CAFC vs Bognor Regis Town – Match Preview
Carshalton Athletic take on Bognor Regis on Saturday afternoon in the Isthmian Premier Division.
Carshalton Athletic
After breaking for cup action on Monday evening where the Robins overcame step 4 AFC Croydon Athletic 2-1 at Colston to progress into the Velocity Cup Fourth Round, Peter Adeniyi will have hopes that his side can carry forward the momentum of Saturday’s thrilling 4-3 victory against Billericay Town.
Thanks to midfielder Fabio Saraiva’s 95th-minute stunner from range, the Reds inflicted the Blues first defeat of the 2024-25 campaign. The scintillating result made it two wins from two at home for Carshalton, that said, our away form of late has left a lot to be desired, having fallen to defeat versus Canvey Island and Wingate & Finchley albeit by the barest of margins.
Number nine David Smith has been the standout, since arriving from Cray Wanderers the weekend before last, the forward has been in red-hot form, bagging three goals in three league games.
Smith will be invaluable at the weekend as the Robins bid to secure their first away win in four matches, the last of which coming when we beat Hashtag United 1-0 early October.
Bognor Regis
Bognor Regis Town put to bed a five-match winless run that stretched back to a 4-0 Billericay Town thumping at the end of September when they edged fellow drop zoners Bowers and Pitsea 1-0 thanks to an 86th-minute Tommy-Lee Higgs strike.
On the much-needed three points, Tommy Block told Rocks TV: “I don’t think it could have come at a better time; we’ve been struggling the last five or six games, so we really needed that as a team.”
Except for a brief resurgence in the middle of September where the Rocks registered back-to-back victories over tough opponents Wingate & Finchley, winning 2-1, and Cray Wanderers, winning 3-1, it was sandwiched between unwanted win draughts.
Therefore, currently, Bognor find themselves rock-bottom of the Isthmian Premier Division on 11 points after 13 games with three victories, two stalemates, and a whopping eight losses.
Over the last few years, the Rocks have been a consolidated Premier Division club, achieving comfortable mid-table finishes 9th, 14th and 10th in 2021-22, 2022-23, and 2023-24 respectively. However, if they do not start to turn things around, the task this campaign could be a lot more of a battle.
Likely line-ups
Carshalton Athletic
Henry, Sankoh, Tanner, Atewologum, Read, Saraiva, Bradford, Saunders-Henry, Ifeanyi, Smith, Salami
Bognor Regis Town
Hall, Spurway, Gale, Kingswell, Block, Edmondson, Whyte, Burgess, Mather, Gifford, Tuck
Team News
Carshalton Athletic
There were another couple of new additions to the Robins ranks on Saturday, former Hornchurch goalkeeper Dion-Curtis Henry joins us on a temporary basis and will battle Sutton United loanee Sam Roberts for the No. 1 shirt while Mackenzie Foley remains unavailable owing to injury. Bernie Tanners impressive display at the heart of the Reds backline is currently keeping Ollie Hamstead out of the starting XI, that said, the defender is still nursing an injury. Kola Salami made an immediate first start after joining Carshalton from Erith Town, Salami, Kwaku Frimpong, and Darnell Goather-Braithwaite will compete for the spot on the right flank. Luke Cook, meanwhile, is making steady progress in his recovery.
Bognor Regis Town
Our opponents are expected to have a fully fit squad at their disposal.
Pre-Match Analysis
Coming into Saturday, Bowers & Pitsea had won four in six, that said, they were undone by a direct, defensively stubborn Bognor Regis side as explained by Tommy Block.
“We scored from a set piece it was very direct.
“The gaffer said before the game a clean sheet would win this game, we defended very ugly, won loads of headers with the aim of keeping the ball out the net, and that’s what we done,” he said.
Block himself was playing in a new centre-back partnership at the weekend alongside Amadou Jallow, which he believes is developing well.
Key Player
Since signing from Aldershot Town in summer 2023, Portsmouth-born Ryan Hall has been a huge success story at the Rocks. Winner of the December Golden Glove Award, Hall’s incredible first-half stop at the weekend was key to Bognor picking up all three points. “I love having Ryan [Hall] behind us, I’ve said a number of times he’s one of the best keepers I’ve played with and he’s only young,” explained Block.
Tommy Lee Higgs was the super sub against Bowers & Pitsea, but the forward is also Bognor’s top scorer netting ten times. “Gaffer just said in there, what player do you want more in the league than Tommy Lee Higgs coming off the bench with 20 minutes to go to win the game,” said Block.
The Gaffer
Rocks Manager Robbie Blake made over 500 appearances in the Football League and the Premier League, most notably scoring the winner for Burnley against Manchester United. Previously first-team coach at Portsmouth, Blake made the switch to Bognor five years ago.
Match Details
Venue: MKM Arena, PO21 2TY
Date: Saturday, November 16, 2024
Kick-off: 03:00 PM
Tickets:https://therocks.ktckts.com/brand/match-tickets
