4th January 2011

A new era but same result for Croydon Athletic

By Karen Muir

CROYDON ATHLETIC 1 CARSHALTON ATHLETIC 4

A New Year and a new influx of players at the KT Stadium but unfortunately not the result Croydon Athletic were looking for to kick start their season in 2011 despite a spirited first half display.

The signs looked promising in the early stages with the pairing up front of Shabazz Baidoo and Frankie Sawyer linking up well and looking dangerous for the Rams.  As early as the fourth minute a good cross in from Danny Elgar fell to Baidoo and his shot hit the top of the crossbar.

Dorian Smith looked lively in the middle of the park for the Rams and his long range shot in the 14th minute was just wide.

The Croydon pressure paid off in the 19th minute when the Rams took the lead after Elgar's corner was knocked on by Smith to Baidoo to head in the net and put the home side 1-0 up.

Unfortunately, Croydon were unable to increase their lead despite some impressive touches from Sawyer and good link play between the front players.

Croydon Athletic's Rhys Coleman marshals his defence

Rhys Coleman made a solid debut at the heart of the defence and George Landais, on loan from Aldershot Town, also showed some nice touches.

However, the second half was another story, with Carshalton making an instant impact in the 47th minute when Paul Johnson equalised for the away side.

Croydon struggled to repeat their first half form and it was Carshalton who looked the stronger side.

A great strike from 20 yards from Joel Ledgister put the Robins 2-1 ahead in the 53rd minute and in the 60th minute it was former Croydon player Gary Noel who knocked in the third following a rare defensive mistake by the Rams.

In the 73rd minute it was another great strike from Carshalton for the best goal of the game from man of the match Ledgister hitting the ball on the volley from 25 yards to put paid to all Croydon hopes of a comeback.

Adam Peck in the Croydon goal pulled off a good save late on from Ledgister to prevent his hat-trick and Noel had another chance hit the post.

Carshalton went away with the points and Croydon managers Bob Langford and Dave Garland will be looking to pull their new-look team together in the coming week if they have any hope of avoiding relegation this season.

Croydon Athletic: Adam Peck, Jeremy Williams (63 mins Kieran McCann), Helge Orome, Dorian Smith, Tom Hughes, Rhys Coleman, Danny Elgar (68 mins Dan Moody), Colin Hartburn, Frankie Sawyer, Shabazz Baidoo (78 mins Stefan Joseph), George Landis. Subs not used: Kevin Sefaah, Jonathan Beale.

Crystal Palace Reserves hammer O's

Reserves hammer O's

September 9 2009

Matthew Wright

Crystal Palace reserves routed Leyton Orient's young second string 9-2 at Brisbane Road.

Forward Matthew Wright plundered a hat-trick, Kieron Cadogan grabbed a brace and Johnny Ertl, Jack Randall, Nathaniel Pinney and Rhys Coleman completed the scoring.

Orient took the lead after three minutes when Jake Argent converted Darryl Sydes' cross from close range.

Seven minutes later, Palace were on terms as summer signing Wright met Cadogan's well flighted cross from the left to nod home.

Palace went in front after Cadogan put away Ertl's cross at the second attempt two minutes later.

On 17 minutes, the away side made it 3-1 with Randall getting on the end of another Ertl assist to curl into the net.

Good build-up play involving Lee Hills, Randall and trialist striker Archie Fataki allowed Wright to hit home his second of the afternoon in the 25th minute.

The O's scored on the half hour mark to bring it to 4-2 with a 30-yard effort from Harry Baker.

However, Ertl got on the scoresheet with a header from Cadogan's corner and netted the sixth Palace goal with a strike from the edge of the box.

Rhys Coleman leaps above to score his debut goal

Wright completed his hat-trick 12 minutes into the second half from six yards out from a cross by sub Charlie Holness to make it 7-2.

Substitute Nathaniel Pinney then got the eighth goal on 84 minutes after Orient keeper Jake Giddens allowed the ball to slip out of his hands and over the line.

And the hammering was complete two minutes from time as Coleman nodded home Hills' left-wing cross.

Palace: Flahavan, Abnett, Nnamani, Coleman, Hills, Randall (Kenlock, 68), Holness (Caprice, 76), Ertl, Cadogan, Fataki, Wright (Pinney, 72)

Not used: Anderson, Roberts.

Reserve reports, fixtures and table

Coleman's Mustard

Reserve-team debutante Rhys Coleman brought the Valley house down with a brilliant last-gasp winner on Tuesday night.

charlton-athletics-rhys-coleman-celebrates-his-goal

The first-year scholar defender rose superbly in injury time to head home a Josh Wright free-kick, thus maintaining coach Mark Kinsella's 100 per cent record.

