SAL Division 2 - 2nd December 2006

Carshalton continued their recent good form, comfortably defeating BB Eagles in this top-of-the-table clash at Beddington Park.  However, the final score line might have read somewhat differently if the visitors from Ealing hadn’t have been reduced to ten-men early in the second-half when their keeper was shown a red card.

This clash had all the potential to be a real cracker and the teams didn’t disappoint, both sets of players settling into their game quickly, which saw early chances created – Martin Vincent for the home side in the 6^th minute rifling a shot wide of the far post, and then moments later the Eagles centre-forward with an identical opportunity and result.  In the 10^th minute the visitors’ keeper was rooted firmly to the spot, watching helpless as a volley from Cars’ Sam Johnson flew narrowly wide of his near post. Defending the tennis court end, the hosts were looking the more likely of the teams to open the scoring. And, they went close to doing just that after 18 minutes when Lewis Cosgrove picked-out the run of striker Paul Pearce whose shot was brilliantly turned away by the keeper. The Eagles custodian was again called into action on 23 minutes when he stood firm to deny Cars forward Shane Bowes an opening goal in a classic one-on-one confrontation. Having rescued his side twice, the Eagles keeper was powerless to prevent Cars breaking the deadlock in the 27^th minute – Johnson hitting the back of the net after great work from Vincent had seen him find the young midfielder on the edge of the 18-yard box. Two minutes later, Neal Collard’s spectacular dipping 25-yard strike went close to doubling the host’s tally, but having beaten the keeper, the midfielder’s effort flew inches over the crossbar. Just past the half hour mark, Cars’ stand-in keeper John Brown saved well when he got down low at his near post to keep out a powerful downward header from the Eagles centre-forward, following a free-kick on the edge of the Cars 18-yard box. The last meaningful action of the first half saw Pearce shoot against the foot of the near post after an exchange of passes with Cosgrove had split the visitor’s defence wide open.

The second-half was just five minutes old when the visitors’ keeper denied Vincent a clear goal scoring opportunity, bringing him down a couple of yards outside the penalty area. Expecting perhaps to have received a caution for his transgression, the keeper was astounded when the match official, Mr. Tyler, brandished his red card having applied the letter of the law. Eagles responded to the loss of their keeper in a determined fashion, acquitting themselves well and enjoying a passage of play that led to them receiving a lifeline when Cars keeper John was harshly adjudged by Mr. Tyler to have taken the legs of an opponent when coming off his goal line to make a block on the edge of the six-yard box. The resulting spot kick was expertly dispatched to put Eagles back on level terms. However, the Eagles hard work was undone five minutes later when Vincent was scythed down in the box, which saw Cars awarded a penalty of their own. After a long delay for treatment to Vincent, Cars’ regular penalty taker Billy Andrews tucked away the spot kick to put his side back in front. On 72 minutes the game as a contest was effectively ended after a through ball from Vincent allowed Bowes to drive into the Eagles box where he crossed invitingly for Pearce who from close-range slotted Cars’ third goal. With ten minutes remaining Eagles threatened briefly, which produced the save of the day as Brown dived at full-stretch to turn away a spectacular low drive from the Eagles right-winger that had looked destined for the bottom left-hand corner of the goal. A minute later, Bowes should have fired Cars further ahead, but having helped himself to the rebound after the Eagles keeper had saved a Vincent shot, the Cars forward’s effort crashed against the underside of the crossbar. Cars didn’t have too long await for their fourth goal though – good work in the 85^th minute from Johnson and Pearce finishing with the ball being delivered into a crowded penalty area where Kevin Macleod reacted quicker than the defenders around him to poke home from six-yards. Then, on 87 minutes a fabulous Cars move was rounded off by Vincent who bagged his sixteenth goal of the season with a stylish finish having been set-up by a slide-rule pass from MacLeod. Finally, in the last minute Collard having ventured forward drove the ball across the Eagles six-yard box to the far post where Pearce bundled it over the line to complete the scoring for the afternoon.