William Wigg
Carlton Town FC made the hour-long trip up the M1 to Sheffield to visit what Sheffield FC fans like to call the home of football. Sheffield FC posted an attendance of 263 fans at the Coach and Horses Ground, an impressive amount for such a bitterly cold Tuesday night in February. Carlton Town find themselves in 10th and unbeaten in their last five games prior to a trip to Sheffield, making back-to-back playoff finishes, a goal that looked so unlikely just a month ago, a realistic if ever so slightly ambitious target for this season. Their opponents, however, have had a horrible season so far managing only 18 points and finding themselves rooted to the bottom of the table 11 points adrift of safety. Sheffield FC desperately needed something from this cold midweek game and had the ability to cause an upset in the Northern Premier League East Division.
Before moving onto the game, Sheffield FC’s impressive history deserves at least a mention as, despite currently languishing in the depths of England’s eighth tier, it is undeniably noteworthy. Sheffield FC have a claim to being the oldest football club in the world with them being recognised as such by FIFA. For this achievement they were granted the FIFA Order of Merit, an award which only two clubs have ever received, the other being Spanish giants Real Madrid. This, however, is where the comparison to Los Blancos stops with Sheffield FC having a miserable season in the East Division this year.
Carlton started the game poorly and really struggled to impose any level of dominance upon their opposition, unlike in their recent fixture against Belper Town. Carlton’s woes continued with them never really creating particularly dangerous chances despite starting to dominate the ball, which at least added some stability to the game and their performance. This newfound control in the game was broken when Sheffield FC forward Luke Aldrich struck superbly in the 22nd minute to give the hosts the lead. Carlton rallied and started to show who the favourites were towards the end of the first half but once again never managed to create any clear-cut opportunities.
Carlton went into halftime 1-0 down and looking devoid of creative ideas at the start of the second half as well. Carlton, however, once again rallied and started to play better football offering encouraging signs before eventually finding the equaliser halfway through the second half when Nat Watson headed home from a wonderful Charlie Carter cross giving the Millers hope they could come away with all three points. Despite this, the game started to drift away from Carlton as Sheffield FC were seemingly awakened by the goal, finally managing to show some attacking impetus of their own. Although the game felt relatively in the balance, Carlton bosses Tommy Brookbanks and Mark Harvey sought a winner and brought on Lawrence Gorman and Niall Hylton, leaving the Millers with three defenders for the final ten minutes of the game. This decision might have looked to be a bit irrational when Sheffield started to really pressure Felix Annan’s goal, however, the risky move paid off to the highest extent when Carlton Town hero Niall Davie whipped the ball into the far top corner from just outside the box to spark delirious celebrations among both players and fans alike. With the clock having just ticked past the 92nd minute, Carlton’s victory was secure and, despite not being at their best, it is these types of wins away from home that prove ever so important come the end of the season.
Carlton Town FC travel home with another three points continuing their impressive run in the league and avoiding what looked like for so long could be a potential upset in Sheffield. The Carlton players will know that a much higher standard is required of them if they are to make this season a memorable one, but did show a level of grit and determination to dig in whilst not at their best and find a winner against struggling Sheffield FC.
William Wigg
Featured image courtesy of @lbnielsen via Unsplash. Image use license found here (Unsplash). No changes were made to this image.
In article video 1 courtesy of @carltontowntv via Youtube. No changes were made to this.
In article video 2 courtesy of @carltontowntv via Youtube. No changes were made to this.
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