For all our possession and pressure on the Worthing goal throughout, it was a speculative shot from distance in the second-half that won it for the visitors.
Manager Stuart Massey brought a fit again Ricardo Panton back into the starting line-up and a returning Nicky Greene came in place of Robert Carrick who dropped to the bench.
Greene had a 25 yard free kick blocked by the wall on five minutes and he floated in another shortly after which Jason Henry headed straight at goalkeeper Jack Fagan.
At the other end and captain Tony Sinclair did well to stop Worthing forward Trevor McCreadie getting a shot off on goal, while his striking partner Omar Bugiel fizzed one wide on 17 minutes.
The big centre back got 35 yards from goal and put over an absolute peach of a cross which Paul Scott chested down from behind his marker, but Fagan bravely rushed out to block his firm shot away.
Henry read a long clearance out from his defence on 38 minutes but was forced wide of the box. He held it up and eventually got in a cross which just eluded Tommy Bradford and was crashed over the bar by the incoming Panton.
Arguably the highlight of the match came three minutes later and would have been an early contender for goal of the season.
As worthing broke from our corner, Alexander chased back and pulled out a perfect slide tackle on the opponent with the ball. In one movement he took the ball and turned to face goal from 30 yards, before jinking past a reciprocal challenge. He then opened his body up before curling a right-footed shot towards the far corner which was dipping in until Fagan managed to claw it away at the last second at full stretch.
HALF-TIME: 0 – 0
We came out of the blocks flying after the break and really put the visitors on the back foot. Greene and Alexander were pulling the strings in midfield while O’Toole put in two dangerous crosses that Worthing needed to deal with.
At the back our defenders were comfortably dealing with the opposition's long clearances and tepid forward runs, but we were failing to convert our attacks into goals - a one-two between Paris Hamilton-Downes and O'Toole led to an on-target shot by the defender being blocked by a defender on 63 minutes.
Both sides made substitutions as the game moved into the last quarter and Hamilton-Downes thrashed a dropping ball first time wide as Worthing failed to properly clear a cross.
Worthing, perhaps for only the third time in the half, managed to get within 30 yards of Jack Eden's goal on 74 minutes and they struck. Panton's defensive header dropped to sub Curtis Gayler and he hit an absolute howitzer from distance which rattled past everyone and bulged the back of the net.
It was heartbreaking for all connected with The Robins but certainly not a scenario unheard of in football.
We went back on the attack but couldn't force an equaliser. The best opportunities came when Scott had a turn and shot blocked away from 10 yards and Hamilton-Downes ballooned a first-time shot over the bar as he contested a poor defensive Worthing header in their area.
Next up: Carshalton travel to Walton Casuals on Saturday 23rd August before welcoming Tooting and Mitcham United to Colston Avenue on Monday 25th August. We then head out to play Mole Valley SCR in an FA Cup 1st preliminary round tie.
Carshalton Athletic: Eden; Panton, Campbell, Sinclair (c), Hamilton-Downes, O'Toole (Moraes - 63); Greene, Alexander, Bradford (Dukali - 77); Scott, Henry (Miller - 69)
Unused subs: Higgs, Carrick
Worthing: Fagan, Piper, Hendon, Heath, Hurley (c), Nicholls, Berry, Haywood (Dawes - 90), McCreadie (Pope - 87), Bugiel, Laing (Gayler - 66)
Unused subs: Killner, Davis
Goal: Gayler (74)
For all of the details about Carshalton Athletic go to http://www.pitchero.com/clubs/carshaltonafc/