And so the rollercoaster begins..! After the euphoria of a late late winner from Ryan Lowe on Saturday, the Blues were back in action just 48 hours later taking a trip to Carshalton Athletic on the hottest day of the year on Monday night. Carshalton managed a 1-1 draw against our Saturday opposition Folkestone at the weekend, and they came into this clash looking far more lively than the Blues, enabling them to take a 2-0 lead into the interval.
The Robins dominated the ball in the early stages, but Ogo Obi had the best chance of the opening quarter of the game, heading narrowly wide. However, a ruthless 10 minute spell from the hosts saw Dominic Vose net a brace, firing two excellent strikes past Prince Adegoke. The Robins continued to apply pressure until the whistle but it remained a two goal deficit.
For many of the new recruits this summer, this may have been their first dressing down from Ahmet Rifat and his coaching team, and it was clear that the words used and changes made at half time had a positive effect. First, Ben Frempah headed just past the post, before Luke Deslandes struck a sweet finish into the roof of the net shortly before the hour mark to halve the deficit.
Within 5 minutes, the Blues achieved parity, in complete contrast to the way that Saturday's match played out against Dulwich Hamlet. The equaliser came from Frempah, meeting a Lonit Talla corner and nodding inside the far post . The Blues' joy did not last long, however, as Carshalton regained the lead on 66 minutes, after Prince Adegoke's fingertip save tipped a free kick onto the bar but the ball was bundled home by Paris Hamilton-Downes.
The remaining 25 minutes saw the Blues go close to an equaliser on a couple of occasions, but the Robins saw out the victory. Speaking after the game, Ahmet Rifat said that he was disappointed with the way that the Blues started the game but encouraged by the signs shown in the second half.
We look forward to welcoming you back to the Maurice Rebak Stadium on Saturday to face Folkestone Invicta.
Wingate & Finchley: Adegoke; Cracknell; Byron; Talla; Frempah; Lowe; Garrett-Douglas (Newton 82'); Garzon (Oladipo 46'); Obi; Deslandes (Georgiou 72'); Tanimowo.
Unused Subs: Empochontsif, Okoh Photos courtesy of Martin Addison
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