Player interview - Joe Tupper

It was a case of double delight for on-loan goalkeeper Joe Tupper on Saturday as we earned three valuable points in our continued hunt for promotion, writes James Barrett.

We travelled to local rivals Corinthian Casuals on Saturday and broke an almost decade-long hoodoo by winning 2-0 at King George's Field, moving up to fourth in the Ryman Division One South in the process.

And Tupper is keen to remain a part of that charge as he also agreed to extend his loan from Championship club Reading until the end of the season.

Tupper: Happy to be at Colston Avenue

“Casuals are also high up the league so we knew we had to defend well and take our chances when they came," said the 19-year old shot stopper. "We maybe could’ve scored a couple more but overall I’d say we put on a professional performance.”

We took a fifth minute lead on Saturday as defender Kalvin Morath-Gibbs rifled home a knocked-down cross from eight yards.

Things got even better just 10 minutes later as Casuals defender Juevan Spencer was dismissed for bundling over Mickel Miller inside the box and captain Paris Hamilton-Downes blasted home the spot-kick for his third of the season.

And, aside from a couple of moments during the second-half that forced the young goalkeeper into making good saves, Tupper endured a pretty comfortable afternoon from that moment on.

“You do need to remain switched on at all times as a keeper however,” he added.

“I dealt with the ball at my feet a lot during the game, but both Carshalton and Reading like to play out from the back so I’m used to it and also continuing to improve.

“I’ve been made to feel really welcome here so I was delighted to sign on until the end of the season and hopefully we’ll still be in fighting for promotion.”

Next up for the first-team is a home game against Horsham on Saturday 4^th February (KO 3pm).

CAFC 'School of the Week'

Would you be interested in being our ‘School of the Week’ at a future home game?

The club has decided to further strengthen its ties with the local community by opening its doors to local and nearby primary schools, allowing pupils and their families the chance to experience competitive local football on a Saturday afternoon.

Along with free entry to a selected home game, other benefits include:

• A free introduction to our weekly Soccer School (for children aged 4 - 9);
• A mention within the corresponding home programme;
• Mentions across our social media platforms (Twitter, Facebook, Instagram);
• The opportunity to have a forthcoming school event/activity read out over the tannoy during the course of the afternoon.

Local community schools already taking part include All Saints CofE Primary, Barrow Hedges Primary and Harris Academy, but we have spaces still available so how about joining us on a Saturday to see the first-team play and enjoy the Colston Avenue experience?

For further information, or to arrange a booking, please contact Oliver Palmer on 07789 793 109 or oliver@carshaltonathletic.co.uk

Match report - Corinthian Casuals (a)

A professional performance saw us edge out promotion rivals Corinthian Casuals and pick up three valuable points, writes James Barrett.

Team news: Kalvin Morath-Gibbs, Peter Adeniyi and Sekou Kaba all returned to the starting line-up, while Kingsley Aikhionbare came back into the squad on the bench.

And we made a blistering start as Omar Folkes played Mickel Miller in on four minutes and he forced a corner via a firm save by Bracken.

Tommy Bradford's first delivery was cleared but Paris Hamilton-Downes nodded down his  second cross which Kalvin Morath-Gibbs touched and turned on before rifling home from eight yards.

That settled us down and we began to display our trademark possession football but our final passes were just failing to land, while Casuals gave away niggly fouls or played wasteful balls.

And we doubled our lead on 16 minutes after Miller got across Juevan Spencer as he galloped towards goal and the defender eventually bundled him over - both a straight red card and spot-kick were awarded, which Hamilton-Downes smashed home his third of the season.

Going down to 10 men meant Casuals reverted to playing quite deep and so we were content to retain possession at the back, although our pressing game was strong when required at different times.

We went looking for a third on 26 minutes as Rio Davidson-Phipps swapped passes with Miller to get into Casuals' box but he had to check back. The ball eventually found its way to Peter Adeniyi whom spotted a darting run by Bradford but the linesman's flag halted his progress.

Despite not having much to do, Joe Tupper was alert on 34 minutes as he clawed away a rare cross into our box under pressure.

Miller took down a lovely searching cross-field pass four minutes later and worked some space inside our host's area but Bracken comfortably held his weak effort.

