A goal in the last 10 minutes meant Carshalton Atheletic grabbed three valuable away points and stretched their unbeaten run to seven games, writes James Barrett.
Team news: Bobby Price and Sekou Kaba came back in for Rio Davidson-Phipps and Ryan Healy.
We arrived at Southwood Stadium with last year’s 7-1 drubbing in the back of our mind, but this time we more than held our own, with Mickel Miller striking our host’s crossbar with a wicked left-footed strike on 26 minutes.
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But we took the lead as we broke from inside our own box on 29 minutes and, via Bobby Price, Omar Folkes, Tommy Bradford and Ryan Gondoh, Miller found himself cutting inside Jake McKenzie before teeing up Bradford whom saw his 29th of the season rattle in off the underside of the crossbar.
We then won a free-kick for a late lunge on Folkes 20 yards from goal but the wall blocked Bradford’s attempt on goal.
Folkes was taken down again on 39 minutes and McKenzie was shown the first of what turned out to be two yellow cards.
HALF-TIME: 0 – 1
It was a quiet opening 15 minutes in the second-half – aside from a clash of heads between Bradford and Gray which required both men to receive treatment – but our hosts managed to level things up on 66 minutes as striker Danny Lawrence slid in unmarked to turn in a low cross at the back post.
We took a numerical advantage in terms of players just two minutes later however as McKenzie got tangled up with Gondoh, as our man made his way down the left wing, and the referee deemed it a bookable offence.
We had a glorious chance to re-take the lead on 71 minutes as Kalvin Morath-Gibbs’ excellent tackle in our half eventually, via Folkes, Jordan Hibbert and Peter Adeniyi, saw Gondoh beat his man on the left. His cross was met by Bradford but he steered his header off target from close range.
But we did re-take the lead on 81 minutes as Watkins did well to parry Paris Hamilton-Downes’ flick on a Hibbert free kick, but Kaba stabbed home his second of the season and that was enough to seal victory.
