Carshalton Athletic 3 Lincoln City 1

18 Jan 2012

Carshalton Athletic 3 Lincoln City 1

Without doubt one of the best games I have seen this season. Not the most exciting nor skilful but the workrate and belief of the Carshalton players that they could beat Lincoln from the Conference was there from the start. Lets be frank, Lincoln were appalling. Little or no skill and little perhaps none desire to win the game. The Ryman Premier league table will tell you that Carshalton are not the best side, a sort of mid-table berth but with a few bad results of late. Yet watching them one would imagine that they were Blue Square south level. They battled, they defended well and in fact nick Hamann their keeper did not make a save all night. All their goals were good. Paul Vines must be man of the match as he scored all of them and the thrid goal was an exquisite finish from a one on one. I am not sure where David Holdsworth can go from here. His players are either very poor or very disinterested, and tonight a cocktail of both.

The crowd of 488 was good and about double the recent home gates. The away support from lincoln was quiet and would fill a small minibus. This however was Carshalton’s night and they fully deserved it. In the next round they are away to either Newport county or Worksop and i would not bet against them winning that too. Highlights of the game? Josh Gowlings hair, David Holdsworth expressions, the look of absolute horror on the faces of the Lincoln city directors sitting in the back of the small main stand. They must wonder what next. Maybe I can give them some advice. Find 11 players who want to play football, put in 90 minutes of effort and play for the club. This is one night I am glad to be a Brentford fan and not a Lincoln city fan.

One exception and that is Josh Gowling. One notices him by the hair. He came on as a late secons half substitute but put more work in in a few minutes than most team mates had all game. He also played with a smile on his face, and he apologised to the away fans gathering like a small pack of vultures near the tunnel at the end when the players departed.