The pair clashed again on 38 minutes as Miller hunted down a ball into the Casuals box before hurdling the home keeper whom had slid out to claim it. Bracken sensed an opportunity to 'even things up' and proceeded to act like Miller had stamped on his knee, but the only thing he was really in danger of straining were his eyeballs as he watched the referee's reaction like a hawk - even the yellow card dished out to our innocent number 9 seemed excessive.

And, when Casuals squeezed in a final cross in just before the break, young Ryan Healy did well to deny Josh Uzun a free shot at the back post.

HALF-TIME: 0 - 2

The second-half started briskly with Morath-Gibbs making two clearing headers, while Folkes would've nodded a Bradford cross in but for Bracken's claiming hands.

Casuals created three good chances during the second 45, the first of which saw Jack Strange see a header on a free kick deflected over our bar from close range.

The second saw Tupper parry an effort by Ben Cheklit just after the hour and we broke at pace until Miller had a shot blocked on the edge and, as he worked space on the loose ball, then he was denied by a sprawling Bracken.

Casuals threatened to close the deficit again on 67 minutes as defender Warren Morgan burst clean through, after a one-two with Shaun Okojie, but Tupper spectacularly tipped the ferocious shot over the bar.

But, after weathering that little storm, we got back to retaining the ball for long periods, happy to make Casuals chase shadows and probe forward when we wanted to.

We worked a couple of good openings in the last 10 minutes, only for Bradford and Adeniyi to be denied by separate offside flags, but we saw the game out to a comfortable conclusion.

More photos from the game are available here.

Next up: We welcome Horsham to Colston Avenue on Saturday 4th February before we head to Ramsgate on Saturday 11th February.

Carshalton Athletic: Tupper; Davidson-Phipps, Morath-Gibbs, Hamilton-Downes (c), Hibbert; Bradford, Healy, Adeniyi, Kaba (Phillips - 62), Miller; Folkes (Aikhionbare - 87)
Unused subs: Bongo, Sobowale, Kozakis
Goals: Morath-Gibbs (5), Hamilton-Downes (16 p)
Assists: Hamilton-Downes, Miller
Booked: Miller, Davidson-Phipps

Corinthian Casuals: Bracken, Spencer, Morgan, Dudley, Strange, Eskim (Johnson - 87), Cheklit, Bettache, Okojie (Byatt - 80), Gallagher, Uzun (Hodges - 60)
Unused subs: Murray, Clarke
Booked: Morgan, Dudley
Sent off: Spencer

Attendance: 185
Our Man of the Match: Kalvin Morath-Gibbs

Re-arranged match - first-team

Our visit to Hastings United, which was postponed earlier this month, will now take place on Tuesday 21st February (kick-off 7.45pm).

Hastings - its off

Hastings United FC vs Carshaton Athletic FC

Further to a pich inspection at 10.30am this morning this fixture has been postponed

Sponsorship opportunities

Have you ever thought of getting involved with Carshalton Athletic?

We have sponsorship and branding opportunities at every level of our club, which boasts over 50 playing teams, a thriving 'off-the-field' section and which has been recognised by both UEFA and the FA for our contribution to local football in recent years.

"With Carshalton Athletic continuing their exciting push for promotion to the Ryman Premier League, we'd be delighted to welcome you to join us as a club partner," said the club's new community relations officer Oliver Palmer.

To find out more information contact: oliver@carshaltonathletic.co.uk

You too could be celebrating with Carshalton Athletic!

Match summary - Godalming Town (a)

We made it back-to-back wins as we took three points away from Weycourt, writes James Barrett.

Team news: Dominique Bongo and Josh Phillips were recalled to the starting line-up , while Ronald Sobowale and Ryan Healy were given chances to impress from the off.

On the attack: Mickel Miller

The game was played in freezing conditions throughout but we warmed things up with just 13 minutes gone as Mickel Miller picked out Omar Folkes and the striker registered his third goal in just two full starts.

And we doubled that lead around the half-hour mark as the same pair combined again – this time it was Folkes with the assist as Miller took down his high pass, held off two opponents and beat Oneal Garnes from close range.

That goal, his fourteenth of the season, ended a drought of fourteen games for Miller and gave us a two-goal cushion at the break.