It was some introduction for Coleman, who was only a matter of a few U18 games back from an injury that accounted for half of his first season as a full-time player, and his evening wasn't just about his memorable goal.
The youngster would also have been pleased with his overall contribution to what was a lively encounter in rainy SE7.

A young Charlton side led what was perhaps an equally youthful Hornets outfit through Rurik Gislason, but Watford's Moses Ashikodi levelled after the break.

That seemed a fair scoreline, but when sole old head Jimmy-Floyd Hasselbaink drew one of numerous fouls deep into injury time, the two young Addicks prospects combined to steal all three points.

Coleman certainly stole the headlines, but it would be remiss not to report the fine performance of the Addicks' other debutante, Kurrant.

The defender-cum-midfielder never looked out of his depth even though he was pitched against Anthony McNamee, a player of Premiership experience, and he looks sure to pick up more second-string outings after such a solid opener.

Though Hasselbaink balanced up the average age somewhat, this was comfortably the most youthful side Kinsella has sent into battle, even encompassing the two private friendly games the former skipper oversaw last month.

While the likes of Alistair John, Myles Weston, Gislason and the returning Nathan Ashton are second-string regulars, Jonathan Kurrant and Coleman leant the Charlton rearguard a rather inexperienced look.

Indeed, the involvement of Wright and senior academy side captain Grant Basey meant that almost half of the Addicks' outfield was made up of scholars.

Watford are perennially young at reserve level also, but with so little second string football in his charges' legs Kinsella would nevertheless have been anticipating the customary cagey opening.

What he got was quite the opposite; Charlton fizzing the ball around on an immaculate Valley surface and a first class early goal.

With only six minutes on the clock, Hasselbaink fed the overlapping John who breezed past Hornets full-back Jordan Parkes.

His options in the box looked limited but shrewd Icelander Gislason showed fine movement to get himself in John's eye-line and he comfortably slotted the winger's cross home.

It was a lead that looked like being cancelled out just nine minutes later, however; Coleman taking one touch too many when dealing with a left-wing corner and seeing Clarke Carlisle arrive on his blind side to stab over from 10 yards.

Chances were coming fairly thick and fast and at the other end it took a miraculous save from Scott Loach to deny Gislason a rapid-fire double.

Rob Elliot's long clearance was woefully misread by both of Watford's defenders and Gislason cleverly arrived around the back, only for Loach to somehow finger-tip his full-blooded point-blank volley over the top.

Loach was in action again moments on to bat away a stinging, swerving drive from Hasselbaink, before Anthony McNamee was unlucky to see his improvised shot on the turn flash past Rob Elliot's near upright.

The Addicks came out for the second period slightly flat and McNamee's cross caused chaos in the Charlton box before Elliot produced a stop to rival his counterpart's earlier in the match.

A rare error from Basey presented Ashikodi the chance to chip a ball into the unmarked Will Hoskins, but the striker's well-hit half-volley from no more than eight yards was spectacularly blocked by one of Elliot's flailing arms.

Gislason then ended a fantastic solo dribble with a rasping drive that faded wide of the far post, but Watford's presence in the game was growing and they were level on 62 minutes after some slipshod defending from the home side.

Kinsella might have grinned and bared the fact that a corner wasn't initially cleared, but when everyone in red seemed to ignore the second ball, leaving Ashikodi to merely pick it up and stab it past Elliot, the Charlton coach would have been seething.

All of a sudden Charlton's equilibrium was gone and Ashikodi might have done better when he pulled away from Basey at the far post only to slip at the crucial moment.

Substitute Theo Robinson must have been unsighted when McNamee's free-kick seemed to just hit him after evading everyone in red, and the same player then tried his luck, unsuccessfully, from range.

It looked like the last action of the game, but deep into injury time Wright arced a ball towards the far post area and Coleman was there to direct a fine downward header beyond Loach's dive and into the bottom corner.

Charlton: Elliot, Kurrant, Ashton, Staunton, Coleman, Basey, John, Wright, Hasselbaink, Gislason (Simmonds 71), Weston (Wagstaff 80).

Subs (not used): Nielsen, Harkin, Govas.

Goals: Gislason 6, Coleman 90

Booking: Wright 73 (handball).

Watford: Loach, Chambers, Parkes, Rinaldi, Doyley, Carlisle, Williamson, Williams, Ashikodi (Robinson 76), Hoskins, McNamee.

Goal: Ashikodi 62

Subs (not used): O'Toole, Beasant, Campana, McCoy.

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