Robins Draw With Folkestone -

Robins Draw With Folkestone

Carshalton put in an impressive performance against league leaders Folkestone, with the game ending goalless at Colston Avenue.

Following last weekend’s defeat against Chichester City, manager Peter Adeniyi made three changes to his starting line-up. Noah Nzuzi missed out, while Matias Bakare and Bryan Ifeanyi dropped to the bench. Laurence Ernest and Mason Saunders-Henry returned to the starting XI, and Adeniyi handed a debut to Eddie Oppong, a new signing from Kettering Town. There was also a place on the bench for another new signing, defender Ben Mundele, who most recently played for Ramsgate.

The game got underway on a cold afternoon at Colston Avenue, with a crowd of 625 in attendance – Carshalton’s second-largest home crowd of the season, and a great turnout for such an important game. The opening stages were relatively even, with Carshalton putting together some good passing moves when in possession. Oppong made a positive impression on his debut, making good inroads down the wing. For the visitors, captain Kevin Lokko was imperious at centre-back, making things difficult for Carshalton.

On 28 minutes, Folkestone had a chance of note when Jake Hutchinson flashed a shot across goal. The effort was well wide, but had it been on target it would have been difficult for Kerbey, given the power Hutchinson generated. A minute later, Salami found himself in a good position and poked an effort towards goal,

but it was held easily by Collins. Salami had options and could have found Saunders-Henry, but the forward has been in good form recently and could have netted his 10th league goal of the season had he struck the effort with more power.

Referee Harry Wood called time on the first half, and the Robins would have been pleased with their performance, keeping things relatively tight at the back, especially against a side sitting 11 points clear at the top of the table. Folkestone would have been relatively satisfied too, having lost their previous two games and missing key players, including top scorer Joe Pigott.

The second half got underway with Folkestone creating the first chance. The visitors won a corner from the left-hand side, which Carshalton initially dealt with, but the ball was headed out to Adam Lovatt, who fired over the bar.

Oppong continued to look dangerous and, on 50 minutes, drove through the middle before playing a reverse pass to Kola Salami, who carried the ball into the box. The Robins forward was left with a tight angle,

but it still required a smart save from Ted Collins, who blocked the effort with his feet, sending the ball out for a corner.

Carshalton were moving the ball well and nearly took the lead on 53 minutes. A slick passing move ended with the ball at the feet of Saunders-Henry. He cut inside onto his right foot and curled an effort from outside the box towards goal. The strike looked destined for the top corner, but Collins produced a brilliant save to tip the ball away and keep the scores level.

Folkestone then had two chances of their own. A clever pass found Ryan Kingsford in a promising position to score, or at least test Matt Kerbey. Kingsford looked to shoot, but Kerbey rushed out to close the angle before Luke Read recovered in time to slide in with a crucial block, conceding a corner. From the resulting set-piece, Folkestone went close again, with a header flashing just over the bar.

Carshalton continued to search for an opening. Stanislaw Rzeznik, in his second game back after injury, had a half-chance when the ball fell to him outside the box, but it bounced awkwardly and his shot sailed well over the crossbar. Oppong then got involved once more, making a mazy run before driving a powerful, low effort across goal that went just wide of Collins’ far post.

Folkestone then had three further chances. The visitors looked dangerous from corners throughout the game, using their height and physicality to good effect. On this occasion, the ball was delivered to Sam German at the far post, but his header went over the crossbar. Folkestone then had their best chance of the match on 80 minutes, when substitute Jonathan Lawson latched onto a through ball and went one-on-one with Kerbey. Lawson waited slightly too long to get his shot away, allowing Kerbey to rush out and slide in to push the ball clear. Just a minute later, Kingsford tried his luck from outside the box, but his effort lacked power and Kerbey saved comfortably.

Deep into stoppage time, Carshalton nearly secured all three points. After another well-worked passing move, Ifeanyi found space in the box and attempted to curl an effort into the far corner, but Collins dived to his left to tip the ball away. The ball was then recycled, with Tolu Ladapo crossing back into the area

to find Salami, but the forward could not make clean contact with his header, allowing Collins to save with relative ease.

The referee blew for full time, with both sides settling for a point. Manager Peter Adeniyi will have been pleased with his side’s performance, particularly against the league leaders. Carshalton will now hope to build on this result as they prepare for Monday’s important league fixture against Cheshunt at Colston Avenue.