Folkestone 1-1 CAFC – Report
Carshalton Athletic kicked off the 2024-25 campaign with a hard-fought 1-1 draw away at new-look Folkestone Invicta thanks to an early strike from Dominic Vose.
There is always a terrific atmosphere on the opening day, and off the 885 spectators at the Alcaline Stadium, it was the small handful of Robins fans that made all the noise for 97 minutes, pulling the lads over the line.
Vose’s well-timed volley in the early stages was cancelled out ten minutes later following the heroics of tricky winger Evans Kouassi. There were no more goals for the remainder of the match, but there was plenty of entertainment, the Reds were superior in the first half, but the roles reversed in the second.
Following injuries to Kwaku Frimpong and Mason Saunders-Henry, there was a shake-up to the front three for Peter Adeniyi’s side. Tommy Stagg led the line for the Robins, while Darnell Goather-Braithwaite occupied the right flank after impressing in last week’s 2-0 victory over AFC Wimbledon. Meanwhile, for the Seasiders, manager Andy Drury made four changes to the team that were held to a goalless draw in Tonbridge. Summer arrivals, Gavin Hoyte, Jamie Mascoll, Ian Gayle, and Matt Young replaced Chris Sessegnon, Marvel Ekpetita, and a duo of unnamed trialists.
It was a dream start for the Robins when Dominic Vose opened the scoring inside just five minutes after a Bryan Ifeanyi searching cross to the back post was cleared and teed up perfectly for the midfielder to have a swing at it, volleying into the back of the net and sending the travelling support wild behind the goal. The positive start continued for Carshalton as Aziz Sankho and Stagg combined to unleash the full-back down the line; however, his cross to Tommy Bradford was cut out. Moments later, in a similar fashion to last week, Bryan Ifeanyi was causing lots of problems down the left flank, cutting inside and striking at goal, his shot sailed over the bar.
Carshalton moved the ball very well and looked to attack with purpose when they forced the turnover of possession. After several failed attempts to get Ifeanyi in behind, the team’s efforts were rewarded when the winger latched onto a lofted pass, noticed Fabio Saraiva arriving late, cut it back, and the 31-year-old’s shot, narrowly missed the outstretched boot of Darnell Goather-Braithwaite.
Unfortunately, despite a strong start to proceedings and the Robins very much on the ascendancy, the Stripes found an avenue back into the match, levelling as we approached the first third of the half. Newly signed left-back Jamie Mascoll rattled the bar after an outrageous volleyed attempt before Evans Kouassi, who to his credit had been the brightest spark for Invicta, showed the determination to follow up the rebound, cut in off the right-hand side, and deceived goalkeeper Mackenzie Foley to nestle it into the near post. Quality all around from the hosts.
It is fair to say that the Seasiders did not get going in the opening 10-15 minutes, that said, by the 20 mark it was an exciting end-to-end affair, the home side had garnered confidence from the equaliser.
Following his speculative effort to catch Henly off guard from the halfway line, Saraiva then forced a rash challenge from dangerman Kouassi, who received a caution, despite the referee doing his best to keep his cards in his pocket. The fact that the first corner of the match was not until the 27th minute indicated the intensity to which the match was being played up to this stage.
Approaching the final third, Vose was playing with a ring around him, popping up everywhere, dictating play, and occupying threatening positions. While, the willingness of Carshalton’s centre-back duo, Fikayo Atewologun and Ollie Hamstead, to get on the ball and play was apparent and extremely effective with Hamstead stepping up multiple times. The former Chipstead defender found Saraiva with his back to goal, he flicked it through to Stagg, who could only muster a tame shot at goal.
On the stroke of half time Carshalton were enjoying lots of possession, probing the Seasiders and looking the more likely to take the lead. The final chance of the 45 came after Vose intercepted a Dean Rance pass, and released it to his midfield partner Saraiva, who hoped for a bit of magic from Ifeanyi; however, the resulting cross hit the first man and squandered the opportunity to take a well-deserved lead into the dressing room.
Heading into the break, Adeniyi would have been the happier of the two sides. The Robins seemed to be having a lot of joy down the flanks, particularly with Sankho functioning as a wide man in the attacking transition to bring about the overload. Also, the Reds had created more meaningful chances to score and proven a match for the extremely physical Folkestone eleven.
On the other hand, Drury’s team were bypassing the midfield in the hope that big No.9 Dan Smith could inspire a better performance from this new-look Invicta’s side. The lack of cohesion was beginning to frustrate the Stripes faithful. Having said that, Young’s creativity and the barrage of crosses aiming for the head of Smith gave the Carshalton backline something to think about.