HALF-TIME: 0 – 2

Town came out in the second-half determined to have a go and they did have an effort chalked off for offside, but otherwise Joe Tupper was only really troubled by the dropping temperature.

Sobowale was denied by goalkeeper Oneal Garnes on 80 minutes and Phillips knocked home the rebound but the linesman’s flag curtailed the celebrations.

We added to the scoreline just three minutes later however as Tommy Bradford registered his 25^th goal of a prolific season and this victory lifted us back up in to the play-off positions ahead of this weekend’s fixtures.

More photos from the game can be viewed here.

Next up: We travel to Hastings United on Saturday 21^st January before we make the short trip to Corinthian Casuals on Saturday 28^th January.

Carshalton Athletic: Tupper; Davidson-Phipps, Bongo, Hamilton-Downes (c), Hibbert; Sobowale, Healy, Bradford, Miller; Phillips, Folkes (Adeniyi – 71)

Unused subs: Price, Kozakis, Morath-Gibbs

Goals: Folkes (13), Miller (32), Bradford (83)

Assists: Miller, Folkes, Sobowale

Godalming Town: Garnes, Oldland, Garstang, Brown, Musgrove,Dormer, Roots (De Sousa – 77), Bunyan, Purdy, Wheeler (c), Efambe

Unused subs: Warburton, Webb

Booked: Brown, Musgrove

Attendance: 104

Our Man of the Match: Paris Hamilton-Downes

Squad update - two departures

Two members of the first-team squad have been released today, writes James Barrett.

First up, we say goodbye to defender Jahmahl King whom is leaving Colston Avenue after making over 20 appearances since joining us in pre-season, the last of which came against Sittingbourne earlier this month.

Departure: Jahmahl King

On-loan midfielder Anthony Folkes has also returned to parent club QPR after making three appearances during his time with us.

We wish both players the best of luck in their future endeavours, particularly Kingy whom had become a fan favourite during his time here.

Next up for the first-team is a trip to Godalming Town on Tuesday 17th January (kick-off 7.45pm).

Match report - Chatham Town (h)

We got back to winning ways as struggling Chatham Town were hit for six, writes James Barrett.

Team news: There were full debuts for loanees Omar Folkes and Rio Davidson-Phipps in place of Kingsley Aikhionbare and Bobby Price.

The game started fairly even as both sides looked to get forward quickly, while Joe Tupper had to get down to stop Adjei's shot on six minutes.

Lining it up: Folkes going for goal

But we started to dominate possession and we took the lead on 13 minutes - Peter Adeniyi, after picking up a poor pass in midfield, played a perfect through ball as Folkes made a run beyond his marker and the forward slammed a first-time shot beyond Alex Hyde from 12 yards.

Hyde was called into action shortly after that as he got down to parry Mickel Miller's angled drive. Folkes and Tommy Bradford tried to work an opening in the far side but the former was eventually crowded out.

But we did double our lead on 22 minutes and it was a fantastic team effort - five players neatly passed the ball through the middle of the pitch before Folkes got Adeniyi in on goal with a neat flick. Our boss seemed odds on to score but, as Hyde came to narrow the angle, he squared to the unmarked Bradford whom tapped home.

And our third arrived just three minutes later as Davidson-Phipps, whom was a constant thorn in Town's side all game, delivered a measured cross from the right which Folkes crashed home first-time past the stricken Hyde with his left foot.

We almost grabbed a fourth on 27 minutes as Kalvin Morath-Gibbs guided a Bradford free kick on target at Hyde's near post but the keeper parried the shot around the post. Our corner was cleared but we kept the ball alive before Kaba put a free header on an Adeniyi cross wide of the far post.

Another fine move began on 33 minutes as Ricardo Panton won, and cleared, the ball almost on his own byline. Jordan Hibbert turned on the ball and swept a long pass out to Davidson-Phipps whom took it into acres of space. He unselfishly tried to find the hat-trick-seeking Folkes but his cross went just behind his teammate in the box.

Chatham kept huffing and puffing but we were quelling their build-up play, Hibbert in particular doing well to cover back on 37 minutes before back-heeling the ball back into our possession.

