Robins hope for Trophy glory

Two hundred and ninety five clubs kicked off in the FA Trophy Extra Preliminary Round in September, but now we're down to the last sixteen- and our very own Carshalton Athletic have the chance to head into the Quarter Finals on Saturday. The Robins are the fifteenth ranked side remaining in the competition- only Ramsbottom United, of Evo-Stik Northern Division One West, are from lower down the pyramid- but have a challenge on their hands, as their opponents, Barnet, have a formidable cup record this season. The National League side, relegated from the Football League at the end of last season, have defeated Bristol Rovers and Sheffield United and drawn with Brentford in the FA Cup, and if they can defeat Brentford in a replay- and you wouldn’t want to write them off- will travel to Swansea City in the Fifth Round.

Carshalton won’t be overawed by their visitors, however- and they certainly shouldn’t be, as whilst Barnet have had to win only two matches to get to this stage of the FA Trophy, the Robins have had to win five. Metropolitan Police, Harlow Town, Walton Casuals, Dorking Wanderers and most recently Salisbury have come up against Peter Adeniyi’s side this season, and each have been found wanting; most recently Steve Claridge’s highly regarded Whites fell by four goals to one at Colston Avenue.

The Robins seem to have a full squad available for the fixture. They recently signed Daniel Pappoe from Dulwich Hamlet to strengthen their defence, and Adeniyi is obviously happy with his attack, as he’s allowed Jerson dos Santos to join East Grinstead Town for the rest of the campaign. They will hope that Barnet are focused on their FA Cup Replay next Tuesday night; but whatever happens, there’s enough about the home side to believe that they can cause an upset, particularly as they have lost only one home game during the last two months.

The match kicks off at 3PM on Saturday.