Match summary - T&M Utd (a - friendly)

We lost against our near-neighbours as our pre-season schedule nears completion, writes James Barrett-Sterling.

Team news: Ola Sogbanmu made his first appearance since re-signing for the club during the close season. Angelo Banton was given a chance to play between our sticks, with Kalvin Morath-Gibbs coming back into the defence. Striker Michael Campbell was handed the number 9 shirt as he returned to the club looking to impress.

We had a golden chance to open the scoring in the first-half as we were awarded a spot-kick, but Tommy Bradford saw his effort saved by Kyle Merson.

We then lost Campbell to a suspected broken nose, Raheem Sterling-Parker taking his place as the striker went to hospital, before three goals in the last seven minutes of the half gave out hosts a flattering lead.

HALF-TIME: 3 - 0

The likes of Paris Hamilton-Downes, Jonathan Tadafe and David Opoku got minutes during the second-half but we struggled to unlock a stubborn home defence.

And United added a gloss to the scoreline on 81 minutes through substitute Sandy Cunningham.

Photos from the game are available here

Match highlights are available via robins.tv

Next up: We host Dulwich Hamlet in our last pre-season friendly on Saturday 5th August. Our season then opens with a trip to newly-promoted Ashford United on Saturday 12th August.

Carshalton Athletic: Banton; Panton, Morath-Gibbs (Tadafe - 85), Dudley (c), McLaughlin (Hamilton-Downes - 46), Cheadle; Gondoh, Sogbanmu (Opoku - 59), Miller; Bradford, Campbell (Sterling-Parker - 27)
Unused sub: Healy

Tooting and Mitcham Utd: Merson (Ossai - 46), Wilson, Adebowale (Spencer - 37), O'Neill, Patterson-Bohner, Dines (Maclaren - 54), Clements (Rabiu - 65), Bennett (McNaughton - 54), Baxter (Bassett - 46), Dunn, Hoban (Dixon - 46, Cunningham - 50)
Goals: Spencer (38), Bennett (44), Baxter (45), Cunningham (81)

Admission - Tooting friendly

We are away playing a friendly against near neighbours Tooting and Mitcham United on Saturday 29th July.

It's £5 for anyone over 16, with under 16s accompanied by a full-paying supporter admitted free.

Match report - QPR (h - friendly)

We scored our first goals of pre-season as we just fell short against an energetic QPR team, writes James Barrett-Sterling.

Team news: Paris Hamilton-Downes, Ryan Gondoh and Mikhail McLaughlin made their first full appearances of pre-season, while boss Peter Adeniyi included himself in the squad for the first time this month.

The first chance of the game fell to the visitors on two minutes but Mathias Fanimo couldn't divert a low cross in front of our goal on target.

We responded as Hamilton-Downes, Gondoh and Raheem Sterling-Parker combined and the latter got Tommy Bradford in on goal, but goalkeeper Seny Dieng diverted his shot over. Jordan Cheadle got on the end of the deep corner delivery but the keeper got down to parry away the defender's low shot.

But we took the lead just four minutes later as Cheadle swept a 50 yard free kick out to an advanced Ricardo Panton. He teed up Bradford whom took a touch before whipping in a cross which the unmarked Sterling-Parker bundled home at the second attempt.

The game settled down after that, despite a driving rain prevailing, but it was the visitors that looked the most dangerous going forwards - Fanimo saw a couple of crosses just miss their target while Jay Emmanuel Thomas curled an effort wide from 18 yards.

Rangers midfielder Nasser El Khayati then twice had Alex Kozakis sprawling as he tried his luck from range, then McLaughlin timed a sliding tackle to perfection as the number seven was played into our area on 27 minutes.

Bradford was then denied by Dieng again as our man took aim from 15 yards, but Rangers equalised on the half-hour as Danny Dudley took down Illias Chair inside our box and Thomas converted the spot-kick.

Both sides continued to trade attacks as Chair dragged an effort wide, Bradford bent the ball wide of both Dieng and the far post and Fanimo somehow hit the crossbar from 12 yards after be
ing played in free by El Khayati.

But we fell behind on 39 minutes as Chair dummied a forward pass and Thomas neatly found his teammate's forward run. He approached our near post unchallenged and eventually dinked a shot past Kozakis.

We were almost gifted a way back into the game on 43 minutes as Dieng inexplicably sent a pass into Gondoh whom took the ball back into their area. He was eventually crowded out but he managed to find Brendan Murphy-McVey whom saw his chipped effort from 18 yards deflected off target.

And Bradford was left frustrated again on the stroke of half-time after we broke down the left and Gondoh teed him up on the edge, but last season's top goalscorer blazed the ball over the bar.

HALF-TIME: 1 - 2

We restored parity just five minutes into the second-half as Adeniyi robbed the ball in midfield and played Sterling-Parker down the inside left. He beat his man and slammed a low ball across their six yard area where Ali Omar, under no pressure at all, sliced into his own net.