Miller got in on goal again on 39 minutes and he dinked a shot that seemed destined to go over Hyde and nestle in the back of the net, but the keeper just got a finger on the ball.

But our fourth duly arrived in added time as Bradford intercepted a poor pass out of Town's backline before he jinked past a couple of opponents and slid the ball beyond Hyde and inside the far post.

HALF-TIME: 4 - 0

Town made a triple substitution at half-time but we stayed on the front foot, with Hibbert teeing up Miller who was frustrated by Hyde again. We forced a corner and he parried a firm drive by Hibbert before recovering excellently to deny sub Dominique Bongo from about three yards.

But the young defender gave away a penalty on 57 minutes as he left a leg in on Adjei and Ricky Freeman blasted it past Tupper.

That galvanised the visitors for five minutes and Freeman flicked on a long ball for Adjei to get in on goal, but Tupper tipped his effort over the bar.

All smiles: Bradford gets the plaudits

Miller worked some space in the Town box on 64 minutes however and he found Bradford whom managed to battle past his marker before stabbing a shot which Hyde saved.

Another corner was delivered short four minutes later and Adeniyi and Kaba managed to tee up Miller whom yet again found his route goal blocked by Hyde, and Kaba rattled the post from four yards as he pounced on the loose ball.

Bongo then had another chance to extend our lead as he met Bradford's free kick delivery from the far side but he couldn't direct his free header on target.

So it was left to Bradford to break the visitor's second-half resistance on 74 minutes - Panton made ground down the left before squaring for Miller, whom again was left rolling his eyes as Hyde acrobatically saved his shot, but Bradford neatly turned home the loose ball first-time for his hat-trick.

And Bradford wrapped up a good afternoon for him and the team by blasting a low effort past Hyde from 20 yards with 10 minutes to go.

Folkes almost claimed a treble of his own on 82 minutes as he played a one-two with Kaba before opening up his body 15 yards from goal, but his left-footed effort flew millimetres wide of the far post.

Tupper had kept his concentration as he comfortably dealt with a couple of pot shots at the other end, but Bradford put two shots just off target and Folkes had a goal disallowed for offside late on as we kept pushing.

Photos from the game are available here.

Next up: We travel to Godalming Town on Tuesday 17th January before we visit Hastings United on Saturday 21st January.

Carshalton Athletic: Tupper; Davidson-Phipps, Adeniyi, Morath-Gibbs (Bongo - 46), Hamilton-Downes (c); Panton, Kaba, Bradford, Hibbert, Miller (Sobowale - 75); Folkes
Unused subs: King, Kozakis, Healy
Goals: Folkes (13, 25) Bradford (23, 45, 74, 79)
Assists: Adeniyi (2), Davidson-Phipps, Miller

Chatham Town: Hyde, Ca Hefferman, Lyabi, Price (Lightfoot - 46), Rogers, Benner, Adjei, Michalson (c) (Bray - 46), Freeman, Co Hefferman, Edwards (Flack - 46)
Unused subs: Stace, Acland
Goal: Freeman (57 pen)

Attendance: 223
Our Man Of The Match: Tommy Bradford

Player interview - Paris Hamilton-Downes

Captain Paris Hamilton-Downes literally stepped up to the mark during our thrilling draw against league leaders Dorking Wanderers this week, writes James Barrett.

We've missed our last three awarded penalties and so the defender took on the responsibility when we were awarded two on Monday night, converting one in each half during the eventual 3-3 draw.

On the spot: Paris Hamilton-Downes

That point keeps us on the fringes of the Ryman South play-off positions but it also stretched a winless run to six matches.

“We’ve not enjoyed a good run over the past four weeks but we feel like this result could be a turning point,” said Hamilton-Downes.

“Dorking will probably go up as champions, and we lost at theirs earlier this season, so we’ve taken what could be an important point for us off them.

“I said in the dressing room after our game at Chipstead that I’d be willing to take the next penalty we got. I felt greater pressure on the second one to be honest but it felt great to see them both go in.”

Alongside Hamilton-Downes’ two goals, debutant Jordan Bird endeared himself to the Colston Avenue faithful by notching our third on 71 minutes.

But history repeated itself as, like against both Tooting & Mitcham United and Sittingbourne recently, we conceded a late equaliser that ultimately cost us potential victory.

