Last season this fixture was an ill-tempered affair which we lost 4-2 and had also started badly as traffic congestion meant several players did not turn up until 20 minutes after kick off. Having learnt from that, Jim ‘Jose’ Finn had instructed everyone to set off early. This, combined with empty roads this time, meant that 13 Carshalton Vets were ready and eager at the Barn Elms venue well before kick off this time. This provided Jim with plenty of time to, with the “help” of maths teacher Del, develop his mathematical equations to determine the time intervals for rolling substitutions throughout the match.

This eagerness was evident in the pressure that Carshalton exerted on the opposition from the off. A number of chances were created but the opposition goalkeeper had his fair share of luck in keeping Carshalton at bay. We should really have been two or three up after the first twenty minutes. Jim’s equations, which were indeed works of art (if you’re a numbers geek), were however never called upon, as Mike Briggs unfortunately had to go off injured after 15 minutes.

It’ll be easy to think of Christmas presents for Trevor Boughton and Derek Cadman after this match: scrapbooks. They’ll have plenty of material to put in it after a right foot finish (I kid you not!) by Trevor and a 20 yard screamer (again, very hard to believe!) from Del put us into a deserved 2-0 lead at halftime.

The match was played in a good and competitive spirit and two opposition substitutions increased the pressure on Carshalton in the second half. Throughout this match, every single Carshalton player kept up the high work rate and marked well which ensured that their chances were kept to a minimum and we were dangerous on the break. While it is difficult in those circumstances to single out individuals without doing others a disservice, special mention must be made of the performances by Wayne Stone in goal (a superb triple save comes to mind in particular, although you could legitimately ask why he didn’t keep hold of it the first time…..), Kevin Sullivan in defence (a number of, last ditch, perfectly timed tackles in true Scottish ‘never say die’ fashion) and the unselfish running and work of Chris Moggridge up front.

 Tony van Emst