Our joy was short-lived however as Rangers attacked straight from the re-start and, as we failed to clear a ball into our box, Chair plundered his second to restore his side's lead.

Rather than sulk, we rolled up our sleeves and McLaughlin won a header on the left that Murphy-McVey helped on into the path of Sterling-Parker. He worked some space in the box but bent his shot wide of the far post.

Rangers sub Arimide Oteh thought he'd scored a fifth just before the hour but, although his left-footed shot beat Beech's dive, the ball cannoned off the near post.

Both sides made a few substitutions as the game entered the last 20 minutes but, despite Gondoh hitting a shot straight at sub keeper Martin Herdman, we were flagging.

And the best goal of the game came via the right foot of Rangers sub Dan Derbyshire whom put a 20 yard shot over the dive of Beech and into the top right corner.

The closest we came to adding to our score came in added time when Bradford picked out Rio Davidson-Phipps on the right whom cut inside his marker only to then see his low shot deflected away from the target.

Photos from the game are available here.

Next up: We travel to Tooting and Mitcham Utd on Saturday 29th July before Dulwich Hamlet come to us on Saturday 5th August.

Carshalton Athletic: Kozakis (Beech - 46); Panton (McKenzie - 78), Dudley (Alexiou - 86), McLaughlin, Cheadle (Aditogun - 78), Hamilton-Downes (c) (Davidson-Phipps - 78); Opoku (Adeniyi - 46), Murphy-McVey (Swaby - 70), Gondoh (Opoku - 78); Bradford, Sterling-Parker (Winter - 70)
Goals: Sterling-Parker (8), Omar (50 og)
Assists: Bradford, Sterling-Parker

QPR: Dieng (Herdman - 46), Kioso, Williams (Derbyshire - 42), Comley, Adebowale, Omar, el Khayati, Stylianides, Thomas (Oteh - 46), Chair (Akinola - 54), Mathais (Rowe - 42)

Goals: Thomas (29 pen), Chair (39 and 51), Derbyshire (73)

Attendance: 275

Match summary - AFC Wimbledon (h - friendly)

A scrappy goal was the difference between the two sides as our pre-season schedule continued on Tuesday night, writes James Barrett.

Team news: Defender Jordan Cheadle was given his first run-out in Robins red, Liam Beech was given a chance to impress in goal and Brendan Murphy-McVey and David Opoku were drafted in to midfield. Paris Hamilton-Downes, Kalvin Morath-Gibbs and Josh Phillips were named amongst the substitutes, as was Mikhail McLaughlin whom was on loan with us for a spell last season.

During a tight first-half, the visitors came closest to breaking the deadlock through Chris Whelpdale's chipped cross which bounced back off Beech's far post.

Cheadle, whom hit 20 goals for Walton Casuals last season, twice came close to opening the scoring after the break but one shot flew wide and the other drew a good save out of Nick Tzanev.

The only goal came on 68 minutes as a free kick in towards our back post caused some confusion and Jayden Antwi plundered from close range, despite the protests of sub Alex Kozakis who claimed for a handball during the scramble.

Next up: We host QPR on Saturday 23rd July before a trip to Tooting and Mitcham United on Saturday 29th July.

Carshalton Athletic: Beech (Kozakis - 46); Price (c) (Phillips - 74), Panton, Sinclair (McLaughlin - 64), Dudley, Cheadle (Ibizugbe - 70), Opoku, Healy (Hamilton-Downes - 64), Sterling-Parker (Aditogun - 70), Bradford, Murphy-McVey (Alexiou - 70)
Other subs: Kasibante, Morath-Gibbs, McKenzie, Winter, Swaby

AFC Wimbledon: Tzanev, Owens, Scott (Collins), Urhoghide (Awogego), Kalambayi (c), Whelpdale (Burey), Nelson-Roberts (McNab), Ashley (Mbele), Carpene (Evans), Antwi, Perana (Francis)
Unused sub: Ogbebor-Onaiwu
Goal: Antwi (68)

Attendance: 256

Match report - Charlton Athletic (h - friendly)

Our pre-season began against a strong Charlton Athletic U23 team as both sides had to contend with a constant downpour throughout, writes James Barrett.

Team news: New signings Danny Dudley and Raheem Sterling-Parker were given starts, while Steven Ibizugbe was looking to impress in central midfield. Alex Kozakis was named in goal and the bench was filled with both well-known and academy players. Ex-defender Tony Sinclair was the surprise name on the team sheet.

The visitors had the ball in the back of the net within the first minute as Recco Hackett-Fairchild smashed in a low drive but from an offside position.

We responded with Sterling-Parker as our new boy got down the inside left channel but Tommy Bradford just couldn't latch onto his cross by the six yard area.

Dudley then almost made an instant impact as he trotted forward for a corner won by Mickel Miller, but a defensive head just denied our new defender a free header at the back post.

