Robins Lose At Dulwich -

Robins Lose At Dulwich

Carshalton Athletic’s five-game unbeaten run came to an end with a narrow 2–1 defeat at Dulwich Hamlet.

Manager Steven Bates made four changes to the side that drew 2–2 with Dartford on Saturday. Kola Salami made his first start since returning from injury, while Leo Young and Ben Mundele also came back into the starting XI. Bates handed a debut to centre-back Moussa Diarra, who recently joined the club on a dual registration from his former side, Wealdstone. Nathan Young-Coombes, Eddie Allsopp and Denzel Akyeampong dropped to the bench, while Laurence Ernest missed out entirely.

The game got underway at Champion Hill, and it couldn’t have started worse for the Robins. Within the first minute, Nyren Clunis picked up the ball in midfield and drove confidently into space. He then slid a pass through to former Robin David Smith, who calmly slotted past Graczyk into the corner to make it 1–0.

It was a disastrous start, but Carshalton looked to respond. Eight minutes in, Tolu Ladapo found space and hit a low, driven effort at goal, but Toby Bull got down well to push it away.

The Robins went close again moments later when Luke Read curled an effort from just outside the box, but it drifted just over the crossbar.

On 14 minutes, Dulwich had a penalty appeal when David Smith went down in the area, but the referee waved it away. Carshalton quickly broke upfield, with Kola Salami driving down the left and cutting inside onto his right foot. He struck low, but Bull again reacted well, saving with his feet.

Dulwich doubled their lead on 25 minutes. David Smith capitalised on a bouncing ball and nudged it across to Anthony Jeffrey, who brought it down before firing into the bottom corner to make it 2–0.

After the second goal, the game settled into a quieter spell, with Hamlet in control. The half-time whistle blew with the hosts leading 2–0. Steven Bates knew his side needed a different approach and made a triple substitution at the break, introducing Nathan Young-Coombes, Eddie Allsopp and Denzel Akyeampong in place of Moussa Diarra, Ryan Huke and Kola Salami.

Dulwich created the first chance of the second half, as Nyren Clunis won the ball high up the pitch and drove into the box, but his low effort was comfortably saved by Graczyk. Bates then made his fourth change on 51 minutes, bringing on captain Tommy Bradford for Renedi Masampu.

The substitutions nearly had an immediate impact. Nathan Young-Coombes found himself through on goal and opened his body to place his shot into the corner, but Bull produced an excellent save with an outstretched boot.

Young-Coombes made amends on 59 minutes, halving the deficit for the Robins. The former Brentford striker cut inside and struck a right-footed effort that clipped the inside of the post and went in, leaving Bull with no chance and giving Carshalton hope at 2–1.

The Robins were buoyed by the goal, but moments later Steven Bates was sent off after receiving two yellow cards in quick succession for dissent. Carshalton had another opportunity on 66 minutes when Allsopp delivered a cross to Young-Coombes, but his glancing header went wide.

Dulwich nearly restored their two-goal advantage on 74 minutes. Sol Baugh intercepted the ball on the right before exchanging a neat one-two with Lonit Talla. Baugh struck a powerful effort that Graczyk parried into Talla’s path, but the Dulwich number 20 was denied by a superb second save, as the Robins’ goalkeeper produced an excellent double stop.

Time was running out for Carshalton, who won a free kick just outside the box on 88 minutes. Eddie Allsopp stepped up, but his curling effort was straight at Toby Bull, who gathered comfortably. Six minutes of stoppage time were added, and two minutes into it Luke Wanadio dragged a shot wide for the hosts.

The Robins pushed forward in search of an equaliser but were unable to find one, as the referee blew for full time with Dulwich securing a 2–1 victory.

The result moved Dulwich up two places to ninth, while Carshalton remain 17th. Other results went in Carshalton’s favour, with all the teams below them losing. They stay two points clear of Welling United and Hashtag United, and three ahead of Cray Valley PM.

Speaking on X, Steven Bates said: “Our fans were brilliant today, but unfortunately we didn’t have enough in the tank and started poorly. Apologies to all the Carshalton supporters for giving the official a reason to remove me from the dugout, which didn’t help. On to the next one where we go again.”

First Team Coach Kieron Jackson added: “Tough one to take. The supporters were amazing once again, and we couldn’t match it on the pitch. Focus is now on Saturday at Colston Avenue!”