Robins Defeated At Chichester -

Robins Defeated At Chichester

Carshalton suffered a narrow 2–1 defeat to Chichester City at Oaklands Park on Saturday.

For Carshalton’s first game of 2026, Peter Adeniyi made two changes to the side that drew with Dulwich Hamlet. Sanchez Ming replaced Lucas Dyer at left-back, while Laurence Ernest was unavailable, prompting Luke Read to move back into central defence. Stanislaw Rzeznik made his first appearance since picking up an injury against Dartford in August, starting on the right wing.

The hosts got the game underway on a cold afternoon in West Sussex, but it was the Robins who started the brighter of the two sides. After just two minutes, Sanchez Ming played a fine ball over the top to pick out Kola Salami, who went one-on-one with Magee. Salami’s powerful effort was saved into the air by the goalkeeper, who needed a second touch to push the ball over the bar for a corner.

Carshalton continued to push for the opener. A slick passing move found Ifeanyi on the left-hand side, and he whipped a dangerous ball into the box, picking out Nzuzi. However, the midfielder was unable to direct his first-time effort on target, with the ball drifting just wide of the post.

The Robins remained on top and won a corner on 14 minutes. The initial delivery was cleared, but the ball fell kindly to Matias Bakare on the edge of the box. He fired a powerful first-time effort towards goal, which flew just over the crossbar.

Carshalton made their pressure count on 21 minutes by opening the scoring. Another neat passing move saw the ball worked into Salami in a central position, and he threaded a perfectly weighted pass through to Nzuzi, who calmly slotted the ball past Magee to give the Robins a deserved lead.

Chichester began to grow into the game following the opener. On 28 minutes, the hosts nearly equalised when Kerbey was caught in possession, allowing Chichester to steal the ball, but the Carshalton goalkeeper recovered well to block the resulting shot. Minutes later, Ming brought down a Chichester winger in a dangerous area and was shown a yellow card. The resulting free-kick delivery was dangerous, but the hosts were unable to divert the ball past Kerbey, with the effort drifting just wide of the post. Reading loanee Miles Obodo then threatened for the hosts, driving forward into space before firing over the bar.

Despite Chichester’s growing pressure, the Robins continued to get forward. Tommy Bradford delivered a corner from the right-hand side, finding Nzuzi, but his looping header failed to trouble Magee, who claimed comfortably.

The hosts had the final chance of the half, but Kerbey did well to tip Lloyd Rowlatt’s effort away.

Referee Josh Osofa brought the first half to a close with Carshalton holding a 1–0 lead. Manager Peter Adeniyi would have been pleased with his side’s performance, as the Robins created numerous chances while remaining relatively solid defensively. He opted to make no changes at the break as the second half got underway.

The second half began at a similar intensity, though neither side created a clear-cut opportunity in the opening stages. However, the hosts eventually found an equaliser on 65 minutes. Some loose defending allowed Chichester to work the ball into a central area, where Joseph Moore collected possession, composed himself, and curled a fine effort into the bottom corner to make it 1–1.

The equaliser seemed to spark Carshalton into life. From the restart, a low ball from the left found Salami free in the box, and he tapped home, but the linesman’s flag was raised for offside. Tolu Ladapo was introduced midway through the half, replacing Rzeznik, and he almost made an immediate impact, curling an effort from 18 yards towards goal, only for Magee to save well.

Chichester then introduced last season’s Isthmian Premier Division Golden Boot winner, Jimmy Wild, making his first appearance of the season after recovering from an MCL injury. The striker looked sharp on his return and posed a threat for the hosts. On 75 minutes, Chichester took the lead. The ball was fed into Joseph Moore, whose curled effort beat Kerbey and found the bottom corner. There was momentary confusion as the ball finished outside the goal, but it had passed through a hole in the net after crossing the line, and the goal was correctly awarded. The hosts looked to press their advantage, with Emmett Dunn curling a low effort towards goal, but Kerbey reacted well to make the save.

Carshalton responded by making two substitutions, introducing Saunders-Henry and Robins debutant Dwayne Campina Do Vale. On 81 minutes, the Robins nearly found an equaliser when Salami was played through on goal, but Magee rushed out to narrow the angle and made a strong save to push the ball away.

As the match entered stoppage time, Carshalton threw everything forward in search of a late equaliser. A promising move ended with substitute Saunders-Henry firing a shot from just outside the box, but Magee was well positioned to gather comfortably. In the final seconds, the Robins attacked down the left, and the ball was cut back to Sanchez Ming on the edge of the area, whose effort flew just over the crossbar. The referee blew for full time shortly after.

It was a frustrating result for the Robins, who left Oaklands Park empty-handed despite leading at half-time. Carshalton remain 17th in the table following the defeat,