“The management team have told us not to panic despite that happening again,” added Hamilton-Downes. “We’ve got a good squad here and the two new faces coming in this week (the other being striker Omar Folkes) will help add to the mix.”

Our next match is at home against struggling Chatham Town on Saturday 14^th January (kick-off 3pm).

Match report - Dorking Wanderers (h)

A lively encounter with the visiting league leaders produced goals, three penalties and lots of entertainment, writes James Barrett.

Team news: Ricardo Panton, Kalvin Morath-Gibbs, Bobby Price and Jordan Hibbert all returned to the starting line-up, while new boys Omar Folkes and Jordan Bird were named on the bench.

Both sides tried to get on the front foot during the opening 45 minutes and Joe Tupper did well to save a couple of dangerous attempts on our goal, while Mickel Miller was unselfish on 21 minutes - he had a sight of Dorking's goal but decided to play in Josh Phillips on the left but the young striker's shot pinged off the far post and away to safety.

But it was Dorking that broke the deadlock on 39 minutes as McShane managed to charge down a clearance inside our area before poking to the ball back across Tupper whom tried to close him down.

That lead only lasted three minutes however as Sekou Kaba was fouled inside their area and Paris Hamilton-Downes stepped up to blast home both our first converted spot-kick in four and his first goal of the season.

HALF-TIME: 1 - 1

We failed to kick on however and allowed Wanderers to retake the lead on 52 minutes as former Woking striker Giuseppe Sole capped off some approach work by Dean Gunner.

Bird came on for his debut just before we were given another chance to level from the spot on the hour mark. Dean Hamlin was adjudged to have handled the ball inside his own area, so Hamilton-Downes duly doubled his tally from 12 yards.

And we took the lead for the first time on 71 minutes as, after we broke from a Dorking attack, Bobby Price played a through ball which Kingsley Aikhionbare dummied and the unmarked Bird found himself through on goal before calmly slotting the ball past Slavomir Huk.

But the game wasn't done in terms of spot-kicks as the referee awarded another one - this time to Wanderers - with just eight minutes left on the clock as Panton tangled with McShane and Sole only just beat Tupper's low dive to ensure his side left with a share of the spoils.

Photos from the game are available here

Next up: We host Chatham Town on Saturday 14th January before we travel to Godalming Town on Tuesday 17th January.

Carshalton Athletic: Tupper; Price (Folkes - 79), Morath-Gibbs, Hamilton-Downes (c), Panton; Adeniyi, Kaba, Hibbert, Bradford; Aikhionbare (Healy - 85), Phillips (Bird - 59)
Unused subs: King, Sobowale
Goals: Hamilton-Downes (42 pen, 60 pen), Bird (71)
Assists: Kaba, Price
Booked: Panton, Aikhionbare

Dorking Wanderers: Huk, Sheridan, Boulter (c), Hamlin, Beccles, Beecroft, Gunner (Evans - 90), Briggs, Chendlik (Mahoney - 60), Sole, McShane
Unused subs: Wells, Familton, Hearne
Goals: McShane, Sole (52, 82 pen)
Booked: Boulter, Hamlin, Beccles

Attendance: 226
Our Man of the Match: Bobby Price

Squad update

There have been two new additions to the first-team squad as of this week, writes James Barrett.

Firstly, 26-year old striker Omar Folkes has joined us from Ryman Premier outfit Merstham and he also spent six months on loan at Walton Casuals last season.

Midfielder Jordan Bird has also arrived from Whyteleafe for whom he made four appearances during this season.

Both came off the bench during our 3-3 draw with Dorking Wanderers last night (Monday) with Jordan quickly endearing himself by scoring our third in the 72nd minute.

Next up for the first-team is a visit from Chatham Town on Saturday 14th January (kick-off 3pm).

Match report - Sittingbourne (h)

We conceded two added time goals as we dropped two points from a commanding position, writes James Barrett.

Team news: Dominique Bongo and Ronald Sobowale were given their full league debuts, while Josh Phillips and Kingsley Aikhionbare came in to the attack.

But Bongo almost made a nightmare start to his afternoon as, in the sixth minute, he tried to shepherd a long ball out of play but Remell Davis hassled him until the striker won the ball by the six yard box - but Joe Tupper thankfully saved the incoming shot.

