The 42 places separating Carshalton and Dagenham in the footballing pyramid made this the biggest shock of the FA Cup fourth qualifying round. People will look at this result and see it as a big upset, simply orchestrated by the magic that has become synonymous with this famous competition. People will look this result and assume that Carshalton were incredibly motivated and fought valiantly to earn a highly unlikely victory. People will look at this result and think it must have just been the underdog's day. After all, they're Isthmian Premier and we're National League. We're a full time, professional outfit who are supposedly chasing promotion to the Football League, while Carshalton's team consists of players assembled on a budget undoubtedly dwarfed by ours, who will be at work for the majority of the week. Of course that's what makes the FA Cup what it is. Anything can happen is it's motto, and throughout the competition there will be much bigger shocks than merely one non-league team beating another. However, that doesn't disguise the fact that this result was embarrassing and unprofessional for us as a club. We can't just dismiss it as the FA Cup being the FA Cup. The reality of the match paints a far more dispiriting picture than the result indicates, however. In truth we weren't outclassed at all, but that's perhaps the most worrying aspect. Carshalton played like what they were, an Isthmian Premier League team, and they still managed to beat a full-strength Dagenham & Redbridge without really coming under too much pressure in the end. They didn't play above themselves, they didn't stun us with their fighting spirit - they were average and it was still too much for us. We weren't as bad as other sources are making us out to have been, we were in control of the ball for the majority of the encounter yet didn't seem to be capable of taking our attacks to the next level. There was just no presence or creativity, and against Carshalton Athletic, that's worrying. So it was the same old problem, we were toothless in attack again. Quigley did nothing aside from inexplicably giving away needless foul after needless foul, and Balanta had a rare off-day. McQueen I thought was decent if unspectacular, as was Dobson, but Taylor took both of them off as the familiar confusing substitutions resurfaced. It's only fair to give Carshalton the credit they deserve too, as they were refreshingly confident and fearless. In the first half they backed off somewhat, but it was like as soon as they realised we weren't as dangerous an opponent as they were expecting, they took the hand-break off - and we couldn't deal with it. Their number 11, Ricky Korboa, is destined for big things. He was outlined as Carshalton's danger man prior to the contest and lived up to that tag with a sensational display. His pace and trickery left Will Wright floundering for the entire game, but crucially he was able to build on these attributes with a bit of end product, which wingers of a similar ilk so often lack. I hope they get a great tie in the next round of the competition as it's what they deserve. Someone like Sunderland or Portsmouth at home would be a historic occasion for them, and also serve the purpose of showing us what we've missed out on. It's the first time in 22 years they've made the first round, and given our recent runs in the competition I wonder if we might endure similar fate. So this will go down as a shock, but in name only. None of us are really shocked, are we? This happens far too often to be a one-off, with Hereford, Worthing, Halifax, Southport all other examples of us failing to perform against lesser opposition. That dream third round game away at a Premier League side will have to be put on hold for another year. JUSTHAM (6) - Nothing really notable about his performance. Let down by the defence for both goals. GORDON (6) - Energetic going forwards but was often caught cold in the counter-attack. CROLL (6) - Solid but unspectacular. Shaky at times but we're a better side with him than without him. ONARIASE (6) - Not a lot to report on. Sacrificed in the second half when we changed shape. WRIGHT (5) - Completely at the mercy of their winger Ricky Korboa. A lot came from that flank. MCQUEEN (7) - Thought he was decent. Looked the most likely to create anything. ROBINSON (6) - Struggled against three centre midfielders, but certainly not our worst player out there. BRUNDLE (5) - Looked like a player without much minutes recently. Gave the ball away often. DOBSON (6) - Livelier than most of his teammates but a bit one-dimensional when it comes to the left foot. BALANTA (5) - Uncharacteristic. Struggled against a defence who backed off rather than being drawn in by his quick feet. QUIGLEY (5) - Didn't look a danger whatsoever. Even a team two leagues below dealt with him effortlessly. GRANT (7) - Made a good impact and I'm delighted he got a deserved goal, a great finish too. Should start more games. KANDI (6) - Didn't get involved as much as he would've liked, but still got stuck in and showed some decent movement. LUQUE (5) - Only got a handful of minutes on the pitch so wasn't able to do much in his short cameo.
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January 2024
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