Carshalton Athletic got back to winning ways this week ahead of a first taste of FA Trophy action this Sunday.
The Robins suffered through a late arrival and torrid opening 20 minutes as hosts Herne Bay built a two-goal lead on Tuesday evening.
But top goalscorer Ricky Korboa and young striker Josh Phillips hauled their side level before the break, with the latter heading the eventual winner with less than 10 minutes to play.
The three points moved Carshalton up to sixth in the current Ryman Division One South standings and captain Paris Hamilton-Downes claimed that result was his side’s hardest earned victory of the season to date.
“We’ve been to Herne Bay twice in the league before and never won, so we knew we’d have to dig deep to come away with a win,” Hamilton-Downes said.
“We arrived less than an hour before kick-off because of bad traffic and we started the game lethargically but we got back into it soon after their second through Ricky and thankfully went in level at the break.
“But all people will see is the result and it’s important we pick up points from these awkward midweek fixtures.
“Other teams will find it hard against Herne Bay, this was a hard fought victory but we are very happy with it.”
It was a victory Carshalton also claimed without the services of Mickel Miller (suspension) and Tommy Bradford (injury), who have scored 19 goals between them so far this season, but Hamilton-Downes was full of praise for the contribution of 18 year-old Phillips.
“He’s only started two games this season but he’s scored twice each time – you can’t ask for much more,” he added.
“Josh is a fantastic player and it shows we have good competition for places here.”
Hayes Lane is the venue for Carshalton’s first qualifying round clash against Cray Wanderers this weekend and Hamilton-Downes said the squad are relishing the challenge.
“We want to get on another little unbeaten run so we’ll keep working hard to keep this momentum going,” he said.
“There is a great atmosphere within the squad at the moment and, with so many games coming up, we’ll need everyone to be ready to step in at any time.”
Cray Wanderers vs Carshalton Athletic is on Sunday 9th October (kick-off 3pm).
Image courtesy of Ian Gerrard, with thanks
