Bradford double secures quarter final place
Carshalton Athletic clinched their place in the Surrey Senior Cup quarter finals with a Tommy Bradford header in added time to beat Metropolitan Police 2-1 in the third round on Tuesday night.
It could have been so much more comfortable for the Robins though as they dominated nearly the whole match.
The pattern was set early on with Carshalton retaining possession and probing for an opening, although it was the Police who had the first chance when they nicked the ball deep in the Robins half and Aaron Jones saved from Noah Amissah.
The Robins continued their patient approach and only a series of defensive blocks and saves from former Carshalton keeper Liam Beach, plus a goal line clearance from a Lexus Beeden effort after a corner, kept the score goalless at half time.
In the second half Carshalton picked up where they left off and, after a loud penalty appeal for a challenge on Kweku Lucan had been turned down, took the lead shortly afterwards. Aziz Sankoh’s cross was only cleared to the edge of the penalty area where Bradford was waiting to fire a low drive past Beach.
For the next few minutes, the Robins laid siege to the Police goal and Bunmi Babajide was twice just wide with shots from the edge of the penalty area.
But having not scored the second goal that would almost certainly have put the game to bed, there was always a chance that the Police side that had been surviving on scraps could grab an equalizer. And it came in the last minute of normal time when the Robins couldn’t clear a corner and Charlie Brown forced the ball home from close range.
The tie now seemed destined for a tense penalty shoot out, but in the fourth minute of added time Sankoh once again got down the left flank and delivered a superb cross to the far post where Bradford sneaked in to nod past Beach for the winner. The Robins’ reward for the win is a home quarter final tie against another Isthmian League South Central Division opponent, Badshot Lea.
Carshalton Athletic: Jones, Kennett, Beeden, Bell, Hamilton-Downes, Sankoh, Williams, Marshall, Lucan, Bradford, Babajide.
Substitutes: Okoye (for Babajide), Memaj (for Marshall), Bassett (for Williams), Frimpong (for Lucan), Griffiths.
Metropolitan Police: Beach, Ikebuasi, Walters, Nkosi, Ernest, Kirley-Wright, Owuse-Boakye, Reid, Amissah, Galloway, Brown.
Substitutes: Enajar (for Ikebuasi), Gillfillan-Waul (for Nkosi), Kodjo (for Owusu-Boakye), Sharpe (for Reid), Amaning-Ampong (for Amissah)
Goals: Bradford (2) 60’, 90+4’, Brown 89’.
Up Next
The Robins entertain Isthmian League Premier Division high flyers Chatham Town on Saturday 2nd March (3pm kick off).
Tickets available at: https://www.carshaltonathletic.co.uk/tickets
Adults – £11; Over 65s – £8, Under 18s – £5; Under 5s (with accompanying adult) – Free.
