CAFC vs Abbey Rangers – Match Report

Another sensational Nabeel Ghannam strike and a first goal in red for Nathan Paul-Lavaly affirmed a very youthful Carshalton Athletic side’s place in the Quarter-Finals of the Surrey Senior Cup following a 2-1 victory on Tuesday evening away at The Addlestone Moor.

A combination of injury and illness meant a number of changes for the Robins after Saturday’s 3-0 win over Hendon in the Isthmian Premier. Academy shot-stopper Klevis Muca replaced Mackenzie Foley between the sticks, while familiar faces from the youth setup, Mishael Konan and Joshua Koroma, were also included in the starting XI. Teenagers Lee Johnson, Stanislan Cyndrowski, and Andre Stewart were named as substitutes.

Carshalton controlled the early stages, moving the ball well and piling the pressure on the hosts. An intense high press spearheaded by forward Soul Kader was looking to enforce the error. The first chance came inside five minutes when the Bromley loanee’s pullback was cleared only as far as Fabio Saraiva, whose scuffed effort was diverted into the path of Tommy Bradford a few yards out from the host’s goal, but the captain could not quite get it under control. Moments later, Saraiva was involved again, producing a tame header from a Nathan Paul-Lavaly long throw. Darnell Goather-Braithwaite then drove a shot into the defender down the left channel, before Ghannam’s venomous delivery on the opposite side saw Bradford attempt a half-hearted bicycle kick. 

Following a ten-minute spell where the Reds were in the ascendancy, the game opened up, and Abbey Rangers issued a few warning signs. The step 5 outfit flashed a strike just outside the penalty area, which was crucially denied by a red shirt. Capitalising on the brief momentum shift, the Abbey’s winger attacked right and sent the ball whistling inches wide of the far post. Up the other end, on the 20-minute mark, Carshalton’s appeals for a penalty were waved away when the ball struck the hand of the home side’s No. 8 after a miscued clearance. A succession of the Red’s shots and crosses followed but were subdued by the host’s backline.

Entering the final third of the half, the Robins took the lead thanks to new addition Ghannam. The former Lewes winger combined with Paul-Lavaly down the right channel before unleashing a powerful strike beyond the goalkeeper and into the roof of the net, a brilliant finish considering the tight angle.

In search of an immediate reply, the Abbey had a close-range bicycle kick graze Carshalton’s bar from a corner. With five minutes until the break, Kader utilised his sheering pace to latch onto a lofted pass in behind, shrug off the defender, round the goalkeeper, and square it across as he neared the byline to Ghannam; however, the delivery was just in front of the winger. From the resulting corner, pinball ensued, and Saraiva whipped the ball narrowly over the bar. On the stroke of halftime, an Abbey attacker went to ground in the penalty area trying to forge the home side an avenue back into the match, yet it came to no avail, much to the dissatisfaction of their management team.

The second 45 started in much the same fashion as the first, Carshalton enjoying the lion’s share of possession and probing the Abbey, who did look a threat on the break. Six minutes after the restart, Kader, languishing in the centre of the penalty area, did superbly to bring down a right-channel cross before manoeuvring the ball onto his stronger right foot and side-footing it into the goalkeeper one-on-one from the tight angle. Pushing for the two-goal cushion, Kader carried the ball left and powered it across the face of goal for Paul-Lavaly’s volley at the back post to be denied by the legs of the goalkeeper. While the Reds were creating the more threatening chances, the Abbey saw a lot of the ball in and around Carshalton’s box and were beginning to apply a bit of pressure on Muca’s goal. That said, on the hour mark, a well-worked corner routine teed up Bradford for a strike on the edge of the penalty area, which ricocheted to rattle the bar; the headed follow-up was parried away.

Midway through the half, the Abbey levelled the cup tie after the opposing No. 7 received the ball just outside the penalty area and drove it low and hard to find the far corner. A few minutes later, however, the Reds pegged back the visitors once more. Bradford’s flick, which appeared to hit the hand of the Abbey defender, was picked up by an alert Ghannam, who cut inside and, despite losing the ball, saw it fall kindly for Paul-Lavaly on the opposite side to flash into the back of the net and leave the keeper no chance.

It sparked jubilation among the Robins faithful behind the goal who had travelled in their numbers. Straight from the restart, Paul-Lavaly came again down the right in a bid to complete his brace, but this time the keeper was a match for it, pushing away the sweetly struck effort.

Towards the latter stages, Robins No. 1 Muca was quick off his line to prevent the Abbey striker from reaching the ball over the top, managing to stab clear with his right boot. The dying embers of the match saw the Reds repel a succession of attacks from the hosts with a team containing another three academy players making their first team debuts, Johnson, Cyndrowski, and Stewart, a very proud moment for the club.

Adeniyi’s side rode the wave of pressure and secured their place in the Surrey Senior Cup Quarter-Finals following a 2-1 victory. That is back-to-back wins for Carshalton, and there will be hopes that we can carry forward the momentum into an extremely tough test on Saturday against the Isthmian Premier’s most in-form team, Hashtag United.

Up Next

Date: Saturday, January 25, 2025
Venue: Colston Avenue
Kick-off: 03:00 pm
Admission: £11, £8, £5 (online prices) on the gate is a pound dearer.
Tickets: Buy online tickets here

For our full matchday guide please click here