CAFC Women vs Haringey Borough – Match Preview
Carshalton Athletic face off against tier 5 Haringey Borough on Friday evening in the next round of the Isthmian Cup at Colston Avenue following an emphatic 5-0 thumping of league toppers Leatherhead Youth Sunday.
Robins Review
The Robins were last in Isthmian Cup action in September when Aaron Lamont’s side beat Guernsey on penalties at Colston Avenue, Evie Nebbitt with the crucial spot kick to send the club through to the next round. Since then, it has been a tough few weeks in the Surrey Premier Division for Carshalton. Dorking Wanderers Development ran out comfortable 2-0 winners, but a hard-fought draw was secured the following week against Croydon. However, a trip to league favourites Farnham Town ensued and despite a spirited performance, Town won 2-0. There will be hopes that our ladies can cause a cup upset when Borough arrive in South West London.
Haringey Borough
Haringey Borough FC Women secured a thrilling 3-2 victory over Enfield Town FC on Sunday afternoon. Haringey apply their trade in the Eastern Region Premier League, which is Tier 5 of the Women’s English Football Pyramid. Currently, Borough sit in fourth place with 12 points after eight league games. The Premier Division kicked off August 18 and in their curtain raiser the club thumped Dussindale & Hellesdon Rovers FC Women 8-1. The following week, they ran out 4-2 winners over Enfield Town Ladies FC. That said, the 4-1 Luton Town defeat at the start of September would prove a false dawn and ensue a difficult run of results. Even though Haringey would comfortably dispatch Cambridge 4-0, they would lose their next four 13-4 on aggregate vs Watford Ladies Development, Royston Town FC, Stevenage, and St Albans City.
Established in the 1999/2000 campaign and sealing a merger with Mill Hill United, a feeder team of National League side Wembley Mill Hill, the name Haringey Borough was adopted, and they were re-located to the Coles Park stadium of the Spartans South Midlands League club. Finishing third in their first-ever season meant they narrowly missed out on promotion, but in 2002-2003 Borough made sure this time it was secured. Several years of consolidation and flirting with promotion took place; however, in 2010/11 a disastrous season ended Haringey’s nine-year membership in the Premier Division.
That said, Borough would bounce straight back up at the first attempt in 2011/12. There was a major development in 2013/14, Steve Browne arrived and brought with him his highly successful S & T Academy Girls. The next couple of seasons were turbulent, the bottom places were avoided in 14/15, while a mid-table finish was sealed in 15/16. The tragic early death of Browne mid-way through a very successful 2016-17 campaign made winning the League Championship and Cup all the more poignant and meaningful. Numerous top players were lost to USA Scholarships in the close season, and they would lose every game in Division One South-East of the Women’s Premier League in 2017-18. The club returned to the Eastern Region League for 2018-19.
A team rebuild was on the cards, but the newly appointed manager would accept a role in his home country of Greece at Christmas 2018 and Borough were nestled at the bottom half of the table by the end of the season. Of course, the next two years were deemed null and void. The 2022-23 campaign saw Bob Cato steer a young hungry Borough side to being contenders for the league as well as to reach the quarter-finals of the Capital Women’s Cup having beaten tier 4’s London Seaward enroute. They would eventually lose to tier 3 London Bees whose clinical edge proved the difference. Last season, Haringey finished third on 45 points, four shy of runners-up Luton.
Likely line-ups
Carshalton Athletic
Solley, Measures, Dady, Nebbitt, Williams, Allen, Edwards, McCarthy, Throp, Chapman, Dulley
Haringey Borough
Roberts, Young, Shack, Wakeford, Pickard, Radburn, Racheva, Castro, Wade, Young, Larkin
Team News
Carshalton Athletic
Sarah Chapman and Elle Bale have returned fully to first-team proceedings. Eloise Williams has struggled with injury of late; however, is expected to feature at least on the bench. Lara Rodriguez has returned from a spell with the under-18s, while Heather Eade, subject to an improvement in match fitness, and Gueriani, started Sunday, but will battle with the likes of Throp and Dulley for consolidated starting spots.
Haringey Borough
Haringey are expected to have a fully fit squad at their disposal.
Pre-Match Analysis
In their last five games, Borough have leaked 19 goals and have replied with netting ten. Bob Cato has a very specific strategy to the team’s play which he has been developing over the last few years and it can punish teams in the ultimate fashion, best seen in the opening two matches where Haringey put 12 past Dussindale and Enfield. Like Carshalton, Borough are an extremely young team, they have a large number of 18-year-olds.
Key Player
Shawna Harvey is Haringey’s key player, her six goals in the 2024-25 campaign is the most among Borough players, whilst it falls just outside the top five in the league.
The Gaffer
Bob Cato was appointed after COVID-19 in the 2020-21 season. Cato is formerly of Derby County Ladies, Leicester City WFC and a former Haringey Borough player himself. He introduced much-needed leadership and strategy, building a refreshed side with new young players brought in through the Haringey Girls Academy partnership, which developed a pathway to women’s football.
Match Details
Date: Friday, October 18, 2024
Venue: Colston Avenue
Kickoff: 07:45 PM
Admission: Free Entry
