After the Lord Mayor’s show comes to mind, by way of contrast between last week’s brilliant performance against unbeaten Nottinghamshire and this week’s opponents Bulwell Town Reserves. Some changes to the side may have affected the balance a little but this was a game the Academy side gave away almost from the outset.

Carlton started slow and allowed Bulwell too much space in midfield in the first 30 minutes to their cost, as on 9 minutes a free header for their No 8, Grettan, from a corner, saw the opposition go one up (0-1). Carlton pushed on and started to play higher up the pitch creating three decent crosses from the left but found no one on the end of them. On 28 minutes the lively No.9 Hastings found himself on the end of a ball that should never have reached him, having bounced over one centre half and turning the other; his half hit shot seemed to bobble low to the keepers left hand and somehow found the back of the net when it looked as though the Carlton keeper was going to stop it (0-2). The score remained the same until half time and the last 6 minutes of play before the whistle was Carlton’s best of the half.

The second half started where the first had finished but Carlton were unable to get the breakthrough. On 53 minutes a low ball bounced off a defender to see the No. 10 Lichfield follow in and it was 1-3. Carlton began to rally and in side two minutes had pulled one back with a Deano attempt which fell to Sam Leggett to strike it into the corner from 12 yards. However, this was a short lived resurgence as the Bulwell team took advantage of a Carlton fiasco at the near post to let Lichfield in for his second 1-4.

Reputations are made to be broken as the Carlton Town Academy side proved today in a game of determination, dedication and shear hard work that won out against the unbeaten (until now) league leaders, Nottinghamshire. Carlton have now closed the gap at the top to two points and have made it four wins out of four to add to the confidence of the side.

Carlton started slowly, and in the first ten minutes had not adjusted to a new formation with five across the middle. Testimony to that came on the 9^th minute when a long throw in saw a header from the near post beat the Carlton keeper, and set Carlton staff’s teeth on edge 0-1. However, there was no sign of the opposition taking charge despite their early lead as the Academy side slowly came to terms with the strength and pace of the game.

Nottinghamshire are a strong team and were knocking early balls into the diagonal channels behind the full backs giving them both a great deal of work to do defending against two quick flankers. As the pressure began to turn in Carlton’s favour the outlets for the wide men were beginning to put the home side on the back foot. Otto and Kaine Good got behind twice each in successive counter attacks, and whilst big Deano was being mobbed by defenders up front on his own, Carlton were turning defenders the wrong way and causing problems.

On 30 minutes the best move of the game from back to front saw Carlton equalise. A ball from Josh Henry at right back into Swinney (sitting in the holding midfield role), saw him play a first touch round the corner into Deano’s  path who played a perfect first touch pass to the flying Frenchmen Otto. He picked up the ball cutting in from his left wing position, skipped the first challenge of the fullback and stepped inside the covering centre half to strike low into the corner leaving the keeper stranded 1-1.

Nottinghamshire were now defending and within three minutes of the restart a long throw from Swinney saw movement across the opposition eighteen yard box, for Otto to strike the ball first time as the defender missed it and plant the ball in the bottom corner; 1-2.

The score remained the same and the situation was unchanged as it went into half time with a strong performance in the midfield supporting the back four as Nottinghamshire looked for a way back but weren’t able to find it.

The second half started by asking questions of the Carlton team as Nottinghamshire began by firing diagonal balls across the back four. They were defended well, and despite the pressure exerted the team dug deep and put bodies in front of the ball. Callum Marx, the Carlton keeper made consecutive saves at the feet of strikers on 60 and 62 minutes, before he put Carlton into a good position with a throw out to the right wing, from which Kaine Good won a corner. He delivered for Swinney to steal in and volley into the roof of the net, thanks to a Josh Stones run to the near post which took two players with him giving Swinney space to deliver for 1 – 3.

Carlton Town Academy 4 - Selston Reserves 2  (26.9.09)

On another balmy autumn afternoon which felt more like pre-season than the season proper, the Academy were drawn against a good Selston Reserve team in the first round of the Minor Cup. This would be a useful test for the developing academy youngsters, who are slowly coming to terms with senior football in their first year for many at this level.

