SAL Division 2 – 8th October 2005

This first ever league meeting of these clubs at reserve team level was eventually won by the more experienced Old Wilsonians outfit who took the points courtesy of two second half goals and despite a brave display from a young Carshalton side that had for over an hour looked likely to gain what would have been a deserved share of the spoils.

It was Cars who looked much the livelier of the sides in the opening exchanges but without it has to be said ever really threatening their opponent’s goal.  However, on 25 minutes Gary Cummings went close to opening the scoring for Cars when he met Steve Powell’s deep cross to the far post. Unfortunately, Cummings who was today, due to the absence of regular striker Shane Bowes, playing up front, could only stand, hands on hips and staring in disbelief as his header sailed up and over the crossbar.  Moments later, Ross Sinclair in the Cars goal had to be at his bravest to deny the Wilsonians’ centre-forward as the pair of them challenged for a high ball, which had been punted into the six-yard box from way out on the left touchline.  Then, in the 31^st minute Wilsonians’ keeper and former Cars favourite Steve Donnelly produced the first of two great first half saves when he acrobatically tipped over a header that looked destined to creep under the bar – Alex Corner the unlucky Cars player who must surely have thought he’d opened the scoring.  Donnelly’s second stop came four minutes before the break when he had to dive at full stretch along his six-yard line to parry a shot from Paul Pearce as the striker latched onto Corner’s magnificent through ball.  Apart from a very speculative long-range effort from a Wilsonians midfield player, which flew both high and wide, there were no further chances before the break and so the teams went in with the game goalless and with everything to play for in the second half.

Just five minutes after the restart MOM Corner should have broken the deadlock when he got on the end of Billy Andrews deep diagonal cross from the right.  The lively Cars midfielders’ effort though, despite beating Donnelly, climbed agonizingly over the angle of post and bar.  This was followed by an Andy Clower effort that went narrowly wide of the near post – the Cars player turning well in the box to get away his shot from 10-yards.  The visitors soon hit back, enjoying a spell of pressure in and around the Cars 18-yard box that finished with their front man getting away a long range drive that Sinclair had to watch all the way before making a routine stop.  With twenty minutes of the contest remaining a Wilsonians’ corner kick on the right was seemingly defended by the home side.  However, the ball broke kindly for the visitors and was quickly played back to the taker of the corner kick who had the time, room and the vision to pick out a colleague at the far post, giving him the simplest of headers to open the scoring and break the deadlock.  Almost immediately Cars hit back and created a half chance for Pearce that Wilsonians were happy to see go out for a corner.  Wilsonians settled the result in the 75^th minute when they caught Cars pushing forward in search of an equaliser, exploiting a huge gap between the centre-backs, which enabled their striker to race in on goal where he scored with a superb left foot strike that beat Sinclair at the far post.  Although they enjoyed much of the possession in the closing stages Cars were unable to get back into the game and therefore had failed to score for only the third time in thirty-five matches.

Beddington Hotspur