Babajide double brings vital win
An added time winner from Bunmi Babajide gave Carshalton Athletic a 2-1 win at Concord Rangers on Friday night to keep them firmly in the hunt for end of season playoff places.
After a dry spell of five games without a goal, it was a timely moment for leading scorer Babajide to rediscover his scoring form and vault the Robins back into sixth place in the Isthmian League Premier Division ahead of Saturday’s league matches.
With Rangers desperate for points to escape relegation, the early going on the Essex coast was a cat and mouse affair. As the game started to open up in the first half though, Babajide and Mark Marshall went close for the Robins and Aaron Jones pulled off a great point blank save to deny the hosts.
A more assertive Robins took firmer control of the game in the second half and earned their reward when Babajide fired in at the near post.
With the points seeming destined to head back to Colston Avenue, disaster struck three minutes from time when Joe Bell, returning after a one match absence, could only turn a dangerous cross into his own net.
But after Concord had squandered a decent chance for a second, the hosts conceded their second added time winner in a week when Babajide forced the ball home from close range for his nineteenth goal of the season after two earlier efforts had been blocked.
The win sets up a pivotal derby match against playoff rivals Dulwich Hamlet on Easter Monday, with the teams level on points ahead of Dulwich’s home game against Billericay Town on Saturday.
Carshalton Athletic: Jones, Read, Beeden, Bell, Hamilton-Downes, Vose, Saunders-Henry, Bradford, Marshall, Frimpong, Babajide.
Substitutes: Williams (for Vose 75’), Young (for Frimpong 86’), Sankoh, Bassett, Everitt.
Concord Rangers: Terry, Halsey, Norton, Bland, Burton, Apat, Rusoke, Mbonkwi, Agyemang, Day, Knott. Substitutes: Ifeanyi (for Knott 66’), Desa (for Apat 71’), Allen, Oumar, Woodcock.
Goals: Babajide (2) 64’, 90+4’, Bell og 87’.
Up Next
The Robins host Dulwich Hamlet in a match which, as outlined above, could be crucial for the end of season playoff picture. Kick off is 3pm on Easter Monday (1st April) at Colston Avenue, and with a big crowd expected fans are advised to arrive early.
Tickets available at: https://www.carshaltonathletic.co.uk/matchday/tickets/
Adult – £11; Senior (over 65) – £8; Child (under 18) – £5; Under 5s – Free (online prices are £1 cheaper than at turnstiles).
