Recap

Carshalton Athletic 2-1 AFC Croydon Athletic – Croydon Athletic Exit Velocity Cup in Dramatic Fashion After Late Carshalton Winner

Croydon Athletic’s hopes of a cup run were dashed in agonising fashion on Tuesday evening as a late goal handed Carshalton Athletic a 2-1 victory in their Velocity Cup encounter. Despite a strong performance from the visitors, who dominated large spells of the game, a late red card and an injury-time goal ultimately saw them crash out of the competition.

Croydon handed debuts to new signings Figueira and Dreher, while captain Pierrick was rested for the evening. The first chance of the match fell to Shokunbi, but his curling effort from the edge of the area sailed wide of the target. Moments later, a disallowed goal saw Figueira dispossess a defender and set up Shokunbi, who calmly slid the ball under the keeper, only for the linesman’s flag to deny them.

From the outset Croydon were the more threatening side; McCarthy’s header from a free-kick narrowly missed the target, before Omilabu forced a save from the Carshalton keeper with an effort from distance.

The breakthrough finally came in the 21st minute when Dotse stole the ball in the middle of the pitch, he worked the ball out wide to Omilabu, whose cut-back found Dreher in the box. The debutant made no mistake, sweeping the ball past the keeper to open his account for the club and give Croydon a deserved lead.

Minutes later, Croydon had another golden opportunity to double their advantage. Figueira’s lovely delivery from the left found Shokunbi in space, but the forward was unable to get his shot away cleanly, and his effort flew wide. Figueira continued to be a threat, cutting inside from the left and delivering a dangerous ball into Dotse, whose first-time shot was well blocked by a Carshalton defender.

Carshalton’s first real chance came midway through the half when a stunning dipping strike from range forced Tangara into a fine save. The Croydon keeper parried the ball away, and the ensuing counter-attack almost led to a second goal, but some solid defending by the home side saw the danger cleared and the ball sent out for a corner.

Against the run of play, Carshalton pulled level just before the break. A short corner routine caught the Croydon defence napping, and the ball fell to Goather-Braithwaite, who drilled it low and hard into the bottom corner to send the teams in level at half-time.

The second half saw Croydon come flying out of the blocks. Shokunbi forced a fine save from the Carshalton keeper with a powerful shot, and Omilabu couldn’t quite make the most of the rebound. Tangara’s loose clearance led to a brief moment of panic at the back as Carshalton found themselves with a two-on-one, but the Croydon keeper made up for his mistake with a brave challenge to avert the danger.

As the game wore on, both teams began to tire, but the match remained an exhilarating end-to-end contest. Carshalton came close to a second when a header from a corner flew agonisingly wide of Tangara’s goal, while Omilabu was denied a certain goal by some outstanding last-ditch defending. Substitute Collins was also kept out as the home side scrambled to clear a dangerous low cross.

In a cruel twist, Croydon’s hopes were dealt a blow in the 89th minute when Gnahore was shown a harsh second yellow card for a challenge. With the man advantage, Carshalton pressed hard in the dying moments of the game. In the fourth minute of added time, a free-kick into the box was not cleared, and the ball eventually fell to a Carshalton player, who bundled it over the line to secure a dramatic 2-1 win.

While Croydon Athletic will feel hard done by, having been the better side for large stretches of the match, they were ultimately undone by a more clinical Carshalton side. The defeat marks the end of Croydon’s Velocity Cup campaign, but with a performance full of promise, they will be hoping to bounce back in league action.