Carshalton are through to the quarter-finals of the AFA Intermediate Cup after pulling off the shock of the 3^rd round proper, overturning a two-goal deficit at the break with a magnificent second half display that saw them take the scalp of Division One outfit Winchmore Hill at Paulin Ground, Ford Grove.

The opening exchanges of what looked on paper at least to be the tie of the round, saw the hosts start the brighter of the two teams.  And, after just three minutes a neat interchange of passes presented them with an early opportunity to open the scoring.  However, having rushed his shot the Winchmore centre-forward failed to hit the target, drilling his effort wide of the far post.  Despite defending well against the host’s early onslaught, Cars were grateful to their keeper Ross Sinclair on 14 minutes when he reacted quicker than all around him to mop-up the danger after an uncharacteristic slip by his skipper Chris Tilley.  Always dangerous from set-pieces, Winchmore went close to taking the lead in the 28^th minute when their right-back headed over the crossbar after getting up well to meet a superbly delivered free-kick to the far post.  The home side weren’t having things all their own way though and, just moments later at the other end, only a great stop with his legs from the Winchmore keeper prevented Paul Pearce from finding the back of the net with a snap shot on the turn from about 10-yards out.  Then, after a well-crafted move down the right flank Winchmore broke the deadlock in the 31^st minute – their winger picking out the run of a colleague who took the ball in his stride before firing low beyond the stranded Sinclair in the Cars goal.  On the stroke of half-time the visitors were made to pay the ultimate price for some poor defending on the edge of their own 18-yard box, where despite several bites of the cherry they failed to clear their lines, allowing a Winchmore forward all the time he needed in putting his team further ahead with a precise finish inside the near post. 

Despite being two goals down at the break, Cars’ manager Ian Lewis was convinced his side was good enough to turn things around if only they could get an early second half goal.  However, even he must have been surprised when within a minute of the restart Sam Johnson’s corner on the left eluded everyone in the crowded Winchmore six-yard box, finishing in the back of the net having seemingly received a slight deflection on the way.  Moments later, Michael Tilley went agonizingly close to grabbing an equaliser for Cars – the host’s custodian getting finger tips to the left-back’s in-swinging free-kick to turn it onto his bar and out for a corner.  The Winchmore centre-back pairing that had looked extremely comfortable before the interval now struggled to contain the lively Cars forwards, which led to the match official Mr. Afxendi awarding a penalty in the 55^th minute after Pearce was hauled down a yard inside the box when clean through on goal.  Although not one of his best, Billy Andrews nevertheless converted the resulting spot kick, sending it down the middle and under the keeper’s body to pull Cars level.  With thirteen minutes remaining of what by now had turned into an absorbing contest, Cars took the lead from arguably the best move of the afternoon, which started deep in their own half, and where they moved the ball crisply across the park from left to right with a series of sweetly hit passes, the ball finally arriving at the feet of Tilley (Michael).  Having taken a stride inside, Tilley then hit a stunning delivery toward the 18-yard line where Pearce rose higher than both his team mate Badgie, and the Winchmore centre-back, to head powerfully into the roof of the net.  Expecting now the home side in the time remaining to throw everything at his team, Lewis sent out instructions from the sidelines to batten-down the hatches, but in truth apart from one scare in 85^th minute when their right-winger blazed an effort wide of the near post, Winchmore didn’t really threaten.  Finally, in the 90^th minute Cars midfielder Kevin Macleod whilst running down the clock at the corner flag, looked up to spot the run into the box of Martin Vincent whom he found with a perfectly weighted cross, which Vincent, Cars’ leading marksmen brought under control before netting his fifteenth goal of the season with a classy finish, thereby confirming his side’s booking of a quarter-final berth.  

The tough fixtures just keep on coming for Carshalton at the moment and next week will be no exception when they’ll entertain second in the table BB Eagles at Beddington Park

Beddington Hotspur