CAFC Women vs Sutton United Reserves – Preview
Carshalton Athletic Women travel to Collingwood Recreation Ground to take on neighbours Sutton United Reserves in their rescheduled Surrey Premier Division tie on Sunday.
Robins Review
Heading into their penultimate league fixture of the 2024–25 campaign, Aaron Lamont’s Robins sit at the summit of the table. But their position is somewhat precarious. With 34 points from 14 matches, they lead the standings—at least for now. Hot on their heels are Farnham Town, just one point behind on 33, but crucially holding three games in hand after winning all 11 of their fixtures so far.
Over the weekend, Lamont’s side faced Step 5 outfit Wycombe Wanderers in a friendly. While the hosts fielded a youthful, heavily rotated team, it still proved a valuable test for the Reds. Despite a 2–1 defeat, the ladies delivered an impressive overall performance and were unlucky not to come away with at least a draw.
Sutton United Reserves
Sutton United Reserves currently sit fifth in the Surrey Premier Division, with 15 points from 12 matches in the 2024-25 season.
The campaign began on a relatively positive note for the U’s. A hard-fought 2-2 draw against Dorking was followed by a comfortable 3-1 win over Old Tiffinians. However, momentum stalled shortly after, with consecutive league defeats to promotion-chasing Leatherhead Youth (3-0) and league leaders Farnham Town (4-0).
Sutton bounced back the following week with a 2-1 victory over Epsom & Ewell, sparking a four-game unbeaten run. This included a dominant 7-0 thrashing of Old Tiffinians, another 2-2 draw with Dorking, a narrow 3-2 win over Croydon, and a 2-0 triumph over Whyteleafe in the first round of the Capital Intermediate Cup (CIC).
That streak came to an end in late November, when Lamont’s Robins side ran out 3-0 winners—goals from Sarah Chapman, Heather Eade, and Honey Dulley doing the damage. The U’s didn’t play again for over a month, and their final match of the year ended in a heavy 7-0 defeat to Leatherhead Youth in the Surrey Divisional Cup, knocking them out of the competition. Their scheduled CIC fixture against Ashford Town was later declared an “Away Walkover.”
Sutton returned to competitive action in mid-February but suffered a 3-0 defeat to Farnham Town in the CIC. That was followed by a 2-2 draw with Croydon and back-to-back league defeats to Beecholme Belles and Leatherhead Youth. Their most recent outing came on March 23rd—another loss to the Tanners. Sutton have not won a match since their 3-2 victory over Croydon at the start of November.
Last season, the U’s secured a mid-table finish in the seventh tier of the Women’s Football Pyramid, level on points with Beecholme Belles (21). In 2022-23, they had a much stronger campaign, finishing as runners-up and narrowly missing out on promotion to the sixth tier, edged out by Ashmount Leigh.
The end of the last campaign also brought changes off the pitch. Reserve team manager Courtney Bartlett departed, with Ian Bowerman and Ben White taking over as joint managers. Additionally, following internal discussions, the club decided to restructure their development pathway. Rather than feeding directly into the reserve side, the junior girls’ section has now entered a team into the Junior Premier League to aid their progression.
Likely line-ups
Carshalton Athletic
Solly, Nebbitt, Measures, Riley, E. Andrade, Edwards, Throp, Alderman, Eade, Chapman, M. Andrade
Sutton United Reserves
Anderson, Barry, Byfield-arscott, De Ascensao, Duncan-Pond, Lindsay, Marlow, Palmer-Lockhart, Parker, Quaintance, Rowen
Team news
Carshalton Athletic
Last weekend’s match against higher-tier Wycombe Wanderers saw heavy rotation. Kanita Throp and Abbey Measures were rested, while Anna Tilley and Honey Dully made rare starts. Academy players Ray and Scarlett also earned spots on the bench.
Sutton United Reserves
Midfielder Chelsea Lindsay and forward Leanne Rowen have recently broken into the U’s starting XI, displacing Madeline Heavingham Ford and Amy Wright. Whether the duo can hold onto their spots remains to be seen.
Pre-Match Analysis
Sutton have found goals hard to come by in the 2024-25 campaign, scoring just 22 times so far. Only Beecholme Belles (20), Epsom (15), and bottom-placed Old Tiffinians Women (9) have managed fewer. That said, the U’s have shown resilience at the back, conceding just 24 goals—fewer than Dorking Wanderers Development (30) and level with third-placed Leatherhead Youth (26).
Key Player
Forward Amy Wright and Jayda Palmer-Lockhart are the U’s key players. Wright and Palmer-Lockhart both top the goalscoring charts for Sutton with six goals to their names in the 2024-25 campaign so far.
Gaffer
Last May’s League Cup final saw the U’s bid farewell to long-serving Reserve Team Manager Courtney Bartlett as joint managers Ben White and Ian Bowerman took the reins. White was previously a London Development Coach for Chelsea FC Foundation as well as a youth coach at Balham FC and FC Morden.
Match Details
Date: Sunday, April 27, 2025
Venue: Collingwood Recreation Ground
Kick-Off: 14:00
Admission: Free