Ricky Korboa then wow-ed the 195 crowd on eight minutes as his neat flick-and-turn saw him get away from his marker, but goalkeeper Jordan Beeney got down to save the eventual 20 yard pot shot.

The rain continued to stream down but Trialist 1 showed close control for the visitors on 18 minutes, going past two men before Dudley caught him late by our area. Our wall stood firm against Hackett-Fairchild's free kick however.

Charlton opened the scoring just four minutes later however - Kozakis and Dudley collided at the near post while trying to force out Trialist 3 but the visiting forward's toe poke rolled goalwards and it just had enough pace to beat the covering Bobby Price.

Again, we responded quickly as Ryan Healy played a one-two with Bradford but our young midfielder's cross was cleared. Price picked up the pieces but his firmly struck shot from 18 yards was blocked away by a dark blue shirt.

Miller and Sterling-Parker combined on the half-hour as we looked to cut open the Charlton defence, but this time the former had a shot blocked in the box before the latter dragged an effort wide of the near post.

Hackett-Fairchild forced Kozakis into an angled save three minutes later and, as our keeper was scrambling back up, Dudley was on hand to clear a shot by Trialist 2 off the line.

Ricardo Panton hit a high back pass towards Kozakis on 39 minutes and our keeper did well to take it down and past an opponent, but the slick surface meant Hackett-Fairchild pinched the ball as our keeper found himself outside his area. The forward got round Dudley, then the recovering Kozakis, but dragged his shot from 15 yards wide of the target.

HALF-TIME: 0 - 1

The game's lively tempo - much like the precipitation - didn't relent after the break, but we had to wait until the 57th minute for our next meaningful attack.

Bradford did well to read a mis-placed pass and he charged towards Charlton's goal, but last season's top scorer didn't catch his shot and Beeney clutched the ball safely.

We made a couple of subs but fell further behind on 65 minutes as Ryan Blumberg side-footed a left wing cross in from close range.

And our visitors made it three in spectacular fashion just two minutes later - Trialist 6 got on the ball 40 yards from goal, slalomed past two players and unleashed a rocket that beat Kozakis and bounced in off the crossbar.

It was hard to take as we'd competed well up until those two quick-fire goals, while Dapio Aditogun was introduced for Ibizugbe.

The final goal of the game arrived confusingly on 73 minutes - a high ball up towards our back post was seemingly gathered by Kozakis, whom then bowled it out to get us going forward, but the linesman on the near side flagged. He told the referee the ball supposedly crossed the line as Kozakis claimed it and we had to return the ball to the centre spot.

The closest we came to reducing the arrears was on 88 minutes as we played a short corner and Brendan Murphy-McVey had time to thrash an angled drive just the wrong side of the near post.

Photos from the game can be viewed here

Next up: We host AFC Wimbledon on Tuesday 18th July before QPR arrive on Saturday 21st July.

Carshalton Athletic: Kozakis; Price (Okoku - 58), Dudley (Davidson-Phipps - 76), Sinclair, Panton (Swaby - 74); Healy (Tadafe - 84), Ibizugbe (Aditogun - 69); Miller (McKenzie - 86), Raheem-Sterling (Kasibante - 58), Bradford (Yohou - 78), Korboa (Murphy-McVey - 42)

Charlton Athletic: Beeney, Yao, Edwards, Bowry, Cummings, Lapslie, Yamfam, Hackett-Fairchild, Trialist 1, Trialist 2, Trialist 3

Subs from: Harvey, Blumberg, Maloney, Doughty, Sarpong-Wiredu, Trialist 4, Trialist 5, Trialist 6.

Goals: Trialist 3 (18), Blumberg (65), Trialist 6 (68), Unknown (74)

2017-8 League fixtures

League fixtures are out
2017-8 league fixture

FA competitions - draws made

The first draws for the FA Cup and FA Trophy were made today (07/07/17).

In the preliminary round of the FA Cup, which shall be played on Saturday 19th August, we shall host the winner of Walton & Hersham vs Mile Oak.

Meanwhile, over in the FA Trophy preliminary round, we were drawn away against Heybridge Swifts (to be played in early October). The winners of that game then travel to face Tonbridge Angels in the first qualifying round on 28th October.

Our fresh set of league fixtures are due out very soon and will be made known on here as soon as they hit.

Memorial match this July

We are delighted to be hosting the 'Men of the Wrythe' memorial match later this month. 

Details:

Carshalton Athletic U14s Vs Carshalton Boys U14s

Saturday 15th July (KO 3pm)

Admission: FREE

The match is in honour of the men of the Wrythe area of Carshalton who lost their lives during the battle of Passchendaele 100 years ago this year. Thirteen of those whom died played for Carshalton Athletic.

There will also be lots of activities on Wrythe Green Recreation Ground  to enjoy as well - please come and support!

Close season award

We've learned that the club was the joint-winner of last season's Division One South Fair Play award, sharing it with Hastings United.

Well done to all!