Claridge and co crash out to the Robins

CARSHALTON survived an early scare to see off a battling Salisbury.

The Whites shocked the home fans by taking a fourth-minute lead ythrough Aaron Dawson but Carshalton shook that off to grab the game by the scruff of the neck, scoring three times before the break and adding gloss with a second-half penalty.

Robins player-boss Peter Adeniyi said he was delighted with his side’s efforts despite conceding the first goal of the game.

“Apart from the first four minutes, I thought the boys were brilliant and executed our game plan perfectly. It was a real team effort,” he said.

“We gave them a gift in terms of their goal but we recovered well and showed great character to take charge of the match.”

Adeniyi was alluding to the fact Carshalton had two chances to clear the ball from inside their area on four minutes, but eventually Dawson rifled home from 12 yards to give Salisbury the lead.

But the Robins hit back and a short-corner routine on 19 minutes saw Tommy Bradford’s 98th career goal restore parity.

The home side’s powerful midfield began to take hold and Carshalton went in front through Mike Dixon’s flicked effort that just rolled over the line.

Things went from bad to worse for Steve Claridge’s men as Elliott Wheeler deflected a corner kick past his own keeper in first-half stoppage time.

Whites keeper James Hillson did his best to keep the Robins at bay after the break, but Dixon was scythed down inside the area on 75 minutes and Carshalton captain Paris Hamilton-Downes slammed home the spotkick.

“I think it was a case of after the Lord Mayor’s show for us today,” Claridge lamented.

“Tuesday’s game against Braintree took a lot out of us, plus we have a few players out through injury.

“The boys put in a good effort and this run in the Trophy has been great, but we won’t let this defeat affect our league form. Credit to Carshalton and we wish them all the best.”

STAR MAN: Ola Sogbanmu (Carshalton) ENTERTAINMENT: ★★★★★