait to be back in thick of the action, writes James Barrett.


The 22-year old has not set foot on a pitch since suffering a torn abdomen on duty last November but he has made five appearances during our pre-season schedule as he looks to catch new boss Peter Adeniyi’s eye.

And O’Toole believes the new gaffer is slowly nurturing a squad that could go on to do big things in the Ryman Division One South this season.

“I’ve just spent a lot of time building up my core strength and working on muscle conditioning – I couldn’t even strike a ball properly to start with - but now I feel good and have been concentrating on improving my overall fitness,” he said.

“It’s been difficult sitting on the sidelines but luckily I’ve been able to watch the team play lots of good football over the past few months, and that is something I cannot wait to be a part of.

“The game isn’t all about power these days, you also need to be comfortable in possession and expose gaps when they appear, and we are being encouraged to play to those strengths.”

O’Toole believes Adeniyi has made the transition from teammate to player/manger seamlessly and doesn’t believe the latter’s managerial inexperience will count against him moving forwards.

“Peter knows a lot about the game and has worked alongside younger players during his time at Dulwich Hamlet,” O’Toole added.

“He has also added to the squad really well by bringing in good players whom have gelled quickly with those who stayed from last season.

“I know I won’t be first-choice come the opening day of the season but Peter has reassured me that I'm an important part of his squad and that I'll get my chance at some point, which gives me the confidence to keep training hard."

We open our new season away at Horsham on Saturday and O'Toole said, no matter who is selected, the Robins will be looking for victory.

"The pitch should be good for the first game of the season so we should be able to play our normal passing game," he added.

"Hopefully I'll play a part but it's exciting to know we have forwards like Tommy, Mickel, Ricky and Brendan in the squad. Any one of them can hurt teams on their day and that'll make us dangerous opposition for the rest of the league."

We completed our pre-season campaign with a 2-1 win over Dulwich Hamlet last week and head to Horsham on Saturday 13th August (KO 3pm).

Friday 5 August 2016

Surrey Senior Cup draw

The first draw for this season's Surrey Senior Cup competition was made this morning.


We were drawn at home and given a very local derby as Tooting and Mitcham United were picked out as our opponents.

The date and time of the fixture will be made known in due course.

Next up for the first-team is a visit to Horsham on Saturday 13th August (KO 3pm) as the new league season gets underway.


Wednesday 3 August 2016

Match summary - Dulwich Hamlet (h)

We finish on a high at the end of our pre-season campaign.


On a dry and clear evening at Colston Avenue, Peter Adeniyi's Robins started brightly.. Our passing was, as now is the norm, slick and accurate which made it difficult for Dulwich to get an early foothold in the game.
However Roman Micheal-Percil proved a handful for the visitors down the left all night with his electrifying pace and, on 18 minutes, he cut inside and unleashed an unstoppable shot into the top left hand corner which gave Jack Minchin no chance.
We responded through Brendan Murphy-McVey whom hit the top of the crossbar with an effort towards the end of the first-half, before Mickel Miller laid on a perfect cross for Tommy Bradford to rise above his marker and guide a header from five yards into the bottom right-hand corner of the net.
Honours even then at the break, but we went in pleased with a performance containing some excellent passing and dominate possession.
HALF-TIME: 1 – 1
The second-half turned out to be a more even affair but we took the lead just before the hour mark.
Bradford returned the favour by releasing Miller with a lovely through ball and, as he beat the visiting defence for pace, the forward rounded the keeper before stroking the ball into the empty net.
A number of substitutions were made by both sides shortly after and Dulwich started to get a good foothold in the game which forced us to weather the storm with some resolute defending. It was pleasing to see that we could come through this dominate spell by the visitors and then see the game out for a hard fought victory.
So a competitive pre-season schedule yielded three wins against Kingstonian, Slough Town and Dulwich Hamlet, one draw against Met Police and two losses against Merstham and Hendon. The signs look encouraging for our young Robins squad now that the start of the new season is just around the corner.
Next up: We face Horsham away on the opening Ryman League Division One South weekend on Saturday 13th August (kick-off 3pm) before we host Merstham for a league encounter on Monday 15th August (kick-off 7.45pm)
Carshalton Athletic: Minchin; Price (Ayah - 48), Panton, Adeniyi (Males - 65), King (Kaiser - 64), Morath-Gibbs (Ismail - 61), Bradford (Aikhionbare - 72), Kaba, Miller (Salgado - 72), Murphy-McVey (O'Toole - 65); Korboa (c).
Unused subs: None.
Goals: Bradford (45), Miller (59).
Dulwich Hamlet: : Valerie, Thompson, Sow, Fisher (Mason - 46), Weatherstone (c), Bangura, Flamur (Goncalves - 61), Carew (Batula - 79), Cunningham (Davis - 65), Fernandes (Perez - 55), Micheal-Percil (Proni - 79).
Unused subs: Peral, De Nairo Queua,
Goal: Micheal-Percil (18).

Monday 1 August 2016

Match summary - Met Police (h)

On a dry and sunny Saturday afternoon, we entertained Metropolitan Police FC of the Ryman League Premier Division in our penultimate pre-season friendly, writes John Kistner.
We started brightly with our trademark short quick passing movements all over the pitch, inviting the Met to come higher up the pitch in an attempt to close us down early. This left some gaps at the back for the Met which we exposed on a number of occasions through, in the main, centre forward Kingsley Aikhionbare.
Our goal came in the 16th minute after Peter Adeniyi challenged a Met player in central midfield, won the ball and played an exquisite through ball for Ricky Korboa to run on to, before rounding the Met keeper Luke Edgecombe with neat footwork, and then shooting from almost the dead ball line into the Met's goal.
A good half for us, with a high tempo passing game, and a deserved lead.
HALF-TIME: 1 – 0
The second half was a far more even affair and the Met had some good chances to equalise early on. As our players started to tire as the half wore on, the Met started to gain more possession, and in the 62 minute, their winger Ryan Gondo picked up the ball on the left after some hesitant defending, and weaved inside before unleashing an unstoppable shot past Jack Minchin.
A number of substitutions were made by both sides, and the game played out to a draw on 90 minutes.
Next up: We face Dulwich Hamlet FC at home on Tuesday 2nd August, then we visit Horsham FC for the opening league game of the season on Saturday 13th August.
Carshalton Athletic: Minchin (Suleyman - 77); Price, Ayah, Adeniyi, King, Morath-Gibbs, Miller, Kaba, Aikhionbare (Kaiser - 77), Murphy-McVey (Salgado - 77); Korboa (c) (O'Toole - 77)
Unused subs: Ismail, Gray, Del Alcasal
Goal: Korboa (16)
Metropolitan Police: : Edgecombe, Taylor, Smart, Bokai, Sutherland (c) (Salmon - 62), Robinson, T Smith (O Smith - 62), Hicky (Lane - 46), Barrett (Nurse - 62), Chislet, Gondo (Packuette - 62)
Unused sub: None
Goal: Gondo (62)