The game opened brightly with early Carlton pressure down the right flank from Cain Good, who turned the fullback inside out to cross on 5 minutes. The keeper challenged and missed and the ball flew by Simon Wilkinson and Dean Longdon closing on the back post. The tempo was high and Carlton were clearly strongest in their forward play, making another chance 3 minutes later. Another tantalising run and cross from Good saw a diving Simon Wilko get his head to the ball, but saw the ball go the wrong side of the crossbar. It took 18 minutes for the visitors to trouble the Carlton goalkeeper Neil Stevenson, who despite not being the tallest keeper jumped through the crowd to punch strongly away from a Selston cross shot into a crowded goalmouth.

A succession of corners forced by Carlton, from Good's running at defenders, saw a deep corner into the far post met sweetly by Jamie Swinscoe. He headed down perfectly to beat the keeper from 6 yards and Carlton were deservedly 1 up  on 23 minutes (1-0). With their tails up on the strength of the goal, within 5 minutes came the second, as a Swinney long throw wasn't cleared and a neat touch inside from Aaron Darch to Simon Wilkinson saw him spin and strike the ball low into the corner (2-0). More raiding down the right created three more opportunities for Deano, Wilko and James Randall, but the keeper saved well on two occasions and a third went just wide. However on 35 minutes an innocuous ball into the heart of the Carlton defence saw it bounce between the Centre halves and the Selston winger cut in between Carlton defenders to slot the ball home (2-1).  Apart from a couple of Selston corners, that hopeful ball in was the only time Carlton had been troubled at the back the whole game. This galvanised the opposition however, who at 2-1 were back in it, and for the rest of the half they mounted some additional pressure on the Carlton back line. Selston came close on 38 minutes and 40 with shots that were just wide, and a fingertip save over the bar from the Carlton keeper. Carlton were denied a penalty after Good dazzled three defenders, all of whom tried to take a chunk out of him, and the last one took him down from behind. The ref waved it away amazingly, to the surprise of everyone watching. However on the counter,  on 42 minutes, another Cain Good charge beat the fullback and his cross found Deano who crashed the ball in from 4 yards, despite the attention of the Selston defenders (3-1). That was how it stayed until half time.

The second half saw a bit more effort from the Selston team to get forward, and the game ebbed and flowed between both 18 yard lines for the first fifteen minutes of the half. Chances kept coming for Carlton, and fell to Darchy, who was just wide on 55 minutes, and to Simon Wilkinson who hit the post with a curling shot from 20 yards on 60 minutes. Carlton were undone however on 64 minutes, as a ball from the left was pumped in low to an advancing Carlton keeper, who fell on it, only to see it spurt out from under him when he looked as though he had it smothered. It ran into the path of the Selston striker who happily tapped it in for (3-2). The game saw Selston press harder now, and the Carlton back line got a little stretched on two or three occasions, but Selston failed to hit the target or trouble the keeper as some last minute ditched defending recovered the situation. Sadly, on 70 minutes Carlton left back Tom Crisp fell awkwardly and broke his arm, and the change that followed saw Matt Sharpe drop in at left back, and some necessary defending by the home side in the next five minutes. Carlton however settled back into a rhythm and took the game back to the visitors. On 78 minutes Deano took a well worked ball from the right, ran diagonally across the box to power a left foot strike into the goal and at 4-2 the days work was done. Flurries of Selston pressure were soaked up by Carlton and the result was the right one. Carlton are showing real signs of maturity in their first league season at senior level and can hopefully build on this winning mentality.

After only 6 minutes a move through midfield which broke down saw the ball come out to Tom Crisp in an advanced position who let fly witha  25 yard left foot strike to see the ball deflected into the roof of the net by the stretching keeper (1-0).  The early pressure continued from Carlton, who created three chances for Dean Longdon (playing up front today) all of which he met with his head, to find one saved one cleared and the other missing the target. Not to be deterered however, on 20 minutes Deno got a much desereved reward, when Darchy shot cannoned off Zak Bartlett's head for Dean to head it over the line from four yards (2-0). Sanhurst made a rare foray into Carlton territory, to be denied by Josh Henry and Josh Stones doubaling up on the striker. On 32 minutes James Randall cut in from the left having made a long run froma central position, he got behind the right back and fired low off the keeper into the net (3-0). That's the way it stayed until half time, with Carlton retaining posession well and breaking up Sandhurst moves high up the pitch.

