They Killed Carshalton for a Sense of Enormous Well-Being

Hopperational details
Date & Venue	Monday 6 April 2015 (3.00pm) at Whitehall Lane
Result	South Park 3 Carshalton Athletic 1
Competition	Isthmian League Division One South (Step 4)
Hopping	Ground 559, a last-minute choice for geographical reasons because of its proximity to my earlier match near Heathrow.  I crossed paths once again with @yasser11 – we both agree that this match exceeded our prior expectations for entertainment value!
Pre-match preparation
Very little.  Both teams relatively low in the league but probably safe from relegation, both lost on Saturday.  16th plays 17th for end-of-season pride.
This match in one sentence
South Park take the points and although Carshalton will feel unlucky, they sealed their own fate by conceding some soft goals.
So what?
South Park climb to 14th place.
The drama unfolds
South Park (in red) took an early lead with a neat finish by Dave Smith.  1-0 after 13 minutes Dale Burgess then added a second direct from this corner kick.  2-0 after 23 minutes To be fair to the visitors, no heads dropped and they missed their first real chance just after the half-hour, before halving the deficit before the interval through Matthew Males.  2-1 after 38 mins and at half-time Both teams kept up the attacking intent in the second half, making it a very decent day out in the sunshine for the passing neutral.  Home keeper James Wastell was in for a busy 45 minutes – he made several good saves to protect the lead.  Carshalton’s left-sider Sean O'Toole was getting more and more service and he drew applause for a mazy run and shot, which Wastell saved easily enough.  O'Toole was clattered for this free-kick, just wide after 84 minutes. Carshalton mounted wave after wave of attack, and the final clip showed that it was not going to be their way.  Wastell needed the metalwork this time from another set piece which itself had followed a goalmouth scramble.  Both these freekicks were taken by Brendon McVey. The Carshalton keeper was then knocked over in a collision outside his box, and a minute later he dropped the ball to give Dave Smith the easiest of tap-ins as we entered stoppage time.  Harsh, but self-inflicted.  Final score 3-1
Ground Pix
Just outside, to be fair, but very Springlike!
Match Pix
Something You Don’t Get in the Premier League
Goalkeeper Top Colour Stats
Grey beats Green, but not enough to reverse the league position. The story so far: 3pts for a win, 1pt for a draw, -1pt for a goal conceded and +5pts for a clean sheet P W D L GC CS Pts PPG Purple 5.0 3.0 1.0 1.0 9.0 2.0 11.0 2.20 Green 25.0 12.0 2.0 11.0 32.0 8.0 46.0 1.84 Grey 24.5 11.0 7.0 6.5 32.5 7.0 42.5 1.73 Maroon 4.0 2.0 1.0 1.0 6.0 1.0 6.0 1.50 Red 4.0 2.0 0.0 2.0 5.0 1.0 6.0 1.50 Blue 10.0 3.0 3.0 4.0 16.0 3.0 11.0 1.10 Orange 7.5 2.0 2.0 3.5 10.5 2.0 7.5 1.00 Yellow 12.0 3.0 4.0 5.0 21.0 3.0 7.0 0.58 Radioactive Bile 6.0 2.0 0.0 4.0 12.0 0.0 -6.0 -1.00 Pink 7.0 1.0 3.0 3.0 16.0 0.0 -10.0 -1.43 Black 1.0 0.0 1.0 0.0 3.0 0.0 -2.0 -2.00
What Next?
Follow @GrahamYapp on Twitter for details!  Newmarket Road end for Cambridge United v Accrington Stanley on Saturday.  Not a new ground, but I am back in Cambridge for a 40-year college reunion dinner and that is a fitting prelude for reasons I will explain next week. Maybe.