We created our first real chance five minutes later as Josh Phillips battled to win possession on halfway before swapping passes with Tommy Bradford to get into the box. He did well to pick out Mickel Miller from the byline but he skied a first-time effort over the bar.

Both sides got stuck in during the game

Sittingbourne forced a corner on 16 minutes which we dealt with, then Jahmahl King headed out the second cross. Joe Loft pitched a high ball back into the mix and Tupper caught his arm on his post as he tracked the ball out of play - luckily he was ok to continue after a minute's treatment.

We went forward after the restart and Brendan Murphy-McVey got Aikhionbare away down the right. Our forward cut inside his marker and had two opportunities to pull the trigger as he ghosted along the 18-yard line before a defensive foot poked the ball out. Sekou Kaba got onto it and hit a half-volley not far off target from about 20 yards.

Tupper got down well to parry an angled Josh Wisson shot around his near post as our visitors tried again to break the deadlock - our keeper was also equal to a 20-yard free kick and a wicked curling effort by Hasan Jallah on 34 minutes.

But we began to dictate play and created two good chances before the break - Murphy-McVey tested Simon Overland with a 25-yard hit that bounced up in front of the keeper, then Bradford got Kaba into their box only for our man to slightly scuff a shot under pressure which Overland got down to stop.

HALF-TIME: 0 - 0

We introduced Bobby Price and Ronald Sobowale at the start of the second-half and we opened the scoring on 48 minutes.

Kaba displayed great strength to win possession on halfway before he embarked on a forward run that ended with a through ball for Bradford. Our top scorer tempted Overland to come out and our man skipped round him and, as he faced a narrow angle, he checked back to tee up Aikhionbare whom powered home his second of the season from 12 yards.

King of Colston: Aikhionbare celebrates

Our tails were now up and Murphy-McVey tested Overland again from distance while, as our backline surpressed a couple of half-hearted Sittingbourne attacks, Sobowale took down a Murphy-McVey cross on 63 minutes but he hit his shot from 15 yards at the visiting keeper.

But our young sub wasn't to be denied again as, on 71 minutes, we broke from a Sittingbourne attack and Bradford played Sobowale in over the halfway line. He reached 25 yards from goal before unleashing a low shot that left Overland rooted to the spot and opened his account for the club.

Sittingbourne had a chance to put us under pressure two minutes later as they won a free kick 20 yards from our goal, but Tupper got down to parry Conrad Lee's effort away from danger.

We looked comfortable as we entered the last 10 minutes and Phillips' eyes lit up as he jinked his way into Sittingbourne's area on 81 minutes but a combination of Lee and Jono Richardson stopped him from unleashing a shot.

And our young forward came even closer to putting us three-up on 88 minutes as, following good work by Sobowale and Aikhionbare, he latched on to Bradford's square ball and hammered an angled drive past Overland and off the underside of the crossbar, but the officials said the ball hadn't crossed the line.

Sittingbourne reduced the arrears as the game went into stoppage time as sub Jake Embrey pounced to ram a loose ball past Tupper from close range.

The referee then indicated four minutes of added time in which we defended a couple of attacks and thought we'd done enough for victory. However, Sittingbourne won a corner in the 97th minute and Wisson rose highest to head home an equaliser and break our collective hearts.

Photos from the game can be viewed here.

Next up: Dorking Wanderers visit on Monday 9th January before Chatham Town arrive on Saturday 14th January.

Carshalton Athletic: Tupper; King (Price - 46), Adeniyi, Bongo, Hamilton-Downes (c); Bradford, Kaba, Murphy-McVey (Healy - 65); Phillips, Aikhionbare, Miller (Sobowale - 46)

Unused subs: Kozakis, Hibbert

Goals: Aikhionbare (48), Sobowale (71)

Assists: Bradford (2)

Booked: Adeniyi

Sittingbourne: Overland, Welch, Carse (Brown - 15), Lee, Richardson (c), Wisson, Brunt, Loft, O'Connor, Davies, Jallop

Unused subs: Akhazzan, Embery, Soafer, Davis

Goals: Embery (90), Wisson (90+7)

Booked: Wisson, Richardson