CAFC vs Wingate & Finchley- Match Report
Carshalton Athletic suffered a narrow 2-1 defeat away at Wingate & Finchley on Tuesday evening in the Isthmian Premier Division.
The Robins latest addition David Smith netted for the second consecutive match following his departure from Cray Wanderers. Peter Adeniyi named an unchanged side following the Reds 2-1 victory over Folkestone Invicta on Saturday.
Bryan Ifeanyi had the first chance of the match inside three minutes when the winger attacked left but failed to test Charlie Grainger between the sticks, driving straight at the shot-stopper. The Robins continued to probe the Blues backline, moving the ball well on the edge of the penalty area. Azez Sankoh delivered to the back post from the left flank and the ball dropped kindly for David Smith to strike, our new signing powering into the defender. Despite the positive start that was best surmised by the Reds early pressure, Wingate forward Ogo Obi forged the best opportunity to score up to this stage. Obi should have netted his tenth goal of the 2024-25 campaign if it were not for a heroic goal line clearance from centre-back Fikayo Atewologun.
Even though Carshalton had started the brighter of the two teams, Obi’s chance ensued a momentum shift and it was not in the favour of Adeniyi’s side. The hosts opened the scoring through Ben Frempah after the defender turned in a corner. Unfortunately, the Blues extended their advantage a few moments later, Andronicus Georgiou nodding in yet another header beyond Sutton loanee Sam Roberts.
The Robins pushed to halve the deficit and mid-way through Tommy Bradford found Mason Saunders-Henry on the edge of the box, the attacker controlled before lashing a low driven shot goalbound which was denied by a diving Grainger.
On the 30-minute mark, David Smith latched onto a lofted through ball in behind and looked to take it around Grainger; however, the No. 1 was alert and intercepted Smith. It gradually developed into Carshalton’s best spell of the game so far as Grainger was called into action once again, parrying a threatening strike away from danger. With the visitors in the ascendancy, the Blues were keen to issue a warning sign that they were eager to add to their tally and Garrett-Douglas fired high over the crossbar to the left of the penalty area.
Nine minutes from the break, Fabio Saraiva’s right flank set piece was driven low and hard across the face of goal, it eventually fell into the path of Ifeanyi languishing in space, but he miscued the strike, sending it out for a throw-in. There was a heart-in-mouth moment for Robins faithful when it looked as though Ryan Lowe’s left-sided cross would be glanced in at the near-post by Frempah on the stroke of halftime. That said, Carshalton’s fortunes took a turn for the better after a searching long ball into the penalty area was flicked on and into the path of Smith to stab past Grainger for a second goal in as many appearances, halving the deficit going into the break.
The Robins carried forward the momentum of the first 45, Sankoh was teed up to deliver into the box and Saunders-Henry cushioned the acrobatic volley marginally over the bar inside two minutes. There were a couple of prolonged pauses for injury that followed which stalled the progress of a frustrated Carshalton desperate to incite the leveller. In the 52nd minute, Kwaku Frimpong and Bradford combined well down the right channel. From the resulting Bradford corner, Saunders-Henry’s side-footed dipping volley almost nestled in under the crossbar. Adeniyi’s side came again soon after; however, Ifeanyi’s strike was straight down the throat of Grainger.
Having survived successive shots and crosses from the Reds, the tables turned, and Wingate bided to assert their dominance. Lowe made his way into the box unchallenged and cut inside, Tanner did extremely well to readjust and take the sting out of the effort with an outstretched leg for Roberts to gather comfortably. Sixty-four minutes in, Garrett-Doughlas drifted inside from the right flank, and weaved his way in and out of a series of Red bodies before going to ground and being penalised for simulation.
That attacking spell aside, the majority of the chances in the second half had fallen to Carshalton and it continued in that fashion when Ifeanyi drove into a Blues head. Approaching the final third of the match, Saunders-Henry platformed a moment of brilliance with an exceptional bit of skill to deceive and leave two Wingate midfielders flat-footed, the attacker would drag the long-range effort wide of the post.
A lovely pattern of play saw the trio of substitute Darnell Goather-Braithwaite, Bradford, and Ifeanyi combine for the latter to let fly into the far corner, Grainger got down quickly to make the save.
Towards the latter stages, Carshalton were gifted a goalscoring opportunity after Grainger’s attempted clearance was fired only as far as Goather-Braithewaite. Composed, the winger laid off Smith, who squandered the golden chance by overhitting the delivery into the penalty area that was aimed at the onrushing Bradford. Against the run of play, Obi was sent clear away but thankfully Tanner bundled him over fairly to disrupt the forward’s progress. Wave after wave of attack were continually subdued by the north-London-based outfit as the Robins were adjudged offside on more than one occasion. In the dying embers, the Blues ensured that they kept the ball in Carshalton’s half as long as possible, winning free kicks and trying their utmost to run down the clock.
There were six minutes of additional time for the Robins to grab a last-gasp equaliser. Given the Reds were chasing the game, they deployed lots of bodies forward and were therefore vulnerable when the Blues broke at pace. The old keep-the-ball-in-the-corner tactic ensued before Carshalton manufactured one last chance after Kennet was taken out by a reckless touchline sliding challenge.
Following the free-kick, Bradford found himself with the ball just to the right of the penalty area and drove it low through a pile of bodies, Grainger denied the effort before Kastrati’s volleyed follow-up angled into the side netting. So close.
Carshalton will have hopes of getting back to winning ways when we welcome high-flying Billericay Town to Colston Avenue on Saturday.
Up Next
Date: Saturday, November 10, 2024
Venue: Colston Avenue
Kick-off: 03:00 PM
Admission: Admission: £11, £8, £5 (online prices) on the gate is a pound dearer.
Tickets: https://form.123formbuilder.com/566
