Cracking match in the sunshine

Carshalton Athletic 2 Balham 2

A frosty and cold morning quickly turned into a sunny one for a delightful watch of a well-matched game of football. Either side could have won the game, with chances galore, but a draw at full-time was probably fair. Whilst both of Carshalton's goals were disputed - one for handball and one for potential offside - the boys need to play to the whistle and recognise that the opposition had several other chances too.

With poor Wilbur getting a ball in the face within a minute of the start, Balham were forced into an early change with Basil coming on into midfield. Carshalton had the best of the opening exchanges with Charlie putting in some strong tackles against the dangerous left winger and Alex making several blocks and clearances. Jacob pulled off an excellent save from a high shot, Ty showed superb defending to thwart an attack, and Charlie had to block a shot after the defence were unable to clear. The Whites defended a couple of corners well, but were struggling to get out of their own half.

But when they did, the impact was instantaneous. James had fired a warning shot with a lovely run down the left which evaded Dylan in the area. Immediately afterwards, the boys pressed hard from a goal kick, with Dylan picking up the ball and floating over an excellent cross. With panic in the defence, Jude slid in superbly and Balham took the lead.

Gethin needed to come off with a leg injury, so Basil switched to left-back and Wilbur came back on in midfield. George and Wilbur started putting together some lovely passing movements in midfield and the Whites were looking strong. Whenever James got the ball, the defence backed off and he nearly fathomed a goal with a strong run.

Despite the improvement in performance, the Reds struck back with a disputed goal which looked suspiciously like handball. The striker finished well though and the defence should not have stopped as they did. A big learning for future matches.

The first half came to an end after a Carshalton free-kick narrowly missed the base of the post, and somehow both James and Jude saw shots blocked in the area when it looked like Balham would nick a lead.

Jacob needed to pull off another smart save early in the second half but after a slow first couple of minutes, Balham quickly stepped it up. Wilbur showed the value of pressing the defence with a couple of good chances having nicked the ball from the defence. The midfielder did score a wonderfully composed goal with Balham's next attack though, after Jacob's clearance was flicked on by Jude. With a gaping hole in the defence, Wilbur drove forward and slotted the ball in with an excellent finish.

It always felt like the Whites might need another goal and they continued to press to look for it. James was unlucky after a powerful surge from Max, and the striker was foiled by a good defensive tackle a couple of minutes later. Again, Balham were looking the stronger side but suffered another sucker-punch after an attempt to play out from the back was snuffed out and smuggled in at the far post.

The last ten minutes were a thrilling end to end battle. James and Dylan both came close and there was a narrow escape at the other end when Ty headed behind for a corner. The boys battled exceptionally hard at both ends of the pitch and the whistle came to the probable relief of a few exhausted-looking legs.

Next week, Balham play the league leaders BedHead who will be looking for revenge after the result earlier in the season.