Not many sides in the history of football in any division anywhere worldwide have achieved what Carshalton have done since December 2017. From 33 points they have gained 31 and are unbeaten on this phenomenal run that saw them get promoted to the Bostik Premier league. Not that Carshalton made it easy on themselves. The scoreline will show a 4-3 victory in front of a seasons best crowd of just under 600.
Before the game whatever happened in games elsewhere all Carshalton had to do was to win the game. A simple equation. Â Starting the game however was the first obstacle as the referee was delayed on a flight back from Albania, that gave Carshalton the advantage of knowing their opponents results essentially at half time. In reality Whyteleafe gave them a tough game and were physical, maybe overly so , opponents that never actually lost the game until the 95th minute. On a hot afternoon physical fitness was going to be important and Carshalton certainly had the superiority on Whyteleafe on that.
Charlie Pattison caused problems all game on the right wing with his running and crossing
The Whyteleafe goal led a charmed life at times
The game however took a circuitous route with Whyteleafe taking the lead and Carshalton missing a penalty, then after making it 1-1, allowed Whyteleafe to score twice in minutes, making it 1-3 before staging a comeback to win the game 4-3 with the last meaningful kick of the game.
Tommy Bradford wins the game in the 95th minute
There are plenty of other detailed reports but from my perspective Carshalton played great football with measured passing, sometimes of a far higher standard. Finishing was superb, and with a little more luck could have won this game 7-3.
The end product was promotion and to the 600 crowd thats all that mattered.
A cold afternoon that ended up little over freezing at the end saw an interesting and entertaining game which either side could have won. Carshalton missed a few good chances and also contrived to miss two penalties rather badly. Good value as always for £9.It is always easy being a football critic of course but the difference between the two sides and maybe the chance of Carshalton reaching the play offs, is taking your chances and taking them at the right time. Carshalton played the better football but the scoreline mandates that Chipstead played the more effective football and certainly looked better than a team that was 20 points below Carshalton.
Godalming were doomed from the first 5 minutes when they were 3-0 down and it was always how many goals were Carshalton going to score. In truth the teams were classes apart. Not many teams could have lived with the free flowing football and the movement displayed last night. The finishing was sublime. There will be far better match reports than this but this was a game to really enjoy and wonder how far this team can go.
Clearly 10-0 victory says it all really. No sendings off, no goalkeeper injuries, just ten good goals. to their credit Godalming kept going till the end and a few minutes before the end looked certain to score but even then the Carshalton defence were battling away to keep a clean sheet and cleared the ball off the line.
The fans enjoyed this game however the Godalming manager looked downcast all game and resigned this morning.
Andy Hunt. Godalming manager looks on in dismay.Â
This maybe sums up Godalming’s night. Two of their own players crash into each other and neither get anywhere near the ball.Â
Somehow Ricky Korboa managed to score a superb goal from this rather unusual angle
This time a Tommy Bradford goal
Yet another goal
The preliminary and qualifying rounds of  the FA cup often produce a few surprises and with financial rewards around £2000 for winning, teams have more than a vested interest.  On a damp and occasionally rainy evening Worthing ran out clear winners over Carshalton, however the scoreline fails to reflect a fascinating game that surely Carshalton will learn from.
Some spectators decided that an umbrella was the best option even sitting in the main stand.
Carshalton took an early 2-0 lead and looked the better footballing side but a scrappy Worthing goal minutes before half time put them back in the game.
The first Carshalton goal
The second half was one way traffic not helped with the sending off of their captain Jahmahl King  for two probably unnecessary  yellow cards. This led to a non-stop attack on the Carshalton goal and Alex Kozakis had this view for most of the second half.
 The crowd of 286 saw a good game with a scoreline not really a fair one. Although Carshalton played good football their heads went down particualrly after the sending off of their captain and towards the end were playing the ball around at the back as a form of damage limitation.
Heads dropped a little
Both goalkeepers had work to do through the game and the score does not also refelct that they had decent games.
Worthing score in the second half
Worthing score again
Peter Adeniyi will feel a little unlucky overall however with some defensive strengthening this will become a very good side indeed.
A reasonably entertaining game but one which the hosts won too easily and the result was never in doubt.