Despite a poor showing in the second half where they can perhaps be forgiven for taking their foot off the pedal, Carshalton nevertheless recorded a comfortable victory at Beddington Park on Saturday over Amateur Combination League side Old Uffingtonians to ease their passage through to the next round of the AFA Intermediate Cup.

With manager Ian Lewis choosing this tie to shuffle his pack and take a good look at those players who have found themselves on the bench in recent weeks, the Cars starting line-up had a somewhat unfamiliar look about it, and this was probably the reason why it took the opening ten minutes or so for the team to gel. However, gel the team did, and with just 14 minutes gone Cars opened the scoring with an absolute peach of a goal – young midfielder Sam Johnson taking a through ball from Shane Bowes in his stride and with little or no back lift, hitting a 22-yard screamer low into the far corner. Moments later, only a fabulous save from the Uffingtonians’ keeper prevented Johnson from getting his second of the contest from an even further distance out. The home supporters though didn’t have long to wait for their team's second goal, coming as it did in the 19^th minute, courtesy of striker Martin Vincent who fired home from just outside the six-yard box having met Steve Nicholls deliciously inviting free-kick. Then, in the 25^th minute the visitor’s keeper produced another great save to keep his team in the contest – the Uffingtonians’ custodian denying Paul Pearce who had burst into the 18-yard box and directed a shot toward the far bottom corner. A third goal for the hosts always looked on the cards and ten minutes before the interval it duly arrived following a move that started with a great interception and lay-off on his own 18-yard line from skipper Chris Tilley - Pearce slotting home from close-range to finish a superb flowing move down the Uffingtonians’ right. The game was effectively ended as a contest in the 39^th minute when Pearce claimed his second goal of the game after collecting Vincent’s pass and dancing round the keeper to tap-in at the near post.

Having been taken apart in the opening period, Uffingtonians came out after the break determined not to be on the end of a real mauling, and immediately they took the game to the home side, creating some great goal scoring opportunities of their own; indeed, but for three wonderful saves from Ross Sinclair in the Cars goal, the team from Greenford would have been right back in contention. And, it therefore came as no surprise when in the 51^st minute the visitors pulled a goal back – one of their forwards taking advantage of hesitancy in the Cars defence to chip Sinclair who will feel the danger should have been better dealt with by those in front of him. This was just the wake-up call the hosts needed and they quickly reasserted their grip on the game. But, it wasn’t until the 70^th minute that another Cars goal arrived when Vincent ran from the halfway line to restore the four-goal cushion with his second goal of the afternoon. Despite continuing to press for the remainder of the game, Cars could only add one more goal to their tally – Vincent running in on goal to complete his hat trick in the 85^th minute following great work from Bowes. Finally, with less than three minutes remaining on the watch, the visitors raced away to score a second goal and deservedly add a touch of respectability to the final score line.

Carshalton are off in search of more vitally important league points next week when they travel to the Edmonton Sports and Social Club where they’ll face Norsemen and undoubtedly to date their toughest test of the campaign.

Beddington Hotspur