Three points from a game where Carlton failed to put in any kind of first half performance has to be a positive, given that Vernon are a young but fairly well established team in this league. It was a game of two contrasting halves as Carlton, with new personnel in key areas failed to gel, and had little in the way of rhythm for about 50minutes. A catalogue of defensive errors let in the opposition who struck a ball in a goal mouth scramble to go 1 up after 18 minutes (0-1). What followed saw the defence getting lobbed too easily as they continued to play too high a line against  a long kicking keeper and three very quick forwards. Hadlee Dunn earned his corn by saving from oncoming strikers in one-on-one situations on at least four occasions before half time.

There were however, moments of inspirational passing down the right flank and Steve Kelly finally got on the end of a good diagonal ball from James Randall to head passed the keeper on 35 minutes and even up the score (1-1). Unfortunately this was short lived, as a second scramble from a set piece on 40 minutes wasn't cleared, and Vernon were two up in not dis-similar fashion to their first. That was the half time score 1-2.

After some stern words from the management and a change in the back four, the game changed for the better. Dean Longdon came on at left back and changed the face of the game with some strong defending and two goals to his name. The back four looked more settled, and whilst they were still getting too high up the pitch at times the full backs virtually stopped the flankers raiding which put Vernon in mind to try and come through the middle and gave Carlton chance to play more passes through the midfield and take the momentum to the opposition.

Deano's first came on 55minutes with a powerful header from afree kick completely out jumping the Vernon back line (2-2). What followed was a change up front, and Arran Darchy with only his second touch on 65 minutes, took a wonderful throughball flicked header from Steve Kelly over his shoulder, and beat the centre half, with a run and low strike that gave the Vernon keeper no chance (3-2).

Carlton began to believe they could get something out of this game, but were on the back foot three minutes later (68 mins) as a ball cleared by Josh Henry at right back was lost on the left flank and a diagonal run and cross-shot found a striker who beat the defenders to the ball to fire into the net from 8 yards 3-3.

The game was swinging back and forth until this point with little sense of either side dominating, that is until, on 70minutes Carlton began to put passes together for the first time since early in the first half. A ten minute sustained spell of Carlton pressure resulted in a corner that the big left back Deano took in his stride, running across the defensive line and smashing into the net from six yards (4-3).

Carlton's Academy side were welcomed to senior football with a display that was less than their fluent passing football of pre-season, but nonetheless was a hugely positive result with seven goal scorers in a 7 -3 goal bonanza. The fact that the goals can come from anywhere should be a bonus for Daryl, Kev and Adi, in a game where we gifted Bottesford three goals wrapped in a ribbon and tied with a bow. 

Carlton were never rushed after the first five minutes but made a few uncanny errors that let the opposition in, from which they can learn a valuable lesson very early in the season. That said, the fact that Carlton were one behind from an early corner (0-1) didn't deter the spirit, and when Steve Kelly pulled a ball back to Otto from the bi line the Frenchman obliged with a neat strike in the bottom corner (1-1). Five minutes later, a through ball from Josh Henry split the Bottesford defence and saw Liam Whelan collect the pass and charge through the left back and centre half to slide it passed the diving keeper (2-1). Cain Good was next up for a chance that came from midfield and saw him fire home on the angle (3-1).

As the comfort zone set in the opposition were back at us when a back pass went wide of the keeper and saw a chase with the striker, bring keeper and attacker into a three way collision with the post, and the ball dribble over the line (3-2). It was going to be one of those days, or was it, as before half time Dean Longdon shot through a crowd for 4-2 and James Randall rounded off a first half bevey of goals with a well worked move from a free kick which saw the home side in a strong position at 5-2. That however didn't last long, as the opposition were given the ball too cheaply and a third goal for them saw the half time score at 5-3.

Expectations of nine or ten goals were in the supporters minds having witnessed some free flowing stuff in the first half, however to the Carlton camps delight the second half saw the home team much more settled and at time dominating long spells of the game. Had lee Dunn was called upon a couple of times to come off his line early in the second half, and apart from a wide free kick the Bottesford strikers rarely troubled the keeper.

As the game wore on Carlton got the breakthrough they deserved for a more controlled second half with Steve Kelly netting a quality goal from a strike on the volley, when a through ball bounced once in front of him and was despatched past the advancing keeper. As Darryl and Kev made a couple of changes to close up the shop Jamie Swinscoe started and finished a move having gone into central midfield. He chased a ball in midfield to beat the opposing number 8 and the ball cannoned off him into the path of Steve Kelly in the left channel. Kelly took the right back wide and slid the ball back into the six yard box where Swinney, who had kept coming from half way, tucked it home with the keeper grasping at fresh air.