Both teams were very eager to get the second half underway and there were early warning signs for the Robins from the get-go. Tricky winger Kouassi picked up as he left off, driving into the box, and lashing a low-driven cross, across goal, yet it evaded everyone in yellow and black. Moments later, the 34-year-old’s powerful attempt was straight down the throat of Foley and well held. Keen to capitalise on the momentum, Young caught a tiring Vose in possession before dribbling at Carshalton’s goal and passing to Ebuzoeme in the centre, who had his effort well blocked.
With Vose tiring, the veteran midfielder made way for new signing Tom Jackson for his league debut, and Goather-Braithwaite was replaced by Steve Gody after he carried a significant amount of offensive threat in his cameo against AFC Wimbledon.
On the hour mark, the tables had turned, and it was the hosts who were creating wave after wave of attacks. A well-worked Young corner almost broke the deadlock when the ball was whipped into the box, allowed to bounce and ensued a pinball-like scramble before Ojeman rose and had his header deflected. Immediately after, Kouassi dragged a shot wide from outside the penalty area.
As the half progressed, Carshalton demonstrated their defensive resolve, soaking up the pressure and ready for the counter-attack, but chances were few and far between. Despite being penned back, it gave rise to the fantastic physical battle Hamstead and Atewologun were having with Smith, matching the big man.
There was a brief pause to the match after Ojeman required treatment, it presented the ideal opportunity to get some water on board, receive instructions from Adeniyi, and reset. The break seemingly reignited a bit more of a willingness to attack from the Robins. So much so that a successful high press forced centre-back Ian Gayle into a sloppy mistake following a stray pass to Jackson in the box, which frustratingly came to nothing. Ifeanyi then had the Red’s best sight at goal up to that point in the second half, except it was that – a sighter.
Following a Bradford corner, the breakaway was on for Folkestone with Tom Derry carrying the ball at pace; however, Sankoh reminded us that he is a defender and one v one did well to force the error and halt the counter.
Having run himself into the ground, Stagg was brought off for Robins No.9 Andy Somo, who looked to pose a different kind of challenge. Along with that, the defensively-minded Paris Hamilton-Downes was substituted on for Bradford in a bid to bolster the midfield.
In the closing stages, Saraiva, despite an immense defensive display, kept contributing in attack and had an effort on the turn blocked. Carshalton had settled for a hard-fought draw against tough opposition, but there were reminders for the visitors that the game was not over, particularly when Derry received a caution for a reckless tackle on Hamstead.
In the dying embers of the match, Kouassi was at it again, going between Saraiva and Luke Read to find Josh Chambers. The 20-year-old cut back to Young, who had his side-footed strike blocked before Rance followed it up and unleashed a venomous shot to bring about a good save from Foley down to his right.
Carshalton had a penalty appeal when it seemed as though Ifeanyi was caught by Gayle in the last minute of normal time, it proved a false dawn and was waved away pretty quickly by the referee. Seven minutes of added time were signalled and Saraiva flicked on a Jackson corner, but to no avail.
Folkestone full-backs Frankie Morgan and Hoyte returned to subjecting the Robins to a barrage of crosses that were dealt with comfortably by the defence and Derry had a diving header that went well wide of the post. Pushing for the winner, Hamilton-Downes tried to slip through Somo, but the pass was intercepted.
The referee blew his whistle, and the match finished level.
A quintessential game of two halves, Adeniyi will be very pleased with the first-half performance; however, he will have identified improvements following a disappointing second 45. For players and staff, the result felt like a defeat after such an impressive start, but, nonetheless, it is a point away to tough opponents, who are expected to be in contention for promotion.
Carshalton Athletic: 1 Mackenzie Foley, 15 Luke Read, 4 Oliver Hamstead, 6 Oluwafikayo Atewologun, 18 Abdul Sankoh, 8 Dominic Vose, 20 Fabio Camacho-Saraiva, 10 Tommy Bradford.12 Darnell Goather-Braithwaite, 7 Sharon Ifeanyi, 19 Thomas Stagg, 3 Paris Hamilton-Downes, 11 Steve Gody, 14 Thomas Jackson, 9 Andy Kabujko Somo, 2 Charlie Kennett
Folkestone: 1 Jonathan Henly, 2 Gavin Hoyte, 3 Jamie Mascoll, 4 Ian Gayle, 5 Peter Ojemen, 6 Dean Rance, 7 Ellis Brown, 8 Ezechukwu Ebuzoeme II, 9 Daniel Smith, 10 Matthew Young, 11 Abouhadje Evans Kouassi, 12 Chris Sessegnon, 14 Marvel Ekpiteta, 15 Frankie Morgan, 16Joshua Chambers,
17 Thomas Derry
Goals: Vose 5, Kouassi 15
Up Next
The Robins have just a days rest before their Monday night fixture against Wingate and Finchley FC, who ran out 3-2 winners versus Dulwich Hamlet this afternoon.
Date: 12/08/2024
Ko: 19.45
Venue: Colston Avenue
Admission (online prices):
Adults: £11, Seniors (over65) £8, Children: £5
Tickets are available online here
