A miserable afternoon was compounded by the abandonment of our game at Faversham Town, writes James Barrett.
The game, being played on a terrible surface, was just over half hour in when a terrible challenge on Jerome Walker left our man with a suspected broken leg. It took 45 minutes to take him off the pitch and away to hospital as the referee decided to abandon the fixture.
Team news: Walker was back in the squad for the first time since recovering from a more minor injury, while Bobby Price, Tommy Bradford and Adriano Moraes came in for Raphique Howell, Matt Males and Austin Gacheru.
Playable
The field of play was in a bad way but deemed playable by the referee and we created the first real chance of the game after four minutes.
A Moraes clearance was picked up by Brendan Murphy-McVey who drove forward before laying the ball off into the path of Sean O’Toole. His first cross was blocked but the second was palmed away by keeper Robert French, only for Jordan Clarke to thrash a shot over the bar from 15 yards with his unfavoured left foot.
The conditions were blustery and wet too and the wind caught a Josh Stanford cross on 10 minutes meaning Moraes’ attempted header didn’t connect. Dean Grant took the loose ball, evaded a sliding Tony Sinclair challenge and tucked the ball past Jack Eden to give our hosts the lead.
Too high
We made some good progress down our right three minutes later and Bradford ran from deep to latch onto an inswinging Murphy-McVey cross. He knocked it first time across goal but it was just too high for his incoming team-mates.
The players were being cautious on the wet, sticky surface and the wind made defenders hesitant on high balls but we kept our composure to stay in the game and not allow the early setback overawe us.
Murphy-McVey and Clarke combined on 26 minutes to get Walker free on the right. Bradford ran in onto the low cross and seemed to be clumsily tackled from behind by Charley Robertson but the referee said no penalty.
Ricardo Panton almost hit an equaliser a minute later as he hit an inswinging cross/shot from 18 yards but it went just the wrong side of the far post with French sprawling.
Walker led a counter attack on 32 minutes and was brutually scythed down by Matt Bourne in the centre circle. The referee waved play on despite a sickening crack sounding around the ground because Clarke took the ball towards goal, but the chance fizzled out.
Walker was left prone on the ground for several minutes as Warren Filmer and his Town counterpart tended to our man but a stretcher was soon called for and all the other players were made to go back to their dressing rooms, Bourne receiving a red card in the process.
Sinclair also didn’t leave his team-mate’s side throughout but Walker couldn’t be moved – an ambulance arrived 45 minutes after the initial incident and the referee announced the abandonment, as several of our players and management team seemed uncertain about having to continue playing in such poor conditions.
Next up: We travel to Redhill on Saturday 7th March before welcoming Hastings United on Saturday 14th March. We then head to Corinthian Casuals on Tuesday 17th March.
Carshalton Athletic: Eden; Price, Sinclair (c), Moraes, Panton; Clarke, Higgs, Bradford, O’Toole; Walker, Murphy-McVey
Subs: Gacheru, Males, Miller, Adusei
Faversham Town: French, Sherlock, Maxted, Wilson (c), Bourne, Brown, Robertson, Monger, Harris, Grant, Stanford
Subs: Scarborough, Sullivan, Oliver, Tenyue
Goal: Grant (10)
Red card: Bourne (35)
For further information on the club go to : www.pitchero.com/clubs/carshaltonafc