CAFC vs Abbey Rangers – Preview
Carshalton Athletic travel to the Addlestone Moor for some Surrey Senior Cup action against Step 5 Abbey Rangers on Tuesday evening.
Robins Review
Peter Adeniyi’s side ended their five-match winless run and secured a much-needed clean sheet following an emphatic 3-0 victory over Hendon FC in the Isthmian Premier Division on Saturday away at Silver Jubilee Park. There was a first goal in Red for Bromley loanee Soul Kader after the attacker applied the finish to a delicious Bryan Ifeanyi touchline delivery. David Smith, meanwhile, netted his ninth goal of the 2024-25 campaign after a sensational swivelled strike to the left of the penalty area, and Tommy Bradford capped off proceedings with a tidy finish across the keeper at the front post. The result moves Carshalton up to 11th in the league with 36 points, two behind Folkestone, Cray Wanderers, and Chatham, respectively.
Abbey Rangers
Abbey Rangers apply their trade in the Premier Division South of the Combined Counties League, which is step 5 of the English Football Pyramid. Currently, the Abbey find themselves middle of the road in the league in 10th place with 34 points after having played just 22 games.
The Chertsey-based side’s 2024-25 campaign began with an FA Cup Extra Preliminary Round tie against Hythe Town. The cup clash ended 2-2 and required a replay where the Abbey ran out slender 3-2 winners. Back-to-back victories against Sandhurst Town and AFC Whyteleafe got their league season off to the perfect start. That said, the FA Cup Preliminary round defeat to Hanworth Villa saw losses to Guildford and Rochester United ensue, the latter in the FA Vase First Qualifying Round. Eventually, the club were able to put some consistency together and managed to forge a four-match unbeaten run where they overcame Sheerwater 3-2, held Cobham and Balham to 1-1 draws, and thumped Alton 3-1. Towards the end of September, a 4-2 win versus Corinthian Casuals was sandwiched in between being dispatched 3-0 and 2-0 by Redhill and Jersey Bulls, respectively.
October proved equally difficult. While there was success in the Surrey Cup, beating Badshot Lea 1-0, the winless streak in the league extended to four games, and it was not until the Abbey edged Epsom & Ewell 2-1 that the club were able to pick up three points for the first time in over a month. Following that, however, things took a turn for the better in November, earning victories over Sandhurst, 1-0; Knaphill, 3-1; and Spelthorne Sports, 3-0. There was also a six-goal thriller with Horley Town, which ended 3-3, and only one taste of defeat, coming at the hands of Redhill.
A 4-2 penalty shootout win against Eversley & California in the Premier Challenge Cup ushered in the festive period. Capitalising on the momentum garnered, the Abbey registered a 3-1 victory over Sheerwater before an extended break would not see the club in action until 11 days later, where they lost 5-2 to Whyteleafe. On Boxing Day, the Chertsey-based side succumbed to a 2-0 Guildford City defeat, and last time out on January 14, that’s right, nearly two weeks after the Guildford fixture, the Abbey progressed through in the Premier Challenge Cup 3-1 vs. Oxhey Sets.
Founded as a youth club in 1976, the name Abbey Rangers came from the nearby Chertsey Abbey. In the early years, the club were based in both Chertsey and Addlestone before setting up in the latter permanently. The Abbey lifted the 2004/05 Surrey & Hants Border League Division 1, finishing runners-up the following campaign to move up into the Guildford & Woking Alliance League First Division. Winning that division at their first attempt meant that the side were promoted to the Premier Division, before immediately jumping to the Surrey Intermediate League (Western) after once again achieving the runners-up position. Unsurprisingly, they then earned another promotion (in the 2008-09 season) to the Premier Division.
After Abbey Rangers had achieved their fourth successive promotion, the club joined the Surrey Elite Intermediate League, where they would stay for four campaigns before then ascending to Division 1 of the Combined Counties League at the end of the 2014/15 season. Back-to-back promotions were, of course, secured when the club finished third, and this time it was to the Premier Division. The Abbey have remained in the Combined Counties Premier Division South ever since, and in the 2023-24 season sealed eighth place.
Likely line-ups
Carshalton Athletic
Foley, Paul-Lavaly, Atewologun, Saraiva, Sankoh, Frimpong, Bradford, Saunders-Henry, Ghannam, Smith, Ifeanyi
Abbey Rangers
Honey, Lillie, Antwi, Nunn, Wooliscroft, Andreou, Ikala, Warren, Mortimer, Karanja, Burton
Team news
Carshalton Athletic
Luke Read was absent from Saturday’s 3-0 victory over Hendon owing to injury. It is unclear whether Read will be fit enough to feature against Abbey Rangers on Tuesday, if he’s unavailable expect Fabio Saraiva to once again fill in at the heart of the Robins backline.
Fellow centre-half Fikayo Atewologun was also carrying a knock, but he managed to play the entirety of the 90, therefore the former Leatherhead defender is unlikely not to be named among the starting XI for the Surrey Senior Cup tie.
Paris Hamilton-Downes and Michael Dada remain out; however, the latter is seemingly closer to a return.
Abbey Rangers
Between the league fixture against Guildford and the cup tie against Oxhey, the club made numerous changes to their starting XI. Del Davies and Ahkim Brown made way at the back for Jack Lillie and Antwi, while Brad Marshall, Maxwell Hurst, and Milo Derham were replaced by Finley Warren, Kelvin Karanji, and Stuart Mortimer. Expect changes to the Abbey’s starting XI heading into Tuesday evening.
Pre-Match Analysis
It’s been a season of up and down results for the Abbey, who have provided moments of class and sealed an impressive away win over play-off hopefuls Knaphill. Despite a poor end to the 2024 where they suffered back-to-back defeats to Whyteleafe and Guildford City, the club’s patient build-up play could cause the Robins a few problems. Even though the Abbey have not scored too many goals in 2024-25, 39, their 40 conceded places them with the seventh-best defensive record in the Premier Division South.
Key Player
Forward Alfie Burton is the Abbey’s key player, Burton’s eight goals top the charts for the Chertsey-based side. If the visitors are to threaten Peter Adeniyi’s side then the striker will need to be at his very best. The player was previously a part of the Woking U18’s, U19’s, and U23’s set up.
The Gaffer
Manager Adam Bessent was appointed in May 2024. He started coaching and scouting in 2002 and was the First Team Manager of Staines Lammas FC, Bedfont, Feltham FC, and Virginia Water, the nine seasons prior to his arrival in Addlestone. At those clubs, Adam achieved league position success, won the Southern Combination Cup, and the Combined Counties Division One Cup, while clinching a runners-up medal in the Surrey Senior Cup.
Adam’s brother Jake is his assistant coach at Abbey Rangers and has several years of coaching experience himself.
Following his appointment, Adam said: “Myself and Jake are delighted to get back into football after a short break and we’re coming into one of the best clubs in the area. The facilities are unmatched, with a thriving youth section and an established Step 5 team. We’re honoured to have been asked by Nick and Robbo to lead the team into the next era and we hope to produce a team that everyone at Abbey can be proud of. UTA!”
Match Details
Date: Tuesday, January 21, 2025
Venue: The Addlestone Moor
Kickoff: 07:45 PM
Admission: Admission: £12 (adults), £8 (concessions), £1 (Students and Under 18’s)
Tickets: Buy Online Tickets Here
