CAFC vs Dover Athletic – Match Report
Joshua Shonibare’s first goal in red and a Mackenzie Foley penalty save sealed a statement 3-1 away victory over league leaders Dover Athletic in the Isthmian Premier Division on Saturday.
There were two changes for Peter Adeniyi’s side following the 2-1 league victory over Hastings United on Monday evening. Kwaku Frimpong replaced Nabeel Ghannam after the former Lewes midfielder was ruled out an hour before kickoff owing to injury. Soul Kader, meanwhile, made way for Shonibare.
It was a good start to proceedings from Carshalton; despite not forging any clear-cut opportunities, they were moving the ball well, and the majority of the action was in Dover’s own half. The Reds probed the Whites’ backline and called Jordan Gilmore into action with a couple of threatening deliveries into the penalty area. That said, the hosts settled, and the match subsequently opened up after an opening few minutes where Adeniyi’s side were in the ascendancy. David Smith came narrowly close to being sent clear away on Dover’s goal when the ball was launched upfield from deep within our own third; however, Gilmore was alert, dashing quickly off his line to clear. Up the other end, the Whites had the first real chance of the game inside seven minutes; Francis Mampolo’s effort was spilt by Foley, but the Carshalton No. 1 recovered well to divert the ball away from the path of the onrushing attacker who had an empty net lying in wait. A few minutes later, the ball was worked to Saraiva, and the experienced midfielder managed to thread through Ifeanyi down the left channel, yet the winger let it run before driving into the defender from a tight angle.
Approaching the 20-minute mark, there had been a momentum shift in favour of Dover. Growing in confidence, a period of sustained attacking pressure ensued, which saw Foley momentarily worried following a whipped strike from just outside the penalty area, a header that was glanced wide at the front post, and a side-footed first-time shot that failed to test the Robins shot-stopper. Midway through, it had developed into an end-to-end affair. Ifeanyi did extremely well to maintain possession in the penalty area, using the byline to pull the ball back to substitute Darnell Goather-Braithwaite, who couldn’t quite make the intended connection from a few yards out. Breaking at pace, Dover’s appeals for a penalty were waved away by referee Steven Goldup.
Entering the final third of the half, Carshalton were having to survive wave after wave of attacks from the Whites. A succession of shots and crosses were repelled by the likes of Luke Read and Fikayo Atewologun through some brilliant defensive blocks and headers. With ten minutes until the break, the long throw was launched into the Reds penalty area, and George Nikaj’s touch inadvertently teed up Roman Charles-Cook to flash a strike goalbound, which Foley was able to parry around the post. Moments later, Foley was tested once more when the cutback ricocheted into the path of Luke Baptiste, and his deflected effort had to be stabbed away by the right boot of Carshalton’s No. 1. Nikaj then almost opened the scoring after being played down the right channel and side-footing inches wide. On the stroke of halftime, however, Adeniyi’s side took the lead, albeit against the run of play. Counter-attacking with intent, Saunders-Henry’s pull back saw Goather-Braithwaite’s initial attempt denied, before the ball fell kindly for Smith to smash home from a few yards out.
During additional time, the Whites issued a warning sign when Mampolo’s trickery manufactured a shooting opportunity, but fortunately the effort grazed the post. Saraiva, meanwhile, nearly gave us a two-goal cushion to take into the break following a right-flank set piece that was headed off the line; the referee’s whistle proceeded immediately after.
Following a couple of threatening crosses into the penalty area that were comfortably dealt with by Foley, it was the Robins who had the first chance of the second 45. Carshalton’s free-kick was cleared only as far as Saraiva, who battled to lay it off for Saunders-Henry to deliver across the face of goal; Smith grazed the bar with the resulting header. Disaster struck in the 53rd minute when the Whites were awarded a penalty after a clumsy challenge from Atewologun. Baptise fired the spot kick low and hard to Foley’s left, but the shot-stopper was down extremely quickly to tip the ball around the post
and spark jubilation among the travelling support at the opposite end. Excellent save. On the hour mark, the home side were pushing for the leveller, applying lots of pressure on Foley’s goal. That said, the Whites were failing to create any chances of note except for when Luca Cocoracchio burst forward and floated the ball towards Nikaj, who powered the header straight down our No. 1’s throat.
The Robins were under no illusion that they needed to forge a two-goal cushion with the hosts edging closer to an equaliser, and just after the 70th minute, Saunders-Henry ensured exactly that. Frimpong attacked right and drove into the penalty area, delaying just long enough to set the ball across for the midfielder to successfully guide the first-time strike into the far corner,
before rushing to embrace the Reds faithful behind the Dover goal. High in confidence, Adeniyi’s side extended their advantage a few minutes later thanks to Joshua Shonibare scoring his first goal in red. Shonibare drifted inside and did brilliantly to squeeze the ball into the keeper’s bottom left-hand corner and beyond a stunned Gillmore; it was an impressive finish considering the tightness of the angle.
As the dying embers of the match ensued, the focus for the Reds was maintaining the clean sheet that Foley had fought tooth and nail to preserve up to this stage. Despite our sizeable lead, the Robins carried on pushing for more goals as substitute Tommy Bradford received the ball to the left of the penalty area and set Saraiva to whip the effort the wrong side of the far post. That said, a lapse in concentration saw Baptiste bundle the ball over the line and inspire hopes of what would be a miracle comeback following the five minutes of additional time that was indicated.
Thankfully, the Reds secured a statement 3-1 victory and extended their winning streak to five games. Carshalton remain eighth on 45 points, with both Hashtag United and Chichester City picking up three points. There will be hopes that the lads can carry forward the momentum into next weekend’s clash with Canvey Island.
Up Next
Date: Saturday, February 8, 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
