RESULT | WHITEHAWK 2 CARSHALTON ATHLETIC 0
Hawks celebrated National Non-League Day by ending a three game losing streak with a surprisingly comfortable 2-0 win over play-off chasers Carshalton Athletic. Shaun Saunders chose to mix things up a little, starting with three central defenders and Callum Barlow up front to partner Harry Bridle, with Jordan Maguire-Drew in the number 11 shirt. Imran Kayani was absent from the squad, on international duty with Pakistan.
Hawks almost got off to a flying start in the second minute, when the overlapping Stefan Wright was free at the far post. He got his head to a Manny Mensah cross from the left, but his effort was safely gathered by Aaron Watkins in the Robins’ goal.
With twenty minutes gone Jamie Watson was caught in a challenge with David Smith and had to leave the field with a broken nose. Smith was shown a yellow card with the referee indicating that he had gone up with his elbow out. Josh Nandhra came on as sub with the Hawks reverting to a back four.
A minute later, Hawks had a great chance to create danger when Bridle earned a free kick on the right hand side of the box, but Maguire-Drew’s kick went straight into the arms of Watkins.
With just over half an hour gone, Nandhra won a header on the edge of the box and in attempting to clear, Robins’ defender Atewologun kicked Bridle’s foot. Referee Simon Faires pointed straight to the spot, with no protests from the Carshalton players. Maguire-Drew sent Watkins the wrong way to open the scoring and claim his first Hawks goal.
Carshalton weren’t making the most of their advantage, kicking downhill – summed up after 37 minutes when Sharon Ifeanyi steered a good chance well over the bar on the volley, after being found by Camacho-Saraiva.
The visitors came closest to levelling the scores in added time when Tommy Bradford’s cross was headed onto the top of the bar by Tommy Read. In the final minute of the half, Hawks wasted a great chance to go in with a comfortable two goal lead when Bridle got away down the right. He picked out Maguire-Drew with his cross, but the chance was wasted, as his right foot effort looped away over the bar.
The Hawks started the second half on the front foot, with Nandhra having a shot blocked close in after he had picked up Wright’s long throw from the right. The Robins replied with Joseph Osaghae saving from Joshua Shonibare, who had wriggled past Archie Johnson and Maguire-Drew on the right.
With 55 minutes played Maguire-Drew did get his second. Nandhra played a nice one-two with Barlow before turning the ball across the goal for the ex-Leyton Orient man to finish comfortably from close range.
Carshalton enjoyed plenty of the ball in the rest of the half without ever seriously threatening. Whenever they did get into the box, either the shooting was wayward or Hawks’ central defenders Geofrey Okonkwo and Hugo Odogwu-Atkinson stood firm, in front of Osaghae, who was on hand to pounce on any danger.
The Robins lack of punch was summed up in the last few minutes when their skipper Hamilton-Downes found himself free at the far post from a left wing corner but headed harmlessly over the bar. In the last minute of normal time from another corner, it was Osaghae again who came up with the ball in a flurry of legs at his near post.
All in all, it was a good day for the Hawks, who moved up to 16th, with every team below them in the league losing. Just one more win from the remaining six games should be enough to secure Isthmian Premier Division football for next season.
Hawks: Osaghae, Wright, Johnson, Odogwu-Atkinson, Okonkwo, Watson (Nandhra 22′), Mensah (Lambert 93′), Briggs, Bridle (Clark 79′), Barlow, Maguire-Drew (Walker 83′)
Robins: Watkins, Shonibare, Hamilton-Downes (Frimpong 95′), Ghannan (Ming 71′), Atewologun, Read, Dada, Camacho-Saraiva, Smith, Bradford (Mason Saunders 70′), Ifeanyi (Sankoh 72′)
